Quinoa Salad with Spiced Butternut Squash and Courgettes
This quinoa salad with spiced butternut squash and courgettes is a wholesome main course. The Thermomix TM7 steams the vegetables until tender while the quinoa cooks to a fluffy texture below. Cumin seeds, toasted in the mixing bowl, add warm depth, and a dressing of olive oil with homemade vegetable stock paste ties everything together beautifully.
About this recipe
Quinoa salad with spiced butternut squash and courgettes is exactly the kind of fresh, colourful recipe your Thermomix TM7 handles brilliantly. Searching for healthy quinoa recipes or a quick weeknight dinner made in an all-in-one kitchen machine? This one delivers. Cubes of butternut squash and courgette turn tender and sweet in the steamer while the quinoa cooks beneath them, absorbing the fragrant steam and your homemade vegetable stock paste. Cumin seeds, briefly toasted and ground in the mixing bowl, coat the vegetables with a warm, earthy spice that lifts the whole salad. A finishing drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of sea salt bring out the natural sweetness of the squash. Serve it lukewarm or cold, as a light main course, a lunchbox filler or part of a weekend spread. It keeps well, making it a smart choice for meal prep on Sunday afternoons.
Preparation tips
- Cut the butternut squash into even cubes, roughly the same size as the courgette pieces, so both vegetables steam at the same rate and finish tender without turning mushy.
- Rinse the quinoa thoroughly in a fine sieve before cooking to remove its natural bitter coating; this single step makes the grains taste noticeably cleaner and nuttier.
- For extra depth, let the salad rest for half an hour after dressing so the quinoa soaks up the cumin, olive oil and stock paste flavours before serving.
Recipe variations
- Make it vegan and gluten-free as is, or boost the protein by folding in chickpeas, crumbled feta or toasted pumpkin seeds just before serving for a heartier lunch.
- In summer, swap the butternut squash for diced sweet potato or fresh peas and add lemon zest and mint; in winter, pomegranate seeds and roasted walnuts make a festive version.
Thermomix TM7 Benefits
- Grinding the cumin seeds in the Thermomix releases their full aroma, giving the butternut squash a warm, fresh spice in seconds.
- Using the built-in scale, the TM7 weighs the quinoa and water directly in the bowl for correctly hydrated, fluffy grains every time.
- The Varoma steaming function cooks the courgettes gently, keeping their vibrant colour and pleasant bite without sogginess.
- Heating the vegetable oil in the TM7 toasts the cumin evenly, coaxing out nutty notes without any risk of scorching the seeds.
- Mixing the olive oil with homemade stock paste in the Thermomix creates a silky, well-emulsified dressing that coats every grain.
Ingredients
- cumin seeds
- vegetable oil
- courgettes
- fine sea salt
- butternut squash
- ground black pepper
- extra virgin olive oil
- quinoa
- vegetable stock paste, homemade
- water