I love quinoa. Sure, it has a great nutritional profile, but what I like best about it is that it’s fast: it cooks in about a third of the time it takes to cook brown rice, which makes it possible to throw together a meal at the last minute and still enjoy a whole grain.
By now you probably know that quinoa is an excellent source of high quality protein. It contains all nine essential amino acids and is especially high in lysine, an amino acid that is scarce in most plant foods but is necessary for tissue growth and repair. What you might not have heard is that quinoa is full of all sorts of other nutrients. According to The New Whole Foods Encyclopedia, it’s a rich source of calcium as well as magnesium, iron, copper and phosphorous. And to top it off, it’s gluten-free, so those who are sensitive to gluten can enjoy it in its whole state or made into flour, pastas, or breads.
I’m glad that it’s so nutritious because it means I can get a healthy meal on the table quickly on nights when it’s gotten too late to get a pot of rice cooking. Though the grains are smaller, quinoa can be used in almost anything rice can. It can form the base for a stir-fry or a bean dish, it can be made into pilafs, and it’s especially good in grain salads.
In the recipe below, I used it instead of white rice in a vegetable paella and discovered another way that my family loves quinoa.
Quinoa Vegetable Paella
Ingredients
- 1 onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 1/2 cup quinoa
- 1/4 teaspoon saffron crushed
- 2 teaspoons Spanish smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- dash cayenne
- 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 red or yellow bell pepper chopped
- 1 14-ounce can light red kidney beans rinsed and drained
- 2 3/4-3 cups vegetable broth
- 2 medium zucchini halved lengthwise and sliced
- 1 cup fresh or frozen peas
- 1 can artichoke hearts rinsed and cut into quarters
Instructions
- Put the quinoa into a large bowl. Cover with water and stir well to wash the grain. Pour off the water and then repeat the washing process. You may also put the quinoa into a fine mesh strainer and rinse thoroughly.
- Sauté onion and garlic in a deep non-stick skillet with a little water until soft. (I use my deep, 13-inch saute pan for this.) Add the quinoa and saffron and cook, stirring, for another 2 minutes. Add paprika, cumin, cayenne, tomatoes, peppers, beans, and 2 3/4 cups vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to very low, and cook covered for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, check to see if more broth is needed. If it looks dry, add the remaining vegetable broth. Place the zucchini on top of the quinoa and re-cover. Cook for about 5 more minutes, until quinoa is done. Remove the cover, stir in the peas, and cook uncovered until peas are warm and all liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Arrange the artichoke hearts on the top and serve. Add salt at the table, if necessary.
Nutritional info is approximate.
Extra! Here are a few delicious-looking, vegan quinoa recipes from around the blogs:
- Quinoa, Corn and Spinach Chowder from bunnyfoot
- Quinoa Balls with Puttanesca Sauce from vanesscipes (Oh, I am drooling!)
- Quick Quinoa Paella from speedvegan
- Quinoa/Pistachio Salad from Fun With Your Food
- African-Inspired Quinoa Peanut Soup from Eat Peace Please (by way of Nava Atlas)
- Vegan Quinoa and Brown Rice Sushi and Cavi-Art from Spice Island Vegan (Beautiful!)
Jaime
January 18, 2010 at 4:48 pmGreat recipe, but you can´t call this a Paella. It is another thing but not a Paella.
Jessica
February 19, 2010 at 3:18 pmGreat recipe. I love Quinoa. This yields quite a lot, and was even better reheated.
lovemyfamily
March 16, 2010 at 4:26 pmGreat recipe. Next time I'll only add 2 cups of broth and more if I need it cause it took a long time to cook off and never really did cook all the water off, but good enough. this does make a huge amount of food and I plan to freeze some if any is leftover from supper and lunch tomorrow.
Vegangal
July 28, 2010 at 3:19 pmMade this tonight and it was GORGEOUS!!! Added a little chilli, and I used turmeric instead of saffron. I also left out the artichoke hearts as there were none to hand. Otherwise, it was as the recipe called for.
Really delicious with a glass of Spanish red. Thank you for the recipe.
Azahara
August 1, 2010 at 2:18 amI needed a break from cooking, but my mom doesn’t know much about vegan dishes, so I translated this recipe for her and she cooked it for the family. Before it was done, my dad complained that a paella without seafood is not a paella, but he stopped whining once he tried it. We all loved it, and it’s true, it’s a subtle dish, but I like it like that. I also second you on the overnight improvement. As lovemyfamily notes, “this does make a huge amount of food,” so I had some reaheated leftovers and I’m also going to freeze a spare serving for my next no-cooking day.
Thanks for yet another great recipe, Susan!
P.S.: Instead of vegetable broth we used artichoke broth, which gave it a more paella-like flavor. Ours was homemade, but I guess you could always find it in some grocery stores in the U.S.
~M
August 26, 2010 at 7:49 pmI really enjoy this recipe and have made it several times! I usually sub garbanzo beans for the kidney ones since I prepare a huge batch of them from scratch and freeze them. Instead of artichokes, which my husband and I don’t care for, we use mandarin oranges (the kind that come in juice, but we don’t use the juice). It’s delicious, and I’m glad to see that it freezes well!
valeItaly
October 23, 2010 at 6:15 amgreat recipe I will try ‘to make the Quinoa love it …. I eat them often …. nice description of the nutritional values in Italy and not’ widely used Peccatte! ciaoo
Anjali Shah
November 21, 2010 at 9:33 pmI made this recipe this weekend and it turned out great! I made a few modifications like adding lemon juice, salt, sliced toasted almonds, etc – but overall it was a really great recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Hayley
December 6, 2010 at 10:21 pmI made this last night for our Earthsave Whistler potluck. It was delicious! Thank you!
