Here’s a recipe for a beautiful and healthy side dish: Roasted Vegetable Quinoa.
Well, it’s a New Year. That means thinking about making small changes to make it a healthier year. I almost always make it a point to make some healthy changes… always on a quest to live a little bit longer and take off a few pounds.
I’ve decided that my family eats FAR to much white rice. White rice isn’t that great for you, so it’s time to get rid of that on our dinner menu and replace it with something much better for us: quinoa. Quinoa is high in protein, and it’s gluten-free too.
I love this tri-color blend of quinoa, and I chose to cook it in chicken broth and add garbanzo beans too.
I added simply roasted vegetables (carrots, zucchini, red bell peppers and shallots) to the cooked quinoa and garbanzo beans along with a lemony, red wine vinegar dressing.
This side dish can be served either warm or cold. It’s healthy and delicious- a better choice over white rice indeed! And, if you happen to be following the Weight Watchers WW plan, you’ll find a link to the WW Points on the recipe card below.
Roasted Vegetable Quinoa
Ingredients
VEGETABLES
- 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 1 medium zucchini, chopped
- 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
- 1 large shallot, peeled and chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
QUINOA
- 1 cup tri-color quinoa
- 2 cups fat free chicken or vegetable broth
OTHER INGREDIENTS
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1½ tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
Instructions
ROAST VEGETABLES
- Preheat the oven to 425℉.
- Place veggies in a bowl and toss with the olive oil, salt and pepper. Place veggies on a baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes, or until softened and slightly charred. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
PREPARE QUINOA
- Rinse the quinoa well in a fine sieve.
- In a medium saucepan bring the chicken broth to a boil. Add the rinsed quinoa, cover and reduce to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes, or until the liquid is completely absorbed.
ASSEMBLY
- In a small dish, whisk together the remaining ingredients, except garbanzo beans.
- In a medium to large bowl, toss the roasted vegetables with the cooked quinoa, garbanzo beans and dressing. Serve immediately as warm, or cover and refrigerate and serve cold at a later time.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Here are a few more quinoa recipes you might enjoy:
- Asian Quinoa Salad by Two Peas and Their Pod
- Mexican Quinoa Salad by RecipeGirl
- 15-Minute Spinach-Pesto Quinoa Bowl by Table for Two
- Peach and Pecan Quinoa Salad by RecipeGirl
- Winter Squash Quinoa by A Thought for Food
I love quinoa! For breakfast, dinner, lunch, snack…I am on a new health routine, too, so I am excited to try your recipe!
I believe very strongly that small changes always are helpful. I generally eat healthfully but I realize I need to start eating more fruit. I am good about eating salads and vegetables that I love but I am lacking in fruit. So I will incorporate that into my New Year’s changes. I agree, white rice is not that good for you. Brown rice is actually very good and has a nutty flavor once you get used to it. Absolutely LOVE your blog!!!
My small victory today is getting out of bed and showering and making coffee since I’ve been sick in bed for a week!
I opted for a green smoothie today for lunch! victory!
My little victory for today is that I bought a variety of groceries instead of my “usual” products. I got some tempeh and lentils as well as a pizza, LOL. What are the playoffs without pizza?!?! 🙂
My little victory was getting all my water and protein in for the day!
I want to cut back on some of my sugar intake!
I got out of bed and did my laundry!
Looks wonderful! Would love to try it with some crumbled Gorgonzola cheese sprinkled on top….and prob will try it in the near future! Thanks!
Today’s little victory- a healthy smoothie for breakfast!