Our 25 Best Quinoa Recipes

This delicious, super-healthy quinoa salad is a great meal-in-one; it makes an ideal vegetarian option at the dinner table.

Cookbook author Melissa Clark takes inspiration from Caesar salad in this quinoa bowl, which includes a soft runny egg and a lemony, cheese-spiked dressing. It's one of the best grain bowls we've ever had.

Chef Chad Aaland makes quinoa salad with three types of beans and house-pickled onions. This streamlined version with black beans and jarred cocktail onions is tasty, too.

Anna Zepaltas grew up preparing tamales in her mother’s Southern California kitchen, but she also loves Indian and Middle Eastern dishes. Cumin, coriander and cardamom punch up this salad.

This earthy and smoky-spiced quinoa recipe is loaded with bacon and makes the perfect accompaniment to barbeque or grilled dishes.

This salad is perfect for picnics.

Quinoa contains all nine essential amino acids. Tossed with pine nuts, it's the foundation of this light salad.

These crispy, light little patties are fantastic as mini vegetarian burgers, but they'd be great served alongside a salad as well.

“While in Los Angeles filming the second season of Top Chef Just Desserts, I discovered Café Gratitude, a vegan café with a cult following,” Gail Simmons says. “For me, its fresh, simple food was the perfect antidote to all that sugar. I became addicted to aptly named dishes like I Am Fortified—a bowl of whole grains with lots of cooked vegetables. When I got back to New York, I developed my own version.”

Cat Cora’s nutritious quinoa is quick to make. Adding chicken makes it a great meal-in-one.

Eating quinoa is a great way for vegetarians to get protein. Jeremy Fox tosses nutty-tasting quinoa with crunchy shaved vegetables for a refreshing salad loaded with vitamins and minerals.

Ken Oringer believes chefs need to make a point of eating healthy dishes when they can, so he includes protein-rich quinoa in his diet at least three times a week. Here he mixes the grain with black beans, onions and peppers to make a hearty and very satisfying side dish that's a fun variation on prosaic five-bean salad.

Quinoa is definitely a superfood: A grain-like seed, it’s a “complete” protein containing all eight essential amino acids (another plus: it cooks much more quickly than most grains). To create a terrific vegetarian main course, Michael Symon tosses quinoa with arugula, apple, raisins and fresh herbs, then spoons the salad into a halved baked squash (a great source of iron and vitamins A and C).

In this fluffy salad, Yotam Ottolenghi blends South American quinoa with nutty Camargue red rice from southern France. The salad gets a fruity sweetness from orange juice and zest and is delicious alongside roast chicken.

Chef John Currence coats shrimp with a potent mix of fennel seeds, dried oregano and garlic and onion powders. He flavors the quinoa with a vibrant, pesto-like pistou, made with a judicious amount of oil.

To pump up the smoky flavors in this dish, Alyssa Gorelick grills both the stuffed poblanos and the vegetables for the romesco sauce. Any extra sauce is terrific with roasted or grilled potatoes or on a veggie burger.

“One thing I’ve learned as a chef is not to overfeed your customers—a food coma is very unpleasant,” says Charlie Parker. This salad of grilled spring vegetables feels just filling enough, thanks to the protein-rich quinoa and a puree of dates that are grilled first to soften them and intensify their natural sweetness.

“Quinoa is a miracle food,” says Bruce Sherman. Native to the Andes Mountains, the nutty, protein-rich grain is now also grown in the U.S. Sherman tosses it with smoky bacon and toasted almonds to make a substantial side dish that's delicious with poached eggs or roasted chicken.

Food & Wine's Kay Chun makes this evergreen quinoa salad all year long. It's so simple and quick that it's ideal for lunch or dinner. The chopped almonds add fantastic crunch and a nice hit of protein.

These healthy vegetarian patties are coated with panko bread crumbs so they become deliciously crispy in the skillet. “I add quinoa to make these semolina cakes a little fluffier and healthier. I love to serve them topped with a poached egg,” says Maria Helm Sinskey.

Quinoa adds a filling addition to this vegetarian dish.

This simple and elegant dish makes an easy dinner party side.

This dairy-free and vegetarian salad serves as the perfect side or lunch.

Use this recipe as a template for any mixed mushroom-and-grain salad. Excellent options include brown rice, wild rice, black or white barley, farro or couscous.

Sorghum, a type of grass, has seeds that can be popped like popcorn. Daniel Patterson tops his nutty, crunchy quinoa salad with popped sorghum, which gives it a buttery flavor. You can also substitute regular popping corn.