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Quinoa Salad with Roasted Tomatoes

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Tasty Kitchen Blog: Quinoa Salad with Roasted Tomatoes and Avocado. Guest post by Gaby Dalkin of What's Gaby Cooking, recipe submitted by TK member Kelsey of K&K Test Kitchen.

 
Quinoa is kind of my life. You see, I’m on the “pre-wedding healthy eating try to fit into a bikini for my bachelorette party” diet. Whew! That was a mouthful. And since I’m down to the last 4 months of the pre-wedding cleanse, I’ve been eating a whole lotta quinoa. It’s healthy. Easy to make. And it’s light. Three very important things I’m keeping in mind these months.

When I came across this Quinoa Salad with Roasted Tomatoes and Avocado from TK member Kels, I basically smiled from ear to ear. It’s genius. Plus there’s spinach in it—ummm, yes please! If I weren’t on the pre-wedding cleanse, I would have added some fresh mozzarella balls to the finished salad and turned it into a fun caprese-ish quinoa salad. Either way though, you guys are going to love this one!

Here’s the deal.

 
 
 
Tasty Kitchen Blog: Quinoa Salad with Roasted Tomatoes and Avocado. Guest post by Gaby Dalkin of What's Gaby Cooking, recipe submitted by TK member Kelsey of K&K Test Kitchen.

Start with some quinoa. Isn’t it cute in this little mason jar? Love it!

 
 
 
Tasty Kitchen Blog: Quinoa Salad with Roasted Tomatoes and Avocado. Guest post by Gaby Dalkin of What's Gaby Cooking, recipe submitted by TK member Kelsey of K&K Test Kitchen.

Cook it according to the package directions. Typically it’s a 2:1 ratio of water to quinoa.

 
 
 
Tasty Kitchen Blog: Quinoa Salad with Roasted Tomatoes and Avocado. Guest post by Gaby Dalkin of What's Gaby Cooking, recipe submitted by TK member Kelsey of K&K Test Kitchen.

Once the quinoa is cooked, give it a good fluff with a spoon or fork and then set it aside.

 
 
 
Tasty Kitchen Blog: Quinoa Salad with Roasted Tomatoes and Avocado. Guest post by Gaby Dalkin of What's Gaby Cooking, recipe submitted by TK member Kelsey of K&K Test Kitchen.

Throw a few handfuls of halved cherry tomatoes into an oven proof dish.

 
 
 
Tasty Kitchen Blog: Quinoa Salad with Roasted Tomatoes and Avocado. Guest post by Gaby Dalkin of What's Gaby Cooking, recipe submitted by TK member Kelsey of K&K Test Kitchen.

Add some olive oil …

 
 
 
Tasty Kitchen Blog: Quinoa Salad with Roasted Tomatoes and Avocado. Guest post by Gaby Dalkin of What's Gaby Cooking, recipe submitted by TK member Kelsey of K&K Test Kitchen.

And some balsamic vinegar …

 
 
 
Tasty Kitchen Blog: Quinoa Salad with Roasted Tomatoes and Avocado. Guest post by Gaby Dalkin of What's Gaby Cooking, recipe submitted by TK member Kelsey of K&K Test Kitchen.

Throw in a pinch or two of salt and some freshly cracked black pepper.

 
 
 
Tasty Kitchen Blog: Quinoa Salad with Roasted Tomatoes and Avocado. Guest post by Gaby Dalkin of What's Gaby Cooking, recipe submitted by TK member Kelsey of K&K Test Kitchen.

Place the baking dish into the oven so the tomatoes can roast. Once they’ve roasted, remove them from the oven and set them aside.

 
 
 
Tasty Kitchen Blog: Quinoa Salad with Roasted Tomatoes and Avocado. Guest post by Gaby Dalkin of What's Gaby Cooking, recipe submitted by TK member Kelsey of K&K Test Kitchen.

You’ll need a bowl of baby spinach too, so might as well get that out and ready to go!

 
 
 
Tasty Kitchen Blog: Quinoa Salad with Roasted Tomatoes and Avocado. Guest post by Gaby Dalkin of What's Gaby Cooking, recipe submitted by TK member Kelsey of K&K Test Kitchen.

Let’s get the dressing ready. Add some tahini and olive oil to a mixing bowl.

 
 
 
Tasty Kitchen Blog: Quinoa Salad with Roasted Tomatoes and Avocado. Guest post by Gaby Dalkin of What's Gaby Cooking, recipe submitted by TK member Kelsey of K&K Test Kitchen.

Add a little warm water, red wine vinegar, and throw in some fresh lemon juice.

