Quinoa is a high-protein, good-for-you grain. It can be substituted for couscous and makes a lovely side dish. This recipe is a crunchy, lemony, healthy dish that can be used as a side or as a light meal.
I was unsure about the onion & celery being uncooked in this dish but made for a healthy dinner party with crab cakes and red pepper sauce. Perfect together and the quinoa was delicious and vegetable crunchy. I introduced quinoa to friends with this dish and they loved it. When serving, I packed it in a 1/2 cup measuring cup and it stayed molded on the plate. I topped it with a stem of rosemary and it was pretty and tasted wonderful. Nice side dish.
Read MoreNot my favorite - made the recipe as is - too lemony for my tastes. Very acidy - felt like I was missing something.
Read MoreI was unsure about the onion & celery being uncooked in this dish but made for a healthy dinner party with crab cakes and red pepper sauce. Perfect together and the quinoa was delicious and vegetable crunchy. I introduced quinoa to friends with this dish and they loved it. When serving, I packed it in a 1/2 cup measuring cup and it stayed molded on the plate. I topped it with a stem of rosemary and it was pretty and tasted wonderful. Nice side dish.
Yummy! I boiled my quinoa in stock, and found it a bit too intensely flavoured. Next time I'll use 1/2 water and 1/2 stock. I added chopped red pepper and cucumber as well as the zest of the lemon I squeezed. Very yummy salad, thanks for the recipe!
Very good side dish. When I make it again, I'll add the spices to the water so the flavour blends into the grain, and since I'm not vegetarian, I'll use chicken stalk to increase the flavour. I don't like pine nuts & substituted whole cashews. I sauted the veggies & cashews in a little olive oil for a nice hot supper for myself while the family is away.
I made this recipe as a side dish and it turned out great. Loved the crunchy texture and the bright lemony taste. The next day I added a little olive oil to the cold leftovers and that was my lunch. One thing I did do, after reading several articles on quinoa, was rinse it thoroughly before cooking it.
This was a delicious recipe! I didn't have any pine nuts, so I used some slivered almonds instead. I also left out the parsley, because I didn't have that either! Even with these changes, the quinoa turned out great and was very tasty. Thanks for the recipe; I will be making it again!
I loved this dish.....I did omit the celery and pine nuts since I didnt have any on hand...I did sautee the red onion,garlic, and a diced zucchini and added that to the cooked quinoa. Loved the lemon juice flavor and enhanced that by adding the zest of a lemon as well. Very fresh tasting. Very healthy. Will make again!
This was the first time I prepared quinoa, and I won't be looking for other recipes... I did make some changes to the recipe that I will use the next time: I sauteed the vegetables (used a shredded zucchini in addition to the onion), added curry in addition to cumin (actually by accident - I grabbed the wrong "c" spice and it was added before I realized it) and used slivered almonds (that I browned in butter) in place of the pine nuts.
I loved this recipe. Healthy and delicious. I added the veggies and spices while it was still in the pot. Didn't have pine nuts, so used toasted pumpkin seeds.
Now this is some pretty good stuff!!! I love the flavour of the lemon mixed with the spicyness of the cayenne pepper! I threw in some dried cranberries for good measure too - awesome meal! Thanks for the recipe! A definite keeper!
I've never cooked quinoa at home before, but this recipe reminded me of one of my favorite dishes from a local restaurant, and I just had to try it. So glad I did! I thought the lemon was refreshing and tangy, but not overpowering (although I love lemon -- so maybe add bit by bit until you get the flavor you want.) I used cucumber instead of celery, added a little red bell pepper, and cooked the quinoa in half chicken broth-half water. I omitted the pine nuts since the recipe I was trying to recreate didn't have them.
I liked this recipe. I am always looking for new ways to prepare quinoa, and this one was different and tasty. One comment, however: quinoa is actually a seed, not a grain. Just like to keep things accurate!
Super delicious just as the recipe is written. No modifications needed. The taste can be altered by poor tasting celery, parsley, lemon or onion, so since you don't cook those ingredients use the freshest you can find.
This is a great recipe, but I did need to make quite a few changes to make it perfect for my family. First I found that it was a little dry and needed more flavor, so I doubled the amount of Lemon, and Cumin. I left the cayenne pepper the same since my children do not like spicy food. I also added Garlic, 1 tbsp of Lemon zest, 1 tbsp of sugar, 1 tsp olive oil, shredded carrots, red bell pepper, and grape tomatoes. I took out the pine nuts and cut the amount of parsley in half. I will normally serve it on a bed of arugula, with grilled chicken strips. I know it is a lot of changes, but this is a great base recipe that has become a family favorite and is always on the request list for neighborhood BBQ's.
