Healthy Pizza Quinoa Salad Recipe

Who doesn’t love pizza! I am an ardent pizza fan and was immediately intrigued when I found this Pizza Quinoa Salad recipe in Alea Milham’s new cookbook Prep-Ahead Breakfasts and Lunches: 75 No-Fuss Recipes to Save You Time and Money. I was not disappointed with the combination of fresh pizza toppings, Italian dressing and healthy quinoa to make a quick and yummy salad perfect for lunch! 

  How To Make Pizza Quinoa Salad

Zesty Italian Dressing

•          1/3 cup olive oil
•          ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
•          1 tablespoon water
•          1 ½ teaspoon sugar
•          ¾ teaspoon dried oregano
•          ½ teaspoon garlic powder
•          ½ teaspoon onion powder
•          ¼ teaspoon thyme
•          ¼ teaspoon basil
•          ¼ teaspoon red peppers flakes
•          1/8 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

Ingredients:

•          3 cups cooked quinoa
•          2 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
•          1 cup shredded mozzarella
•          ½ cup mild cheddar cheese
•          1 bell pepper, diced
•          1/2 cup red onion
•          3.8 ounces can of sliced black olives, drained
•          1 cup sliced mushrooms
•          1 cup mini pepperoni slices

Directions:

To make the Zesty Italian Dressing, combine the oil, vinegar, water, sugar, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, thyme, basil, red pepper flakes, and pepper in a small cruet or lidded container. Shake well to mix.

To make the salad, add the quinoa, tomatoes, mozzarella, cheddar cheese, bell pepper, onion, olives, mushrooms, and pepperoni to a large bowl. Stir to combine. Drizzle the dressing over the pizza quinoa salad. Toss to coat.

Either cover and store the salad in the large bowl or divide the salad between 5 lidded containers. Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Batch Cooking

Throughout Prep-Ahead Breakfast & Lunches: 75 No-Fuss Recipes To Save You Time & Money Alea Milham offers her tips, tricks and time saving techniques to batch cook ingredients

Batch Cooking Meal Plans

Turn your batch cooking of different ingredients into a meal plan for the entire week! Planning ahead may sound time consuming, but the rewards are great when you have optimized your planning with batch cooking. Save time, save money and spend that extra time with your family and the peace of mind knowing a weeks’ worth of meals are ready to enjoy.

More Quinoa Recipes

If you are a fan of the superfood quinoa which is also known as the supergrain due to its’ high protein and high fiber content, Prep-Ahead Breakfasts & Lunches has a variety of quinoa recipes suited for all tastes. A few of my favorites include: Cilantro-Lime Quinoa, Bourbon Beef and Quinoa Bowl and Salmon-Berry Quinoa Bowl. Expand your repertoire of One Bowl Wonders which are perfect to halve for dinner and save the remainder for lunch. Fans of Alea Milham’s first book Prep-Ahead Meals From Scratch: Quick & Easy Batch Cooking Techniques and Recipes That Save You Time and Money will definitely enjoy Prep-Ahead Breakfasts & Lunches as an addition to their cooking library.

Images credit:  Ken Goodman

Recipe courtesy of Alea Milham, review copy courtesy of Alea Milham