Quinoa beet salad with pistachios is a nutritious and delicious Middle Eastern salad recipe that's full of flavors and textures. The combination of the earthy flavor of beets with the sweetness of golden raisins, freshness of herbs, chewy quinoa, and crunchy pistachios is worth trying. It's vegan and gluten-free.
Though I was never a fussy eater even as a kid and happily ate all the fruits and vegetables it took me some time to acquire the taste of beetroot.
My parents who always believed in healthy eating, cooked beets regularly when they were in season. The more I started eating them, the more I started liking them.
Now I love beets and use them in a lot of my recipes. I have already shared a lot of easy beetroot recipes on my blog which you must try if you also like beets or want to start eating them.
Today I am sharing a Middle Eastern style beetroot salad recipe with quinoa which is full of flavors, textures, and colors. If you enjoy this salad, don't miss to check out my other Middle Eastern salad recipes like fava bean chickpea salad, Lebanese butter bean salad, or tomato parsley salad.
It's perfect for lunch box, potluck, or any simple meal.
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What goes in this quinoa beet salad?
You will need the following ingredients to make beetroot quinoa in Middle Eastern style:
Ingredient notes
- Beetroot: Instead of grating, you can also use very finely chopped beets. If you don't like the taste of raw beets, saute them for a few minutes before adding to the salad.
- Quinoa: Any variety- white, red, black, rainbow, etc is fine to be used in this recipe.
- Water: For adding more flavor, use vegetable stock instead of water.
- Herbs: I have used mint and cilantro but parsley, and dill also taste good in this salad. Use any herb of your choice.
- Golden raisins: The sweetness of raisins balance the earthiness of beets. You can also add black raisins, cranberries, etc.
- Pistachios: I love pistachios and their green color beautifully compliments the color of beets so I have used them. You can use other nuts or seeds too for adding crunch to this salad.
How to make?
To make this quinoa beetroot salad, just follow the steps below:
Cook quinoa: Rinse ½ cup quinoa with water and put it in a pot. Add 1 cup water and cook uncovered for around 15 minutes or until all the water gets evaporated. Cover the pan and switch off the stove. Don't remove the lid for at least 5 minutes. After that, remove the lid and fluff quinoa with a fork. Keep it aside.
Do the chopping and grating: Peel the beets and grate with the help of a grater. You can also very finely chop it. Peel and mince garlic. Roughly chop the herbs.
Prepare the dressing: In a bowl prepare the salad dressing by mixing extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, minced garlic, roasted cumin powder, salt, and pepper.
Mix everything: Put the cooked quinoa, beets, herbs, pistachios, and raisins in a large bowl. Pour the dressing and toss.
Enjoy your Middle Eastern quinoa beet salad!
Step by step photo instructions
Serving beetroot quinoa salad
This flavorful quinoa salad can be enjoyed as a light healthy meal.
You can serve some roasted potatoes or other roasted vegetables on the side.
It can also be stuffed inside wraps and sandwiches or added to the buddha bowls.
How to store?
To store, just put it in an air-tight container and refrigerate. It will be fine for around 3-4 days.
Can it be frozen?
Yes, this salad can be frozen for 3-4 months. However, I would suggest adding freshly toasted nuts when you are serving it.
Recipe tips, tricks, and variation suggestions
- For extra crunch and flavor toast the pistachios for a few minutes before adding to the salad.
- If you don't like the taste of raw beets, slightly saute the grated beets and then use in the salad.
- To add heat to the salad add chili flakes or finely chopped chili peppers.
- For extra flavor, also use lemon zest in the dressing.
- For me, the sweetness of raisins is enough in this salad. However, if you want to add more sweetness to it, add a sweetener of choice like maple syrup or honey(non-vegans) to the dressing.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, quinoa is naturally gluten-free.
If you don't like beets, make a similar salad using carrots.
Dry roast cumin seeds in a pan on low flame until they start turning fragrant. Allow to reach room temperature and then grind to make a fine powder. Store in an airtight container and use to flavor your salads and Indian curries.
To make perfect fluffy quinoa the ratio of quinoa and water should be 1:2 i.e. for 1 cup of quinoa, 2 cups of water should be used. However, there are more tips and tricks which you need to follow to cook perfect non-mushy quinoa. You can check them on my Mexican quinoa salad recipe.
More vegan quinoa recipe
Looking for more vegan quinoa recipes? Don't miss to check the following links:
- Quinoa pulao
- Quinoa fruit salad
- Lentil quinoa soup
- Healthy quinoa salad
- Mexican quinoa salad
- Vegan quinoa salad
- Curried quinoa with vegetables
More easy beetroot recipes
If you are looking for more ideas to include beets in your diet, the following recipes are worth trying:
- Beetroot chilla
- Indian beetroot rice
- Beetroot raita(vegetarian)
- Beetroot poriyal
- Easy beetroot hummus
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Recipe
Quinoa beetroot salad
Equipment
- Cooking pot
- Grater
Ingredients
- ½ cup quinoa
- 1 medium-sized beetroot grated
- 10-12 fresh mint leaves roughly chopped
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro
- 2 tablespoons shelled pistachios roasted
- 2 tablespoons golden raisins
- 1 cup water
Ingredients for dressing
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice adjust to taste
- 2 cloves minced garlic adjust to taste
- ½ teaspoon roasted cumin powder
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Rinse quinoa and put it in a pot. Add water and cook uncovered for around 15 minutes or until all the water gets evaporated. Cover the pan and switch off the stove. Don't remove the lid for at least 5 minutes. After that, remove the lid and fluff quinoa with a fork.
- In a bowl mix all the ingredients of dressing to prepare the salad dressing.
- Put quinoa, grated beets, pistachio, raisins, and chopped herbs in a large bowl.
- Pour the dressing and toss well. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Instead of grating, you can also use finely chopped beets.
- If you don't like the taste of raw beets, saute them for a few minutes before adding them to the salad.
- For extra sweetness, add a sweetener of choice to the dressing like maple syrup.
- More recipe tips and tricks are shared in the post above, please follow them to make this recipe.
I have been lucking out with some internet recipes BUT this is a winner. Delicious!! Made exactly as stated ( well maybe a few extra raisons) Definitely writing this one down!
Thanks Victoria 🙂