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Make ahead Mediterranean quinoa bowls

Easy, vegetarian make-ahead breakfast or lunch. Really filling and healthy.
Prep 10 minutes
Cook 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 2 bowls

Ingredients 

  • 480 ml 2 cups water
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons tomato paste
  • 180 g 1 cup quinoa
  • 2 medium or large eggs
  • 250 g 1 1/2 cups | 9 oz cooked chickpeas (store-bought or home-cooked)
  • 100 g 3.5 oz feta cheese, crumbled
  • a handful of sun-dried tomatoes about 1/2 jar, I buy the ones in oil, chopped
  • 100 g 3.5 oz raw baby spinach, washed and dried
  • 1 small lemon cut in wedges
  • 1-2 teaspoons dried oregano

Instructions

First cook the quinoa:
  • Combine water and tomato paste in a medium pot, stir until tomato paste is dissolved. Next, place quinoa in a sieve and rinse under hot water for 2 minutes. Drain and transfer to the pot with water. Cook on medium heat until it begins to simmer. Then lower heat just to maintain a simmer and cook until all the water has evaporated (this takes about 15 minutes). Remove pot from heat and cover with a lid. Let stand for 5 minutes, then uncover and fluff the quinoa with a fork. Let cool.
As the quinoa cooks, make the eggs:
  • Place eggs in a medium pot, cover eggs with water and cover pot with lid. Cook over high heat until eggs begin to boil. Remove from heat, keep covered and let stand for 10 minutes (or until cool). Peel the eggs.
Prepare chickpeas:
  • In a bowl, stir together chickpeas, feta cheese and tomatoes. Add a teaspoon or two of the oil from the tomatoes for extra flavor. Set aside.
Assemble the bowls:
  • Divide the quinoa between two bowls. Then add half of the chickpea mixture to each bowl and top with spinach. Add one egg and 1-2 lemon wedges to each bowl. Lastly, sprinkle with oregano. Keep airtight in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Notes

Tomato paste is usually a little salty and so is the feta cheese, so I don’t add any more salt to these bowls. Definitely add more salt if you want.
Instead of a salad dressing, I use lemons to bring the spinach to life. A lemon wedge is easy to store and when I’m ready to eat, I just squeeze it all over the spinach and quinoa. One wedge usually does it for me, but this does depend on how sour a lemon is.  The oil in a classic salad dressing is replaced by the oil that sun-dried tomatoes come in.
I know this recipe is supposed to make 2 hearty servings, but you can easily turn it into 4 lighter bowls. Cook 2 more eggs and get more spinach, but keep the rest of the ingredients the same, just split them into 4 portions. That way you’ll get four great breakfast or lunch bowls, that’ll leave enough room for dessert.

Optional additions:

  • Chopped cucumbers for a Greek feel.
  • Sliced avocado or a spoonful of guacamole.
  • Almond, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, ... any type of seed / nut or a wonderful dukkah for extra crunch and flavor.
  • Chopped dried fruit for a sweet taste.
  • Fresh cherry tomatoes or peppers, for crunch and summer flavor.