Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Salad with Tahini Dressing

Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Salad is one of the healthiest food or salad that is filling and nutritious. Make this quinoa salad with roasted veggies of your choice and drizzle some quick tahini dressing.

This roasted vegetable quinoa salad is vegan and gluten-free. This is quick comfort food that you can make easily for weekdays' dinner in as quickly as 30 minutes or even less. However, you can also name this as a roasted vegetable quinoa buddha bowl. This is a perfect protein salad for a wholesome meal. If you are looking for some quick vegan dinner recipes, you are in right place.

Well, if I'll talk about quinoa, and its benefits this is one of the best plant-based sources of protein and fiber for vegetarians and vegans. It's low carb, high protein, and high fiber. Read here sources of protein for vegetarians and vegans. Also, I'll cover the nutrition and health benefits of quinoa in another post in the Health and Fitness segment of my blog. Also, check the life and storage of quinoa here.

Here I have added garlic-flavored tahini dressing to my quinoa salad. Tahini sauce is vegan and gluten-free. Tahini is nothing but a paste of sesame seeds that adds a nutty flavor to the dish. If you want sweetness then add a tsp of maple syrup to the dressing. But I love spicy ones than sweetness. So here I have added paprika and a pinch of cayenne pepper to my garlic tahini dressing.

Can I make this quinoa salad oil-free?

This recipe is a low-fat quinoa salad that is vegan and gluten-free also. Again it's loaded with lots of veggies that add extra nutrition to the meal. You can also make this quinoa salad completely oil-free. Though here we are using oil just to rub the veggies and saute the tofu, you can totally skip oil in this salad with a few modifications. You can bake the tofu along with veggies or in a different batch in the oven. Or air fry the veggies and tofu oil-free.

How to make roasted vegetable quinoa salad?

Ingredients Required -

Vegetables - Take whatever veggies you love. I have taken zucchini, summer squash, broccoli. And, some more suggested vegetables can be potatoes, Brussels sprouts, carrots, sweet potatoes. Make it more colorful with some ore greens like kale or spinach.

Quinoa - Quinoa is the base ingredient for this salad or quinoa bowl. This is a good source of protein. This is also a quick recipe. If you have some leftover quinoa then that will be an additional time-saver.

Tofu - I have taken some crispy tofu for this salad which gave a crunch and bite in the salad. Also, it increases the protein content and makes it perfect for a weight loss diet.

Salad Dressing - Here I'm using tahini dressing with little garlic and spicy flavor. But you can add any other dressing of your choice.

Instructions to make Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Salad

Roast the Vegetables -

Here I have all baked veggies that made it crunchy. You can pan also pan-fry and saute the veggies for the quinoa salad. Here you can add some fresh herbs also.

Preheat oven at 400 degrees F (200 C). Make bite-sized pieces of vegetables. Spread it evenly on a baking tray. Brush with olive oil. To make this oil-free, take 2 tbsp veg broth along with a pinch of salt and pepper. Here you can also add some crushed garlic for extra flavor or replace it with garlic powder. Bake for 20 minutes, turning veggies in midways.

Make Quinoa-

In the meanwhile when veggies are getting baked/ roasted, make quinoa.

Heat water in a saucepan. Bring it to a boil. Then add pre-washed quinoa to the boiling water. Let it boil on high heat for 2 minutes and then reduce the flame to low. Cover with a lid and let it simmer.

Cook for good 18 - 20 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed and quinoa is fluffy. Then open the lid and fluff the quinoa with a fork. Remove from heat and set aside.

Note - There is another way I cook quinoa, i.e. like pasta. Simmer the quinoa in some more water and when it's completely cooked (check using a spoon), drain out the water completely by using a sieve. This way also you can get fluffy quinoa. I cook my rice also this way.

Some crunchy greens -

Add some chives, celery sticks, or cilantro or green onions to the salad

Crisp the tofu -

In a bowl take soy sauce or tofu, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, corn starch. Mix well. Place the pressed tofu in a pouch, pour in the prepared mixture. Marinate tofu for 10 - 15 minutes in the mixture. After 15 minutes remove the tofu pieces from the marination mixture and crisp by pan-frying, baking, or air-frying. and saute till it's a little crispy on all sides. Follow the recipe of my crispy tofu for a detailed recipe.

WFPB option - Place the marinated tofu on a baking tray and bake at 400F for 20 - 25 minutes.

Tahini Dressing -

In this roasted vegetable quinoa salad, I have added tahini dressing. Tahini is blended with garlic, paprika, cayenne, and a dash of lemon juice. This dressing is just awesome and makes the salad even more flavorful. This tahini dressing is oil-free as well.

Assemble in a mixing bowl

Now take a large mixing bowl. Assemble all mentioned ingredients. Drizzle some tahini and some green onions on top. Mix them well and serve.

Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Salad

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