Leftover steak and quinoa bowl

Transform leftover steak into this tasty steak and quinoa bowl with sautéed chard and lemon-tahini dressing. A quick, easy, healthy lunch or light meal.

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I am not as good at doing it for myself any more, but I used to always make enough food to have leftovers both for myself and my husband most days during the week. These days I usually manage for him at least. I've got used to the "what am I having for lunch tomorrow" question in the evening and do feel a little bad if the answer is buy something.

I, meanwhile, might make something that ends up here (so I can do pretty well out of it). Or, more often, I am rushing and end up having something super quick and boring.

Then there are other days when we have enough leftover for both of us, at least with some adaptation, as happened with some leftover steak the other day. I ended up making this leftover steak and quinoa bowl which was so good, I think I'll be over-buying steak more often.

You see, I have a slight dilemma when it comes to buying some foods at the moment. With two young kids, they don't quite eat full portions and eat more of some things than others. Some things are very easy to adapt the quantities, like pasta, but things like steaks are a bit trickier.

If I just get what I would buy for two, we'll feel a bit short, but buying for three is still too much. Sometimes the size works to cut part off for the boys, but not always.

The other day, I saw some lovely looking ribeyes but they just didn't quite work so I ended up getting too much. However we weren't exactly disappointed in how I used up the leftover steak.

An adaptable bowl

I was kind of inspired by other bowls I've made recently and had the idea to put together a healthy bowl using the leftover steak with some grains and vegetables. While the recipe below and photos show what I used, you can be pretty flexible in what goes in here. Change up the grain and vegetables to what you have or prefer.

I had originally made some sweet potato fritters to go with the steak, so we had some of those leftover as well. However you can use any leftover veg you have in place of them. Then I quickly sautéed some chard with a couple scallions/spring onions and cooked some quinoa. To top it off, I made a simple and delicious lemon tahini dressing.

This leftover steak and quinoa bowl is such a tasty way to repurpose leftovers into a totally new dish without much effort. It may have a few components, but it all comes together quickly. The result is something both delicious and healthy. Lots of variety, lots of flavor. So good, I know I'll be buying a bit too much steak on purpose in the future.

Try these other tasty lunch bowls:

• Salmon poke bowl
• Thai-style leftover chicken Buddha bowl
• Vegetarian bibimbap (Korean rice & veggie bowl)
• Plus get more lunch recipes in the archives.

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Leftover steak and quinoa bowl

Transform leftover steak into a tasty bowl of goodness without much effort - you'll be wanting leftover steak more often!

Prep Time2 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Total Time12 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings: 2

Calories: 320kcal

Author: Caroline's Cooking

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Ingredients

• ¼ cup quinoa uncooked amount
• 2 scallions/spring onions
• 4 oz chard
• ½ tablespoon olive oil approx
• 2 oz cooked steak approx (2 oz is approx 2-3 slices eg ribeye, sirloin or other cut, as you have)
• 1 oz roasted sweet potatoes approx - a few leftover vegetables such as roasted sweet potatoes or beets
• 1 tablespoon raisins

For dressing

• 2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 2 teaspoon tahini
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon honey

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Cook the quinoa according to packet instructions. For the ¼cup you'll need approx ½ cup plus 1tbsp (140ml), place both in a small pan, cover and bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for approx 10min until the water is absorbed and the quinoa opens up little tendrils. Add a little more water if needed if it's not cooked and water has absorbed. Remove from heat.
• Meanwhile, slice the scallions, including most of the green part. Slice the chard, both stalks and leaves, separating the two.
• Warm the olive oil in a small skillet and add the scallions and chard stalks. Cook for a couple minutes until they soften then add the chard leaves and wilt down. Remove from the heat.
• Put together the bowls with the quinoa, chard, chopped up steak, leftover veg and raisins.
• Mix together the dressing (lemon, tahini, oil and honey) until smooth and pour over the top.
• This can be eaten warm or cold. It makes a great lunchbox (good mixed too) and you can make extra of everything and eat over a couple days, with variations as you have.

Nutrition

Calories: 320kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 150mg | Potassium: 576mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 5600IU | Vitamin C: 21.2mg | Calcium: 55mg | Iron: 3.1mg

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