 
 
 
Tasty Kitchen Blog: Quinoa Salad with Roasted Tomatoes and Avocado. Guest post by Gaby Dalkin of What's Gaby Cooking, recipe submitted by TK member Kelsey of K&K Test Kitchen.

Add a squeeze of your favorite honey and some chopped garlic.

 
 
 
Tasty Kitchen Blog: Quinoa Salad with Roasted Tomatoes and Avocado. Guest post by Gaby Dalkin of What's Gaby Cooking, recipe submitted by TK member Kelsey of K&K Test Kitchen.

Add some of your favorite salt and some freshly cracked black pepper.

 
 
 
Tasty Kitchen Blog: Quinoa Salad with Roasted Tomatoes and Avocado. Guest post by Gaby Dalkin of What's Gaby Cooking, recipe submitted by TK member Kelsey of K&K Test Kitchen.

Give it all a whisk and then transfer it into a pretty bottle. I threw in an extra handful of chives just for an extra pop of colors!

 
 
 
Tasty Kitchen Blog: Quinoa Salad with Roasted Tomatoes and Avocado. Guest post by Gaby Dalkin of What's Gaby Cooking, recipe submitted by TK member Kelsey of K&K Test Kitchen.

Add the roasted tomatoes and their juices into the quinoa.

 
 
 
Tasty Kitchen Blog: Quinoa Salad with Roasted Tomatoes and Avocado. Guest post by Gaby Dalkin of What's Gaby Cooking, recipe submitted by TK member Kelsey of K&K Test Kitchen.

Pour in the dressing.

 
 
 
Tasty Kitchen Blog: Quinoa Salad with Roasted Tomatoes and Avocado. Guest post by Gaby Dalkin of What's Gaby Cooking, recipe submitted by TK member Kelsey of K&K Test Kitchen.

Give everything a good toss.

 
 
 
Tasty Kitchen Blog: Quinoa Salad with Roasted Tomatoes and Avocado. Guest post by Gaby Dalkin of What's Gaby Cooking, recipe submitted by TK member Kelsey of K&K Test Kitchen.

Add the fresh spinach.

 
 
 
Tasty Kitchen Blog: Quinoa Salad with Roasted Tomatoes and Avocado. Guest post by Gaby Dalkin of What's Gaby Cooking, recipe submitted by TK member Kelsey of K&K Test Kitchen.

Toss everything together.

 
 
 
Tasty Kitchen Blog: Quinoa Salad with Roasted Tomatoes and Avocado. Guest post by Gaby Dalkin of What's Gaby Cooking, recipe submitted by TK member Kelsey of K&K Test Kitchen.

Add some avocado and then serve it up! If you are serving this immediately then you are good to go. If you are waiting a bit to serve it, make sure the avocados are nestled mostly into the quinoa so they don’t turn brown.

So there it is! This is one of the best quinoa salads I’ve had to date! It’s perfect for pre-summer healthy eating or a “pre-wedding healthy eating trying to fit into a bikini for my bachelorette party” diet. Thanks to Kels for the recipe! Go visit her blog, K&K Test Kitchen, which Kels shares with her mom Kim (editor’s note: Awwww!).

Happy cooking!

 
 

Printable Recipe

Quinoa Salad with Roasted Tomatoes and Avocado

See post on kandktestkitchen’s site!
4.00 Mitt(s) 3 Rating(s)3 votes, average: 4.00 out of 53 votes, average: 4.00 out of 53 votes, average: 4.00 out of 53 votes, average: 4.00 out of 53 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5

Prep Time:

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Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 4

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Description

A flavorful salad with a tasty tahini vinaigrette dressing!

Ingredients

  • FOR THE SALAD:
  • 2 cups Water
  • 1-½ cup Quinoa
  • 1 pint Grape Tomatoes
  • ¼ teaspoons Salt
  • ¼ teaspoons Freshly Ground Pepper
  • 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
  • 1 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
  • 1-½ whole Avocado
  • 1-½ cup Spinach
  • FOR THE DRESSING:
  • ¼ cups Tahini (sesame Seed Paste)
  • 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
  • 3 Tablespoons Warm Water
  • 2 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
  • 1 whole Lemon, Juiced
  • 1 teaspoon Honey
  • 2 cloves Garlic, Minced
  • ¼ teaspoons Salt
  • ¼ teaspoons Freshly Ground Pepper

Preparation Instructions

Boil the water. Once the water is boiling, add the quinoa, cover with a lid, and turn the heat down to simmer the quinoa. The quinoa should cook for about 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork when it’s done cooking and allow it cool slightly.

Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Cut the grape tomatoes in half and lay them in a single layer in a glass baking dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Roast the tomatoes for 25-30 minutes, or until they start to caramelize. Allow the tomatoes to cool slightly.

Whisk together the dressing ingredients. Make the dressing about 15 minutes ahead of mixing it into the salad.

Mix together quinoa, tomatoes, avocado, and spinach. Drizzle with tahini viniagrette (I used about 2/3 of what I made) and season with salt and pepper. Mix well.

 
 
_______________________________________

Gaby Dalkin is the young lady behind What’s Gaby Cooking, a food blog that’s bursting at the seams with incredible recipes and food photography. She’s a personal chef and professional recipe developer, and if you follow her on Twitter, you’ll soon discover her two-fold obsession: guacamole and cheese. She has small feet, a large heart, and a smile that can light up the whole building. We’re pretty stoked to have her here.

 

27 Comments

Comments are closed for this recipe.

Benji Taylor on 7.26.2012

Good work. I just made this for me and the GF and we really enjoyed it. I added sugar snaps and red pepper.

I will check out some more of these recipes!

Jenny on 6.6.2012

We loved this recipe!!! Thanks for something yum to make w/ Quinoa!

Keenonquinoa on 6.6.2012

Oops, now I see the tomato instruction at the end. Can’t wait to try this!

Keenonquinoa on 6.6.2012

This recipe looks so delicious. How long do you roast the tomatoes? I imagine ten minutes would be plenty.

Catherine on 5.31.2012

Disappointed.. way too heavy on the tahini! that’s all I could taste!

Julie B. on 5.31.2012

We tried this recipe using a lite mayo instead of tahini (not a favorite of my Cowman, actually strongly disliked by my Cowman to be honest :) ) Loved it! It’s a keeper. We liked it warm and cold, so it is very versatile.

Ami A in LA on 5.31.2012

Made this salad last night & served it with some fresh shrimp. It was wonderful – everyone at the table loved it! Thanks for the great and fairly easy recipe!

Bonnie S on 5.30.2012

I LOVE quinoa. One of my favorite things about it is the way it feels in your mouth :) The red variety is beautiful and not as bitter to begin with. I like to put a fruity vinaigrette on it and pile the fresh fruit (especially fresh cherries) on top. And don’t forget the spinach on the fruity one too.

Sandi ~ LoveFromCapeCod~etsy on 5.30.2012

oooooh…. this looks so yummy…. Love quinoa salads… and this one looks great. Thank you! :)

benita wheeler on 5.30.2012

hand me a plate.

Susan on 5.29.2012

This looks yummy to me. I make Quinoa every so often and just FYI, I was told to always rinse it before cooking as it has a coating on it than can make it bitter.

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    whatsgabycooking on 5.31.2012

    Thanks Susan! Yes, I’ve read that you should rinse it before so I’ve done it both ways and haven’t noticed a difference. Maybe I’m missing it :)

Kelsey Payne on 5.29.2012

I love quinoa! Just made a similar version, but with an easy dressing! Check out my blog to find the recipe.

Farmer's City Wife on 5.29.2012

I know what I’m having for lunch today :). Thanks!

Jennifer Hill on 5.29.2012

I absolutely LOVE quinoa. Cook quinoa in chicken broth instead of water. This looks delish!

Travis Cotton on 5.29.2012

This doesnt look appetizing at all to me. Maybe I should widen my horizons a little but I dont know about this one lol.

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dawnalee on 5.29.2012

@ Emily, I usually pre-toast quinoa, too, really like the flavor boost. This salad sounds delicious. Thanks for highlighting it, Gaby. Kelsey, looking forward to tasting the mingling of these flavors. Yum!

Mina on 5.29.2012

You lost me at tahini. (Bad memories from childhood, I suppose.) Any suggestions for something in its place?

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    whatsgabycooking on 5.31.2012

    oh no!! bummer on the tahini – maybe a sesame seed oil would be a good substitute. or you could try a bit of peanut butter!

Kelsey @ K&K Test Kitchen on 5.29.2012

Oh my goodness! Gaby, I just adore you and to have you make one of my dishes is so cool. I’m so glad that you liked the salad! Thank you!

Theresa B on 5.29.2012

I agree with toasting the quinoa before cooking. It brings out a nutty flavor. I’m adding this recipe to my quinoa salad collection. Thanks for sharing!

Emily on 5.29.2012

Before you cook the quinoa, give it a little toast over the flame in a dry pan. It adds a whole new dimension to this awesome grain!