Quinoa Salad with Roasted Vegetables

This scrumptious Quinoa Salad with Roasted Vegetables makes a luscious side dish or a light and healthy entree! It’s impossible not to have seconds!

Tossed in a balsamic dressing and filled with colorful vegetables, this Mediterranean Quinoa Salad can easily be made vegan or vegetarian by swapping out the chicken broth for vegetable broth. Versatile and delicious!

Quinoa Salad with Roasted Vegetables

Now that spring has sprung and shorts are being donned, many of my blogger friends have been posting low cal, healthy recipes. I seemed to have ignored that memo. But I did have a bag of quinoa in my pantry…and I felt it my duty as a seasoned food blogger to share a delicious salad chock full of nutrients. Have I scared you off? I hope not because this quinoa salad with roasted vegetables was splendid.

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad Recipe

There’s a bit of chopping and roasting involved…eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, onions, garlic, and red bell pepper are all diced and cooked at high heat to concentrate their flavors. Mixed into cooked quinoa with sun-dried tomatoes, basil and a simple balsamic vinaigrette produced a heavenly mixture of flavors and textures.

This quinoa salad can easily be made vegan or vegetarian by cooking the quinoa in salted water or vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. I ate this quinoa salad for lunch 5 days in a row…and I was seriously disappointed when it was all gone. If you haven’t tried quinoa yet, this is a sensational recipe to test it out!

Note: Though quinoa is a rare plant source that’s a complete protein (meaning it contains all the essential amino acids), it is not a high protein food like meat and eggs.

More Terrific Healthy Recipes

Along with some of my favorite blogger friends, we are ushering in a healthy spring by sharing tasty AND nutritious dishes:

1.Kelli of Kelli’s Kitchen – Cornish Hens with Mango Avocado Chutney.

2. Liz of That Skinny Chick Can Bake – Quinoa Salad with Roasted Vegetables

3. Kim of Cravings of a Lunatic – Farro with Dried Cranberries and Pistachios

4. Samantha of The Little Ferraro Kitchen – Spring Risotto with Leeks, Spinach, and Peas

5. Shanna of Pineapple and Coconut – Fresh Pineapple, Avocado, and Pea Shoot Salad

6. Marnely of Cooking with Books – Hearty Spring Quinoa Salad

7. Liz of That Skinny Chick Can Bake – Salmon with Quinoa Salad

8. Liz of That Skinny Chick Can Bake – Thai Vegetable Quinoa Bowl

Plus more of my Easy Healthy Recipes

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The Recipe:

Quinoa Salad with Roasted Vegetables

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Yield 6 servings

A quinoa salad chock full of delicious vegetables! Inspired by Once Upon a Tart.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup dried quinoa, cooked (cook according to package instructions using chicken broth instead of water)
• Chicken broth
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 small eggplant cut into small cubes (about 1/2 inch cubes)
• Salt, to sprinkle over eggplant
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 zucchini, cut into small cubes
• 1 yellow squash, cut into small cubes
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into small cubes
• 1 red onion, diced fine
• 1/3 cup good quality balsamic vinegar (I used The Olive Tap Aceto Balsamico di Modena)
• 10 marinated sun-dried tomatoes, julienned
• 1/2 cup fresh basil chiffonade (leaves rolled tightly and sliced into thin strips)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450º. Cook quinoa as directed above. Add one tablespoon of the olive oil and toss. Let cool.
2. Put the eggplant in a colander and sprinkled with salt. Let rest about 20 minutes.
3. Toss the zucchini and yellow squash with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1/3 of the minced garlic, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Spread out on a sheet pan and roast for about 8-10 minutes or till just tender. Add to bowl of quinoa.
4. Toss the pepper and onion with 1 tablespoon of oil, 1/3 of the garlic, and salt and pepper like with the squash. Roast for about 10-15 minutes, then add to the quinoa.
5. Repeat with the eggplant but without adding more salt. Roast for about 15-20 minutes, then add to quinoa.
6. Add the balsamic vinegar, sun-dried tomatoes and basil. Gently toss and check for seasonings.

Notes

This can also be made with Orzo pasta instad of the quinoa.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 243Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 265mgCarbohydrates: 35gFiber: 7gSugar: 12gProtein: 5g

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