Summer Quinoa Saute
and mixed greens salad with tomatoes and avocado
This dinner saute is loaded with summer produce and protein-rich quinoa. The addition of chili lime compound butter gives the dish a rich and complex flavor base.
Ingredients
- Quinoa, uncooked - 3/4 cup
- Stock, any type - 1 1/2 cups
- Butter - 4 Tbsp
- Garlic - 1 clove, chopped
- Green onions - 1 stalk, green and white parts chopped and combined
- Salt - 1/2 tsp
- Lime zest - 1/4 tsp
- Coriander, ground - 1/4 tsp
- Chili powder - 1/4 tsp
- Corn kernels, fresh or frozen - 1 1/2 cups
- Zucchini - 10 oz, diced
- Lime juice - 1 tsp
- Yogurt, plain or Greek - 1/2 cup
- Honey - 1 tsp
- Mustard - 2 tsp
- Vinegar, red wine - 1 1/2 Tbsp
- Oil, olive - 3 Tbsp
- Tomatoes, medium - 1, diced
- Avocados - 1, cubed
- Mixed greens - 5 oz
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Cook quinoa - Double if making Wednesday’s meal. Combine quinoa and stock in a saucepan. Add in some salt. Bring to a boil covered. Lower heat, keep covered, and cook until liquid is absorbed, 8 to 10 minutes. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Make chili lime butter - Melt butter in the microwave just until soft (20-30 seconds). Finely chop garlic and green onions (both green and white parts). Combine butter, garlic, green onions, salt, lime zest, coriander and chili powder. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Make vinaigrette - Whisk together honey, mustard and vinegar. Add oil while whisking. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Corn / Zucchini - Prep as directed. If using fresh corn, slice kernels off cobs. If using frozen corn, defrost in the microwave. Store separately. (Can be done up to 2 days ahead)
- Tomatoes / Avocados - Prep as directed and combine.
Unlock this meal along with hundreds of smart meal plans and never stress about "What's for dinner?" again
Try for freeLearn More
Make
- Heat a skillet or nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add chili-lime butter. To melted butter, add zucchini and saute until zucchini is tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Add corn and saute for 2 to 3 minutes more. Add quinoa and cook until quinoa is warmed through. Squeeze lime juice over top. Season with some salt and pepper.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine tomatoes, avocados and mixed greens. Toss salad with vinaigrette.
- Serve quinoa with a dollop of yogurt on top. Enjoy salad on the side.
Nutrition Facts
Reviews
Ratings
37 reviews
Good flavor and easy to make. Skipped the couscous and had cilantro lime rice with a side of corn.
0 HelpfulMade this with tuna since we try to avoid eating swordfish due to their high mercury content. My husband loved it but I thought it was (surprisingly) lacking something - but that could just be because I’m not a big fan of tuna! Will try this with cod next time, because I do love how varied and colorful the meal is as a whole. There are a lot of moving parts, but it surprisingly isn’t that much work.
0 HelpfulProbably the best Cooksmarts meal we've ever had and our first experience with swordfish. The only change I made was to cut the oil down to 1 T. in the pasta salad. We also prefer our corn roasted, so I just rub butter and salt/pepper on our fresh cobs and roast at 400 for 50 minutes. Seared 1lb steaks in batches in 1 T. oil in a cast iron for 2.5-3 minutes per side and it was just a touch above medium rare - perfect! Husband and kids liked the salad but weren't wild about the kind of slimy texture of the couscous (didn't bug me). Would be great with orzo next time to avoid the texture issue.
0 Helpful