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Sukhpreet

Healthy Chickpea & Vegetable Quinoa (Weight-Loss Friendly Recipe)

This simple quinoa bowl is light, filling, and packedwith vegetables, chickpeas, and crunchy roasted peanuts. It works beautifullyas a healthy lunch, quick dinner, or meal-prep option.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 3 minutes
Servings: 1
Course: Appetizer, Gluten-Free, High Protein, Lunch, Salad
Ingredients Method Video Notes

Ingredients
  

  • ⅓ cup cooked quinoa
  • ⅓ cup boiled chickpeas
  • ½ cup mixed vegetables — carrot peas and corn
  • ⅓ onion finely chopped
  • ½ tomato chopped
  • 10 –12 roasted peanuts
  • 1 teaspoon desi ghee
  • 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
  • 1 teaspoon coriander powder
  • A pinch of turmeric
  • ¼ teaspoon red chilli powder

Method
 

  1. Step-by-Step Method
  2. Prepare the quinoa
  3. Add the quinoa to a pot of water and boil until it becomes tender. Once cooked, drain the excess water and set the quinoa aside.
  4. Prepare the vegetables
  5. Finely chop the onion and tomato. Keep the carrot and corn and peas ready. If using frozen vegetables, you can add them directly to the pan.
  6. Heat the ghee
  7. Heat 1 teaspoon desi ghee in a pan over medium heat.
  8. Cook the onion
  9. Add the chopped onion and sauté for 1–2 minutes, until it begins to soften.
  10. Add the tomato
  11. Add the chopped tomato and cook for another 1–2 minutes until slightly soft.
  12. Add the vegetables
  13. Add the carrot, peas and corn. Cook for about 2–3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  14. Add the spices
  15. Add salt, coriander powder and red chilli powder. Mix well so the vegetables are evenly coated with the spices.
  16. Add the chickpeas
  17. Stir in the boiled chickpeas and cook for another 1–2 minutes.
  18. Mix in the quinoa
  19. Add the cooked quinoa and gently mix everything together. Cook on low heat for about 2 minutes so the flavours combine.
  20. Finish with peanuts
  21. Add the roasted peanuts, give everything a final toss and switch off the heat.

Video

Notes

Serve warm on its own or with a spoonful of yogurt or raita on the side.
Is it weight-loss friendly?
Yes, portion-wise it can be. Your recipe combines quinoa and chickpeas for fibre and some protein, vegetables for volume, and only 1 teaspoon of ghee. The peanuts add healthy fats and crunch, but keeping them to 10–12 helps control the overall energy content.
I’d describe it on the blog as “weight-loss friendly” rather than “weight-loss recipe,” because weight loss depends on the person's overall daily intake.
Is it gluten-free?
Yes, naturally gluten-free, assuming all packaged ingredients/spices are labelled gluten-free or free from cross-contamination. Quinoa, chickpeas, vegetables, peanuts and pure ghee are naturally gluten-free.
Is it vegan?
Not with desi ghee, because ghee is made from dairy.
But it becomes 100% vegan very easily: replace the 1 teaspoon ghee with 1 teaspoon olive oil or another plant-based cooking oil.
So for the version in your photo, I would label it:
✓ Vegetarian
✓ Gluten-Free
✓ Weight-Loss Friendly
✓ High-Fibre