Today, I’m happy to bring you the second installment from my Quinoa +5 series. For those of you who missed the first edition, here’s the deal.
A few weeks ago I did a reader survey and I was overwhelmed by all the responses. It gave me tons of ideas of where to take Cooking Quinoa in the future! One thing that came up is that many of you are short on time and while you appreciated the taste profiles of some of my more complex recipes, they just weren’t realistic for you sometimes. So, in response I decided that I would start this collection which will be recipes with quinoa plus no more than 5 other ingredients. (Not including pantry staples like salt, pepper, water and cooking spray.)
Why limit it to 5 ingredients and not just have a section of easy quinoa recipes? Easy. I need accountability because when I’m cooking I can always think of something else to add. The number of ingredients will keep me on track with giving you guys what you want. 
This Mediterranean Chickpea Salad came together in oh, about 5 minutes. Ten if you count the time I spent cutting herbs off my poor overused herb garden. (Ok, its not really a garden just a really big pot.)
I used my chia seed dressing, making this an oil free quinoa recipe. Of course, the idea is something quick and easy, so if making a big batch of salad dressing isn’t something that you are already doing on a weekly basis, then by all means use purchased dressing! (The Nutritional info accounts for 90 calories per 2 tablespoons of dressing which is a typical bottled balsamic vinegar dressing! If you use something light or my recipe it will be less!)
The recipe makes two lunch servings or 4 side dish servings but you could easily double it. Have leftovers? This is great in a wrap with sprouts, lettuce and a little mayo. (I had it with chipotle tofu mayo….yum!)
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 1 cup cooked garbanzo beans, drained
- ½ cup red onion, chopped
- ½ cup sun dried tomatoes, rehydrated and chopped
- ½ cup fresh basil, chopped (parsley works too – I used a mixture because my basil plants were bare)
- 4 tablespoons prepared balsamic vinegar dressing
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a bowl and toss until well combined. Serve cold or at room temperature. If desired, drizzle with additional dressing to serve.
Notes
Carbohydrates 52.4g, Protein 11.7g, Fiber 4.1 g, Cholesterol 0 mg, Sodium 596 mg, Sugars 10.2g
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