11 Easy Quinoa Recipes - Peas and Crayons Blog (2024)

Let’s go keen-wah crazy with this tasty round-up of easy quinoa recipes! These delicious recipes are gloriously gluten-free with lots of vegetarian options too.

No more boring quinoa!

11 Easy Quinoa Recipes

My love affair with quinoa knows no bounds. I’ve been positively bonkers for it since starting this blog 10+ years ago.

Quinoa is one of those pantry staples I get super excited about. It’s uber fluffy, amazingly versatile, and downright tasty!

For the beginners: How to cook perfectly fluffy quinoa, every time!

I’ll touch on my easy peasy fluffy quinoa techniquein nearly all of the posts below, but if you’re new to quinoa or fell victim to adding too much liquid per package instructions, then this post will help you have the best quinoa of your life.

Bold claim? Maybe! But around here our quinoa is light and fluffy! Try it!

Ready to get your quinoa on? Here are my all time FAVORITE easy quinoa recipes:

1.Greek Quinoa Bowls

Loaded with fresh veggies and drizzled in a light homemade dressing, these tasty vegetarian Greek Quinoa Bowls make healthy eating a breeze!

2.Vegetarian Quinoa “Fried Rice”

This flavorful vegetarian quinoa fried rice is swirled with broccoli, peas, and carrots and seasoned to perfection! Our family loves this tasty gluten-free side dish!

3. Healthy Chicken Shawarma Quinoa Bowls

This recipe for healthy Chicken Shawarma Quinoa Bowls has a super easy trick for creating make-ahead lunches for work or school. The flavors are out of this world!!

4. Tomato Quinoa Salad

A meal prep superstar, this tasty Tomato Quinoa Salad is fast, flavorful, and easily made in advance for speedy lunches and sides for work, school, or home!

5.Cilantro Lime Quinoa

Get your fiesta on with this zesty cilantro lime quinoa. Gloriously gluten-free, vegan, and just plain delicious! Makes a great side dish or burrito bowl base.

I’ve also turned it into a zesty salad via my Cilantro Lime Quinoa Salad recipe. So good!

5.Cranberry Quinoa Salad with Candied Walnuts

This tasty cranberry quinoa saladis packed with juicy cranberries, vibrant veggies, and homemade candied walnuts all tossed in a delicious citrus dressing!

This recipe is crazy popular during the holidays for Thanksgiving and Christmas but is also good year round! When cranberries are out of season, simply swap for dried cranberries and you’re good to go.

6.Easy Slow Cooker + Instant Pot Vegetarian Quinoa Chili

ThisInstant Pot Vegetarian Quinoa Chili is a comfort food classic with a healthy plant-based twist! To make thingsuber-easy I’ve even included slow cooker instructions and I even have a stove-top version too if you need it!

7. Healthy Quinoa Salad

This Healthy Quinoa Salad is packed with colorful vegetables and tossed in an easy peasy whisk-and-pour Mediterranean dressing. I cannot WAIT for y’all to try this superfood salad!

8. Mexican Quinoa Salad

This healthy Mexican Quinoa Salad is a quick, easy, and gloriously make-ahead dish! Tossed in a speedy homemade chili lime dressing, this fiesta quinoa bowl is full of flavor!

I also make a mean Southwest Quinoa Salad.

9.Roasted Chickpea Quinoa Taco Bowls

These easy chickpea taco bowls are loaded with zesty cilantro lime quinoa, taco roasted chickpeas, salsa, black beans, and avocado. Pile them high with your favorite taco toppings and dive into this delicious vegetarian taco bowl!

10. BLT Quinoa Salad

Take your salad game to the next level with this BLT Quinoa Salad featuring smoky bacon, freshlettuces, juicy tomatoes, fluffy quinoa and a creamy homemade dressing.

11.Cranberry Cilantro Quinoa Salad

As a tasty bonus, my Quinoa Black Bean Veggie Burgers are a little more complicated than the easy peasy recipes above but they can be made in advance and are even freezer friendly too. Love them so!

looking for more tasty ways to scarf quinoa?

• Sausage and Quinoa Stuffed Mushrooms
• NEW! Edamame Quinoa Salad
• Quinoa Spinach Salad with Tomatoes and Feta
• Black Bean Quinoa Salad (Great for meal prep!)
• Quinoa Taco Bowls via Lemon Tree Dwelling
• Quinoa Chickpea Salad

If you get a chance to try any of these easy quinoa recipes, let me know!

Leave some love in the comment form below or tag your photos with @peasandcrayons on Instagram so I can happy dance over your creation. I can’t wait to see what you whip up!