This Quinoa Clubhouse Bowl is all the things you love about a clubhouse sandwich but without the danger of skewering the roof of your mouth with a rogue frilly toothpick. And, it's got quinoa, so it must be healthy, right? This is the perfect use of that leftover Easter turkey or the stuff from Christmas you've got buried in the freezer. You can even cook some fresh turkey for this like I did.
If you enjoy bowl-style meals like this one, check out my Lamb Gyro Bowl for a completely different flavour profile built on the same concept. And for more ideas on cooking meat properly, including turkey, have a look at my guide -- it covers everything from seasoning to internal temperatures.
Roasting Turkey Legs
The first step in making this delicious quinoa clubhouse bowl is to roast off some turkey legs. As I said in the introduction, if you have leftover turkey, use it for this. I didn't, so I cooked some. Toss three turkey drumsticks with two teaspoons Italian seasoning, two teaspoons olive oil, half a teaspoon salt and a pinch of pepper. Roast the turkey for about 40 minutes at 375°f or until the legs' internal temperature reaches 165°f. Once the turkey is cooked, let it rest until it is cool enough to handle, then pull all the meat off the bones.
Quinoa
While the turkey is in the oven, rinse and drain one cup of quinoa, then put it in a pot with two cups of water and half a teaspoon of salt. Bring the mixture to a boil, put a lid on the pot, turn the heat to low and cook for twenty minutes. Take the pot off the heat and let it rest for five minutes before serving.
Bacon
Along with the turkey and the quinoa, cook a few bacon strips because a club without bacon is no club I want to be a part of. Put the bacon in a pan, put the pan on medium heat, and cook until brown. Flip and cook until brown and crisp on the other side. My bacon got a little darker than I usually like it, but it still tasted delicious, and it was very crisp. Once the bacon is crisp, take it out of the pan and drain it on a paper towel. Wait until the bacon is cool enough to handle, then crush it into bits.
Cook the whole package while the pan is hot. The extra goes into these cream cheese and bacon pinwheels.
Croutons
I went about as simple as you can go with the croutons for this clubhouse bowl. You can toss them with seasoning and oil and bake them if you want. You can even cube the bread and toast it in the pan with the bacon grease after the bacon is cooked. I just toasted the bread in the toaster then cut it into cubes. Why overcomplicate it when you don't have to?
Tomatoes
You can't have a clubhouse without tomatoes, right? Cut two dozen grape tomatoes in half. That's it. While you're at it, thinly slice or shred about half a head of iceberg lettuce and grate one cup of cheddar cheese.
Making the Quinoa Clubhouse Bowl
Start the bowls by putting the quinoa down and pushing it to one corner. Put the tomatoes to the left of the quinoa, followed by the lettuce. Place the turkey to the right of the quinoa, followed by the bacon bits and croutons. Put the cheese in the middle of the bowl and top with a squeeze of mayonnaise.
Once you start building bowls, it's hard to stop. My steak burrito bowl is the next one on the list.
Recipe
Quinoa Clubhouse Bowl
Ingredients
Turkey
- 3 turkey drum sticks
- 2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoon olive oil
Quinoa
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 cups water
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Bacon Bits
- 4 strips bacon
Croutons
- 2 slices bread
Other Ingredients
- 2 cups sliced iceberg lettuce
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
- 24 halved grape tomatoes
- ½ cup mayonnaise
Instructions
Turkey
- Heat your oven to 375°F
- In a large mixing bowl combine the turkey with the Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Toss to completely coat the turkey in the seasoning.
- Put the turkey on a parchment-lined sheet and roast in the oven for 40 minutes or until the internal temperature of the turkey reaches 165°f when tested with a probe thermometer.
- Take the turkey out of the oven and let it cool until you can handle it with your hands. Pull the heat off the legs and discard the bones and cartilage.
Quinoa
- Rinse and drain the quinoa under cold running water.
- Put the quinoa in a medium pot with the water and salt.
- Bring to a boil on high heat, put a lid on the pot, turn the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Take the pot off the heat and let stand for 5 minutes.
Bacon Bits
- Put the bacon in a frying pan and put it on the stove over medium heat.
- Cook for about 5 minutes or until the bacon starts to brown, then flip and cook for another few minutes until the bacon is crisp.
- Take the bacon out of the pan and put it on a paper towel to drain.
- Once the bacon is cool enough to handle break it into small pieces into a bowl.
Croutons
- Toast the bread in a toaster until very crisp.
- Let the bread cool then slice into 1 cm x 1 cm cubes.
Clubhouse Bowl
- Divide the quinoa among four bowls and push to one corner.
- Put the grape tomatoes beside the quinoa. Place the lettuce beside the tomatoes followed by the croutons, and turkey. Put the cheese in the center of the bowl. Top with mayonnaise.
Final Thoughts
This quinoa clubhouse bowl has become a regular in my rotation because it genuinely captures the flavour of a clubhouse sandwich without all the mess. You can customize it endlessly -- add avocado, dill pickles, or swap the plain mayonnaise for a flavoured version with pesto or chipotle. Give it a try; I think you'll be surprised at how satisfying it is.
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