Description
This Tomato & Basil Quinoa Risotto is a quick, fresh, and flavorful meal made with fluffy quinoa, juicy tomatoes, zucchini, basil, arugula, and garlic. Ready in about 10 minutes when using cooked quinoa, it’s an easy vegetarian lunch or weeknight dinner finished with optional mozzarella and Parmesan.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 4 small to medium fresh tomatoes, divided
- 3 sun-dried tomatoes, soaked for 30 minutes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for finishing
- 1 small zucchini or 1/2 large zucchini, chopped
- 1/3 cup fresh basil, plus more for garnish if desired
- 1/3 cup arugula
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- Mozzarella, to taste, optional
- Parmesan cheese, to taste, optional
- Salt and black pepper, to taste, optional
Instructions
- Make the tomato sauce: Blend 2 fresh tomatoes with the soaked sun-dried tomatoes, basil, and garlic until mostly smooth. Use a hand blender, countertop blender, or food processor.
- Prepare the vegetables: Chop the remaining 2 tomatoes and the zucchini into bite-size pieces.
- Start the risotto: Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for about 1 minute.
- Add the sauce and quinoa: Pour in the blended tomato sauce. Add the cooked quinoa and stir well. Cook for 1–2 minutes, until the quinoa is hot and evenly coated.
- Add the greens: Stir in the zucchini and arugula. Cook briefly until the zucchini is warmed through and the arugula starts to wilt. Add another drizzle of olive oil if desired.
- Finish with cheese: Turn off the heat. Fold in mozzarella and/or sprinkle with Parmesan, if using. Taste and season with salt and black pepper as needed.
- Serve: Spoon into bowls and serve warm with extra fresh basil or Parmesan, if desired.
Notes
- This recipe uses 1 cup already-cooked quinoa, not 1 cup dry quinoa.
- Soak the sun-dried tomatoes for about 30 minutes before blending if they are dry-packed. Oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes may not need soaking.
- For the quickest meal, cook the quinoa ahead of time or use leftover quinoa.
- Don’t overcook the zucchini; keeping a little bite gives the dish better texture.
- For a saucier consistency, add a splash of water or a little extra blended tomato.
- Mozzarella and Parmesan are optional. Omitting them makes the base recipe dairy-free and vegan, assuming all other ingredients used are vegan.
- Prep Time: 8 minutes
- 30 minutes soaking time:
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Mediterranean-Inspired
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Serving
- Calories: 340 kcal
- Sugar: 9 g
- Sodium: 100 mg
- Fat: 11 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 52 g
- Fiber: 8 g
- Protein: 11 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg