Balsamic Roasted Veggie Quinoa Bowl

Happy New Year! Ok, yes. I know, I’m a little late to the party. But things have been cray-cray around here. Kids have been getting sick left and right and there just hasn’t been a minute for me to focus on making something other than Annie’s Mac ‘n Cheese and chicken nuggets. Until now. And this delicious Balsamic Roasted Veggie Quinoa Bowl.

This bowl of deliciousness is savory, sweet, hearty and… healthy? Yes. Healthy. Like anyone else, I like to start off the New Year thinking I’m going to eat better, cleanse, exercise more – yada yada yada. Thankfully, this dish fits into that plan and can be made ahead – like most things in my life. You can, of course, customize it with whichever veggies you love to roast – I like to keep it simple with these usual suspects: vidalia onion, garlic, red pepper, zucchini and yellow squash. That way, no single veggie is overpowering and the sweet, aged balsamic vinegar really takes the stage. If you don’t have a bottle of an aged balsamic vinegar you are missing out. You can probably head to your local HomeGoods and find one there – or you can find it at Williams Sonoma – that’s the one I use. Aged balsamic vinegar can get pricey and you don’t need to go too crazy. A little bit of this stuff goes a long way. It’s perfect for salad dressing and I love to add it to my olive oil when we’re getting fancy and dipping our bread in oil at dinner.

I will be back to posting unhealthy treats for Valentine’s Day and the like soon enough, but for a minute, I’ll be in my ‘Healthy New Year Zen Zone’. Happy Monday Tuesday and here’s to starting off the week with everyone healthy enough to be in school again! Woohoo!

Print Recipe

Balsamic Roasted Veggie Quinoa Bowl

Ingredients:

• 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
• 1 red pepper, cubed into large chunks
• 1 zuchinni, 1/4" sliced
• 1 yellow squash, 1/4" sliced
• 1 Vidalia onion, cubed into large chunks
• 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 1 Tbsp Aged Balsamic Vinegar plus more for drizzling
• 2 Tbsp olive oil plus more for drizzling
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Spread the prepped veggies out on the baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar.  Season with salt and pepper and toss with your hands to get everything evenly coated.
3. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the veggies are tender and the onions are begining to caramelize.
4. While the veggies are baking, add the rinsed quinoa to 2 cups of salted water and bring to a boil.  Cover the pot and reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes.  Turn off the heat and let it sit, covered, for 5 minutes - then fluff the quinoa with a fork and allow it to cool for 10 minutes.
5. In a large bowl, combine the roasted veggies and cooked quinoa - add in the 2 Tbsp of olive oil and 1 Tbsp aged balsamic vinegar and toss to combine.  Add more salt and pepper only if needed.