Are you cooking with quinoa yet? If so, you will love this flavorful, yet simple preparation. If not, this is the perfect recipe to get you started! Quinoa is one of those things I get a lot of questions about. Like how to cook it properly, how to make it taste great, what it can be substituted for. While quinoa is most often compared to rice, I liken it more to pasta in the sense that you need to flavor it. You wouldn’t sit down and eat a bowl of plain pasta right–maybe with some butter and pepper, but definitely not just boiled noodles.
Rice on the other hand is a treat just by itself. White jasmine rice, a nutty brown rice, black wild rice and Indonesian red rice – they are all receptive to many flavor combinations, but even steamed and served alone there is still a complexity of flavor and a simple scoop can be delicious.
So what is quinoa anyway? Quinoa is classified as a gluten-free whole grain but is actually a seed. A seed which by providing all nine essential amino acids, makes it a complete protein. A super-food! A super food which is light and fluffy when cooked and easily substituted for rice or couscous.
It’s hard to believe that I have yet to post a quinoa recipe since I cook with it all the time. So here is an easy side dish to get you started and a great vegetarian entree that was a guest post last year from Blue Bird Kisses – Curried Cauliflower and Quinoa.
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Toasted Garlic and Parsley Quinoa
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic smashed and finely chopped
- 1 cup Quinoa rinsed
- 2 cups water
- 3 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped + more for serving
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 turns freshly ground black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 squeeze fresh lemon juice
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Rinse quinoa and set aside. Chop parsley.
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Use back of knife to smash garlic.
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Proceed to finely chop.
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Heat a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add oil. When hot, add in garlic. Cook, stirring constantly for 30 seconds. Garlic will begin to brown.
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Immediately add quinoa. Continue toasting garlic and quinoa, stirring constantly for 3 to 4 minutes.
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Add water, salt, black pepper, red pepper and parsley.
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Bring to a rolling boil. Stir, cover, turn heat to low and cook for 15 minutes.
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Remove from heat, let sit covered for at least 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork, give a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and serve.
Did you make this recipe? Tag @EverydayMaven on Instagram with the hashtag #EveryDayMaven and please give a star rating below.
I trust your opinion! Can’t wait!
No, no dairy or cheese at all. If I get a craving for pizza once in a blue moon or some feta in a Greek Salad, maybe but not at home because there I can use all my non-dairy substitutes and when you’re out that’s not usually an option. But I’m interested in any quinoa recipes you have, I can substitute or maybe it’s so good I can skip the feta? Or just go for it on occasion…;)
This one has a small bit of Feta and it’s worth it in my opinion 😉 stay tuned!
Oh good, I want another!!
Amy are you doing any cheese at all? I have a great Quinoa dish that has a bit of Feta in it that I would going to post next week!
Super random question for ya. How do you rinse the quinoa? Haha. Also, mine is prewashed so do I need to? Making this right now and the only way I could figure to rinse it was in a coffee filter. lol. Can you tell this is my first time making quinoa?! 😉
I usually use a mesh strainer but a coffee filter would do the job. However, if it’s pre-washed, you probably are good!
This was SOOOOO yummy! Thanks for introducing me to quinoa! I am addicted!
Thanks Sharon! You will happy tomorrow because I am posting Quinoa Tabbouleh and it’s SO good! Next week I will post another one of my fav quinoa dishes! 🙂
Delicious!! What’s the serving size?
Fantastic!! Just what I needed!! Never seemed to get a really creative & flavorful way to serve quinoa, now I do!!!
I always make a big batch and keep it in the fridge for lunches and snacks 🙂
Never thought of toasting my quinoa, usually just add them to the post. Bet toasting adds another layer of flavors.
It definitely does add another layer of flavor 🙂
Ooooh, adding quinoa to next month’s shopping list, this sounds lovely.
Enjoy it!