Quinoa with Roasted Vegetables

Start the year off right with this nutritious quinoa dish that’s packed with color and flavor!  

This blog post was sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill but all opinions expressed are my own.

One of the first posts that I ever put up on The Foodie Physician blog was an “Ingredient 911” post about quinoa. It’s hard to believe that it’s almost exactly seven years ago to the date that I put up that post! I was a culinary student at the time and quinoa was a hot new ingredient that was all the rage in the culinary world.

I was so fascinated with quinoa that I even used it in my recipe just a few months earlier when I competed as a national finalist at the National Beef Cook-Off in Sonoma, California. My dish was “Pomegranate Steak with Quinoa” and I distinctly recall the interviewers at the cook-off asking me more questions about the quinoa than the beef because they had never heard of it. Quinoa has certainly come a long way since then!

As a doctor and a chef, quinoa is one of my favorite ingredients to work because it not only has a stellar nutritional profile, it also has amazing culinary versatility. You can use quinoa in a wide variety of dishes, both savory and sweet. I’ve posted recipes on my site for Strawberry Almond Breakfast Quinoa, Black Bean and Quinoa Veggie Burgers, Quinoa Salad with Spinach, Strawberries and Goat Cheese, and even Spiced Apple Skyr Quinoa Cookies! So when I had the opportunity to work with Bob’s Red Mill using their quinoa products, I jumped at the chance.

Now that we’re well into the New Year, many of us have healthy eating on our minds. Quinoa is the perfect ingredient to incorporate into your diet if you’re looking to make smarter food choices and lead a healthier lifestyle. Quinoa is a real superfood for many reasons. It’s a whole grain, which means that it’s packed with fiber and essential vitamins and minerals. It’s also gluten-free and easy to digest. Plus, it’s one of the few vegetarian foods that’s a complete protein, meaning that it contains all of the essential amino acids. This makes quinoa an excellent option for anyone following a plant-based diet.

And for those of us who always feel rushed to get a nutritious meal on the table in the evening, the good news is that quinoa is also really easy to prepare. It only takes 15 minutes to cook! One of my tips is that I like to cook my quinoa in chicken or vegetable stock because it infuses it with great flavor.

If you haven’t cooked with quinoa a lot, a good place to start would be to substitute it into any recipe that calls for rice or couscous. You can use it in pilafs or salads or even add it to soups, stews and chili. You can use it as a filling to stuff vegetables like bell peppers or acorn squash. If you’re feeling a little more adventurous, try using it in a dessert like rice pudding.

One of my favorite ways to prepare quinoa is my Quinoa with Roasted Vegetables. Roasting vegetables at a high temperature caramelizes their sugars and brings out their natural sweetness.  As the vegetables roast, they brown on the outside, become buttery soft on the inside and their flavors intensify. Whenever I’m trying to get more veggies into my diet, I make several large trays of my Perfect Oven-Roasted Vegetables and store them in the fridge to snack on during the week.

For my Quinoa with Roasted Vegetables, I roasted some of my favorite vegetables like colorful carrots, zucchini, red onion, and bell peppers along with whole cloves of garlic until they became soft and sweet. Then I tossed them with Bob’s Tri-Color Quinoa that I cooked in vegetable stock. I love the extra color that you get from this mix of white, red, and black quinoa.

For a final pop of flavor, I tossed everything with a simple dressing made with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and Dijon mustard. Bright, boldly flavored, and beautiful to look at plus it’s super nutritious to boot!  This dish makes an excellent vegetarian entree or side dish or can even be topped with grilled chicken or fish, if desired.

To find a store near you that carries Bob’s Red Mill products, click HERE. For a coupon for Bob’s Red Mill products, click HERE.

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Quinoa with Roasted Vegetables

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

50 mins

 

Author: The Foodie Physician

Recipe type: Side Dish

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 1 medium red onion, thickly sliced
• 2 medium zucchini, sliced
• 2 bell peppers (yellow or red), sliced
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 6-8 whole cloves garlic, peeled
• 3 ½ tablespoons olive oil, divided use
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried)
• Kosher salt
• Black pepper
• 1 cup quinoa (I used Bob's Red Mill Tri-Color Quinoa)
• 2 cups low sodium vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. Place the onion, zucchini, bell peppers, carrots, and garlic on a large roasting pan. Drizzle with 1½ tablespoons of olive oil. Sprinkle the thyme on top and season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
3. Roast in the oven until vegetables are softened and caramelized, 35-40 minutes. If using two baking sheets, rotate the pans halfway through.
4. While vegetables are roasting, make the quinoa. Place the quinoa and vegetable (or chicken) stock in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover the pot and reduce heat to low. Simmer until cooked, 12-15 minutes. Season with salt to taste. Remove from heat and transfer quinoa to a large bowl. Add the roasted vegetables to the bowl.
5. Whisk the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil with the balsamic vinegar and Dijon mustard in a small bowl. Pour the dressing over the quinoa and vegetables and toss to combine. Serve warm or cold.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: One Calories: 233 Fat: 9.9g Saturated fat: 1.52g Carbohydrates: 28.8g Sugar: 5.6g Sodium: 154mg Fiber: 4.5g Protein: 7.4g

3.5.3218

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This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bob’s Red Mill.