Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Bowl (Print version)

A nourishing bowl featuring roasted vegetables, fluffy quinoa, and a rich tahini dressing for any meal.

# What you need:

→ Vegetables

01 - 1 medium zucchini, sliced into half-moons
02 - 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
03 - 1 small red onion, cut into wedges
04 - 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced
05 - 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
06 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
07 - 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
08 - 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
09 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
10 - 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

→ Quinoa

11 - 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
12 - 2 cups water
13 - 1/4 teaspoon salt

→ Tahini Dressing

14 - 1/4 cup tahini
15 - 2 tablespoons lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
16 - 1 tablespoon maple syrup
17 - 1 clove garlic, finely minced
18 - 2 to 3 tablespoons water, as needed
19 - Salt and black pepper, to taste

→ Garnishes

20 - 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
21 - 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

# Directions:

01 - Preheat the oven to 425°F.
02 - Arrange zucchini, bell pepper, red onion, sweet potato, and cherry tomatoes on a large baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with smoked paprika, cumin, salt, and black pepper. Toss to coat evenly.
03 - Roast the vegetables for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring halfway through, until tender and slightly caramelized.
04 - Meanwhile, combine quinoa, water, and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes until water is absorbed. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
05 - In a small bowl, whisk together tahini, lemon juice, maple syrup, minced garlic, and 2 tablespoons water. Add additional water as needed to achieve a pourable consistency. Season with salt and pepper.
06 - Divide the quinoa evenly among bowls. Top with roasted vegetables and drizzle generously with tahini dressing.
07 - Sprinkle chopped parsley and toasted sesame seeds over each bowl before serving.

# Expert advice:

01 -
  • It's the kind of bowl that tastes like you spent all day cooking but actually comes together in under an hour.
  • The roasted vegetables get sweet and jammy at the edges while the tahini dressing keeps everything creamy and bright.
  • You can throw together whatever vegetables you have on hand and it always works beautifully.
02 -
  • If your tahini dressing seizes up or becomes gritty when you add the water, it means the tahini and lemon separated; whisk in a tiny bit more maple syrup to bring it back together.
  • Don't skip rinsing the quinoa; that bitter coating is real and it ruins everything if you ignore it.
  • Roasting cherry tomatoes separately or adding them partway through prevents them from shriveling into little raisins and losing all their juice.
03 -
  • If your oven runs hot or cold, pay more attention to how the vegetables look than the clock; caramelization is your target, not a specific number of minutes.
  • Toast your sesame seeds in a dry pan for just a couple of minutes before sprinkling them on; it wakes up their flavor and makes them smell incredible.

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