I recall my aunt telling me about quinoa and how amazing and healthful it was, and guess what? It is suitable for Passover! I made the choice to add fresh vegetables to my quinoa and cook them until they were soft but not mushy. This spinach and carrot recipe makes plenty for 4 to 5 people as a side dish, but I’ve been known to eat half of it as a meal by itself.
| Prep Time: | 10 mins |
| Cook Time: | 25 mins |
| Total Time: | 35 mins |
| Servings: | 5 |
| Yield: | 2 1/2 cups |
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- ½ onion, chopped
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 cups water
- 2 tablespoons vegetarian chicken-flavored bouillon granules
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 1 tomato, chopped
- 1 cup baby spinach
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook and stir onion in hot oil until translucent, about 5 minutes. Lower heat, stir in quinoa, and toast, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Stir in water, bouillon granules, pepper, and thyme; increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Stir in carrots. Cover and simmer until all water is absorbed, about 10 minutes. Turn off heat, add tomatoes and spinach, and stir until spinach is wilted and tomatoes have released all their moisture, about 2 minutes.
Reviews
Way too salty! You must mean 2 tsp chicken bouillon, not 2 Tbsp!
I had a bag of baby spinach that I wanted to use. I also had some rainbow quinoa, something that I don’t normally have. I came across this recipe, and wanting to get a ‘flavor’ of it, I loosely followed this recipe (sorry!). I sauteed the onions for a few min and then added the spinach and let it wilt. In the meantime, I simmered the quinoa separately for about 15 min. I also steamed the carrots in the microwave. Pulled it all together by adding everything to spinach (omitting the tomato, personal preference). I used about a cup on cooked quinoa. Added the salt, pepper, some garlic powder and topped with some feta cheese (like I do with spinach alone). I did enjoy this, and found that you have to doctor-up quinoa for flavor. Now I’m looking for something to do with the remaining cooked quinoa….oatmeal? Thanks for the great starting point. This is a great, healthy recipe that I’ll surely enjoy again. Thanks!
Love this recipe! Doubled the tomato and onion but didn’t add carrots. Used 1.5 c quinoa, 2.5 c water, 3 bullion cubes, and did 1.5 tsp of basil, pepper, and minced garlic. Eyeballed spinach – definitely used more. Yummy!
It was just ok. Easy enough to make, was wanting to try a new recipe for the quinoa I had on hand. Only used half the amount of pepper called for…thank goodness! It was plenty spicy with half the amount of pepper, I cannot imagine it with all of it in there. Only used 1 tblsp. chicken bouillon granules, used 1 cup of chopped frozen spinach, which worked fine.
Simple, healthy and delicious. Thanks!
I’ve made this about 5 times now , it’s a great healthy meal that is good for meal prepping too. I sometimes add different vegetables as well .. kale , green beans, peas or whatever I have around
Overall this is a great base recipe. As others suggested, I added 2 cloves of garlic and used chicken stock in place of the water and bullion cubes. I also omitted the carrots (just because we don’t really care for them) and added feta at the end.
I did make a few adjustments, I only used 1/2 C quinoa, & added cubed chicken breast & a chopped celery in with onions. I also added some broccoli. I didn’t put in tomato’s until i served it which seemed to give it a fresher color & taste.
It was So good!
Great survival food that can be eaten hot or cold, full of protein and vitamins, and it tastes delicious! This is one of my regular go-to recipes.
This came out great. I use less seasonings than listed because I can’t eat food that strong, but it is a good recipe.
This dish is wonderful! I made a three changes to the original recipe, first I added garlic while i cooked the onion then cooked it in vegetable broth and also added about a tsp of celery salt.
It turned out great! Pretty easy too. I also did 1/2 teaspoon each of oregano and basil instead of thyme like other reviews and 1/4 teaspoon of seasoning salt. I added raisins and some almonds and used 1 cup chicken broth. This one is going into my weekday dinner rotation for sure.
This one’s a keeper! I’ve made this a few times, and everyone loved it. I grew up thinking a full meal had to include a meat, a starch, and one or more veggie/s. Quinoa helps for cutting back. I found this recipe when I was having a diabetic guest and wanted him to be able to enjoy the whole meal. I used fresh chicken broth instead of bullion and water. I used fresh basil instead of thyme. I added fresh red bell pepper for even more veggie. tried this dish with spinach and also with arugula instead of spinach. Either way is delightful!
made it with couscous. delish!
Surprisingly tasty and simple dish. Made as a light side to go with a salad. I used chicken bullion as I didn’t have vegetable and omitted the thyme. The carrots give it a slightly sweet flavor that was delicious. I will definitely make this again.
Delish! Made many times. On occasion, I’ve ran out of onion and have had to sub powder, ran out of fresh tomatoes and have had to used canned instead – still comes out very tasty every time!
I love this recipe, I made a few changes. I used broth and simmered until it was gone. I also used basil, not Thyme; used garlic and half the amount of black pepper. It was my dinner,filling, nutritional and fantastic
I thought this might turn out a bit bland, but boy, was I wrong! The ingredients come together to make a really simple, but tasty dish. It’s so easy to tailor it to your tastes as well. I made mine using 2 chicken bouillon cubes dissolved in the water, used frozen spinach, and added garlic. I also added dried oregano, garlic powder and onion powder. I served it with a little cheese and avocado on top, and we had a great tasting (and very quick!) dinner!
It was good. I thought the thyme was a little much, so next time I’ll cut it back, and use more tomato and carrot as one reviewer suggests.
This is delicious, and my favorite way to make quinoa. Throw in some cooked chicken breast and make it a meal!