This is one of the best quinoa recipes I have ever seen. I used slivered almonds instead of pine nuts because the almonds were half the price of the pine nuts. I also used lime juice instead of lemon because that is what I had handy. I added a teaspoon of curry powder after reading other reviews. I didn't add any salt (I prefer food less salty). This was tasty, refreshing with just the right amount of crunch. This will make a great potluck dish.
Not my favorite - made the recipe as is - too lemony for my tastes. Very acidy - felt like I was missing something.
I doubled the recipe so that I could take some to a BBQ and have some for home as well. I substituted the pine nuts with chopped almonds and added 5 thinly sliced baby carrots and half a yellow pepper. At first, after I made it, I felt like it was missing "something". I had my son taste test it and he agreed there was "something" missing. So I added a little more cumin and cayenne pepper (maybe about another 1/4 teaspoon of each) Plus I added about 1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano. After I mixed everything in, I let it sit in the fridge for a couple of hours before serving. It was DELICIOUS (and very colorful). A huge hit at the BBQ.
Fabulous! I will be having this again! Also, this is a very substitution friendly recipe as others have mentioned (curry powder, raisins, toasted pumpkin seeds or other nuts, cilantro, couscous, etc.) It's great as is and as a starting point for creative cooking! Thanks for a fantastic recipe!
I liked the taste of this, except for too much celery for our likes. When looking at the recipe I knew that was too much, so I cut the amount in half. Next time I'll cut it down a little more even. Using fresh-squeezed lemon juice is a must - very tasty!
This is pretty good. It felt like it was missing something though. Next time I will try boiling the quinoa in half water and half stock for a little more flavor and maybe snip in some sun dried tomatoes. One thing I like to do to add a little more flavor to my quinoa is toast is first in a skillet before boiling it. Stir with a spatula over medium heat, rinse over a fine mesh strainer (to wash off any possible bitterness from the coating), then boil.
This was delicious. I tossed the celery, onion and seasonings in with the quinoa because I am lazy. :) Added pine nuts and lemon juice at the end.. just now realized I forgot the parsley.. oops will add that to the leftovers. It was very good and not too lemony for me
Very good!!!!!! An awesome recipe. Thank you. Changed it up a bit but still a great recipe as is...added chicken broth instead of water, 1 tsp of cumin and cilantro instead of parsley.
This is delicious! I would have given this five stars but I found that cooking the Quinoa in two cups of chicken broth gave it a better flavor than in water and eliminated the need for salt. So I am giving it four stars. So good and a nice accompaniment to any protein dish!
This was good, I would change a couple of things. 1st - Definitely saute the onions first, 5 minutes!! When they are raw there is way too much of a bite and the onion overwhelms the dish. Sauteed is so much better! You don't need to add salt to the cooking of the quinoa, just salt to taste when all ingredients are mixed together.
Loved this - quick and easy for lunch - I added diced cucumber and tomato along with tumrmuric, vegetable salt and cracked pepper just because - great balance of flavours.
I enjoyed the zing from the lemon. This recipe is versatile--added cumcumbers, mint.
This was easy and very good. We paired it with a lemon chicken and had no leftovers :-)
I love quinoa, but this seemed to be lacking something for me. I think it needed a little bit of a kick. If you like lemon, you will definitely like this, though... very lemony. Thanks!
This is a simple meal made very quickly. It's full of flavor and has different ingredients from the ordinary.
Even our pickiest 13 year old family member asked for seconds. Spicy and cool at the same time. The flavors linger in your mouth.
I had high hopes based on all of the reviews. I liked the crunchy of the celery/onion/pine nuts but the whole family didn't like the cumin/cayenne/lemon combo. I will keep searching.
I used walnuts instead of pinenuts, black pepper for cayenne pepper, and broth in place of water. I added carrots for sweetness and grated the peel of one lemon to give it a little more citrus.
This was good. I did find the lemon juice made it slightly bitter, so next time I'll try a bit of lemon zest instead. Really nice flavor otherwise.
Loved it! Made per the recipe, served the pine nuts on the side, tried it with and without the lemon juice and it was delicious both ways.
This is the 1st time I prepared quinoa, and it was important that my husband didn't feel it was bland. The only thing I did different was left out the parsley only because I didn't have any on hand. Other than that it was to the 'T'. We both enjoyed it and I will make it again. There will be one adjustment; only 1/2 the lemon juice will be used. It was just too strong for our taste. Thanks so much for the recipe. Happy cooking!
