Most of the time, when I create a quinoa recipe, the inspiration comes from somewhere else. I will see a great rice recipe and thing “Hmmm…I bet that would be better with quinoa.” And then I have to add a few things and spice it up a bit. Since cooking quinoa is such a big part of my life, I am always on the lookout for ideas for new quinoa recipes.
Lately however, I have been getting more creative making my own recipes using quinoa. Ok, that’s a lie. Lately it has been 115+ degrees here and I haven’t wanted to go to the store. Since I normally plan my menus out, my laziness has required me to be more creative in the kitchen. I’m always looking to try to come up with a new quinoa recipe from what I have on hand.
For those of you who don’t already know, I have some really strange eating habits. One of them is that I love salad for breakfast. I am not even talking about quinoa salad. Just a regular salad topped with my own balsamic vinegar dressing. My boys call it mom’s “stinky salad” and refuse to sit with me while I eat it. It doesn’t hurt my feelings – the adults in the family love it. In fact, when I moved away the one thing that my mom asked me for was my balsamic vinaigrette recipe.
This is my favorite quinoa recipe!
I must confess – I don’t actually measure anything when I make the recipe. I just eyeball it and make it according to my mood. Sometimes I will add more garlic or cayenne pepper.
Anyways, faced with nothing much in the house I decided to finally try making a quinoa recipe with my balsamic vinegar salad dressing. Since I have also been trying to come up with more red quinoa recipes, I made this dish with red quinoa. (NOTE: at the time of this initial pose I was not taking pictures and the photos were taken at a later date.) I have found that using this method of cooking quinoa (boiling and steaming) is especially effective when making a red quinoa recipe. As a general rule, red quinoa takes a bit longer than white quinoa to cook, has a firmer texture and doesn’t absorb water quite as easily. I also like to make this quinoa recipe – and many others – with a mixture of red and white quinoa. It makes for a great presentation. (When reading a recipe quinoa is almost always assumed to be white unless otherwise stated so you need to adjust your cooking times accordingly.)
The best quinoa recipe yet?
My husband’s response to this quinoa recipe was “What took you so long??? This is the best quinoa yet!” I have to agree with him. I really like this quinoa salad recipe. (If I do say so myself!)
Ingredients
- ½ cup Balsamic Vinegar
-
- ¼ - ½ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
(depending on if you are watching calories)
-
- 2 T Dijon mustard
-
- 6 cloves of garlic, minced
-
- 2 shallots, minced
-
- Salt, pepper and cayenne pepper, to taste
-
- 1 ½ cups quinoa
-
- Bouillon cube
-
- 5 Sun Dried Tomatoes
(Not in oil)
-
- 1 red pepper, chopped
-
- 4 oz blue cheese
-
- 1 can black beans or 1 1/2 cups cooked, rinsed and drained
Instructions
- Make dressing by combining vinegar, mustard, garlic, shallots and olive oil. Season to taste.
- Add quinoa to three cups of boiling water. Boil for 10 minutes.
- Rinse with cool water and place in a fine mesh colander. Boil water and place quinoa and sun dried tomatoes in the colander over the water. Cover with a kitchen towel and lid. Steam for 10 minutes. Allow to cool.
- Cook red pepper in a small skillet until tender.
- Combine pepper and remaining ingredients with quinoa. Add dressing and toss. Enjoy!
Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Pluginhttp://www.cookingquinoa.net/quinoa-recipe-2
Ingredients
- ½ cup Balsamic Vinegar
- ¼ - ½ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 T Dijon mustard
- 6 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 shallots, minced
- Salt, pepper and cayenne pepper, to taste
- 1 ½ cups quinoa
- Bouillon cube
- 5 Sun Dried Tomatoes
- 1 red pepper, chopped
- 4 oz blue cheese
- 1 can black beans or 1 1/2 cups cooked, rinsed and drained
Instructions
- Make dressing by combining vinegar, mustard, garlic, shallots and olive oil. Season to taste.
- Add quinoa to three cups of boiling water. Boil for 10 minutes.
- Rinse with cool water and place in a fine mesh colander. Boil water and place quinoa and sun dried tomatoes in the colander over the water. Cover with a kitchen towel and lid. Steam for 10 minutes. Allow to cool.
