What to Make with Quinoa

Here are a few links to recipes I enjoy:

Quinoa Side Dish: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Quinoa-Side-Dish/Detail.aspx
Quinoa & Black Beans: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Quinoa-and-Black-Beans/Detai...
Quinoa with Veggies: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Quinoa-with-Veggies/Detail.aspx

I just had a quinoa salad that had wheat berries, dried cherries, dried blueberries, dried cranberries, dried apricots and slivered almonds in it and it was delicious!

My mom taught me this trick for rice and then translated it to quinoa when she discovered it: rinse your quinoa (to keep the bitterness out), put your water and quinoa in a pot, add a can of condensed cream of whatever soup(mushroom, chicken, asparagus, etc)--do not add an extra can of water for the soup. Works great with the low sodium varieties as well. Toss in half a package of Lipton's onion soup mix (or dried minced onion or something of the sort, if you're looking to cut sodium). Then cook the quinoa like normal. You'll get a delightful creamy quinoa pilaf.

If he likes his food a little spicy, there's a great recipe for a quinoa salad in the the July 2009 Cooking Light Magazine (you can also probably find it in their year-end 2009 cookbook, which you can get at your local library). You cook the quinoa in a combination of orange juice and broth (I think the recipe calls for chicken--we use veggie since we're vegetarians) to make it super flavorful. The salad then includes red peppers, olives, and pistachios, with a delicious dressing with red pepper (thus the spice) and cilantro. My husband LOVES LOVES this. Since quinoa is such a complete protein on its own, you don't actually need another protein with your dinner--I'll just toss some blanched green beans and grape tomatoes together on the side, maybe add a fruit salad--but, of course, if your DH is of the "it's not a meal if there's not meat" persuasion, this salad would go well with some grilled chicken.

For a slightly different flavor and texture you can toast it in a dry skillet until golden brown and then add twice the volume of liquid (broth or water) so for 1 cup quinoa, 2 cups of liquid, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover & turn off the heat. Let sit for 30 minutes or so and then fluff. I then add a ton of chopped fresh herbs (parsley, cilantro, basil, whatever you like) and fresh lemon juice and whatever chopped veggies you have on hand- tomato, cucumber, jicama, green onion, carrots, etc are all good. Season to taste with salt, pepper, & lemon juice and you should be good to go. When I'm in a rush, you can also make it in a rice cooker exactly the same way as rice with the same measurements. You can also cook it like oatmeal and make it sweet for breakfast by adding maple syrup or brown sugar.

Hi K.,
Check out the menu at Protein Bar. www.proteinbarchicago.com
The restaurant uses quinoa in wraps, bowls, etc. Maybe you could pull some ideas from there - the food is delicious and healthy.

My favorite thing to make with quinoa (and the only one I know how LOL) is a salad including quinoa, corn, black beans, and salsa. It can be eaten cold, but I prefer it warmed up.

I'm going to check out someo of the other recipes posted too. They all sound fabulous!

I use it in place of rice and put thick soups and stews and curries on it. Cook them all up in a crockpot and then just make upthe quinoa in the evenings.

It makes a hearty cooked cereal too...I add almonds , dried fruits and a dash of cinnamon and vanilla to it for breakfast.

I have to admit I find it too bland (just like rice, etc) to eat as a plain side.

I realize this is an older question, but Im also new to quinoa, and have cooked it several times with sea salt and various herbs and speces, but Ive just made it with cinnamon and vanilla, a tiny sprinkle of sugar and drop of milk, and its truly lovely this way.

We usually match it up with grilled salmon and asparagus. I agree that it is a little bit bland by itself. Some olive oil/butter and salt/pepper help.

Sometimes we cook it with onions and tomato paste to flavor it up. You first sautee diced onions, then stir in the tomato paste, then add quinoa and water and cook as you normally do. Add in salt and black pepper as well.

I also found out that mixing it with frozen Vegetable Melange from Trader Joe's makes it real yummy. Cook the vegetables according to package instructions and mix in with cooked quinoa.

I also once tried a spicy quinoa recipe from Chile I found online, and it was very flavorful. Here is a link:
http://recipes.wuzzle.org/index.php/39/713

I sometimes add cooked cold quinoa (leftover) to salads as well.

Hope these ideas help! Happy quinoa eating! :-)

FYI i use a high quality sea salt and use a touch on my food. when i went to my friedns house with that low sodium salt i found i used a TON more salt because there was no flavor in that low sodium stuff. There is a fabulous salt called REDMONDS REAL SALT. Highly flavorful and has a ton of minerals in it

I like it in tabouleh.

my food blog:
www,chickiepea.wordpress.com has the recipe we used, I believe.

How about changing your salt to RealSalt or another sea salt? It is much better for you because it's not bleached and less chemically processed. Your food will be more flavorful too since those chemicals can often make food taste "off" or metallic even.

M.

I like to saute veggies with lots of spices in the pot before adding the quinoa. Cook for another minute, being sure to incorporate all of the ingredients and basically toast the quinoa before adding your liquid. At this point you can add low-sodium broth, juices, etc. to bump up the flavor. It's delicious hot or cold as a side or to stuff tomatoes/peppers, etc. Also makes a wonderful hot breakfast cereal.

sautee onions, grn pepper, red pepper and garlic in olive oil in bottom of pan you are going to cook quinoa in. great flavor. I've had casserole made with smoked turkey ham diced, onion, grn peas, carrots and cheese with quinoa - it was suprisingly tasty.

We make the recipe on the back of the box from Trader Joe's Quinoa. It cooks in chicken broth and then you add chicken and fresh basil I believe. It's yummy. We also use Redmond's Real Salt and found that we need WAY less and it has so much better flavor.

Great question - I just discovered it too and can't wait to read the other responses! We've made it twice now, both times with lots of spices rather than salt - paprika and chili powder (add to the water while it's cooking). Cook it in broth instead of water (or add some bullion cubes) for extra flavor (but this will add some sodium). Also, add a little olive oil and some diced onions or onion powder to the water that you cook it in. After cooking it, add some cooked bell peppers, canned tomatoes, and/or canned beans. It tastes delicious!

I recently discovered quinoa too and went to foodnetwork.com for suggestions. I made this Cranberry Walnut Quinoa salad and absolutely loved it. I took the suggestions given and used peas instead of beans and added feta:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/juan-carlos-cruz/cranb...

Enjoy!

Google it, that's always the best way to get just about every recipe under the sun. Also, it's a good way to read about it's history and nutrition, quite interesting....

Check out places like allrecipes.com and tasteofhome.com I have a number of recipes containing quinoa that I've gotten from those two places. It makes a great salad when you add cucumbers, olives, diced red, green, and yellow bell peppers, and feta cheese.

I just may need to make some of this for the weekend!

I got a recipe from Weight Watchers for Cornbread. If that sounds like something you would like to make I will find it and send it to you. It is really good.

I made a Weight Watchers quinoa salad the other day and it is addicting!

One package quinoa, prepared
2 small cucumbers, chopped
4 roma tomatoes, chopped OR
1 pt strawberries, sliced
sesame asian viniagrette of your choice - to taste, I used 1/2 bottle

Mix it together, chill, and it's really good.