Pesto and quinoa make an elevated summer side dish that pairs beautifully with a variety of different main dishes to create meals everyone will love. All you need are a handful of fresh, wholesome ingredients to make this simple pesto quinoa with roasted tomatoes side - and it's packed with flavor!
Recipe: $9.12 | Per Serving: $1.52 | Servings: 6
This recipe was originally published in July of 2014 - and it's just as delicious as ever! I've made some adjustments, but the recipe itself remains mostly unchanged.
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This is one of those meals I put together for my lunch all the time. It's great when I've got a bunch of quinoa already prepped in the fridge, and I can toss the quinoa pesto together while the tomatoes roast.
It makes a flavorful side dish to pair with so many meals or use as the base of a pesto quinoa bowl.
Why You Will Love This Quinoa Recipe
- A few simple steps takes quinoa from basic to badass, including lightly toasting it before cooking it.
- It's full of so much good stuff! I can't decide if the pesto or the roasted tomatoes are the star of the show.
- This dish is really simple to put together, and a great way to use up leftover quinoa. And even without pre-cooked quinoa, it only takes about 30-40 minutes, and most of it's hands-off.
- It's on the lighter side and works as a side dish but you can bulk it up with cooked white beans, roasted chicken, or even a side salad. Just be sure to include some protein because it's not super high in the protein department.
Ingredients
The absolute beauty of this dish is the simplicity of its ingredients. It creates such amazing flavors using very little. Here's a look at what you need:
- Ripe, in-season tomatoes: Use medium-large tomatoes and make sure they are very ripe. If available, using a variety of different colored tomatoes in the summer makes for a lovely presentation, but choose whatever ripe tomatoes work for your budget!
- Garlic: Fresh garlic is one of the secrets to a delicious quinoa bowl, and here we're using quickly roasted garlic for rich buttery flavor.
- Quinoa: you can use white quinoa, red quinoa, or tricolor quinoa here - they're basically the same, so use whichever you can afford.
- Walnuts: Walnuts provide a delightful crunch that perfectly complements the basil, parmesan, and quinoa in this dish.
- Parmesan: Freshly grated parmesan is, of course, delicious, but sometimes pre-shaved parmesan is cheaper. If that’s what you have, blitz the shaved parmesan in your food processor first before mixing it into the quinoa, or just use it as a garnish instead of a mix-in.
- Pesto: You can use traditional store-bought pesto but homemade pesto is very easy to make and you can make it with a variety of different ingredients. Experiment with spinach pesto, kale pesto, and in this pesto with walnuts when making this easy quinoa side dish recipe. You can even make a dairy-free pesto with bitter greens that's low FODMAP!
Be sure to check the recipe card at the bottom of the page for the full list of ingredients and quantities of each.
Substitutions and Variations
- Change Up the Tomatoes: Feel free to use whole grape or cherry tomatoes, or any fresh tomatoes you’ve got. Just be sure to reduce the cooking time accordingly.
- Vegan or Dairy-free: I have made this with dairy-free pesto and dairy-free Violife Parmesan with great success.
- Swap the walnuts. Use pine nuts, slivered almonds, or pumpkin seeds (pepitas) instead.
- Vegetarian Main Dish: To make this a complete meal, but still vegetarian, stir in ½ cup hemp hearts before adding the tomatoes and serve the quinoa over a bed of arugula or other greens. You can also add some cooked white beans or top with crispy roasted chickpeas.
- More budget-friendly: use homemade spinach pesto for a cheaper option, and if quinoa is out of your budget, look for millet (gluten free), sorghum (gluten free), couscous (contains gluten), or barley (contains gluten).
How to Make Pesto Quinoa
This pesto and quinoa side dish comes together in just a few simple steps. Most of the cooking time is hands-off so you can work on another component for your meal. Check out the recipe card for the full instructions.
- Slice the tomatoes in half horizontally and place cut-side-up in a larger casserole dish.
- Drizzle with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. Nestle 4 garlic cloves in one corner of the pan. Place the dish in the oven to roast. Remove the garlic with a small spoon after about 20 minutes, but continue roasting the tomatoes for a total of 35 minutes, or until softened with a little bit of dark coloring on top.
- Toast the washed and drained quinoa in a heated dry skillet for about 2-3 minutes to add a nutty flavor and remove some of the bitterness in quinoa.
- Add the water or broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover with a lid, and continue to cook over low for 15 minutes. Remove the quinoa from the heat and let it rest for 5-10 minutes while keeping it covered.
