Quinoa with Cilantro Lime Sauce

Quinoa with cilantro lime sauce is vibrant, tangy, and ready in 25 minutes! It's the perfect vegan and gluten-free side dish to serve with any main course or to make in advance to use for meal prepping healthy meals to eat during the week! You'll never want plain quinoa again after you try this flavor-loaded version. 

Are you tired of eating plain quinoa? Me too! Why eat basic, boring, blah quinoa when you can eat vibrant quinoa that's seasoned with the most delicious vegan cilantro lime sauce?! This quinoa is so flavorful and it's easy to make with a only few simple ingredients. There's no food coloring used here, the bright green color naturally comes from the fresh cilantro.

Enjoy this cilantro lime quinoa as a side dish to your weeknight dinner or add it to tofu wraps, sweet potato black bean burritos, or vegan enchiladas. This recipe makes a large amount of quinoa, so it's a great option to bring to a potluck or party to share with friends and family. I often like to make it on Sunday and then use it to prep healthy meals to eat throughout the week.

How to Make Fluffy Quinoa

I cooked quinoa incorrectly (high heat and uncovered) for the longest time, don't make the same mistakes I made! Let me show you how to make light and fluffy quinoa. Also, if you have a choice, look for pre-rinsed quinoa. I used to forget to rinse it, so it's helpful to buy pre-rinsed. That's why I love the organic quinoa from Costco, it's pre-rinsed and it always turns out perfect.

First, add the pre-rinsed quinoa and water to a pot. Bring it to a boil and then reduce the heat to low and cover the pot. Let the quinoa cook for 12-15 minutes or until all the water has been absorbed. Take the pot off the heat and let it sit for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and use a fork to fluff the quinoa. Do this and you will get perfectly cooked quinoa every time!

Step by Step Instructions 

First, cook the quinoa following the instructions I shared above (Photo 1). While the quinoa is cooking, make the cilantro lime dressing. Add the water, lime juice, fresh cilantro, garlic clove, chopped green onions, salt, and pepper to a blender cup (Photo 2). Blend until the sauce is smooth and creamy (Photo 3).

Transfer the cooked quinoa to a large mixing bowl and pour the cilantro sauce over the quinoa (Photo 4). Use a flexible spatula to scoop out any sauce that is left in the blender cup. It won't look like a lot of sauce, but it's very concentrated and it will be plenty to season the quinoa. Use a large spoon to stir the quinoa and incorporate the sauce. Keep stirring until the sauce has been evenly distributed and the quinoa has turned green.

Can I Make It In Advance? 

You can make the quinoa days in advance, that's why I love to use it for meal prepping burrito bowls or wraps to eat all week long. This vegan quinoa recipe can be enjoyed hot or cold, and it's just as delicious on the fifth day as it was on the first day that you made it.

What Can I Serve It With? 

Quinoa with cilantro lime sauce is a zippy vegan side dish that you can serve with so many different meals! I always make it to go with vegan sloppy joes. You could also enjoy it with the following recipes:

• Tofu Taco Stuffed Tomatoes
• Vegan BLT's 
• Jackfruit Enchiladas
• Curried Tofu Scramble
• Roasted Butternut Squash Pita Wraps

Can You Freeze It?

Store the quinoa in a freezer-safe container and freeze it for 1-2 months (for the best quality). It should last longer, but the quality may start to decline.

How To Reheat It

From the Freezer: Remove the container from the freezer and put it in the fridge to defrost for 24 hours. Then you can warm up the quinoa in the microwave or on the stovetop.

From the Fridge: Put the quinoa into a bowl and cover it before warming it up in the microwave, or you can transfer the quinoa to a pot to warm it up on the stovetop. You may need to add 1-2 tbsp of water if the quinoa is dry.

Recipe Variations

This cilantro-infused quinoa is so versatile and it can be enjoyed in multiple ways:

• Add Black Beans: Serve black beans over the cilantro flavored quinoa instead of brown rice. If you like spicy food, add a drizzle of hot sauce or pickled jalapeno slices. It's a delicious and super flavorful combination! I make this meal for dinner a lot, it's quick, affordable, and easy.
• Mix the Sauce with Pasta: The cilantro sauce is not enough by itself to use for pasta, but you can add 1 cup of soaked raw cashews + 2 cups of unsweetened almond milk to the blender with the rest of the cilantro sauce ingredients and then blend until it's smooth. Instead of quinoa, mix the creamy cilantro lime sauce with 8 oz of pasta.
• Burrito Bowls: I like to add this flavored quinoa to burritos, but it also makes a delicious burrito bowl base! Add beans, romaine, tomatoes, red onions, red cabbage, and a drizzle of vegan chipotle mayo to make a delicious and hearty meal.
• Cilantro Lime Mayo: Mix the cilantro sauce with 1 cup of vegenaise or vegan mayo to make an intensely rich and flavorful spread.

