A pretty pink quinoa salad packed full of flavour and fresh ingredients that is perfect as a main or as a side dish to all of your summer BBQ dishes.
Beautifully pink with a deep earthy sweet flavour, there is always something wonderful about knowing that I have a stash of beetroot waiting to be used in the fridge. They’re not to everyone’s taste (definitely wasn’t mine up until a few years ago), however, if added to a mix of simple ingredients they can really make a dish come alive – whether that be a risotto, salad, juice or even a delicious cake!
I’ll be honest as I kid I hated them, it was one of those foods that I never tried but knew I wouldn’t like, do you have any of those? As an adult, I was always wary of their deep pink oozing juices that seemed to stain everything in sight and always felt sorry for anyone with the misfortune of preparing them while wearing a white shirt.
- 1 cup of quinoa
- 4 cooked beetroots and beetroot juice if you are using vacuum packed beetroots
- 8 Peppadew Mild Piquante Peppers
- 1 cup roasted butternut squash
- 2 tbsp fresh mint chopped
- Feta cheese
- Flaked almonds
- Pomegranate seeds
-
Cook the quinoa according to the packet instructions and allow to cool once cooked.
-
Slice the beetroots and add them and their juice to the quinoa and stir through while the quinoa is cooling to let it take on the pink colour. Chop the Peppadew Mild Piquante Peppers, butternut squash, and stir together in a large bowl.
-
Roughly chop the mint and stir through before serving.
-
Garnish with crumbled feta cheese, pomegranate seeds and flaked almonds.
-
Serve as a main or side dish.
How things have changed! In the summer I always like to have a pack of beetroot in the fridge and I prefer the convenience of the vacuum packed ones opposed to peeling and roasting my own, just call me lazy! I always have a jar of Peppadew Mild Piquante Peppers in the fridge too because we genuinely love them and they go well with so many things. I really like them roughly torn into this salad to add a mild chilli sweetness.
I just love how the quinoa takes on the beautiful colour of the beetroot! You can basically throw whatever you want into this salad, but I think a mix of the mild piquante peppers, mint and feta really make this salad and work well together with the beetroot. I used spiralised butternut squash in my salad, but chopped and roasted squash also works well. I’ve eaten this just as it is for lunch because it’s very satisfying alone or serving a smaller portion with meat or fish as a side dish.
ARE YOU A BEETROOT FAN? WHICH VEGETABLES DO YOU ALWAYS HAVE IN THE HOUSE DURING SUMMER?
*Recipe commissioned by Peppadew, but all opinions are my own.
Love the simple, colorful and healthy dish! I would add some avocados on it to add creaminess. Mmm. 🙂
http://daytodaymoments.com
Oh, avocados would be great in this!
This looks lovely! I’m not a big fan of beetroot but this looks delicious – thanks for sharing x
Thank you!
I’ve always been a big fan of beetroot, but I agree with the convenience of vacuum sealed ones. Otherwise it’s like a massacre! I bet those peppadew peppers really make this salad something extra special – they’re so flavourful.
Yes, they really pack a punch in the flavour department. Nice to hear that I’m not alone in the love of convenience when it comes to beetroot.
I love beetroot and I grew up eating beetroot and salad cream sandwiches haha.
I love everything going on in this salad too, especially the Peppadews 🙂
Ha! I remember my grandad making up a similar sandwich with beetroot, he loved them! I’m obsessed with Peppadews.
I am going to try this. I have been trying to think of different salads and ai’ve ever used quinoa before. x
Let me know how you like it, if you do try it.
I do love quinoa this salad looks so delicious and like you say would be perfect as a side dish. X
It does make a lovely side dish!
This sounds fab, so many tasty ingredients in one healthy salad!
Thanks Becca, got to love a salad filled with lots of tasty ingredients.
I have to admit, I’m not a huge fan of beetroot, but my husband loves it. Might be time for me to try it again… I’ve pinned this 🙂
Yes, give this a go! ????
I have three rather lonely vac pac beetroot in the fridge right now, and a packet of feta. I feel a plan coming on!
Oooh feta and beets are a fab combo!
The colours in this salad are beautiful. I’ve still never tried quinoa x
Thank you!
This is so colourful and looks delicious – I need to try this!
Thanks!
I was exactly the same as a kid, and even now I’m not sure I would go out of my way to buy beetroot, but I do enjoy the flavour in a dish. It’s a shame that it’s not used in dishes more often. I love the way it has ‘dyed’ the quinoa in your salad.
I love how it’s dyed the quinoa too, such a pretty colour. Beetroot definitely needs some more love!
This is such a beautiful meal!
It almost looks too good to eat!
Healthy food always looks so much more appealing! 🙂
Thanks Sarah! 🙂
Oh wow this sounds so good! I love the sound of it and the colours make it look just so appitizing. x
I really love that deep pink/purple colour.
This is such a cool recipe. I’d love to try that mix of quinoa and pomegranate. This would be an awesome new side.
Pomegranate works so well in many different things.
i love quinoa and have been eating it a lot these days. i haven’t tried beetroot before. ive always stayed away for some reason :/
I was like that too until I gave it a try and found that I really liked it.
Gorgeous salad. Definitely something I want to try in July 🙂
Thanks Zoe!
Oh wow! How beautiful does this look?! Very Instagram/Pinterest friendly. I’m a big fan of quinoa so will be trying it out for sure x
Ha! Thank you. You’ve just got to love the pink.
A great salad in general and its each ingredient separately. I would start the day with him, a charge of vivacity and good mood is guaranteed 🙂 A little pity that not all of them are available in our area.
This looks so pretty! I love beetroot, but I do not like the idea of drinking it, so I have never tried it in a juice or smoothie. In my mind it’s too much like blood! Not sure why I have a mental block about it. But in salad, in sandwiches, on pizza… delicious.
Oh I love quinoa, I’d genuinely have it with everything if I could! Loving the colours in this 🙂
This just looks absolutely delightful, quinoa is quite underrated in foods I think x
Oh this pink quinoa salad looks delicious, I like that you described it as tasting earthy it would taste very fresh.
I love quinoa and this salad looks so colorful, healthy and delicious! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
I still haven’t tried Quinoa, I really want to!
It’s such a nice way to get more protein into your meals.
I love beetroot and butternut squash so I’m really excited to try this salad!
What a pretty looking salad i bet it tastes great too.
Thank you!
The salad looks delicious Jemma, full of flavour and nutrition. Thanks for the recipe
Thank you and it’s my pleasure!
This salad looks so amazing, so many different colours. I have never tried quinoa before x
This looks pretty amazing, who know Quinoa could be so interesting, I do quite like it in a salad I get from Pod near work.
I think I like it in a salad the most.
I have been looking for some more quinoa recipes and this one looks lovley
Thank you!
Nice simple but tasty looking recipe. Would be perfect for brunch tomorrow 🙂
Thank you!
I love beetroot. As does my three year old daughter. This looks yummy and perfect for the summer months. I’ll have to give it a try. Hugs Lucy xxxx
This looks perfect for BBQ season! I will be pinning this for later xxxx
Quinoa is something I have wanted to try for a long time now but never found a recipe that really struck me… however this has!
Book marked for later!