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
Ate a healthy breakfast this am – love Quinoa can’t wait to try this recipe – thx!
I love the recipes on this site. They are always so yummy! I can hardly wait to try the roasted veggies and quinoa tonight. Quinoa is my new thing!
I turned my breakfast burrito into a breakfast bowl – put the filling on top of a bed of sauteed kale and topped with avocado and sriacha – yum!
I tried quinoa yesterday for the first time, I will be having this again, (very good!)
I went to the gym before work even though I didn’t sleep that great and was tired.
My little victory for today is actually in process right now…getting ALL the laundry caught up, washed, dried, folded & put away!
What a healthy recipe to start the New Year! Thanks!
Love Quinoa, will give this a try!
Trying for more whole grains, veggies etc for the New Year!
My little victory is that I went to the grocery yesterday. Brought a healthy snack to work and have a game plan to cook for dinner. Yay me!
My victory today was sitting down and having breakfast instead of just skipping it, and rushing about my day.