Nourishing Mushroom Quinoa Salad Bowls with chickpeas are drizzled with a tangy homemade pesto dressing. Filled with earthy, warm flavours, they’re just what you need for a light weekday lunch or dinner. Easy to assemble, packed with protein, gluten free, vegetarian and ideal for your weekly meal prep!
I love the idea of meal prepping so I’m starting the New Year by prepping healthier meals. It saves time, money, and helps me stick to healthy eating goals. Prepare quinoa with mushroom and chickpea bowls in advance and eat well during the week with no fuss!
Call them what you wish: veggie bowls; grain bowls; quinoa bowls; Buddha bowls; or salad bowls. No matter what the name, they are typically a meatless meal in a bowl packed with nutritious ingredients. I can attest to this: these healthy protein packed chickpea bowls with portobello mushrooms and quinoa are the ultimate powerhouse salad bowls to fuel your body and leave you feeling satisfied!
This nutritious mushroom, quinoa and chickpea salad served on a bed of spinach can be eaten warm or cold. Fresh ingredients like spinach, sautéed portobello mushrooms, blistered tomatoes, fried red onions, quinoa, chickpeas, mozzarella balls and pine nuts come together in a bowl with a drizzle of pesto dressing. Such a delicious and easy way to enjoy a complete meal!
Are you ready to get on a healthy track with this mushroom bowl with spinach, quinoa and chickpeas?
Ingredients to make Mushroom Quinoa Salad Bowls
- Pesto Dressing – The bowls are finished off with an easy basil pesto, olive oil and red wine vinegar dressing. The tangy dressing transforms the bowls into something special.
- Quinoa – Quinoa is an edible seed that needs to be cooked. It has an earthy, nutty flavour and is loaded with fiber, protein, folate and magnesium.
- Portobello Mushrooms – These are the ideal mushrooms for these bowls as they are large, and when cooked they brown beautifully and have a chewy, meaty texture with a smoky earthy flavour.
- Cherry or Grape Tomatoes – I used a combination of red and yellow tomatoes for the contrast but all red tomatoes work fine too.
- Red Onions – Thinly sliced red onion rings are quickly fried which takes away their sharpness and gives them a smooth sweet flavour that compliments the bowls.
- Spinach – The perfect leafy green for these bowls which is high in nutrients and low in calories. Use fresh baby spinach typically purchased in clamshells.
- Chickpeas – They contain a range of nutrients, including protein. Canned chickpeas work well, just be sure and rinse and drain them well.
- Bocconcini Balls – Little balls of fresh mozzarella that come packed in water. They taste plain on their own but as in any salad with bocconcini, they take on the wonderful flavours in the bowl.
- Pine Nuts – Small teardrop-shaped pine nuts are used to garnish the bowls. Toast them to enhance their flavour and take them to the next level.
How to Make Portobello Mushroom Quinoa Salad Bowls
These portobello mushroom quinoa veggie bowls with chickpeas are easy to make here’s what you do:
- In a small bowl whisk together the pesto dressing ingredients: pesto, olive oil, red wine vinegar, saltand pepper.
- Add quinoa to a medium saucepan with 1½ cups water, bring to a light simmer over medium-high heat, reduce heat to low and cook for 13 – 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork and keep it warm. Remove the gills from the underside of the mushrooms, use a spoon to gently scrape them out. Discard the gills. Slice the mushrooms into ¼” to ½’ thick slices.
- Heat olive oil in a skillet and cook mushrooms in batches until a rich golden brown. Remove mushrooms to a plate and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.
- In the same skillet, add more olive oil, tomatoes in half of the skillet and sliced red onion rings in the other half. Cook until the tomatoes soften and blister and the onions are browned and softened. Separate tomatoes and onions and transfer them to separate bowls.
- Toast pine nuts in a small skillet over medium-high heat while tossing constantly until golden then transfer the pine nuts to a plate to cool. The nuts toast quickly do not leave unattended.
How to assemble Portobello Mushroom Quinoa Salad Bowls
- The finished elements of the recipe are laid out and ready to assemble into bowls or divided for meal prepping.
- To assemble the salad bowls, arrange a bed of spinach into four bowls. Then evenly arrange quinoa, mushrooms, tomatoes, chickpeas, bocconcini balls and onions on top. Drizzle each bowl with pesto dressing and sprinkle tops with toasted pine nuts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Portobello mushrooms are large cremini (brown) mushrooms often used as a meat alternative in vegetarian diets. Underneath the cap there are dark brown/black fleshy gills which I always prefer to remove. To remove the gills, I use a spoon and gently scrape them out. Once cooked, portobello mushrooms have a chewy meat-like texture with a smoky, earthy flavour.