I love all the lemon flavoring. I will cut back on the lemon if we had young taste buds at the table, because my daughter was puckering up whenver she had a bite of the quinoa. I have only made quinoa one other time, but after this effort, I think I will work it into our menu at least once a month. Its a nice change.
Quinoa is such a versatile (and yummy!) grain. This turned out to be a nice light side dish! As noted by a couple others, I also did not like the thought of celery mixed in, so opted to sauté zucchini with my onion before hand. I also added the cumin, cayenne and salt to the water with the quinoa. Also added lemon zest with the lemon juice at the end, but was unfortunately out of fresh parsley. Turned out great, thanks for sharing!
Nice texture with the celery and clean bright taste with the parsley and lemon. Thanks for the post.
It was okay but not my personal favorite. Too much like bird seed. My husband really liked it and my 8 year old went back for seconds so I guess it was not all bad. I will try it again maybe without the cumin since I am not a huge fan of that spice. I did saute the onion and celery in a little butter until they were soft because I wanted to soften the onion taste and I hate raw celery. The pine nuts were great!
This may be an excellent recipe with a few more additions since the flavor is all lemon rather than a nicely combined flavor. It is, however, a very healthy addition to any meal and I would recommend anyone try this as a base recipe and be creative with extras.
YUMMY! I added some boiled and peeled shrimp and ate it as a main dish.
Delicious and tasty. I doubled for a potluck and it was all gone. A really great side dish to have for your friends who cannot eat wheat & for vegetarians. I used the tri-color quinoa from Trader Joes and as suggested, chicken broth instead of water. This recipe is sort of like a taboulleh for quinoa. I did add an entire diced English cuc & three plum tomatoes, and not quite as much parsley as called for, about 1/2 c and salt. Lots of color and great taste! A great way to use this grain.
Really good! Used toasted pecans in place of the pine nuts. Added a dash of curry as someone else suggested. Also cooked quinoa in half water, half chicken broth. Very good recipe; thanks!
This was AWESOME! I didn't have pine nuts or cayenne pepper. Other than that, I followed the recipe to the letter and it was delicious!
Outstanding! The only changes I made was substituting cilantro for parsley. Definitely a keeper.
I loved this recipe. I did a few changes though. I sauted the onion and celery first, just until they softened a bit, not mushy. Then I added the lemon juice just before all the water had cooked out and let the lemon juice cook out as well. Wonderful!
I omitted the celery (husband doesn't like it) and subbed red peppers. I also sauteed the onions and red pepper in olive oil before adding to the quinoa. I thought this recipe was delicious. Light with a little bit of spice! Thank you.
I just made this for the first time and its yummy, I'm usually not a grain type of person but it made a nice change from potatoes or salad as I had it with a piece of salmon. I didn't change the recipe much but after reading some reviews I put the spices in the water and cooked it like that, I added celery leaves instead of parsley and some chopped red pepper along with a small amount of onion, no nuts (they get stuck in my teeth). Can't wait to have it cold for lunch tomorrow.
We loved this! We made a lot and it was an easy meal or snack to grab and eat cold. I added some julienned carrots, slightly steamed and they went perfectly. I do think it needs heavier veggies, so I doubled the celery and onion.
This makes a great side dish or luncheon salad. I used toasted slivered almonds instead of pine nuts (can't get them easily out here), but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. When adjusting the salt and pepper I realized that the dish absolutely required carrots; what a difference a little bit of chopped carrot made. Had leftovers right out of the fridge for lunch the next day -- great! Thanks, MBlassnig, for a delicious quinoa recipe.
Our family loves this side dish with grilled salmon. I have a tough time finding/keeping from going rancid pine nuts so I usually omit them, but it's still wonderful.
This was absolutely delicious. I didn't change a thing and served it with grilled chicken/steamed broccoli. This was my first venture with cooking quinoa and this recipe was a GREAT start! I highly recommend!
My husband didn't love this but I thought it was very nice. We both liked the texture and taste provided by the toasted pine nuts. I used veg stock instead of water for more flavor (and therefore omitted the salt), white onion in place of red, and 5 large sprigs of Italian parsley. It was a little too acidic and seemed to be missing something when it was served hot, but it had a mellower and more pleasant flavor when it was served cold the next day. I will make it again but I will only serve it cold, so it would make a great addition to packed lunches.
