Lemony White Bean and Quinoa salad

Try this white bean and quinoa side next time you want a quick, healthy dish! This salad is bright, herbaceous, lemony, and versatile. It’s great with Portobello “Steaks” and Baked Fish. But it goes with anything with parsley or lemon!

This salad is packed with protein and fiber and only requires one serving and 30 min. We’ll show you exactly how to make it!

Cook quinoa to a fluffy state (or use leftovers if available). This pseudo-grain is technically a seed! It originated in South America but is now found in many other regions. It is rich in folate, magnesium, fiber, zinc, and all essential amino acids.

While the quinoa cooks, we prepare the white beans by marinating them in lemon, olive oil, and other ingredients such as red onion, garlic cloves, salt, pepper, flakes of red pepper, and lots of parsley. The white beans absorb the flavors and become tangy, spicy, herby, and savory!

It’s now ready to be tweaked for the perfect taste. It will be richer with more olive oil and brighter with lemon juice, and your taste buds will determine how much salt you need.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups COOKED quinoa* (1/2 cup dry quinoa yields ~1 1/2 cups cooked)

1 (15 oz.) Can of white beans, rinsed and drained (we prefer cannellini beans or butter beans // you can also use 1 1/2 cups homemade).

Parsley: 1/2 cup, finely chopped, with large stems removed. (Either type will work, but Italian flat-leaf parsley works best.

Lemon juice 2 tbsp

Extra virgin olive oil, 1 tbsp

Red onion, finely chopped 2 Tbsp

2-3 small cloves of garlic, minced (1 Tbsp. or 9g minced from 2-3 small cloves)

Sea salt, 1/2-3/4 tsp

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

Instructions

Prepare quinoa if you haven’t done so already. Combine 1/2 cup of dry quinoa with 1 cup of water in a small pan (1/2 cup dry yields about 1 1/2 cups cooked; adjust the amount if you want to change the default number). Bring to a rolling boil on medium-high heat. Once boiling, lower heat to a low simmer, cover, and continue cooking until water is absorbed, the quinoa has expanded and is fluffy. Remove the quinoa from the heat and stir. Set aside (covered) as you prepare the salad. The quinoa gets even softer after it sits.

Add the drained, rinsed white beans to a large mixing bowl. Also, add parsley, onion, garlic, and salt. Stir well and allow to sit for 15 minutes. The white beans will marinate in the flavors.

Stir the quinoa into the white beans marinated in the lemon juice. Add more parsley or lemon juice to enhance the herbiness. Salt can also be added. We increased the amount of each.

The leftover salad can be stored in the fridge for 2-3 days. Serve chilled or at room temperature. Not suitable for freezing