So this dish I made with the intention of my husband and I eating for lunch. But it could certainly be a main dish in and of itself, or a delicious side dish with some grilled chicken or steaks. The reason I made this as a “lunch dish,” is the Brussels sprouts. My kiddos are fantastic eaters, they love most green vegetables, but 2 out of the 3 of them “draw the line” at Brussels sprouts. And I didn’t want to waste all this delicious-ness on kids who wouldn’t enjoy the meal!

Our boys love quinoa (remember when Tyler couldn’t get enough of it at about 16 months old?!). And they love bacon. But I didn’t want to risk it, with the addition of the Brussels sprouts 🙂

Steve enjoyed this for lunch…so much so that he texted me and thanked me for the tasty food. (He doesn’t text. Ever. So this was a big deal, and shows how much he enjoyed it!)

I’ll share the recipe as I made it, but note that it is heavy on the lemon flavor…as that’s how we prefer it. You could try using just 1 lemon, and then adding more lemon juice as your taste buds prefer. But in general, lemon + bacon + Brussels sprouts = fabulous flavor.

(There is a little bit about pricing information and best places to find/buy quinoa in this post.)

I hope you enjoy this as much as Steve and I did!!!

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Quinoa with Brussels Sprouts, Bacon & Lemon Pepper

This could certainly be a main dish in and of itself, or a delicious side dish with some grilled chicken or steaks

Prep Time10 minutes

Cook Time25 minutes

Servings - 6 servings

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• 1 cup quinoa, uncooked
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lb. brussels sprouts, stems removed and halved
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 6 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled.
• 2 Tbsp minced onion
• 2 tsp pepper
• salt to taste

Instructions

• Rinse the quinoa with cold water.
• In a saucepan, cook the quinoa according to package directions. (Takes about 20 minutes.) Remove from heat once done cooking.
• (If you haven't cooked the bacon, cook it in a skillet, drain the skillet and crumble the bacon. Then proceed...) (I usually "batch cook" bacon, so I already had some cooked.)
• In a large skillet, add the olive oil, the halved Brussels sprouts and any stray leaves, the crumbled bacon, and the minced onion (finely chopped small white onion works too.). Squeeze the lemon juice into the skillet as they are sauteeing. Saute over medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes, or until Brussel sprouts have turned bright green and browned slightly. Remove from heat to prevent overcooking and burning. Stir in the pepper and salt, to taste.
• Toss the bacon-Brussels sprouts mixture with the cooked quinoa. Serve warm.

Erin’s Favorite Quinoa Dishes

• Chicken and Quinoa Waldorf Salad with Creamy Maple Vinaigrette
• Curried Chicken and Quinoa with Peas
• Greek Quinoa Chilled Salad
• Cinnamon Walnut Breakfast Quinoa