BBQ Veggie Quinoa Bowl
This vegan, gluten-free BBQ veggie quinoa bowl recipe makes a perfect quick weeknight meal—swap ingredients based on taste and availability.
A perfect weeknight meal is quick, easy, healthy, tasty, and made with ingredients found in the fridge!
I often turn to one-dish quinoa-based recipes when I’m pressed for time. Quinoa is the most protein and fiber-rich grain, and it’s also the quickest to cook!
There Are No Rules
The great thing about this BBQ Veggie Quinoa Bowl recipe is there are no hard and fast rules. The ingredients are merely suggestions. You can mix things up based on what you have on hand. I happened to have a hankering for tofu while developing this dish. I don’t use tofu often. You can certainly skip it if you are anti-tofu. I suggest some variations below.
BBQ Veggie Quinoa Bowl Recipe Variations
Instead of tofu, you could use:
- Tempeh
- Chickpeas
- Other types of beans
Instead of summer squash (or in addition to), try:
- Broccoli
- Green beans
- Bell peppers (red, yellow, orange, and/or green!)
Frozen vegetables are a real time saver.
The general idea is to steam sauté a variety of veggies and mix them with cooked quinoa and BBQ sauce. It really doesn’t get much easier. I encourage you to experiment! Enjoy!
How to Bake Tofu
The recipe instructs you to cook the tofu in the sauté pan with the veggies. But if you like crispier tofu and don’t mind washing another pan, you might want to bake it. Here are the basic steps:
- Preheat oven to 400ºF.
- Slice pressed tofu into 1-inch cubes and place them in a one-gallon ziplock bag.
- Add ½ Tbsp of olive oil and pinches of Himalayan cooking salt and pepper to the bag.
- Press air out of the bag and seal it. Then, gently shake and massage the bag until the tofu is evenly coated with oil, salt, and pepper.
- Spread the tofu in a 9×13-inch parchment-lined baking pan and bake at 400ºF for 30 minutes. (I use my toaster oven with the convection setting on. If you use a regular oven, you may need to increase the baking time to about 40 minutes.)
- Add the baked tofu to the other ingredients when you add the cooked quinoa.
Quick BBQ Veggie Quinoa Bowl
Ingredients
- 16 oz firm tofu
- 1 cup quinoa uncooked, rinsed
- 2¼ cups low sodium vegetable broth more if needed
- ½ sweet onion large, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic coarsely minced
- 1 cup frozen pineapple chunks
- 2 summer squash medium, chopped (I use one zucchini and one yellow squash for variety)
- 2 cups baby kale chopped (or other dark leafy green)
- 6 oz sliced portobello mushrooms chopped
- ½ cup BBQ sauce – see recipe
Instructions
- Press tofu for at least 15 minutes to remove excess moisture. (You can use a fancy tofu press or simply place it between two plates in your kitchen sink and place something heavy on top.)
- Combine 1 cup of quinoa with 2 cups of vegetable broth in a saucepan, cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer 10 minutes then remove from heat and let sit covered for at least 5 minutes.
- While quinoa is cooking, add ¼ cup of vegetable broth to a 5 qt saucepan over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion, garlic, and frozen pineapple. Cover and steam sauté by stirring occasionally for 2-3 minutes. (Add more vegetable broth 1 tbsp. at a time if needed.)
- Reduce heat to medium and add chopped summer squash, baby kale and portobello mushrooms. Continue to steam sauté for for 10-15 minutes or until veggies begin to soften.
- Slice pressed tofu into 1 inch cubes and stir into veggies with BBQ sauce.
- Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, for another 5 minutes or until excess moisture cooks off.
- Add cooked quinoa to veggies and stir to mix.
Notes
Nutrition
Yummm some of my favorite foods all in one bowl!!! Sounds amazing!!
It’s tasty and easy – my two favorite combinations! 😉