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Here are the best quinoa bowl recipes to make eating healthy a breeze! This tasty whole grain is perfect for easy lunch and dinner recipes.

Looking for healthy, easy lunch and dinner recipes? Try a quinoa bowl! A quinoa bowl has a lose definition: it can really have anything inside, as long as one of the ingredients is quinoa! But it’s a great way to eat plant based meals with lots of vegetables and quinoa as a filling protein.
The best quinoa bowls are the ones that have a loose theme, and are filled with color and texture contrasts. Like a Mediterranean bowl with chickpeas and a tangy tahini sauce, or a bibimbap bowl with gochujang sauce and a fried egg. Anything is better with quinoa, right? We think you’ll love these different ways to eat this filling whole grain.
And now…our best quinoa bowl recipes!
This Mediterranean quinoa bowl will become a common repeat in your healthy dinner recipes repertoire! Why? In just 25 minutes, you have a fresh bowl of delicious vegetables and a hearty whole grain. Smother it in a tangy lemon tahini sauce, and it's a plant based meal that's bursting with Mediterranean flavor.
Introducing our easy Veggie Power Bowl! This one is irresistibly good, pairing quinoa with tender roasted broccoli and cauliflower, crunchy raw veg, and finished off with a creamy pop of tahini sauce. Serve it in a shallow bowl and well, it’s swoon-worthy.
Here's a fresh and tasty quinoa bowl that's full of refreshing flavor! Eating your veggies never tasted better. It's got a vibrant array of sweet mango, red pepper, red cabbage, and avocado. Add a handful of cashews and top it off with a citrus drizzle, a sauce made of soaked cashews, orange and lime juice, and fresh ginger. Dinner in 30 minutes!
This quinoa bowl is features Greek flavors: greens, feta cheese, kalamata olives and a quinoa tomato sofrito blend. Sofrito is a type of sauce used as a base in Mediterranean-style and Latin American cooking: it's got garlic, onion, paprika, and tomatoes cooked in olive oil. Here the sofrito is mixed with cooked quinoa to give it an almost meaty texture. It's a hearty and filling bowl meal!
Here's a loose take on bibimbap: serving it as a quinoa bowl instead! Bibimbap is a Korean rice bowl full of pickled vegetables and a runny egg, all stirred together into savory goodness. It's an interpretation of the flavors of the original dish, using green beans, tangy quick pickled carrots and radishes, and a sauce made with gochujang, Korean chili paste.
A good quinoa bowl has to be well-seasoned, and play up contrasts in color, texture and flavor! This one is Greek-inspired and stars our easy canned chickpeas with seasoned quinoa, colorful veggies and tahini sauce.
These Go Green quinoa bowls are surprisingly filling and satisfying: built around the color green! Along with quinoa, you've got green vegetables like brocolli, kale, and fresh leafy greens. Of course, you can use any green vegetables you’d like. Smother it in our creamy lemon yogurt sauce or lemon tahini sauce).
Here's a refreshing quinoa bowl built around stress-relieving foods! There's hearty quinoa, cauliflower and yellow pepper, full of fiber and nutrients. They're nestled on a bed of greens and covered in a a zesty cocoa orange vinaigrette. It's refreshing and a hearty main dish salad that works for a hearty lunch or filling dinner.
This tasty spin on a Hawaiian-inspired poke bowl features seared salmon and veggies in a colorful bowl. Most poke bowl recipes use raw sushi-grade ahi tuna cut into cubes. But here you'll marinate the salmon and then sear it for just 1 minute in a hot pan. Then throw it in a bowl with quinoa, tangy cucumber “noodles”, sesame carrot ribbons, and red cabbage. Dinner is served!
Last but not least: want to liven up your breakfast game? Try Breakfast Quinoa! This alternative to oatmeal is just as satisfying. Critics of quinoa find it bitter or bland, but this way to prepare it is anything but! Cook it with milk, maple syrup and cinnamon, then load it up with toppings like fresh berries, coconut and nut butter.
How to make quinoa: 2 ways!
Here at A Couple Cooks, we have two go-to methods for how to make quinoa. Here are links to both:
- How to Cook Quinoa Here’s our master recipe for how to make quinoa: complete with a video of us making perfect quinoa in our kitchen!
- Instant Pot Quinoa (Pressure Cooker) Did you know you can cook quinoa in a pressure cooker? The Instant Pot method works every time, and it’s a convenient hands off method.
Quinoa nutrition
And finally: what’s the nutritional breakdown for quinoa? This superfood is loaded with nutritional benefits and is part of a healthy diet. Here’s a breakdown (data source: Quinoa Nutrition):
- Quinoa is a plant-based protein powerhouse. 1 cup quinoa has 8 grams protein or about 16% of your daily value.
- It’s loaded with fiber. 1 cup quinoa has 5 grams fiber, or about 20% your daily need.
- Quinoa is a good source of antioxidants and minerals. It provides more magnesium, iron, and zinc than many common grains.
How does quinoa stack up against rice? See Quinoa vs Rice: Which is Better?
Mediterranean Quinoa Bowls
This Mediterranean quinoa bowls recipe is a fast weeknight dinner! It features this filling whole grain with chickpeas and a creamy tahini sauce.
- Prep Time: !0 minutese
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
Ingredients
For the quinoa
- 1 cup dry quinoa
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
For the chickpeas
- 15-ounce can chickpeas
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
For the bowl
- 1 recipe Best Tahini Sauce
- 1 small cucumber
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 8 cups salad greens
Instructions
- Make the quinoa: Rinse the quinoa using a fine mesh strainer, then drain completely. Place it in a saucepan with 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover the pot and simmer where the water is just bubbling for about 15 to 20 minutes, until the water has been completely absorbed. (Check by pulling back the quinoa with a fork to see if water remains.) Turn off the heat and let sit with the lid on to steam for 5 minutes, then fluff the quinoa with a fork. When done, stir in the olive oil, kosher salt, and chopped parsley. Taste and add additional salt as necessary.
- Make the chickpeas: Drain and rinse the chickpeas. In a medium bowl, stir them together with the olive oil, cumin, and kosher salt.
- Make the dressing: Make to Best Tahini Sauce.
- Assemble the bowls: Peel and chop the cucumber. Slice the tomatoes in half. In a large shallow bowl, place the greens, then top with quinoa, chickpeas, cucumber, and tomatoes. Drizzle with tahini dressing (about 2 tablespoons per bowl). Serve immediately. Leftovers keep in the refrigerator for a few days: keep all components separate for maximum freshness.