Quinoa Recipes:
How to Make Quinoa a Regular Feature in Your Kitchen

If you’re looking for quinoa recipes, this is the right place. Every recipe on grain-free-gluten-free.com that contains quinoa in one form or another is listed here.

If you haven’t already figured it out, quinoa is one of the most versatile foods out there. It is comparable with rice in the way you will find it featuring at breakfast, lunch, dinner and all times in between.

Want to know more about quinoa before you take the plunge? Click here for some basic info on quinoa.

Breakfast

Puffed quinoa and flaked quinoa immediately open up your breakfast possibilities. They’re practically mainstream. Try the cereal with puffed quinoa or the choice of quinoa bread recipes.

Click onto the grain and gluten free breakfast page and you’ll find a quinoa and berries recipe. While you’re there, you’ll also find some great breakfast suggestions – ways to throw together a great tasting quinoa breakfast that are so easy I’d define them as tips rather than recipes.

Because the ingredients in the quinoa recipes on this site are so nutritious, those recipes defined as snacks can double as a portable breakfast. So keep reading the next section for more good breakfast-come-snack ideas.

Snacks

The great thing about the following quinoa recipes is that you can eat them as a snack anytime of day, as a dessert or as breakfast on the run. These quinoa muffins are made from quinoa flour and are a must for anybody who loves that nutty, characteristic taste of quinoa flour.

If you’ve still got some quinoa flakes left over from breakfast, here is a quinoa slice recipe, inspired by Ken Jones:

Recipe: Quinoa Slice

Ingredients

1 cup (150gm) mixed dried fruit

Juice from one large orange

5 drops vanilla essence

4 tbs butter

2 ½ cups quinoa flakes

½ cup chopped walnuts

1 cup brown sugar

½ teaspoon cinnamon powder

½ teaspoon salt

2 eggs

Method

Soak the dried fruit in the orange juice and vanilla essence for an hour.

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Mix in chopped walnuts. Add the quinoa flakes, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon and mix together thoroughly so that everything is blended together evenly.

Add the 2 eggs to the soaking fruit and mix together well. Combine egg/fruit mix with butter/dry ingredients and mix well.Press the mixture evenly into a well greased baking tin and bake for 15 minutes 340°F/170°C.

Remove from the oven the moment it starts to turn brown. Cut into squares. Cool on a cooling rack before eating.

Recipe: Peanut Butter and Puffed Quinoa Snack

Even easier than the slice above is this 3 ingredient slice that takes all of 3 minutes preparation time. You do need to refrigerate for a few hours so that it holds together, but I have been known to taste test it straight out of the bowl before I get it to that point. Tastes great either way.

Ingredients

1 cup crunchy peanut butter

4 tbs honey

2 cups puffed quinoa

Method

Mix honey and peanut butter together. If it is too stiff, heat gently in a saucepan until the mixture softens. Add puffed quinoa and combine thoroughly.

Tip mixture into a shallow, greased 15cm x 30cm/6in. x 12in. (or equivalent) pan. Press with the back of a spoon so that the mixture comes to a depth of approx. 2 – 3cm (1 in.). Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours. Cut into squares and serve. Keep any left overs covered in the fridge.

Why not try almond butter instead of peanut butter? And throw in some chopped dried fruit and nuts to give it some real grunt.

Lunch and Dinner, or Any Other Time You Need a Well Balanced Meal

A quick reference note: Bookmark this ‘Preparing and Cooking Quinoa’ info so that you’re familiar with rinsing and cooking the raw quinoa grains. The recipes on this page will mention rinsing the raw quinoa before you cook it, so all the details are available by clicking here.

The possibilities for a meal involving quinoa are virtually infinite. Mix it with meat or vegetables, prepare it as a side dish, or even just have it on its own with some spices, herbs or stock for flavor.

A good entry level quinoa recipe is quinoa pilaf. Simply put, it’s defined as cooked quinoa mixed with vegetables. You will find several pilaf recipes to choose from by clicking here.

Also competing for simplicity is curried quinoa. This curried quinoa recipe can be served as a side dish or as a meal on its own.

And if lighter meals or lunch ideas are what you need, click here for a great range of quinoa salad recipes using a choice of ingredients to suit your taste/season/budget/mood/ whims.

Luckily for pasta lovers, you can make your very own grain free pasta at home, from scratch. Click here to find out how to make quinoa pasta with quinoa flour.

Below are some more quinoa recipes that you can enjoy for lunch or dinner, as a side or on their own.

Recipe: Quinoa with Tofu, Roasted Nuts and Tomato

Since Heidi Swanson from 101 cookbooks whipped this quinoa recipe up for her sister one afternoon several years back, I’ve seen it mentioned in so many places by adoring fans. It’s obviously a winner.

And, she threw it together out of whatever she had in the pantry at the time. That’s just sheer talent, that is.

