Tomato Quinoa is a wholesome, comforting dish made with fluffy quinoa simmered in a rich, tangy tomato base. Packed with flavor and nutrition, this dish can be prepared within 30 minutes. It can be served as a healthy side dish or, a light yet filling meal perfect for lunch or dinner. It's vegan and gluten-free.
Quinoa is the perfect ingredient to incorporate into your diet if you’re looking to make smarter food choices and lead a healthier lifestyle.
I use it in my salads, soups, side dishes, and hearty main course dishes. It’s a wholesome alternative to rice or pasta.
Today, I am sharing the recipe for a simple side dish called tomato quinoa which combines the goodness of quinoa with the bold flavors of tomatoes. Quinoa absorbs the tangy essence of tomatoes beautifully, resulting in a dish that is both nourishing and satisfying.
Whether served warm with a side salad or enjoyed as a standalone dish, Tomato Quinoa is sure to become a family favorite. Its balance of health and flavor makes it an easy go-to recipe whenever you crave something comforting yet nourishing.
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What's needed to make tomato quinoa?
For this quinoa and tomato recipe, you will need the ingredients shown in the image below:
Ingredient notes and substitute suggestions
- Quinoa: Any variety of quinoa can be used in this recipe. I have used white quinoa but mixed, black, or red quinoa are fine too. Instead of quinoa, you can also use grains of your choice like rice, barley, etc. Even couscous or pasta can be used to make a similar dish.
- Onion: I have used red onion, yellow or white onion are fine too.
- Garlic: Preferably fresh garlic but if you don't have that, garlic powder can also be used. You can add both too for a stronger garlicy flavor.
- Tomato: I have used fresh tomato and tomato paste. To add a richer tomato flavor to this tomato quinoa, you can also add chopped sundried tomatoes and its oil. Canned tomatoes, fresh cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes can be used too.
- Green chili: You can add jalapeno too. Skip, if you don't like spicy food.
- Fresh herbs: Fresh cilantro (coriander leaves) is my favorite herb. Fresh basil, parsley, mint leaves, and dill can be added too.
- Seasonings: Feel free to flavor the dish with your choice of spices and dried herbs. I have kept it simple and used only salt, black pepper, cumin powder, and red pepper flakes.
- Water: Instead of water, vegetable stock can be used too for cooking quinoa.
- Cooking oil: I have used extra virgin olive oil. Use any cooking oil of choice like vegetable oil, canola oil, avocado oil, etc.
Other ingredient details and nutritional information are shared in the recipe card.
How to make (step-by-step instructions)?
Follow the easy step-by-step instructions given below to make this easy quinoa recipe:
Step 1: Rinse quinoa and put it in a saucepan.
Step 2: Add water and cook uncovered on medium heat for 12-15 minutes or until all the water is absorbed. Turn off the heat.
Step 3: Cover the saucepan with a lid and leave covered for 5 minutes.
Step 4: After 5 minutes, remove the lid and fluff quinoa with a fork. Keep it aside.
Step 5: Heat oil in a pan. Add chopped onion and sauté until it becomes translucent.
Step 6: Add minced garlic and sauté for about a minute.
Step 7: Add chopped green chilies and all the powdered spices. Sauté for a few seconds.
Step 8: Add tomato paste and cook for around 30 seconds.
Step 9: Add chopped tomatoes and salt. Mix and cook covered on medium heat until the tomatoes turn mushy and are no longer raw.
Step 10: Add chopped cilantro and cook with tomatoes for a minute.
Step 11: Add cooked quinoa and mix well. Turn off the heat.
Step 12: Garnish with chopped cilantro.
Your simple tomato quinoa is ready to be served.
Serving tomato quinoa
Tomato quinoa is usually served hot or warm.
It can be served as a side dish and also a light meal.
Serve it with a simple salad of cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions for crunch and freshness like this Indian kachumber salad, a simple spicy onion salad, or Middle Eastern Fattoush.
To create an Indian meal with it, serve any Indian pickle or poppadum with it. Non vegans may also pair tomato quinoa with plain yogurt or a raita like cucumber raita, onion raita, beetroot raita, potato raita, or mung been sprouts raita, for giving a cooling balance to the tangy flavor.