- Cook red pepper in a small skillet until tender.
- Combine pepper and remaining ingredients with quinoa. Add dressing and toss. Enjoy!
By the way, you may not need all of the dressing. I didn’t! Save it and make your own stinky salad or use it for another quinoa recipe.. 
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
AH!!! This was amazing!! I stumbled on your site just looking up quinoa recipes (meat is my "give up" this month). I made it tonight, so simple, but SOOO flipping good. Thank you for giving me a new favorite meal!
I made this salad today and it was fantastic! A couple of comments: someone asked about the bouillon cube – I just threw it in with the boiling water. I also like a little crunch with my salad so I didn't cook the red pepper. I will make this again for sure. Thanks!
Finally, I've been cooking quinoa for about two years and I've never had any luck with the 2:1 ratio – it always comes out mushy. I use 1-1/4 c. water to 1 c. quinoa – boil water, add rinsed quinoa, reduce heat and simmer for 14 minutes. Perfect every time.
Uh, oh, there's RED quinoa? Is it that different? (New to quinoa, have to find it)
And this salad, glad to hear your husband like it so much, perhaps I will try it that route too.
Is it supposed to be hot or cold? Confused by resting it with the sundried tomatoes (dry? have to find that, have only used /in oil) over steaming water covered with the cloth.
Can you cook extra quinoa and keep it in the fridge for the next time?
Quinoa for migraines? Know someone to pass that tip on to, thanks.
Regarding the Kale website, can you share that? Have only heard of roasting with oil and salt, negating the benefit for me. Thanks for reminding me that it IS a superfood.
Sandy – There are actually three types of quinoa – white (most common), red and black. All three are very similar and cook pretty much the same. The only difference is that I have fount it takes about 10% longer to get the darker quinoas to the consistency I like. I serve quinoa salad either at room temperature or cold. The steaming method just finishes the cooking. You don't have to use it at all. You can just boil everything and once it reaches a boil turn the heat down to medium high and simmer for 15 – 18 minutes. As far as the sun dried tomatoes, either kind is fine.
Depending on what you have mixed into the quinoa, it can be stored for up to five days in the refrigerator. You can also freeze it. I will have to hunt through the prior comments and see if I have a link to the Kale site.
Hi Wendy,
I am new to Quinoa and bought it awhile ago and didn't know what to do with it. I'm so glad I found your website. I need to lose a few pounds and eat healthier. I also read that it's good for migraine headaches which my daughter and I suffer from. I am going to try your Balsamic Quinoa Salad recipe…What do you do with the boullion cube? Do you melt it or just crush it up with the other ingredients? Thanks for your help!!!
Janet – My dad and sister both have migraines and I've got them both eating quinoa.
With the boullion cube you just put it in the cooking water to flavor the quinoa. Sorry – the recipe should be clearer. I hope you enjoy and good luck with your healthy eating plan!
Wendy, glad you liked my site! Yes let's mix top grain with top green and see what happens…. Hmmm…. Try my collard greens rolls with quinoa , that will be a super healthy dish
Your quinoa experiments are inspirational, so see you soon – I am gone to my kitchen to try a few things
Cheers,
Olga
Olga – Ohh, that sounds yummy. I love collard greens and I never thought to try them with quinoa. I will have to give it a try. Take care!
Yummy. I ran home and made this on my lunch hour. Very good. and quick. It hasn't chilled fully, but it is delightful.
Sara – I am so glad you liked this one. I think it would also be very good with goat cheese and plan on trying that soon. Thanks so much for stopping by!
Hello Wendy,
I am really happy I found your site! You focus on quinoa recipes, and I focus on kale, imagine how healthy the world would become if everyone started cooking from our sites
Great idea to combine red quinoa with balsamic vinegar. I'l try this recipe, and I think I will replace cooked red peppers with marinated ones and see what happens.
Your new reader,
Olga
Olga, thanks so much for stopping by and leaving me a comment. I do hope you come back! I checked your site out and really like it! Great healthy eating tips and good info on the truth about vaccines and such! I haven't tried kale before and I am definitely going to give it a try. Who knows, maybe a kale and quinoa dish is in my future.
{ 4 trackbacks }