Quinoa and Chickpea Salad with Roasted Beets
This quinoa and chickpea salad with roasted beets combines sweet, earthy red and golden beets with warm quinoa, chickpeas, peppery arugula, and nutty Manchego. A bright champagne vinegar and Dijon vinaigrette ties everything together for a colorful, satisfying fall salad.
I love adding arugula for a touch of green. Its peppery flavor complements the quinoa, chickpeas, roasted beets, and Manchego beautifully.
In the months where the weather changes and it gets cooler, this salad brings a taste of freshness while also carrying warm fall/winter flavors.
How to Make Quinoa and Chickpea Salad with Roasted Beets
Roast the Beets
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Start by scrubbing the beets thoroughly.
Tip! I love using a potato scrubber as it helps remove so much dirt and grime.
After they are nice and clean, pat the beets dry.
Drizzle extra-virgin olive oil onto the dry clean beets and massage the oil all over each beet.
Wrap each beet in aluminum foil and place on a baking sheet.
Bake the beets for 1 hour or until fork-tender. Check on them at the 45-minute mark by giving them a squeeze using a kitchen towel or oven mitt.
For reference, large beets can take about 1 hour, while smaller beets may be tender in approximately 45-minutes.
Tip! The bigger the beets are the longer they will take to cook. If you are cooking the beets with plenty of time to spare, let them rest in the aluminum foil until they come to room temperature as they will continue cooking.
While the beets are cooking, start working on the quinoa.
Follow the cooking instructions on the quinoa of your choice, it usually calls for 2 to 1 of water to quinoa. This means 2 cups of water to 1 cup of quinoa.
Make the Vinaigrette and Quinoa Salad
In a large bowl, add the finely chopped chives, Dijon mustard, champagne vinegar, honey and good quality extra-virgin olive oil.
Using a whisk, mix all the ingredients until they are emulsified.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Add the drained and rinsed chickpeas to the vinaigrette.
Add 3/4 cup crumbled Manchego cheese.
Once the quinoa has cooked and rested for 10–15 minutes, add 1 cup cooked quinoa to the vinaigrette mixture.
Tip! Adding the quinoa while it is still warm, helps it absorb the vinaigrette.
When the beets are fork-tender, meaning you can pierce them with a fork and it goes in easily, remove them from the oven and let them rest for at least 15 minutes as they will be extremely hot.
Unwrap each beet and using paper towels scrape the skin off of the beets. The skin will peel off easily and smoothly.
Tip! Don’t tug on the skin too roughly as it can make some of the beet break away of the whole.
Once the beets are peeled, trim off the hairy rough ends and thinly slice them.
Allow the beets to cool down to room temperature.
Tip! If you prefer to have a really cold salad, cool the beets in the refrigerator until they are nice and chilled.
Plate the Salad
Arrange the beet slices along the rim of a large round plate. Alternate the golden beet and the purple beet.
Drizzle a little bit of good quality extra-virgin olive oil over the beets and season with salt.
Toss the arugula into the quinoa mixture and mix well.
Serve the quinoa salad in the middle of the plate where the beets are arranged.
And that is it! This delicious dish is ready to enjoy!
More Hearty Salad Recipes
- Fall Harvest Salad with Fig Vinaigrette
- Kale Quinoa Salad with Roasted Grapes
- Baked Salmon with Lentil and Golden Beet Salad
Quinoa and Chickpea Salad with Roasted Beets
Equipment
- 1 small baking sheet
- 4 12×12 squares of aluminum foil
- 1 large bowl
- 1 large round plate
Ingredients
- 1 large red beet
- 1 large yellow beet
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped chives
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 3 tablespoons champagne vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/3 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil plus 2 tablespoons for the beets
- 3/4 cup crumbled Manchego cheese
- 1 can chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 1 cup baby arugula watercress, spinach or romaine lettuce are good substitutes.
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Scrub the red and yellow beets thoroughly under running water.
- Pat the beets dry, drizzle them with 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, and rub the oil over each beet.
- Wrap each beet individually in aluminum foil and place them on a baking sheet.
- Roast for about 1 hour, or until fork-tender.
- While the beets roast, prepare the quinoa.
- Cook the quinoa according to the package directions. Let it rest for 10–15 minutes, then measure 1 cup cooked quinoa for the salad.
- In a large bowl, combine the chives, Dijon mustard, champagne vinegar, honey, and 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil.
- Whisk until the vinaigrette is emulsified.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the drained and rinsed chickpeas to the vinaigrette.
- Add 3/4 cup crumbled Manchego cheese.
- Add 1 cup warm cooked quinoa and toss to coat it in the vinaigrette.
- When the beets are fork-tender, remove them from the oven and let them rest for at least 15 minutes.
- Unwrap each beet and use paper towels to gently rub away the skin.
- Trim the rough ends, then thinly slice the beets.
- Cool the beets to room temperature. For a colder salad, chill them in the refrigerator.
Platting the Quinoa and Chickpea Salad with Roasted Beets:
- Arrange the beet slices around the rim of a large round serving plate.
- Alternate the golden and red beet slices.
- Drizzle the beets with a little extra-virgin olive oil and season with salt.
- Add the arugula to the quinoa mixture and toss well.
- Spoon the quinoa and chickpea salad into the center of the arranged beets.
- Enjoy!