10 Quinoa recipes (very) easy to prepare

easy and colorful quinoa recipes

Surely you know that quinoa is a food that is super fashionable, but … how can you incorporate it into your recipes? Here you have a lot of ideas.

Quinoa salad with alfalfa sprouts

It is prepared as if it were a couscous. You mix cooked quinoa with a minced vegetable (onion, tomato, and red and green pepper in this case), and let it marinate all together with a little olive oil, lemon juice and spices to taste. To decorate and give it a more sophisticated touch, you can top it with some alfalfa sprouts or other herbs, and some sunflower seeds.

Quinoa stir fry with broccoli and vegetables

In a large skillet, sauté the leek or onion. Add carrot and sauté again. Add a few sprigs of broccoli and sauté until they take on an intense color. Add cooked and drained corn and precooked quinoa. Mix everything together and dress with whipped soy sauce along with honey and lemon juice. Serve with sesame seeds and chopped chives on top. It is one of the recipes with broccoli for those who are not fans of this vegetable.

Quinoa burger with guacamole

To make the hamburger dough, mix 250 g of cooked quinoa with 4 tablespoons of rolled oats, a grated carrot, a beaten egg, 4 tablespoons of breadcrumbs, 1 teaspoon of Provençal herbs, minced parsley and garlic. Salt and pepper, knead and form 4 hamburgers. Grill them for 2 minutes on each side. And when they are done, put them on hamburger bread spread with guacamole and some lettuce leaves.

Fajitas with quinoa and azukis

To make this delicious recipe with quinoa, you need a little of this pseudoceral along with azukis (or another cooked legume that you have on hand), a mince of raw or sautéed vegetables (onion, pepper, tomato …). You just have to mix the ingredients, season them to taste, and fill some wheat or corn tortillas with the mixture.

Squid stuffed with quinoa and vegetables

Here you have a recipe to lose weight, easy and delicious. It is ideal for dinner. To lighten its calories, instead of the traditional filling of minced meat and hard boiled egg, we have filled the squid with a sauce of onion and carrot, the legs of the squid themselves and quinoa. Sure hit!

Want more healthy dinner ideas? Download this free ebook with many ideas.

Quinoa stir fry with leeks and carrots

Heat a thread of oil in a large frying pan or in a wok and sauté some strips of washed leek and blanched carrot along with broccoli sprigs, a little soy sauce and a little apple juice. When all the elements are well integrated, add the quinoa, mix well and serve.

Cabbage rolls with quinoa and feta cheese

Four large cabbage leaves are cleaned and cooked in salted water until soft. Drain and reserve. They sauté some spinach with garlic. Feta cheese, cooked quinoa, salt and pepper are added. The cabbage leaves are filled with the mixture, rolled up and placed in a deep oven-safe container. A little broth is poured on top and baked for about 10 minutes.

Quinoa and fresh cheese salad

Mix the cooked quinoa with cherry tomatoes, carrots, chopped red and green bell peppers, cooked baby peas, and sweet corn. Complete with fresh cheese or crumbled cottage cheese and a vinaigrette based on oil, mustard, lemon, pepper and salt. And garnish with some fresh mint or basil leaves.

Quinoa stir fry with chicken and vegetables

For the ultra-express version, take a pot of prepared quinoa, and mix it with some sauteed vegetables and grilled chicken cut into thin strips. You will have it ready in less than 10 minutes. It is one of the recipes with chicken (for when you have tired of eating chicken).

Quinoa salad with pepper and mushrooms

More than easy and super delicious. You just have to combine the quinoa with red pepper and mushrooms. Quinoa provides us with fiber, protein and is also an excellent source of calcium. And since it is gluten-free, it is perfect for people with celiac disease. See recipe.

Although relatively recently we introduced quinoa in our daily menus, it is a very common and highly appreciated food in many countries around the world. As you have seen in the recipes with quinoa that we propose, it is a very versatile product that can be combined with many other foods.

It has many beneficial properties for our health: quinoa has a lot of fiber, is rich in protein, low in fat, provides vitamin B, is an excellent source of calcium and, as it is gluten-free, it is perfect as a substitute for pasta for people celiac.

Quinoa recipes: how to cook it correctly

Although many times we find it pre-cooked, you can also cook it yourself. It's super easy.

Rinse the beans for a few seconds under cold water before cooking, rubbing them lightly until they stop foaming.
Put water to heat and, when it starts to boil, put two measures of water for each one of quinoa in another saucepan. Cover and simmer until the quinoa has absorbed all the broth.
To flavor it, you can add a bay leaf, a few cloves of garlic or a little tarragon, and at the end of cooking a pinch of salt. Or, to make it tastier, lightly fry it before bringing it to a boil.
The cooking time and the proportion of water may vary depending on the type of quinoa. As a general rule, it is cooked until the grains become transparent and the germ appears in the form of a spiral tail.
Finally, it is drained and stirred with a fork to cut the cooking so that the grains are loose.

The quinoa is ready when the grains become transparent and the germ appears

Other ways to eat quinoa

The most common way to consume quinoa is in the form of grain, but it can also be found ground, sprouted, or in the form of flakes or a drink, like any other vegetable milk. And in the countries of origin they even eat the leaves, cooked like spinach.

Quinoa flour can be used to prepare pasta, cookies, crepes, or also to thicken sauces or as a substitute for corn flour in pastries. But since it is gluten-free, it doesn't fit all cakes.
Sprouted seeds can be squeezed to make cleansing juices or added to a salad or a sandwich. Germination multiplies its nutrients and makes it even more digestive.
The flakes require little cooking and can be included in salads and mueslis, or to thicken soups, for example.
You can make the quinoa milk yourself. You just have to put the already washed seeds to soak overnight. The next day, you remove the water and grinds along with 5-6 cups of new water for each cup of seeds. Then you filter it with the help of a sieve or a clean cloth. You can sweeten it with honey, whole grain sugar, or agave syrup.