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My Quinoa with Roasted Vegetables features colorful quinoa, a nutritional powerhouse. I toss the quinoa with sweet, caramelized roasted vegetables and a light balsamic vinaigrette. It's a simple and elegant 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 at the National Beef Cook-Off in Sonoma, California. My dish was “Pomegranate Steak with Quinoa.” 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!

Quinoa is so Versatile

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!

Quinoa is a superfood

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 like iron. It also has a good amount of antioxidants and ALA (alpha-linolenic acid), a heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acid. Quinoa is also gluten-free and easy to digest. Plus, it’s one of the few vegetarian foods that’s a complete protein. That means it contains all of the essential amino acids. This makes quinoa an excellent option for anyone following a plant-based diet.

I like to use Bob's Red Mill Tri-color quinoa in my recipes. It's a blend of organic white, black and red quinoa and it adds a lot of beautiful color to my dishes. When it's cooked, it has a nice nutty flavor and fluffy texture with a slight crunch. Bob's Red Mill quinoa is also thoroughly rinsed and dried so it removes any of the saponins that may cause bitterness.

Quinoa is easy to make

Do you ever 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! You can even cook it in a rice cooker if you have one. 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.

How to make Quinoa with Roasted Vegetables

For my Quinoa with Roasted Vegetables, I roast some of my favorite vegetables like colorful carrots, zucchini, red onion, and bell peppers along with whole cloves of garlic until they become soft and sweet. Then I toss them with Bob's Red Mill Tri-color Quinoa that I cook 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 entrée or side dish or can even be topped with grilled chicken or fish, if desired.