Substitutions & FAQ

• Quinoa Substitutions: You can use any type of rice, freekeh, barley, couscous, einkorn wheat berries, cauliflower rice (low-carb), or orzo. 
• Cilantro Substitution: Fresh basil can be used instead of fresh cilantro. If you substitute basil, use lemon juice instead of lime juice.
• Gluten-Free: This vegan cilantro lime quinoa recipe is naturally gluten-free. You don't need to make any substitutions.
• Can I use a food processor? You can use a food processor to make the sauce but it will probably be a little chunky. If the sauce is chunky, it will be more difficult for the quinoa to absorb the green color. It will still taste delicious though.

Success Tips

• Make sure to rinse your quinoa before cooking it if the package doesn't say that it's already been pre-rinsed.
• You can enjoy this cilantro-flavored quinoa hot or cold, both ways are delicious.
• This recipe makes a large portion of quinoa, which is great for meal prepping or to bring as a side dish to a potluck or party. If you just want a small side dish to serve with dinner tonight, you should halve the recipe.
• Store the leftover cilantro lime quinoa in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days or you can freeze it for a future meal.

Want More Vegan Quinoa Recipes? 

Stuffed Pepper Quinoa Soup 

Chipotle Walnut Quinoa Tacos

Mushroom Quinoa Veggie Wraps

Quinoa with Cilantro Lime Sauce

Quinoa with cilantro lime sauce is vibrant, tangy, and ready in 25 minutes! It's the perfect vegan and gluten-free side dish to serve with any main course or to make in advance to use for meal prepping healthy meals to eat during the week! You'll never want plain quinoa again after you try this flavor-loaded version.

4.72 from 14 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Resting Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Servings: 12 servings

Calories: 108kcal

Author: Stacey Eckert

Equipment

• Medium Pot
• Blender
• Large Mixing Bowl

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 cups uncooked quinoa pre-rinsed
• ▢ 3 tbsp water
• ▢ 3 tbsp lime juice
• ▢ 2.5 oz fresh cilantro (about 1 medium-sized bunch)
• ▢ ½ cup green onions chopped
• ▢ 1 medium garlic clove
• ▢ ¼ tsp pink sea salt (add more to taste)
• ▢ ¼ tsp black pepper

Instructions

• Rinse the quinoa before cooking if the package doesn't say that it's already been pre-rinsed. Cook the quinoa according to package instructions or you can follow my fluffy quinoa cooking instructions (located at the beginning of this post). When the quinoa is done cooking, let it sit covered for 5 minutes and then fluff it with a fork.
• While the quinoa is cooking, make the cilantro sauce. Add 3 tbsp water, 3 tbsp lime juice, 2.5 oz fresh cilantro, ½ cup chopped green onions, 1 garlic clove, ¼ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp black pepper to a blender cup and blend on high until the sauce is smooth.
• Transfer the cooked quinoa from the pot to a large mixing bowl. Pour the cilantro sauce over the quinoa and use a large serving spoon to stir until all of the quinoa has been coated with the green cilantro sauce. Keep stirring until all of the sauce has been evenly distributed and quinoa is a light green color.

Notes

• Make sure to rinse your quinoa before cooking it if the package doesn't say that it's already been pre-rinsed. 
• You can enjoy this cilantro lime quinoa hot or cold, both ways are delicious. 
• This recipe makes a large portion of quinoa, which is great for meal prepping or to bring as a side dish to a potluck or party. If you just want a small side dish to serve with dinner tonight, you should halve the recipe.
• Store the leftover cilantro lime quinoa in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days or you can freeze it for a future meal.

Nutrition

Calories: 108kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 54mg | Potassium: 202mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 440IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 1mg

Tried this recipe?Please rate it and leave a comment below if you have any feedback! If you post a picture on Instagram, please tag @Stacey_Homemaker and use the hashtag #StaceyHomemaker so I can see your delicious creation!

*This recipe was originally shared on 4/21/17, but I updated it with new pictures and better recipe instructions on 7/14/20.