- Toast the walnuts in a small skillet for 2-5 minutes.
PRO TIP: DO NOT WALK AWAY (or they will burn!). Alternatively, you can toss them in the oven on a separate pan from the tomatoes and roast for 3-6 minutes but you still need to keep a close eye on them.
- Mash the roasted peeled garlic cloves with a fork in a large bowl.
- Add the quinoa and stir well to combine. Then add half of the walnuts, half of the grated Parmesan, and 3-4 tablespoons of pesto to the bowl and mix well.
- Place the cooked tomatoes on top of the pesto quinoa and drizzle with a bit of the tomato liquid over the top. Top the dish with the remaining walnuts, Parmesan, and optionally, a little more pesto, and serve.
How to Store
Store leftovers in the fridge for up to four days. You can also freeze this dish, but know that the texture will change a little bit. Make sure it's in an airtight container and freeze for up to three months. Then you can thaw it overnight in the fridge and warm it up to improve the texture.
Enjoy leftovers warm or at room temperature. To reheat, return it to a skillet and heat until warm, stirring as needed. You may want to add a bit of water or olive oil if it seems a bit thick. You can also warm this in the microwave for 1-2 minutes.
Serving Suggestions
This is a simple but elegant side dish that pairs beautifully with crispy stovetop chicken thighs, grilled meats, and more. Here are some ideas for a bit of inspiration!
- It's a great way to brighten up a simple meal of slow cooker whole chicken or rosemary meatloaf muffins.
- Use it as the base for a quinoa bowl topped with shredded pork or grilled chicken and all your favorite toppings.
- You can also add lentils or creamy white beans. White beans especially pair beautifully here.
Expert Tips
- Use fresh ripe tomatoes for the BEST flavor.
- Rinse the quinoa before cooking. This removes any remaining saponins (what makes quinoa bitter) from the quinoa!
- Toast the quinoa before adding the water - this is another great way to neutralize the bitter saponins.
- Watch the walnuts closely while they cook to avoid burning them.
- Use the juices that cook out of the tomatoes! You can mix it with the quinoa, or reserve it to use in sauces, soups, stews, or to flavor beans and grains.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, I usually recommend it! Quinoa is coated with a saponins which is what makes it bitter. If you notice bubbles that look like soap when you rinse the quinoa, that's the saponins. These days most commercial quinoa has already been processed to remove this compound but I think it's a good idea to still give it a rinse before cooking.
Your quinoa is cooked when the liquid is absorbed and you can see the little tail in the grain come out.
More Quinoa Recipes
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Easy Pesto Quinoa Side Dish
Ingredients
- 5 medium-large very ripe tomatoes 2 pounds
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- Pinch of salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- 1 ½ cups water or broth
- ⅓ cup walnuts
- ¼ cup Parmesan
- 3-4 Tablespoons pesto
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450ºF.
- Wash tomatoes and remove any stems. Slice in half horizontally. Place cut-side-up in a larger casserole dish. It is ok if they overlap a bit. Drizzle with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. Nestle 4 garlic cloves in one corner of the pan. (You’ll need to fish these out early.)
- Place the dish in the oven to roast. Remove the garlic with a small spoon after about 20 minutes, but continue roasting the tomatoes for a total of 35 minutes, or until softened with a little bit of dark coloring on top.
- Meanwhile, rinse and drain the quinoa. Heat a medium-sized pot (with a lid) over medium heat. Add the drained quinoa to the dry skillet and toast for about 2-3 minutes. This adds a nutty flavor and removes some of the bitterness.
- Add the water or broth (1 ¾ cup), and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, covered. Remove from heat and rest for 5-10 minutes (with the lid on).
- In another small skillet, toast the walnuts for about 2-5 minutes or until lightly toasted. DO NOT WALK AWAY (or they will burn!). (Alternatively, you can toss them in the oven on a separate pan from the tomatoes and roast for 3-6 minutes.) Once cool, roughly chop the walnuts.
- In a large bowl, place the roasted garlic cloves (remove their peels first), and mash well with a fork. Add the quinoa and stir well to combine. Stir in about half the walnuts, half the grated Parmesan, and 3-4 Tablespoons of pesto.
- When the tomatoes are ready, carefully remove them from the dish and place them atop the pesto quinoa, drizzling a bit of the tomato liquid on them as well. Top the dish with the remaining walnuts, Parmesan, and optionally, a little more pesto, and serve.
- Serve hot or at room temperature.
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