Megan
January 10, 2011 at 7:40 amMade this last night, and it was excellent. Our local vegan restaurant gem– Great Sage– makes a vegan paella, and I’d say this certainly rivals it! Looking forward to leftovers for lunch…
stephanie
January 30, 2011 at 7:43 pmmade this tonight . . . so wonderful!!
Pamela
February 1, 2011 at 12:21 pmThis is a great dish!!!! I made it for my young sisters when they came up for a night and we all loved it! It says that it makes about 6 servings but it seems like I was able to get a lot more then that out of it. I still have leftovers and you are correct, it tastes even better overnight. The one little change I made was adding a bit of hot sauce, thank you for letting me know before hand that it was not going to be spicy.
kiki
February 1, 2011 at 7:40 pmMMMM. I had no saffron, so I used turmeric instead. Turned out great. I also had no tomato on hand and it still tasted fine. I love the artichoke on top, it adds the perfect taste. It also makes a ton, fridging for leftovers.
MsLeading
February 25, 2011 at 2:49 pmThis was lovely! I added a ton more vegetables to this (carrots, asparagus, yellow squash and capers), and it became a lovely clean-out-the-fridge meal. I also subbed adzuki beans for the kidneys out of preference, and added pressed, grilled tofu. Next time I’ll add the liquid from my artichokes to get even more tangy flavor, and I might consider simmering with kombu or something for that ocean-y essence.
Oddly, I encountered a number of people with the same reaction as the first commenter: “Without seafood, it can’t be paella!” I wholeheartedly reject the notion that the essence of the dish rests in the meat; besides, it’s called vegan or vegetable paella, so obviously there isn’t going to be any seafood. Using the name “paella” communicates the overall flavor and aesthetic experience of the dish, which is of course the point of naming foods at all. Just like the dairy industry fighting to preserve the meaning of “milk” as mammary excretion exclusively, name purists are missing the point (and being rather petty).
Anyway – great recipe, Susan! Thanks!
Happygirlie
March 30, 2011 at 7:06 amI JUST finished eating this and I can’t get over how delicious it is!!
It was one of the best vegan meals I’ve ever had!!
I followed the recipe exactly but cut the paprika in thin strips. Never knew how much I’d love cooking with saffron, this meal just made my day. So delicious. Thanks Susan! 😀
Boris
June 30, 2011 at 12:34 amI made this recipe yesterday and have enjoyed it both hot and as cold leftovers. Some posters have commented on this being a subtle dish and I would certainly second that; the flavours blend very well. I would perhaps have enjoyed it more had it had more of a wow effect but I think it’s a very good dish to serve to others. I’ve also noted an improvement overnight and would say that the recipe serves between 6 and 8 people. If I make this another time, I’d add some nuts and perhaps some exotic spice such as black cumin seeds.
Thanks for the recipe!
Cookie and Kate
August 22, 2011 at 7:02 pmHi Susan! I found this recipe through Bon Appetit. So exciting that we were both featured! I love the idea of quinoa paella. I ate paella in Barcelon a few years ago, before I became a vegetarian. Now I can enjoy it at home!
SusanV
August 22, 2011 at 7:54 pmThanks for letting me know about the Bon Appetit slideshow. I didn’t realize it had already gone live. Your quinoa tabbouleh looks delicious!
Michael Beyer
August 28, 2011 at 12:08 pmThanks for the inspired recipe. I like the idea of seasoning the quinoa with saffron and smoked paprika.
Mia J
October 11, 2011 at 4:39 pmThis recipe is WONDERFUL. I’ve made it several times and can never get over how good it is every time. Thanks!!
Rachel S.
April 21, 2012 at 9:02 pmThanks for the insirational recipe! I never had paella before I went vegan, and seeing it recently again on some cooking TV show made me a bit envious. I still wouldn’t have been inspired to try it myself if not for this recipe, and I definitely love the quinoa instead rice!
I only used 1 cup of quinoa, though, since 1) I knew my pan was a little smaller than the kind of pan you used and 2) I wanted to eat a higher ratio of vegetables to “grain.” I also scaled back the broth a bit to compensate, but otherwise used the same amount of everything, plus added some fresh green beans and a few kalamata olive halves. I also used fire-roasted diced tomatoes and frozen artichoke hearts (Trader Joe’s, thawed in some water) instead of jarred. I appreciate your warning that the the flavor is mild: I did add a sprinkling of black pepper, a bit of curry powder, extra cayenne, and some chipotle powder (plus lemon juice to finish). I still found it a bit mild and tomat0-ey. I think next time I’ll double the cumin (or more) for a bit more punch.
Thanks so much for the inspiration, though! I’m happy to have found another graeat one-dish meal for quinoa that I probably never would thought of!
Elle
April 27, 2012 at 6:08 pmThis is a tasty and nutritious recipe! It made a lot of food though!
Ashley
September 20, 2012 at 5:51 pmMy boyfriend made this for me tonight and it was wonderful!! 🙂
Laura
September 26, 2012 at 12:47 amVery new to being vegan and really appreciate this recipe. It is delicious, and gave me something new and exciting to eat! Making this new experience more tolerable!