Zesty lemony quinoa bowl with shrimp and avocado makes it a perfect meal for lunch or weeknight dinners. It is a quick and easy recipe, truly healthy loaded with flavors and tons of proteins.
I have tried quinoa not so many years ago. Since then, it has become one of our family-favorite side dishes. Quinoa itself doesn’t have a pronounced taste, however, mixed with buttery/garlic shrimp and fresh avocado it creates a divine dish. I simply adore a bowl full of fresh and healthy ingredients. Many times we are tempted to eat fast food – it is easier, quicker, and of course tasty. But, if we crave bad food, make it a habit to eat healthy on the second day.
When I want a quick meal but rich in vitamins and flavors, I opt for easy and quick ingredients. This kind of dish can be made in different versions. Here you can omit the shrimp or avocado. I adore mixing them all together – this as if creates a restaurant-plate to enjoy after a busy day. It is a light, fresh, and healthy bowl bursting with flavor.
One more point that I love about this zesty dish is its colorful aspect. This quinoa bowl will always stand out since I get acquainted with it and its benefits. Since I have tried chia, quinoa of all its colors, and buckwheat – these products are never missing from my kitchen. They are super easy to prepare and are coated with lots of health benefits.
Quinoa bowl with shrimp and avocado is refreshing, tasty, and flavorful.
What is Quinoa? Is it healthy?
Quinoa became very popular in the world due to its health benefits. This type of seed is very famous, especially among those people that want to live a healthy lifestyle. Quinoa is gluten-free, rich in fibers and proteins, as well as enough amount of all nine essential amino acids. It is of few plant foods that are so beneficial and can easily be an alternative to rice.
It is a great antioxidant and full of vitamins B and E, as well as calcium, potassium, iron, and magnesium. I think that there are many more benefits, but these are also enough to motivate to eat it more often and to introduce it to your daily menu.
How many types of quinoa are?
One of the most popular types of quinoa, and maybe the most tastier, is the white one. However, there are other colors as well. Red and black quinoa are frequently used in salads. I have made a salad of back quinoa. You can check it here. All of these types are useful and healthy any color you will choose will be great, too.
Recipe ingredients:
- 250g quinoa
- 300g tiger prawns
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 avocado, diced
- 2tbsp olive oil
- Juice and zest of 1 lime
- 30g butter
- Bunch of herbs
- Salt and pepper
How to make quinoa with shrimp and avocado?
Start this dish with the prawns. Take a bowl and add 1 minced garlic clove, lemon juice and zest, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Add the tiger prawns and toss gently to coat all the flavors. I marinated them for 15 minutes. It is okay to marinate them at least 5 minutes if you are in a hurry. The more you leave them to soak all the flavors, the aromatic and juicer the prawns will be. Meanwhile, take a saucepan and add the quinoa with water. Water should be twice the amount of seeds. For example, if you cook 2 cups of quinoa then pour 4 cups of water. Drizzle some olive oil, salt, and pepper and let it cook until the water has been fully absorbed. Usually, it takes about 15-20 minutes until the quinoa is done.
While the quinoa is cooking, take a skillet where you are going to prepare the prawns. Add the butter with some cloves of garlic and the prawns. Cook them for about 3-5 minutes until dark pink colour. Leave them in the skillet until the quinoa is boiling.
Meanwhile, dice the avocado.
When the quinoa is ready, it should be creamy, airy, and fluffy, resembling much couscous-like.
Assemble your bowl with the amount of avocado you like, add some quinoa and in the middle of the plate place the aromatic shrimps. Squeeze some lemon juice over the bowl to refresh it a little. Mmmm finger-lingering! Trust me if you will make this easy and healthy meal you will forget about Mac burgers :).
It is one of the recipes you want to make on a daily basis, especially when you want to have a meat-free meal.
Recipe tips:
- One piece of advice is to first rinse the quinoa before cooking it, despite the fact that on the package it says that it was pre-washed.
- Instead of water, you can pour chicken stock.
- Before cooking the quinoa, my mom usually tosses the seeds a little in a pan with some oil to make them fluffy and not sticky. If you want, you can do the same.
- If you have cooked too much quinoa, you can easily store or freeze the rest of the amount. Just cool down, add to an airtight pack and easily store overnight or up to 2 days.
- You can add beans to this kind of dish. Beans are full of proteins and are just perfectly paired to our ingredients.
- Squeeze either lemon or lime juice. Both will refresh your dish very well.
- Garnish with some greenies.
Easy, quick, flavorful, and incredibly delicious! These are some words that perfectly describe this protein-filled and healthy meal.
Zesty Shrimp Avocado Quinoa Bowl
Equipment
- Bowl
- Saucepan
- skillet
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa
- 300 g prawns
- 2 avocado
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lemon
- 30 g butter
- salt
- pepper
Instructions
- Wash the prawns. Marinade them in 1 minced garlic clove, lemon juice and zest, olive oil, salt, and pepper about 15-20 minutes.
- Take a saucepan. Add the quinoa and water. Water should be twice the amount of seeds. Drizzle some olive oil, salt, and pepper and let it cook until the water has been fully absorbed.
- Take a skillet where you add butter, some cloves of garlic and the prawns. Cook them for about 3-5 minutes until dark pink colour.
- Leave them in the skillet until the quinoa is boiling.
- Dice the avocado.
- In a bowl put avocado, quinoa, and the prawns. Squeeze some lemon juice over the bowl to refresh it.
- Garnish some greenies.
