Good morning and happy Friday, friends!I am having an awesome little Friday morning here because I’m going to a continuing education conference today that is super close to my apartment and starts a bit later than work. Meaning: I get to leave 45 minutes later than normal. Is it just me, or does an extra 45 minutes in the morning make a super enormous difference?!It’s like I won free time.So that free time allows me to finally get this post up! This is a spectacular little bean and quinoa salad that you can easily adjust to use your favorite ingredients, or use up what’s in your pantry. Hoorah!
Lately I’ve been trying to get more meals prepped on the weekends, and this is my favorite easy lunch to make ahead. All you need is a big batch of quinoa and whatever veggies, herbs, beans – ANYTHING really – you can toss in for a great lunch.
This one is loaded with beans, tuna, and herbs.
- 1 T extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small red onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 C cooked quinoa
- 2 cans albacore tuna in water
- 1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 C cheese, cubed
- 1/3 C kalamata olives, chopped
- 5 scallions, sliced
- 1/2 C cilantro, chopped
- Heat oil in a medium nonstick skillet over low heat. Cook the onions in the oil until soft, then add garlic and saute for one minute.
- Remove from heat and toss all salad ingredients together. Add a big pinch of salt and pepper to taste.
- You can add more seasonings if you want it to be fully ready. I left it plain and poured some prepared salad dressing into my individual container the morning I packed it up for lunch. Trader Joe’s Honey Thyme Balsamic Vinaigrette goes perfectly with this combo of ingredients.
That’s all there is to it! This big batch will last you for a whole work week of lunches! But it’s so easy to adjust the size, ingredients, and even the whole flavor profile. Add some taco seasoning, black beans, bell peppers and toss in salsa to make a tex mex version. Add some lemongrass to the onion saute and stir in fresh Thai basil and a curry vinaigrette for a Thai change. But I think my favorite is to just make this a random hodge podge with whatever I’m not using up in my fridge and pantry 😉
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