Quinoa Pesto Salad With Chickpeas and Cherry Tomatoes
This post may contain affiliate links (disclosure).
This quinoa pesto salad is so colorful, healthy and delicious! Quinoa with fresh pesto, chickpeas and cherry tomatoes – what an awesome complete vegetarian meal!
Look at this mouthwatering quinoa pesto salad! White quinoa is colored green with zesty flavorful pesto, then mixed with red cherry tomatoes and yellow chickpeas – delicious! Take a mouthful of this goodness and enjoy the refreshing flavor in each bite!
Quinoa and pesto is an awesome combo, they just complete each other. Quinoa is mild in taste and pesto is strong and bright, so when mixed together it is so perfect – quinoa takes on a pesto flavor, and the pesto mellows out after coating each quinoa grain. So yummy!
You can use any kind of pesto, homemade or store-bought. Of course, I recommend making your own pesto as it’s super easy (all you do is dump ingredients in a food processor and pulse until they turn into pesto). Check out my easy pesto recipe – it’s a classic Italian basil pesto that tastes amazing!
This quinoa pesto salad is super healthy – every ingredient in it is so nutritious and good for you. Quinoa is a “super grain”, pesto is packed with fresh herbs, plus tomatoes and chickpeas are very nutritious too! It is also a complete vegetarian meal, as it’s very filling. Quinoa itself is a complete plant-based protein, plus the chickpeas provide even more protein, so this dish makes you totally full without the meat! I love one-dish meals, especially when they are healthy!
How do you cook your quinoa? I love cooking mine in Instant Pot :) If you own an Instant Pot, check out my Instant Pot quinoa recipe – so easy! Not Instant Pot? No problem! Follow my stovetop quinoa or rice cooker quinoa directions.
This is a great make-ahead recipe – quinoa pesto salad keeps well in a refrigerator for up to 5 days. And since it is eaten cold, there is not even a need to reheat it! Make a big batch of this quinoa salad, divide between the meal prep containers and store in the fridge for a week’s worth of healthy lunches!
If you like this quinoa pesto salad, you will also love these other quinoa recipes:
Chicken Fajitas Quinoa Bowl – another awesome quinoa one-dish dinner! Super simple to make!
Quinoa Papaya Salad – if you don’t eat papaya very often, here’s the recipe to include more of it into your diet! It’s amazing with quinoa!
Chickpeas Quinoa Mason Jar Salad – beautifully layered for weekly meal prep! Make a week’s worth of healthy quinoa lunches!
Eggplant Spinach Quinoa Bowl – this vegan quinoa bowl is super filling thanks to a hearty eggplant!
Quinoa Pesto Salad With Chickpeas and Cherry Tomatoes
Ingredients
Recommended Kitchen Tools (click the links below to see the items used to make this recipe)
Instructions
- Cook quinoa according to package directions, then let cool.
- Put cooked quinoa in a large bowl, add pesto and mix until combined. Add chickpeas and tomato slices and mix until combined. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
Nutrition
