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Quinoa spinach salad with pesto (+ video)

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This light, flavorful quinoa spinach salad with pesto and nuts makes an easy weeknight side dish or lovely vegetarian lunch!This light, flavorful quinoa spinach salad with pesto and nuts makes an easy weeknight side dish or lovely vegetarian lunch! #quinoasalad #pesto #healthyrecipes #vegetarianrecipes

Who else had a super fun weekend?!

Saturday we all went to a park for an Easter festival and Easter egg hunt.

It was set up by age groups so J went first with the other really little kids. He was a bit hesitant at first so I went out with him and he gathered a few eggs. Very proud of himself.

M was up next and she was SO into it. Here she is surveying the field.

M Easter egg hunt

They said go and she was a speedy little thing, running all around to get as many eggs as she could. The girl racked up!

And Saturday, hubby and I had the evening to ourselves. A rare treat!

The kids spent the night with my parents so we had a date night out — with a gift card we’d had for over a year, if that tells you anything — and it was lovely. A little time away always feels luxurious. As does sleeping in a bit on Sunday morning. ❤️

Sunday the kiddos came home and we baked and took some chocolate chip zucchini bread to our new neighbors down the street to say hello and welcome. All around a good weekend!

Now on to this delicious recipe:

Quinoa spinach salad with pesto

Quinoa and spinach salad with pesto| FamilyFoodontheTable.com

Are you with me that putting pesto on something automatically elevates it to a delicious new level?

Yes? Good. I thought so, too.

Quinoa, spinach and pesto – with a few extras to make it super tasty – are all you need for this divine salad. (And it’s fine to use store-bought or homemade basil pesto – whatever you have available.)

Talk about a bowl full of deliciousness!

This quinoa spinach salad makes a fast dinner side dish or a lovely vegetarian and gluten-free lunch.

I prefer it warm, but the leftovers are also good cold. I just help wake up the flavors with a little bit of olive oil, lemon juice or white wine vinegar and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. Yum!

Quick tips on cooking quinoa: 

– It needs to be very well rinsed. (Sometimes you can buy varieties that are already triple rinsed.)

– It’s a 2:1 ratio for cooking: 2 cups of water (or liquid) for 1 cup of raw quinoa.

– Bring your quinoa and water to a boil then reduce the heat, cover the pot and cook the quinoa for 13-15 minutes.

– Quinoa is ready when it has absorbed the liquid and “popped,” meaning it’s showing what looks like a small tail that’s actually the germ of the kernel.

– If your quinoa has gotten cooked onto the bottom of the pan (because it absorbed all the liquid before you checked it), you can add a splash of water and scrape that up.

– Fluff the cooked quinoa with a fork, season to taste and it’s ready to serve!

Quinoa and spinach salad with pesto is an easy dinner side dish or vegetarian lunch | FamilyFoodontheTable.com

Bright, fresh, healthy and tastylicious – all the things I want come spring. (OK, I also want some sunny days so we can play outside once work is done!)

I hope you give this easy quinoa spinach salad a try and let me know what you think!

Happy cooking!

XO,
Kathryn

P.S. Check out some more delicious quinoa recipes:

– Mediterranean quinoa salad

– Spiralized beet quinoa salad

– Kale quinoa salad

– BBQ chicken quinoa salad bowls

Yield: 4 servings

Quinoa spinach salad with pesto

This light, flavorful quinoa spinach salad with pesto and nuts makes an easy weeknight side dish or lovely vegetarian lunch!

A light, flavorful quinoa and spinach salad with basil pesto, Parmesan and nuts.

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup dry quinoa
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons basil pesto
  • 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
  • 1 cup finely chopped fresh spinach leaves
  • 3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese (fresh grated, preferably)
  • 3 tablespoons chopped walnuts (see notes)

Instructions

  1. Cook the quinoa according to the package directions. Transfer the cooked quinoa to a medium-sized bowl and season with salt and pepper.
  2. In the meantime, make your pesto (or open a jar - no judging!) and prep the remaining ingredients.
  3. Add everything to the bowl and mix well with the quinoa. Taste and adjust seasonings.
  4. Serve warm and enjoy!

Notes

I use walnuts here because that’s what I use in my pesto and what I always have on hand. You could substitute pine nuts or even slivered almonds, if you prefer.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 245Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 10gCholesterol: 6mgSodium: 301mgCarbohydrates: 24gFiber: 4gSugar: 0gProtein: 9g
© Kathryn
Cuisine: Mediterranean / Category: Salads
This light, flavorful quinoa spinach salad with pesto and nuts makes an easy weeknight side dish or lovely vegetarian lunch! #quinoasalad #pesto #healthyrecipes #vegetarianrecipes

Comments

  6. [email protected] says

    Lovely weekend! And lovely salad! Yes to all the pesto I can get any way I can get it. I could eat pesto on everything and I bet it’s delicious with the quinoa and spinach. I’m going to serve this with some beautiful salmon 🙂

    Reply

  7. Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary says

    I am all about bowls full of deliciousness.. and pesto on all the things! So clearly I am LOVING this quinoa! I could totally eat this for dinner and lunch as is, but I’m sure it would be equally as delicious with some chicken on top (for Boy). My kind of meal, Kathryn! Pinned!
    P.s. so glad you guys had a terrific weekend AND got in a date night! Woot woot!! Our weekend was boring, so thanks for sharing yours… at least I can live vicariously through you. 😉

    Reply

  9. Lisa @ Chocolate Meets Strawberry says

    Sounds like you had a fabulous weekend indeed Kathryn 🙂 So lovely that you had some Easter-themed fun with the kids but also some quality time with hubby. Sounds wonderful! We also had a great time last weekend and even managed to have a date night too last Saturday. I completely agree that adding pesto to just about anything takes it to the next level. Not sure what this world would be like without it! I’ve never tried quinoa with pesto, but I need to!

    Reply

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