If you don't have pine nuts, slivered almonds are a good substitute. Toast them in the same way.
Very Good base recipe, I did need to add some garlic and increase the spices to make it more flavorful, and I used veggie stock rather than water and that helped with the flavor as well. Quinoa is a delicious, healthy grain and I am always looking for different ways to prepare it. Thanks for the recipe!
First time making quinoa. I added chopped cucumber, a splash of olive oil, and a can of artichoke hearts, cut very small. Didn't have pinenuts or fresh parsley, used toasted walnut pieces and dried herb. Just realized I missed the cayenne and cumin, but I did add cracked black pepper. Served with high-quality canned salmon and extra lemon. Yum!
This was so easy to make and was so full of flavor. And so healthy too. I added chicken to give it more protein and make it a more of a meal. I definitely recommend this one.
This was a nice side dish. I would definitely increase the lemon factor next time. Might have just been my lemons this time!
I love quinoa but not to much in this recipe. There was to much parsley and I didn't like the veggies raw. If I make this again I will cut back the amount of parsley and saute the veggies a bit before adding.
I'm giving this 4 stars because the recipe should say "Serve 24-hours later." It's soooo much better the next day. Since the celery and onion aren't cooked, it's just too crunchy and raw to serve same-day. I also added a touch of olive oil. Other than that, very good!
A delicious and light dish. Pine nuts were too expensive, so I substituted them for cashews. I also threw some pumpkin seeds and red peppers into the dish and omitted the parsley.
Best quinoa dish ever! This is our go-to quinoa dish as it can be stored in the fridge as a healthy protein-rich snack for my daughter. I often double the recipe because we can dust a single batch in one sitting. Try adding raisins for a nice sweet element. And I tend to use more lemon for a more zingy flavor. Yum!!!!!
Good recipe. I didn't have red onion and used a small sweet vidalia onion instead. Made this 2 nights ago for dinner and am having leftover for lunch today. Was good 2 nights ago warm for dinner, and is even better today, cold straight from the frig. The flavors may have even improved.
I would not recommend this to anyone. It tasted way too lemony and too spicy for kids to enjoy. I was surprised to see such good reviews. I will not be making this again.
I followed other reviewer's suggestions and used 1/2 chicken stock, 1/2 water, added the cumin & cayenne pepper while the quinoa was cooking. I don't like onions so I also added a few dashes of onion powder while it was cooking. Omitted the fresh parsley as I didn't have any on hand. It could use a bit more flavor, but it was an easy, tasty and healthy dish that I would make again.
I didn't have any pine nuts, but other than that I followed the recipe. I really didn't care for this. It was bland. All that really came through was the lemon juice. We reheated leftovers with some shredded cheddar cheese on top and that helped a lot, but I won't be making this again.
We really liked this! Made this to accompany Whitefish for guests eating gluten-free. Even my husband, who doesn't like anything "healthy" (Lol!), enjoyed it! I used chicken broth to boil it, didn't add all the lemon juice. I was concerned about the veggies not being cooked but it was perfect. I also like that quinoa only takes 10-15 minutes as opposed to 50 for brown rice. Will definitely make this again!
This was delicious! After reading the reviews, here are my adjustments: I used more lemon because I really like it, and I also used the zest from the lemon. I used 1 c water and 1 c stock for more flavor. I sauteed the onion and celery in a little olive oil, and added the spices to this, to give them a chance to become fragrant and release their flavors. Since it was my first time making quinoa, I rinsed it as I've heard to do. I'm not sure what difference it makes, but I do know people that use quinoa a lot swear by rinsing it before use. Delicious!
Sorry, but I can't imagine this being acceptable to most kids or picky husbands. In an effort to salvage what was leftover I added a chopped apple, sliced grapes, light mayonnaise, and some chunked chicken breast for a delicious chicken salad.
Cut recipe in 1/2. Sauteed celery, onion, garlic and ch. almonds before adding to quinoa. Cooked quinoa w/chicken stock and added the cumin to the broth.
Loved it! I used vegetable stock instead of water and added the cumin and ground pepper to it before addind the quinoa. I also followed others' recommedations and boiled the water and spices before adding the quinoa. It did take a lot longer than the bag of quinoa said--closer to 20 mins in the pot.
loved it! I will make it again. I shredded carrot into the pot as it was near the end of cooking and a little minced garlic to the pot also.
This is a great recipe! I boiled my quinoa in reduced sodium chicken broth and added some sauteed zucchini and onions because I did not have (or particularly like the idea of ) the cold celery. i also added a dash of garlic powder and onion powder. yum!
