Steak quinoa bowl

This steak quinoa bowl is a delicious way to use up leftover steak (or cook up some especially!), combining it with colorful veggies, a bright lemon tahini dressing and a bed of quinoa. It's easy, adaptable and oh so good.

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In years past when I went to an office each day, I used to be pretty good at taking lunch in with me most days. Sure, I would head out to grab something now and then but I got in a fairly good habit of making extra dinner on purpose to have leftovers for lunch the next day.

These days, though, honestly I am not anywhere near as well planned in my lunches. I manage to sort out the kids, but my own lunches are only planned if I'm making something that ends up on this site. So those days can work out pretty well, though it can mean lunch is dessert, or a second breakfast. Other days, though, it's often a last minute grab what might go together in the fridge.

This tasty bowlful is one that evolved from some leftovers into something I now try to make sure is an option more often. It all came about as the growing appetites of the kids didn't always neatly align with the size of steaks you might buy. And however tasty, it's one of those things you don't want to overeat, at least in my mind.

That's where this tasty bowl came in handy as a great way to repurpose leftover steak. It's easy, delicious, and highly adaptable, too.

Using leftover steak

I've long had lots of recipes here for leftover chicken or turkey, since both are things you may more often have leftovers of. Plus, they are highly flexible in how you use them, such as a Vietnamese chicken salad, Moroccan pastilla (a savory pie) or chicken flautas (crisp filled tortillas).

Some other meats can be a little tricker to use up. Roast lamb can be that way, but I've shared before how I love using it in lamb pilaf. And ham is perfect in quiche Lorraine. Steak can be similarly a little tricky, as I can't help but feel you still want to enjoy the flavors rather than smother it. It can be good added to quesadillas, but this bowl lets it shine a little more.

What is quinoa?

Quinoa is these days sometimes considered a superfood and some might dismiss it as a trend as a result, but it's actually something that has been around centuries. In fact, evidence traces it back to being domesticated as early as 3000 - 5000 BCE.

Quinoa is a crop from the Andes region of modern-day Peru and Bolivia. The plant is related to amaranth (as well as spinach) and the quinoa we eat is actually the grain-like seed of the plant.

One of the reasons it has surfaced in recent years is it's nutrient-dense, gluten free and a complete protein. It's lower in carbs and with higher fiber and other nutrients than some other options. And it works well as a base for many dishes so is easy to swap in place of rice, pasta and grains.

An adaptable bowl

As with many bowl-type meals, they are highly adaptable to what you have and prefer. I also feel like you can adapt this one a little seasonally in terms of the vegetables and how you cook them.

The basic components of this bowl are:

• Leftover steak - the main reason for making it! But also a great bit of protein and flavor to build around. That said, you could also make this with eg chicken or make it purely vegetables.
• Quinoa - a great blank-canvas of a grain that's quick to cook, light and has a lovely light gently nutty flavor.
• Vegetables - to make this nicely balanced, I've added both some sautéed spinach and gently caramelized sweet potato here. Both are nutrient-dense and add variety in color, texture and flavor. But you can use other vegetables as you have and prefer, too. I've used sautéed chard before, some asparagus would be great, or make it more salad-like if you prefer with tomatoes and arugula.
• Dressing - I've added a lemon tahini dressing here which I've used before and is SO delicious. It's really quick to make and has so much flavor that brings everything together. You could, if you prefer, though, use other dressings such as a lighter citrusy dressing like my lemon basil vinaigrette, a balsamic dressing or others.
• Garnishes - here I've kept this pretty simple with some raisins that add a lovely slight sweetness to the bowl. But you could add some toasted nuts or seeds like pine nuts, pepitas or almonds. Or indeed skip the garnishes if you prefer.

As I say it's pretty adaptable and can be a way to use up vegetable leftovers, too. You can use leftover roast vegetables or grilled veggies in the summer. I've been known to chop up some leftover vegetable fritters to add in there. While I think quinoa works really well, you could change that part too.

This steak 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 and easily. And the result is something both delicious and healthy. Lots of variety, lots of flavor. So good, it makes me plan to have leftover steak more often.

Try these other tasty lunch bowls:

• Salmon poke bowl
• Thai-style leftover chicken bowl
• Vegetarian bibimbap (Korean rice & veggie bowl)
• Or try hearty salads like my butternut squash quinoa salad or squash farro salad.
• Plus get more lunch recipes in the archives.

See some of my favorite cooking tools and ingredients in the Caroline's Cooking Amazon store. 

This post was first shared in March 2017 and has been updated, primarily with new photos and additional information.

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