My Quinoa with Roasted Vegetables is a delicious and colorful gluten-free dish featuring quinoa, a nutritional powerhouse. I toss quinoa with sweet, caramelized roasted vegetables and a light balsamic vinaigrette. It's a simple and elegant vegetarian entrée or side dish or can even be topped with grilled chicken or fish, if desired.

Thank you Bob's Red Mill for sponsoring this post!
One of the first posts that I ever put up on The Foodie Physician blog was an “Ingredient 911” post about quinoa. 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 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.
Some of my favorites are my Black Bean and Quinoa Veggie Burgers, Quinoa Salad with Spinach, Strawberries and Goat Cheese and Quinoa Fried "Rice" with Tuna.
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 Superfood
Although quinoa is technically a seed, it is classified as a whole grain. To learn more about the nutritional benefits of whole grains, read my post Everything You Need to Know About Whole Grains.
One cup of cooked quinoa provides about 8 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber.
Quinoa is a superfood for many reasons:
- It's packed with essential vitamins and minerals including folate, iron, zinc, and magnesium.
- It's high in fiber. Fiber helps keep you feeling full and is important for digestive health. It also has numerous other health benefits including lowering cholesterol levels and helping to stabilize blood sugar.
- It contains phytonutrients (plant-based compounds) that have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.
- Quinoa is also gluten-free and easy to digest.
- It's a good source of protein and is 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.
- It contains small amounts of ALA (alpha-linolenic acid), a heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acid.
Quinoa has a wide range of colors but only three main varieties are cultivated- white, red, and black. I like to buy Bobs' Red Mill tricolor quinoa, which is a mixture of the three. It adds a lot of beautiful color to my dishes.
When it's cooked, quinoa has a nice nutty flavor and fluffy texture with a slight crunch. In addition, Bob's Red Mill quinoa is pre-rinsed to remove any naturally occurring bitter saponins.

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 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.
Here are some ideas for how to use quinoa in recipes:
- Use it in pilafs or salads
- Add it to soups and stews or chili
- Use it in homemade veggie burgers
- Use it as a filling to stuff vegetables like bell peppers or acorn squash
- Enjoy it for breakfast in place of oatmeal
- Use it in a dessert like rice pudding
Quinoa with Roasted Vegetables
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 quinoa that I've 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.
Not sure what the difference is between balsamic vinegar vs balsamic glaze vs vinaigrette? Read my post to learn more!
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.

Recipe FAQs and Chef's Tips
The seeds of the quinoa plant have a bitter coating from compounds called saponins. The best way to remove it is to rinse or soak the quinoa prior to cooking. However, most of the commercially sold quinoa in the U.S. is pre-rinsed to remove this bitterness.
Quinoa has a mild, nutty flavor. It takes on different flavors depending on how it's cooked and what it’s mixed with. I like to cook my quinoa in vegetable or chicken stock rather than water to infuse it with flavor. You can also add additional seasonings to quinoa as it's cooking such as garlic or dried spices. I also like to toss cooked quinoa with dressings and sauces while it's still warm to absorb maximum flavor.
Yes, quinoa is gluten free and is easy to digest. It's a nutritionally dense whole grain that's high in protein, fiber, and antioxidants and is a good option for those following a gluten-free diet.
More tasty whole grain recipes

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Recipe
Quinoa with Roasted Vegetables
Equipment
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
- 2 cups low sodium vegetable or chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- 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.
- Roast in the oven until vegetables are softened and caramelized, 30-35 minutes. If using two baking sheets, rotate the pans halfway through.
- 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.
- 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.
Karen Davis says
Excellent healthy meal!
Jean Brubaker says
I love this recipe! It makes a lot. So tasty and good for you. I like it warm and room temperature. Thank you!
Alex Ringe says
Just made this. Was delicious. So dank. Thanks for posting.
Abby says
This is how my perfect lunch would look like! Thanks for the awesome recipe!
KareninStLouis says
Made this tonight and it was delicious. Used all the veggies suggested plus cauliflower and broccoli, but only balsamic for the dressing and it was fantastic. This great recipe has been added to our โstandardsโ folder!
NATALIE @ OBSESSIVE COOKING DISORDER says
I'm amazed they didn't know a out quinoa in Sonoma / Bay Area / California? Stanford was where I first was introduced (what is this kin -oh - ah? dish). This looks so colorful and yummy
Jio HD says
wowww. so many vegetables. I like it. Thank you for sharing.
Kristy from Southern In Law says
This looks like the perfect dinner! We love anything with quinoa or roast veggies - but together is SO much better!
Meg @ With Salt and Wit says
I love Quinoa! I could eat it at every meal! This recipe though! I am in love with the flavors and all the veggies!
usha says
Our favorite 'grain' other than rice, is quinoa. I have tried every quinoa recipe that you have put out since the beginning, except the cookies. You make it so simple to follow.
The dish looks so colorful. Thanks.
Sarah says
I just love all the veggies you packed in there! It looks so good I wish I had a big plate of it in front of me for lunch!
Tara | Treble in the Kitchen says
Yum! I love roasted veggies AND quinoa ๐ This recipe looks so fab (and so do all the other quinoa ideas you pictured/linked to!!)
Laura says
YES! I love how easy it is to cook quinoa too! It's so much faster than rice and packs a much better nutrition punch! You can always find me tossing roasted veggies in mine too! ๐
Alisa Fleming says
What a lovely dish! I just got some of the tri-color quinoa, but haven't made it yet. I think I see how I need to use it!
Farrah says
hehehe, I made a slight variation to this a couple weeks ago, but in my slow cooker (and then in my rice cooker last weekend)! Your version looks amaaaazing though! I'm gonna have to try it out! <3 I love Bob's Red Mill!
Emily Kyle says
Wow Sonali - 7 years - that's amazing!! It's hard to believe quinoa has been the 'hot superfood' for so long - but I certainly can't imagine it ever going away - especially with delicious recipes like this! Will be having this for dinner soon ๐
Taylor Kiser says
I love, love, love quinoa! I could easily make a meal out of your quinoa with roasted vegetables!
Laura says
Wow, that dish is gorgeous! I've never tried the tri-colored quinoa... and I want to dive headfirst into those roasted veggies! I bet even my kids would go for this!
Jenn says
I love this! All those delicious roasted veggies and the beautiful tri-color quinoa. This is a meal right up my alley!!
amanda -runtothefinish says
The only thing better than a big bowl of roasted veggies is making it a more complete meal with quinoa!! Great way to pump up the protein and I need to go get some in the oven now!