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 your weight loss diet.
Here I have added garlic-flavored tahini dressing to my quinoa salad. This tahini sauce is vegan and gluten-free. Tahini is nothing but a paste of sesame seeds and adds a nutty flavor to the dish. If you want a sweetness then add a tsp maple syrup to the dressing. But I love spicy ones than that of sweetness. So here I have added paprika and a pinch of cayenne pepper to my garlic tahini dressing.
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. 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.
How to make roasted vegetable quinoa salad?
Ingredients
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 buddha 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.
Method / Instructions
Bake 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. Drizzle some olive oil. Sprinkle 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 god 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.
Some crunchy greens –
Add some chives, celery sticks, or cilantro or green onions to the salad
Crisp the tofu –
Marinate tofu for 5 minutes adding salt, pepper, garlic, tamari or soy sauce. Coat it lightly with corn starch and saute for 5 minutes till it’s a little crispy on edges. Follow the recipe of my crispy tofu for detailed recipe.
Tahini Dressing –
In this roasted vegetable quinoa salad, I have added tahini dressing. Tahini is blended with garlic, paprika, cayenne and bit of lemon juice. This dressing is just awesome and makes the salad even more flavorful.
Recipe Card for Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Salad
Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Salad
Equipment
- Microwave Oven
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2.5 cup water
- 1 zucchini chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 1 yellow squash chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 1 small broccoli head chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 2 celery stalks chopped
- 1/4 cup chives chopped
- 2 tbsp spring onions optional (for garnish)
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt (veggies + tahini dressing)
For Crispy tofu
- 150 gm tofu cut into cubes
- 1/4 cup tamari or soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp olive oil
Tahini Dressing
- 1/4 cup tahini
- 1/4 cup water or less as per required consistency
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic pods
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- salt to taste
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Instructions
Bake Vegetables
- Preheat oven at 400 degrees F (200 C).
- Make bite-sized pieces of vegetables.
- Spread it evenly on a baking tray.
- Drizzle some olive oil.
- Sprinkle 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
- 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 god 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
Crispy Tofu
- In a mixing bowl, mix pepper, garlic, tamari or soy sauce.
- Don't add additional salt as soy or tamari has salt in it.
- Marinate tofu for 5 minutes.
- Coat it lightly with corn starch and saute for 5 minutes till it's a little crispy on edges. (Follow the recipe of my crispy tofu for the detailed recipe.)
Tahini Dressing
- In a blender, blend all ingredients mentioned under the tahini ingredients list.
Final Assemble
- In a mixing bowl, add cooked quinoa, roasted veggies, chives, celery stalk, and drizzle the tahini dressing.
- Give it a nice stir.
- Garnish with some spring onions.
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