Warm Teriyaki Quinoa Salad

Toss this tasty quinoa salad together quickly with leftovers—or leave yourself time to prepare the cooked grain and baked sweet potatoes.

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I often make extra cooked grains and baked sweet potatoes to keep in the refrigerator for quick meals like this Warm Teriyaki Quinoa Salad. If you have these items on hand you have nearly an instant meal once you add the remaining ingredients—perfect for an easy weeknight dinner!

If you don’t have cooked quinoa and sweet potatoes in the fridge, you can make them earlier in the day—or when you start to prepare the meal. Choose whichever approach suits your schedule.

Again, I recommend following the make-ahead approach when you can. Some of my favorite meals have started with the question, “What can I make with what I have on hand?” when I haven’t planned for dinner (a common occurence). Try it, you never know what you’ll come up with! 😁

I prefer to use quinoa that has already been rinsed like Bob’s Red Mill or Ancient Harvest. If you buy the kind that needs to be rinsed, make sure you use a fine meshed strainer. The grains are tiny!

You can also cook the quinoa in low sodium vegetable broth instead of water to add a little extra flavor.

There is something very satisfying about the flavor and texture of this dish. The slight chewiness of the quinoa, broccoli and mushrooms offers a nice contrast to the creaminess of the avocado and baked sweet potato.

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Warm Teriyaki Quinoa Salad

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 2 large baked sweet potatoes diced
• 2 cups cooked quinoa
• 1/4 cup water (plus more if needed)
• 4 cups frozen broccoli florets
• 8 oz sliced baby bella mushrooms
• 1 small onion chopped
• 1 avocado diced
• 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce (try my homemade recipe)

Instructions

• Add ¼ cup of water to a 5 qt sauté pan and add chopped onion, mushrooms and broccoli.
• Cover and cook on medium high for approximately 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add more water, about 2 tbs at a time if needed, to prevent vegetables from sticking to the pan.
• Lightly warm quinoa and sweet potatoes separately in the microwave if they have been stored in the refrigerator.
• When the vegetables are done, turn off burner and add warm quinoa to the sauté pan and stir to mix with vegetables.

To Serve

• Place ¼ of warm diced baked sweet potatoes in a pasta bowl.
• Spoon ¼ of quinoa/vegetable mixture over the sweet potatoes.
• Sprinkle ¼ of diced avocado over quinoa/vegetable mixture.
• Drizzle approximately 2 tbs of homemade teriyaki sauce over the salad and stir lightly with a fork.
• Repeat steps 1-4 for remaining servings.

Notes

This recipe assumes you have baked sweet potatoes and cooked quinoa on hand. However, it’s easy to prepare these items while you are making the meal. Simply start to bake the sweet potatoes a little over an hour before you plan to eat. I share instructions for baking sweet potatoes in this recipe. Cook the quinoa according to the package instructions while you are cooking the vegetables. Start it just before you begin to prep the vegetables. Quinoa typically take about 15 minutes to cook.

Note: Nutrition information is a rough estimate for special dietary needs. 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.

Nutrition

Calories: 382kcal | Carbohydrates: 68g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 378mg | Potassium: 1464mg | Fiber: 14g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 16695IU | Vitamin C: 92mg | Calcium: 128mg | Iron: 4mg