Chickpea Quinoa bowl with Cilantro Lime Dressing
If you haven’t noticed colorful nutritious bowls have been getting me through this quarantine…they’re easy, healthy, and always turn out beautiful.
This quinoa salad reminded me of summer. We had it this weekend while enjoying the sunshine.
I was originally going to use black beans, but realized I didn’t have any when I went to make the salad. Chickpeas came to the rescue! As a vegetarian I always have cans of beans ready to go…chickpeas are one of my favorite legume. They’re rich in protein and fiber which will help keep you full. They serve as one of the main sources of protein in this bowl. Not to mention they have give this salad a delicious buttery and nutty flavor!
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of cooked quinoa
1 can of chickpeas
1 corn on the cob (boiled)
Pumpkin Seeds
For the cilantro lime vinaigrette
1/2 cup of fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon of cumin
1/2 chopped red onion
1/4 cup of olive oil
Lime juice from 1 lime (or 3 teaspoons of lime juice)
1 chopped jalapeño
Salt and Pepper
Prep
Much of why I love this grain salad is because the prep is super easy. Here’s what you need to do:
Cook your quinoa with vegetable stock. I made 1 1/2 cups and used about 3 cups of vegetable stock. Bring the stock and quinoa to a boil, then cover and simmer on the lowest heat for about 25 minutes. Do not mix so the quinoa holds its shape!
In a small saucepan, boil water with salt. Add corn on the cob and cook in boiling water for 7 minutes. Cut the corn off of the cob and set aside.
Make the vinagrette: in a medium size bowl stir together olive oil, red onion, cilantro, finely chopped jalapeño (I only kept a few of the seeds), lime juice, cumin, salt, and pepper until all ingredients are mixed together.
Once the vegetable stock evaporates, add chickpeas, and corn. Mix well and then add your vinaigrette!
This quinoa salad goes great with sour cream on top, in a wrap, over chopped romaine lettuce for a By Chloe vibe, in a wrap, or in a lettuce cup.
You can sprinkle pumpkin seeds on before serving. I tried all of the above variations as this made about 5 servings! Have fun eating this salad in many different forms :)