Unfortunately this salad bowl is not recommended for freezing. Many of the ingredients in it don’t freeze well. This spinach mushroom salad with chickpeas and quinoa is always best enjoyed when made fresh.
These salad bowls are best when made fresh and eaten immediately. If you want them to last longer, up to 4 - 5 days, then prepare and store each component separately. When needed, assemble the bowls and add the pesto dressing.
No you cannot eat raw chickpeas which are dried. But canned chickpeas are already pre-cooked before they are canned. Simply open the can, drain and rinse the chickpeas under cold water and they are ready to eat or to add to any recipe.
Chickpeas have a multitude of uses, but they are always popular when combined in a quinoa chickpea salad like this one.
Yes! Quinoa is a great base for these quinoa salad bowls since it’s loaded with important nutrients, including fiber, protein, folate and magnesium. It also adds a nice nutty flavour that pairs beautifully with all the other good for you ingredients in this salad.
Make ahead tips
This recipe makes four meal-sized bowls. If you don’t need them all at once, simply prep the ingredients, including the dressing in advance. Store everything separately in air-tight containers in the refrigerator. This allows you to make individual bowls for lunch or dinners all week long. The olive oil in the dressing will separate and solidify when refrigerated so bring it to room temperature and whisk it well before using. With all the bowl ingredients on hand in the refrigerator you’ll be ready for quick assembly of meal bowl throughout the week!
Substitutions
- Brown rice or farro (which is not gluten free) can be used as a substitution for the quinoa
- Portobello mushrooms are ideal but you can also use any other types of mushrooms
- Baby kale or arugula can be used as a substitution for the spinach
- For a more economical alternative, use pumpkin seeds or sliced almonds instead of pine nuts
- To make this vegan, skip the bocconcini mozzarella balls and use a vegan pesto
- Either store-bought or homemade pesto can be used
If you like vegetarian food in a bowl, then try these:
Mediterranean Bulgur and Halloumi Bowl
Mediterranean Quinoa & Chickpea Salad
Recipe
Mushroom Quinoa Salad Bowls
Healthy Mushroom Quinoa Salad Bowls with chickpeas come together with a drizzle of homemade tangy pesto dressing. Packed with protein, gluten free and vegetarian they’re perfect for lunch or dinner.
Ingredients
Pesto Dressing
- 2 tablespoons basil pesto
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Bowl Ingredients
- ¾ cup quinoa
- 4 Portobello mushrooms approximately 400g
- ¼ cup olive oil divided
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt divided
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper divided
- 2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes 1 pint
- 1 medium red onion sliced into rings
- 8 cups loosely packed spinach
- 540 ml tin chickpeas rinsed and drained
- 200 g mini bocconcini mozzarella balls at room temperature
- ½ cup pine nuts toasted
Instructions
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In a small bowl whisk together the pesto dressing ingredients, pesto, olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper. Set aside at room temperature.
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Add quinoa to a medium saucepan with 1½ cups water, bring to a light simmer over medium-high heat, reduce heat to low and cook for 13 – 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork and keep warm.
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Remove the gills from the underside of the mushrooms with a spoon and discard the gills. Slice the mushrooms into ¼” to ½’ thick slices.
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In a large skillet heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add half of the sliced mushrooms and cook until a rich, golden brown, about 3 minutes per side, adding a little more oil if needed. Remove mushrooms to a plate and sprinkle lightly with some of the salt and pepper. Add anothertablespoon of the oil and repeat process with remaining mushroom slices. Keep warm.
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In the same skillet, add the last tablespoon of olive oil. Add tomatoes in half of the skillet and sliced red onion rings in the other half. Sprinkle with the remaining salt and pepper. Cook over medium-high heat just until the tomatoes soften and blister and the onions are browned and softened, about 3 – 4 minutes. Separate the tomatoes and onions and transfer them to separate bowls. Keep warm.
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Meanwhile, toast the pine nuts in a small skillet over medium-high heat while tossing constantly until they just begin to look golden. The nuts toast quickly do not leave unattended. Immediately transfer nuts to a plate to cool.
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To assemble the salad bowls, arrange a bed of spinach into four bowls. Over top, evenly arrange quinoa, mushrooms, tomatoes, chickpeas, bocconcini balls and onions. Drizzle each bowl with about 2 tablespoons of pesto dressing and sprinkle with pine nuts.
Recipe Notes
- Serve the bowls warm, at room temperature or cold as desired
- Brown rice or farro (which is not gluten free) can be used as a substitution for the quinoa
- Portobello mushrooms are ideal but you can also use other types of mushrooms
- Baby kale or arugula can be used as a substitution for the spinach
- For a more economical alternative, use pumpkin seeds or sliced almonds instead of pine nuts
- To make this vegan, skip the bocconcini mozzarella balls and use vegan pesto
- Either store-bought or homemade pesto can be used
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