If you are looking for a healthy but tasty side dish you have to try this warm quinoa salad with roasted vegetables. Colorful full of flavor, the roasted vegetables go wonderfully with the chewy quinoa grain. You can eat this either as a healthy warm quinoa side dish or as a cold salad. Either way it’s delicious!
You might also like this artichoke and olives balsamic pasta recipe.
Right after Christmas I was ready to go fully back to keto but I did want to eat more healthily. So I gathered all my healthy foods and made this super tasty warm quinoa salad with roasted vegetables.
What I love about this dish is that you can eat the vegetables alone and they are delicious but the addition of the chewy quinoa makes it more substantial.
Also you can eat it warm as a healthy side dish or cold as a salad. You could also add a protein like chicken or shrimp and make it a full meal.
Recipe ingredients I used.
I used a lot of different vegetables with this recipe because I love how colorful it is and they are all my favorite vegetables to roast.
I used quinoa, olive oil, yellow zucchini, green zucchini, bell pepper, mushrooms, onion, grape tomatoes, Italian seasoning and fresh garlic cloves.
Other additions are goat or feta cheese crumbles. Grated parmesan cheese and shredded asiago cheese would work too. Sun dried tomato would go well with these cheeses.
I personally love pine nuts and would eat them everyday but they are expensive. However they would be great with this dish. Just toast them and sprinkle on top when it’s done.
How to make warm quinoa salad with roasted vegetables.
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 400°F and spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
Step 2: Chop all of the vegetables into bite size pieces. Place them in a medium bowl and toss with olive oil, salt, black pepper, Italian seasoning and garlic.
Step 3: Once you have thoroughly coated all the veggies, place them on the prepared baking sheet and spread them out into a single layer. Place them in the oven for about 30 minutes.
Check on them to make sure they are browning nicely and not burning. Cooking times may vary depending on the size of your pieces.
Step 4: While the veggies are roasting, cook your dry quinoa according to the packaging directions. You need 2 cups of cooked quinoa to make this recipe. Here is a post on how to cook quinoa perfectly if you need it.
Step 5: Once the roasted veggies are done, add the cooked fluffy quinoa to the baking sheet and mix around with the vegetables to soak up all the oil and spices on the tray.
Pour the quinoa mixture into a large bowl and serve warm as a side dish or refrigerate for a cold salad. (Please scroll down for the printable recipe card.)
If you want to you can garnish with herbs like fresh cilantro, parsley and even basil.
Different ways to eat this quinoa dish.
We ate this recipe as a warm salad side dish alongside some air fryer pork chops. I then ate it cold for the next day as a salad for lunch.
You can even add a little salad dressing of ¼ cup fresh lemon juice, ½ cup olive oil and a teaspoon of lemon zest. Mix the dressing well but just use as much as you need to mix in with the salad.
However you could also make this a main dish. You can eat it as is right out of the oven for a vegetarian dinner or add your favorite protein like roasted chicken, shrimp, pork, etc for more of a complete meal.
Other healthy quinoa recipes to try.
I really like nutty flavor and chewy texture of quinoa. So when I make it, I find it’s good to make a double batch and use it in other recipes. Below are few sweet and savory quinoa recipes you might like.
- lemon and marinated vegetable quinoa salad
- cranberry orange quinoa breakfast bowl
- cherry chocolate baked quinoa breakfast
- buffalo chicken quinoa skillet
- pomegranate quinoa pilaf
Next time you are looking for a healthy are hearty dish try this roasted vegetable quinoa bowl. It really is quite tasty and filling. Enjoy!
Warm Quinoa Salad with Roasted Vegetables Recipe
For an easy and delicious vegetarian side dish or dinner, try this warm quinoa salad with roasted vegetables. You can eat it warm for dinner and leftovers as a cold salad. Easy and versatile.
Ingredients
- 2 cups quinoa, cooked
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup yellow squash, diced
- ½ cup zucchini, diced
- ¼ cup mushroom slices
- ¼ cup grape tomatoes, sliced in half
- ¼ cup sweet bell peppers, chopped
- ¼ cup red onions, diced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F and spray a large baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Chop and dice all of the vegetable into small bite sized pieces. Place them in a large mixing bowl and toss with olive oil, salt, black pepper, Italian seasoning and garlic.
- Place them on the prepared baking sheet and spread them out into a single layer. Place them in the oven for about 30 minutes. Make sure to check that they are not burning. Cooking time may vary depending on the size of the vegetable pieces.
- In the meantime cook the quinoa according the package directions.
- Once the roasted veggies are done, add the cooked quinoa to the baking sheet and mix around with the vegetables to soak up all the oil and spices on the tray.
- Spoon the quinoa salad into a large bowl and serve warm as a side dish or refrigerate for a cold salad.
Notes
- If you want to make this into a cold salad just prepare the recipe abover and refrigerate to get everything cooled down. Then mix a dressing of ¼ cup of fresh lemon juice, ½ cup of olive oil and 1 teaspoon of lemon zest together. Just use a little at a time and mix with the couscous salad until you it suits you. You shouldn't have to use all of this dressing.
- Other things you can add to this recipe is fresh herbs like cilantro, parsley and basil. Mix in crumbly cheese like goat cheese or feta. Asisago or parmesan cheese and sundried tomato would be yummy together as well.
- To make the warm version more of a main dish you can try add a protein like shrimp, chicken or even sausage. A vegetarian version can include black beans, chickpeas or tofu.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 195Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 274mgCarbohydrates: 25gFiber: 4gSugar: 3gProtein: 5g
Steve
Made this tonight and it was fantastic. I used the Trader Joe’s Tri-color quinoa and it was perfect for this recipe. I added a little butter to the cooking water. Also used parchment paper to line the cookie sheet. Additions at the end a splash of lemon and the last of a tub of crumbled Gorgonzola, about a 1/4 cup. Will add more if that next time because it really bumped up the flavor!! I was worried about minced garlic in a 400 degree oven that long so I substituted a little garlic powder and Lowry Garlic Salt instead of table salt. Wonderful!!
Denise
So glad you liked it Steve. Thanks for commenting and sharing your tips!
Mar
I made this last night! It was so yummy and filling! Feels so hearty and healthy I love all of the ingredients. Added lemon juice also pairs really nicely with this! Would make this again! I want to try adding in my favorite spices next time like extra garlic and paprika powder.
Denise
HI Mar,
So glad you liked it! Most of my recipes are pretty simplistic and you can doctored them with your own spices and what not to make it your own.
Thanks for coming back to comment!
Denise
Mar
I made it again to prepare for dinner later tonight. I ended up eating a whole bowl right now even though I had oatmeal right before I cooked! So good! I already enjoyed the recipe how it was, however, I tweaked it a tad to my perfection. I added more seasonings, a head of roasted garlic, paprika, and a touch of salt while cooking the quinoa. Then, I sprinkled generously with lemon juice and wallah! Definitely will be a staple meal! This recipe is simple, non-intimidating, quick and easy to make, yet makes me want to put on an apron! I was a beginner cook but this makes me feel like I’m graduating to an intermediate chef! Thank you so much for sharing Denise!
Denise
Hi Mar, so glad it worked out for you and it sounds delicious!I love it when a reader makes these recipes their own. And I appreciate you coming back and sharing your tips for the other readers. Keep on cooking!!
Jen
Way way way too much oil which I guess is why my veggies came out kind of mushy and soft and never browned nicely so next time I will at the very least cut the oil in half and make my veggies much larger than the directions because dicing them made them too small which is why perhaps they never browned and became mushy. The finished results look so different in your picture than mine. Will try again at a future date. They tasted good however.
Denise
Hi Jen, I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you. I only used 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the whole recipe so I don’t see how that would make them so soggy? Maybe they were wet from washing them previously to chopping them? You can certainly use less oil or even just use nonstick cooking spray if you wish. I hope it works out better for you next time.
Thanks for taking the time to come back and comment. I’ll try to make this again soon and see if I can trouble shoot for you.
Mar
Perhaps she meant the half cup of olive oil from the Notes section for the dressing recipe?
Denise
Hi Mar, I’m not sure what she was referring to because she mentions how the veggies cooked and they only used 2 tablespoons. The dressing is for eating this as a cold salad. And you would put that on the very end after everything was made. Plus I say to just use as much dressing as you want. But maybe she did use that dressing to cook them in. I’ll go and try to reword the recipe card. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.