So if you aren’t already familiar with it, here it is:

Ingredients

a splash of extra-virgin olive oil

a pinch of fine grain sea salt

1 shallot, minced

3 cups cooked quinoa*

1 ½ cups kale, spinach or other hearty green, finely chopped

2 cups extra-firm tofu, diced and browned in a skillet.

⅓ cup pesto

⅓ cup pumpkin seeds, toasted

¼ cup roasted cherry tomatoes** (or chopped sun-dried tomatoes)

Method

In a big skillet or pot, heat the olive oil and salt over medium-high heat. Stir in the shallot and cook for a minute or two. Stir in the quinoa and cook until hot and sizzling. Stir in the kale and then the tofu, cooking until tofu is heated through.

Remove the skillet from heat and stir in the pesto and pumpkin seeds. Mix well so the pesto is spread throughout. Turn everything out onto a platter and top with the cherry tomatoes.

Heidi also included fresh corn from the cob in her version of this quinoa recipe, but this being a grain free site, and corn being a grass, I felt it only sensible to take it out of the list of ingredients.

Serves 4 - 6.

*Rinse about 2 cups quinoa in a fine-meshed strainer. In a medium saucepan heat the quinoa and 4 cups water until boiling. Reduce heat and simmer until water is absorbed and quinoa fluffs up, about 15 minutes. Quinoa is done when you can see the curlique in each grain, and it is tender with a bit of pop to each bite. Drain any extra water and set aside.

** To roast cherry tomatoes: Heat oven to 350°F/175°C degrees. Cut each tomato in half and arrange in a large oven-proof baking dish. Mix together a big splash of olive oil, a spoonful of brown sugar, and a few pinches of salt - pour this over the tomatoes. Gently toss them a bit, making sure they all get coated, finishing with each tomato facing cut-side up. Place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes or so, until the tomatoes are shrunken and sweet.

Recipe: Quinoa with Eggplant and Ground Beef

Mixing quinoa with meat is a good way of reducing the amount of meat you eat, but still allowing you to enjoy the flavor. It can also be a good way of getting kids (and some grown ups) to eat quinoa if they balk at it on its own.

Ingredients

500g (1lb) ground beef

1 large eggplant

1 brown onion

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tbs curry powder

1 cup raw quinoa

2 cups beef stock

Method

Peel and chop onion. Fry in some oil in a large frypan until soft. Cut eggplant into cubes approx. 1 cm/½ inch in length and add to frypan with some more oil. Fry for approximately 25 - 30 minutes, stirring frequently. The eggplant should be very soft.

Add ground beef and minced garlic, and cook until brown and thoroughly mixed in. Meanwhile, rinse quinoa and place in a saucepan with stock. Bring to the boil and simmer, covered, for 15 – 20 minutes until each grain is translucent and all water has been absorbed.

Add cooked quinoa to the beef mixture. Stir through curry powder and serve.

Tip: This mixture also makes a great stuffed capsicum filling.

Alternative: Try replacing the eggplant with finely chopped mushroom.

Recipe: Quinoa and Chicken with Fresh Oregano and Peas

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked quinoa

500 – 600g (1 - 1¼ lb) chicken breast, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 ½ cups cooked peas, mashed

1 handful fresh oregano, chopped

1 handful fresh parsley, chopped

1 ½ cups chicken stock

1 cup your choice of milk

Method

Place quinoa and stock into a saucepan, bring to the boil and simmer, covered, until all the fluid has been absorbed and the small germ ring emerges from each translucent quinoa grain. Add a little more water if required to get to this point.

In a fry pan, sauté peas and garlic in some oil until cooked. Mash the peas, then add chicken and sauté until cooked through. Add milk and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Add quinoa, fresh herbs and stir through until heated.

Serves 4.

Recipe: Roasted Pumpkin and Quinoa, Risotto Style

This quinoa recipe is a direct replacement of quinoa for rice in a pumpkin risotto recipe – only it’s easier to make, because unlike risotto, you don’t have to keep stirring to make sure you get the consistency just right.

Ingredients

1 cup raw quinoa, rinsed

2 cups beef or vegetable stock

1 brown onion

1 clove garlic

500g (1lb) pumpkin

1 tbs ground oregano

1 tsp dried thyme

Method

Chop pumpkin into 3cm/1 in. chunks and remove skin. Mix with some oil and thyme in a baking dish. Bake in a 350°F/175°C oven for 45 minutes until soft and lightly browned.

Peel and chop onion. Sautee in some oil in a saucepan until soft. Mince garlic clove, add to onion and stir for 1 – 2 minutes. Add rinsed quinoa, stock and oregano. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 – 20 minutes until all the water has been absorbed and each grain is translucent. Mash roasted pumpkin with a fork and mix into quinoa.

Serves 4.

Alternative: Looking for a quicker, easier version? The pumpkin need not be roasted. You can steam it separately or even with the quinoa and it still tastes good. Less effort, less washing up, just as good for you.