Looking to use your garden bounty in a simple recipe? Check out this vegan, gluten-free tomato eggplant quinoa bowl! Jump to recipe →
I planned to share another recipe with you this week. But then some thoughtful folks gifted me with lovely tomatoes and eggplants.
We had a yard sale over the weekend. After buying a bunch of stuff, one of our neighbors was kind enough to return with a bag of gorgeous cherry tomatoes. (Bonus!)
Then we had out-of-town friends visit on Labor Day. They came with beautiful eggplants. (I love the yin and yang of the dark and light varieties!)
Both the tomatoes and the eggplants were at the peak of ripeness. I knew I had to use them quickly, but time was short. So I decided to go with a simple steam sauté.
Tomato Eggplant Quinoa Bowl
This tomato eggplant quinoa bowl recipe is as easy as it gets. You just chop some veggies. (I added garlic, onion, mushrooms and baby greens to the mix. But you could also use zucchini, corn, or whatever you have in excess.) Then you steam sauté the mixture with vegetable broth.
The quinoa and veggies cook in about the same amount of time. You can serve the veggies over the cooked quinoa or simply add the quinoa to the sauté pan at the end. (I prefer the mix-it-all-together approach.)
Walnut “Parmesan”
I debated making a sauce for this delicious bowl. But I decided to explore vegan grated cheese. Minimalist Baker’s vegan parmesan is my usual go-to recipe. However, it’s made with cashews. I use cashews in a lot of recipes.
I wondered how walnuts might work as a substitute. The results did not disappoint! Walnut parmesan is just as yummy as cashew parmesan!
Variety is always a good thing. And the walnut parmesan adds just the right amount of nutty-salty-garlicky goodness to this tomato eggplant quinoa bowl.
Tomato Eggplant Quinoa Bowl w/ Walnut "Parmesan"
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa (uncooked)
- 2 cups low sodium vegetable broth (plus more for steam sautéing)
- 4 cups cherry tomatoes sliced in half
- 2 eggplants (medium-sized) chopped into 1 inch cubes
- 5 oz baby bella mushrooms sliced
- 1/2 sweet onion (large) coarsely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups baby greens (spinach or kale) chopped
Walnut "Parmesan"
- 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
- 3 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
- 3/4 tsp. fine sea salt
- 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
Instructions
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Rinse quinoa if it hasn't been pre-rinsed and combine with 2 cups of vegetable broth in a saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.
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Reduce heat to medium low and allow quinoa to simmer with lid partially vented for about 10 minutes. Then remove from heat and let sit for at least 5 minutes.
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While quinoa is cooking, add 1/4 cup of vegetable broth, garlic, onion, eggplant, and mushrooms to a 5 qt sauté pan and steam sauté over medium heat until veggies begin to soften. (about 10 minutes - add more broth as needed)
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Add baby greens to veggies and continue to cook on low for 1 or 2 minutes until greens begin to wilt.
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Add sliced tomotoes and cook another 1 or 2 minutes until tomatoes begin to soften.
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Add cooked quinoa to sauté pan and stir to mix.
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Spoon mixture into serving bowls and top with 1 - 2 Tbsp. of walnut "parmesan" cheese.
Walnut "Parmesan"
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Add walnuts, nutritional yeast, salt and garlic powder to a food processor fitted with the S blade and pulse until ingredients achieve the consistency of finely grated cheese.
Recipe Notes
The recipe makes about 1 cup of walnut "parmesan" cheese - which you can store in the fridge for several weeks.
Note: I do not include nutrition information with my recipes because I subscribe to the theories presented in the book Whole and believe we should focus on eating a variety of whole foods instead of counting calories or keeping track of individual nutrients.
This is a very tasty dish I could have more than a few times a week even though I don’t care for mushrooms – I didn’t even notice them. Great as lunch or dinner or as a side.