A wonderful and healthy recipe! We will deinitely try it again. I followed the recipe but just for fun and because I had the ingredients on hand I added diced sweet red pepper, diced black mission figs and chopped fresh basil. I took the hint from Cook471 and set it up on the plates in 1/2 cup molds topped with a basil leaf (the rosemary would have been prettier but I didn't have any fresh!) Someone suggested adding diced cucumber. Great idea especially for summer. I will do that the next time. Thanks for a refreshing & healthy side dish!
I have never had quinoa before and really wanted to try it. After searching around for a simple recipe, I came across this one. It turned out utterly delicious!!! I left out the pine nuts b/c I love them but they don't love me back :-( The celery gave the quinoa a nice crunch and I loved the lemon flavor mixed with the sea salt. I will try to make quinoa a few different ways, but I know this will be my go to recipe when I know I will get something good!!!
This has been my go-to quinoa recipe for a while now. However, I skip on the celery and instead I like to broil asparagus or artichoke hearts in olive oil, salt and pepper, and fresh grated reggiano. I chop it up and throw it in there instead. Sometimes I throw in chick peas and red beans for some protein. Delicious!
This is excellent and perfect as written! I didn't think it was too lemony at all. The flavors all blended together beautifully. I used 3/4 tsp. sea salt, which I think helped to balance out the lemon. I'm not a big fan of celery, but I enjoyed it in this dish. Next time I might add some chopped spinach to make it a complete meal.
An unusual flavor ..... unexpected and exciting! I really liked it - it is the first 'warm' quinoa recipe I have really enjoyed.
Excellent. I used toasted almonds and omitted parsley because I didn't have any. I think I'll make it again with cukes and red pepper and/or zucchini added
Quick. Easy. Great flavor. I did add a little less lemon and added a little chicken broth.
Holy parsley!!! I only used a bit of the "bunch" of parsley and it overpowered the dish. I think all of the "stuff" overpowered the quinoa in this a bit, which would be nice if you don't like quinoa anyway. I followed the recipe in that I didn't cook the onions and celery. Perhaps that is why they were a little overpowering. Might try sauteing a bit before adding next time or just adding a bit less. I'll definitely add a lot less parsley next time! Also, I forgot to get the pine nuts so I ended up using sliced almonds. Very good with these as well!
I've been looking for more quinoa recipes and this one is definitely a keeper. I absolutely loved it and could nibble on it all day long. Due to lack of ingredients, I left out the onions and used cilantro instead of parsley.
Good recipe! I followed the notes of several reviewers and cooked the quinoa in half broth, half water, I added the spices to the quinoa while cooking. I also cooked the celery and onions in a little olive oil.
Excellent! I would only suggest more pine nuts. I have never cooked with pine cuts before and now I love them. I cooked the quinoa with a little bit of Knorr chicken powder and with the cumin. I also love cumin a lot so I added some after anyway. I usually add more lemon to recipes than required, but this one doesn't need it.
Good! But I made changes too. I used vegetable broth instead of water, I added zuccinni, green pepper and fresh garlic. Great flavor!
My kids didn't like this and I thought it was only "ok". The cumin overpowered the dish and we couldn't taste the lemon. Don't know if I'd make this again, I'm sorry.
Great recipe and very versatile. Yes, I did modify. Sauteed ¼ cup onion and two chopped cloves of garlic then added 3 chicken bouillon cubes to the water. Didn't have enough fresh parsley so used about 3 tablespoons of Thai basil, purple basil, and parsley. This recipe would probably be fabulous with shrimp. Will add shrimp pieces to the onion/garlic saute next time.
I made it with sliced almonds since I didn't have pine nuts and did a few other things a little different (parsley wasn't fresh and I used bottled lemon juice) but it still turned out pretty well!
I thought this dish was delicious and quite healthy, But it didn't quite pass the kid and husband test. I made exactly as the recipe said, but I think next time I will use almonds instead of pine nuts, that was the only part I wasn't too thrilled about. May also add some extra veggies simply because we love veggies in this house. But otherwise very good dish!
This is delicious!! I have made it several times and most people have asked for the recipe to cook it at home. The recipe has spread like wildfire! I change it a little bit. I don't add celery due to an allergy, but I add olive oil. I never prepare quinoa dishes without olive oil. Delicious!
First time making and serving Quinoa. We loved this. It was so fresh tasting with the lemon and celery. We served it with salmon and it was so satisfying. We will serve this again.
