A veggie wrap is the epitome of flavor + convenience. These pesto & quinoa salad-stuffed veggie wraps are bright, fresh & perfect for taking on the go.
In my opinion, the world cannot have too many quinoa salads. Don’t get me wrong, I love the other grains too – farro, millet, and wheatberries are all lovely – but my real go-to grain is quinoa. I love to make a big batch and keep it on hand, as it’s the perfect catch-all for the vegetables, nuts, and cheeses that I usually have around. Of course, since this salad was destined for a picnic without any silverware, I decided to have my cake (salad?) and eat it too by stuffing it in a veggie wrap.
My Veggie Wrap Filling
The hearty, fresh quinoa salad filling includes so many of my favorite things – crunchy cucumbers, sweet cherry tomatoes, herbs, bits of kale, and a sprinkling of crumbled feta cheese.Â
I also add a good slather of kale pesto for creaminess and a few pickled onions for pop. Together, the ingredients make a tangy, bright, and satisfying filling that has the perfect blend of contrasting textures and flavors.
Veggie Wrap Recipe Variations
Because the ingredient list for this recipe is a bit long, I wanted to share my secret for quick, healthy meals: I prep a few interesting components one day each week and keep them on hand to transform into different dishes. In this case, I used the cooked quinoa, pickled onions, and extra pesto I had in the fridge. You may have hummus, nuts, herbs, whatever. Keep these sorts of things around, and you’ll always be ready for a delicious meal.
When I have different ingredients in the fridge, I might change up this veggie wrap with one of these variations:
- Swap the spread. Use another type of pesto, or try the lemony white bean spread from this recipe. Of course, hummus would be good too.
- Vary the veggies. I might use sliced roasted red peppers instead of the tomatoes, swap spinach for the kale, or add a few crisp radishes. And avocado would give it a delicious creamy bite!
- Try another nut. Pine nuts are great, but if you have almonds, walnuts, or pepitas in your pantry, try them in this recipe!
- Switch the salad. In this case, I used a yummy quinoa salad as my filling, but if I have tabbouleh or kale salad in the fridge, I’ll often stuff them into a wrap on day 2.
What’s your favorite way to fill a veggie wrap? Let me know in the comments!
If you love this veggie wrap recipe…
Try this hummus wrap, this tempeh sandwich, this avocado sandwich, or this egg salad sandwich next!
Quinoa Veggie Wrap
- 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
- White wine vinegar (enough to cover the onions in a jar)
- A few pinches of cane sugar and salt
- ½ cup pepitas
- 1 small garlic clove
- 1 cup chopped kale
- 1 cup chopped fresh basil
- Juice and zest of 1 small lemon
- ¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 cups cooked quinoa
- 2 small cucumbers, chopped
- 2 cups chopped kale
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
- â…“ cup Traditional ATHENOS Feta Cheese
- ¼ cup chopped chives
- ¼ cup pine nuts
- Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
- Juice of ½ lemon, more to taste
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Handful of fresh mint leaves
- 4 large whole grain tortilla wraps
- Make the pickled onions by placing the sliced onions in a jar. Cover with white wine vinegar and a few pinches of cane sugar and salt. Chill for at least 1 hour or overnight. Store any extra in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
- Make the pesto by pulsing the pepitas and garlic together in a food processor. Next add the kale and basil and pulse again. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, Dijon mustard, and a few pinches of salt and freshly ground pepper and pulse again. With the food processor running, add the olive oil and pulse until the pesto emulsifies. Taste and season with more salt and pepper as desired.
- In a large bowl, combine the quinoa, cucumbers, kale, cherry tomatoes, feta cheese, chives, and pine nuts. Add the olive oil, lemon juice, and a few generous pinches of salt and pepper and toss. Taste and adjust seasonings.
- Assemble the wraps with the quinoa mixture, a few dollops of kale pesto, the pickled onions, and fresh mint. Wrap and enjoy!
This post is sponsored by ATHENOS. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that keep us cooking!
Made this for dinner tonight at the recommendation of a friend. It was absolutely delicious! Loved the addition of the mint and the fact that you can include any veggie. I added grated carrot and beet. Thank you so much for a wonderful new go to wrap!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I love this quinoa salad. This is a delicious. Thanks for sharing this informative details.
I was introduced to quinoa just recently and at first I didn’t think much of it. But my husband, who has been vegan for the most of his life, knows some recipes and I grow to actually like it a lot.
And now, what do you know, here I am browsing the web to search for quinoa recipes to surprise him 😀 I guess it’s never too late to start eating healthy.
Thank you for your this great recipe, Jen and Jack!
xoxo
– Grace –
loving the kale pesto, yum!!!
These wraps sound fantastic! I may be making a batch of this salad and wrapping it up all week for quick and tasty lunches. 🙂
This looks soooo good!
xoxo
This looks amazing! I’ve never seen kale pesto, what a great (and healthy) idea.
this is perfect for summer time 🙂
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I love quinoa, too! And really, great idea to make wraps with this salad – now they’re even more perfect for picnics! 🙂
Yes, a girl can never have too many quinoa recipes, especially with pickled onions and a kale pesto! And having go-to staples and condiments in the fridge is one of my favorite tricks for bringing meals together quickly too. This kale pesto is going on my list to make soon!
So, so delicious! Love that pesto!
I love those quick-pickled onions!! Red onion is one of my favorite additions to sandwiches, but eating them raw is a kick in the taste buds! Plus who can say no to pickled veggies? 😉
I’ve only recently caught onto the absolutely brilliant trick of adding whole grains to salads to bulk them up, and my salad life has changed. I’ve yet to try wraps with these grain salads, but this recipe is looking mighty tempting.
also, i was just curious what type of tortilla do you use?
I think these were ezekiel sprouted tortillas (although they kind of fall apart, so I would find a large whole wheat tortilla that’s a little more sturdy next time).
That kale pepita pesto looks so vibrantly verdant, not to mention delicious!
Mmmm love feta and quinoa together, will try this wrap now!
This looks delicious! I think I need to make a batch of quinoa now.
xoxoBella | http://xoxobella.com
i agree with you on quinoa. i love to make a big batch and use it periodically throughout the week. i recently made a hummus wrap, this is another great idea. i will be pinning this 🙂