You can also serve this delicious side dish with some roasted veggies on the side.
Or, just serve with lemon wedges on the side for a refreshing squeeze before eating.
Storing, freezing, reheating tips
To store, allow quinoa reaching room temperature. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate. It will be fine for 3-4 days.
It can also be frozen in freezer safe airtight containers or zip lock bags for up to 3 months.
To reheat, if the quinoa is frozen, thaw it first.
Then transfer to a microwave safe dish. Add a splash of water and microwave for a minute. Take out the container, stir, and continue heating until heated evenly.
Else, transfer to a pan, add a splash of water, cover the pan, and reheat for a few minutes i.e. until heated well. Keep on checking and stirring in between.
Recipe tips, tricks, and variation suggestions
- This is a simple tomato quinoa recipe. If you want to make it more hearty, add chopped vegetables like green beans, bell peppers, carrots, cauliflower, green peas, sweet corn, kalamata olives, etc. to it.
- For a protein boost, you can add white beans, chickpeas, black beans, kidney beans or grilled tofu to this dish. Vegetarians may add paneer, feta cheese, parmesan cheese, goat cheese, or any cheese of choice.
- Instead of using fresh tomatoes, you can also add canned crushed tomatoes.
- Feel free to use seasonings of your choice to flavor the dish.
- To add more flavor, cook quinoa in vegetable broth instead of water.
- Season the tomato mix well otherwise the quinoa will taste bland.
Frequently asked questions
Quinoa is a grain.
Yes, quinoa is a gluten-free ingredient.
Yes, you can replace quinoa with rice or any millet of choice. Couscous can also be used in this recipe.
More easy quinoa recipes
If you want are looking for more ideas to add quinoa to your diet then the following recipes are worth trying out:
More tomato recipes
Want to try more tomato recipes this tomato season? Don't miss to try out the following easy tomato recipes collected from around the world:
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Recipe
Easy tomato quinoa
Equipment
- 1 saucepan or small cooking pot with a lid to cook quinoa
- 1 large skillet or pan
- Spatula
- Knife and chopping board
Ingredients
Ingredients to cook quinoa
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- 2 cups water
Other ingredients
- 1 medium red onion finely chopped
- 2 medium tomatoes finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 green chili finely chopped
- ¼ cup finely chopped cilantro
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon red chili flakes adjust to taste
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper adjust to taste
- Salt to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- Rinse quinoa and put it in a saucepan. Add water and cook uncovered on medium heat for 12-15 minutes or until all the water is absorbed. Turn off the heat.
- Cover the saucepan with a lid and leave covered for 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes, remove the lid and fluff quinoa with a fork. Keep it aside.
- Heat oil in a pan. Add chopped onion and saute until it becomes translucent.
- Add minced garlic and saute for about a minute.
- Add chopped green chilies and all the powdered spices. Saute for a few seconds.
- Add tomato paste and cook for around 30 seconds.
- Add chopped tomatoes and salt. Mix and cook covered on medium heat until the tomatoes turn mushy and are no longer raw.
- Add chopped cilantro and cook with tomatoes for a minute.
- Add cooked quinoa and mix well. Turn off the heat.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro.
Notes
- This is a simple tomato quinoa recipe. If you want to make it more hearty, add chopped vegetables like green beans, bell peppers, carrots, cauliflower, green peas, sweet corn, kalamata olives, etc. to it.
- For a protein boost, you can add white beans, chickpeas, black beans, kidney beans or grilled tofu to this dish. Vegetarians may add paneer, feta cheese, parmesan cheese, goat cheese, or any cheese of choice.
- Instead of using fresh tomatoes, you can also add canned crushed tomatoes.
- Feel free to use seasonings of your choice to flavor the dish.
- To add more flavor, cook quinoa in vegetable broth instead of water.
- Season the tomato mix well otherwise the quinoa will taste bland.
- More recipe tips, tricks, and variation suggestions are shared in the post above.
This was great! I added extra veg (carrots, peas, green beans and sweetcorn) and also beans. Very nice!
Thank you ๐
So simple and tasty.
Thank you Cherry ๐