Roasted Vegetable & Pesto Quinoa

In all my years on this planet, I’ve only made my own pesto once. Once! I’ve always just settled for the jarred stuff at the grocery store, not realizing how easy, and probably better for you, it would be to just make it myself. No preservatives, no weird ingredients you can’t pronounce, and a good way to use up any leftover nuts I might have lingering in my cabinet.

I wanted to make some roasted veggies with pesto, so I decided to not buy a thing at the grocery store. I had some leftover carrot tops & basil, garlic, and some old pecans stashed away in the back of my cupboard, and enough olive oil to drown a plant. I’m solid on the pesto-making front.

A quick pulse pulse pulse in the food processor and that was that. Why have I not made my own pesto more before?! It was so simple.

Pesto usually has Parmesan mixed in it, but I went completely vegan with this dish. I wanted a simple vegetarian side dish for my weekly lunches and this one was the ultimate.

You can use whatever vegetables you want in this lovely side. I went with some butternut, red onion, mushrooms, red bell pepper, zucchini & baby grape tomatoes. Roast those bad boys up in the oven with nothing more than some olive oil, dried basil, salt, a little bit of honey (to bring out the sweetness in the butternut) and pepper. Remember, we’re going for simple and easy—and there’s a lot of flavors going on already with the pesto and different vegetables.

You can make your own pesto or grab a pre-made one from the store. I won’t judge—and honestly, the taste will probably be the same. It just feels so freeing to use what you have on hand to let no leaf or nut go unused!

Roasted Vegetable & Pesto Quinoa

• Servings: 6-8
• Time: 30 mins
• Difficulty: Easy
• Print

Quinoa mixed with pesto and loads of roasted vegetables for a delectable side dish.

Ingredients

• 2 cups chopped butternut squash
• 2 zucchini, cut into half moons
• 2 cups portobello mushrooms, quartered
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 red onion, quartered
• 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 tsp. honey
• 2 TBS. olive oil
• salt & pepper
• 2 tsp. dried basil
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup pesto
• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups water

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lay out butternut squash, zucchini, mushrooms, bell pepper, onion, tomatoes and garlic on a large, rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and honey. Sprinkle basil, salt and pepper over vegetables. Toss to coat. Roast for 20-25 minutes until veggies are tender and lightly charred.
2. Meanwhile, cook the quinoa. In a saucepan, stir togeher quinoa and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Pour quinoa into a large bowl and stir pesto in with it. If you want more pesto, up it to a half a cup.
3. Stir veggies in with pesto quinoa and serve.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lay out butternut squash, zucchini, mushrooms, bell pepper, onion, tomatoes and garlic on a large, rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and honey. Sprinkle basil, salt and pepper over vegetables. Toss to coat. Roast for 20-25 minutes until veggies are tender and lightly charred.

Meanwhile, cook the quinoa. In a saucepan, stir togeher quinoa and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Pour quinoa into a large bowl and stir pesto in with it. If you want more pesto, up it to a half a cup. Stir veggies in with pesto quinoa and serve.

Deliciously fresh veggies that taste good, to boot!