If you’re not sold on quinoa yet, this is the recipe for you! Everybody loves Mexican flavors (right?!) so this bake/casserole is a quick and easy crowd pleaser. It’s also an ideal make-ahead dish to eat throughout the week — I like to bring a big container of it to work on Monday and have it for lunch every day (because I’m boring like that…but promise it doesn’t get old!).
It may look like a lot of ingredients for a ‘quick’ recipe, but it’s super simple and also pretty flexible. Feel free to change up the veggies if you want (skip the corn or jalapeño, throw some sliced mushrooms into the sauté, etc.). And if you’re confident in your spice-gauging abilities, you can add some cumin, paprika, cayenne or whatever you like.
For all my meat eaters out there who are wondering why we care so much about quinoa: it has 6 grams of protein per serving and beyond that, it’s a complete protein, which means that it contains all of the nine essential amino acids (woo!! more on that here). It’s probably the all-around best plant-based protein out there, from a nutrition standpoint but also because it’s so versatile and easy to make.
Buying Quinoa
Quinoa is pretty widely available nowadays, either near the rice or in the “health food” section (I buy in bulk on Amazon, obviously — I usually get truRoots brand, which is pre-rinsed). I’ve never found this to be a problem but PSA just in case: quinoa has a coating that acts as a natural insect repellent and can (supposedly) taste a little bitter if it’s not rinsed off. It’s not harmful at all but you can either rinse it in a fine strainer if you have one, or look for a pre-rinsed kind. The good news is that because of this coating, farmers don’t need to use pesticides (from what I’ve read) so there’s no need to splurge on organic quinoa.
Note on Shredded Cheese
I used to buy pre-shredded cheese out of laziness but I’ve realized that it tastes a lot better when it’s freshly shredded (takes 30 seconds), and you have the comfort of knowing it’s straight-up cheese, with no preservatives or anything questionable added.
Easy Mexican Quinoa Veggie Bake
Ingredients
- 2 cups uncooked white quinoa
- 3 cups vegetable broth or water (or a mix)
- 2 organic bell peppers of choice
- 1 organic jalapeño pepper (optional)
- 1 medium yellow or white onion
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1-2 garlic cloves, minced/pressed (or 1 tsp garlic powder)
- 1+ tbsp chili powder, divided
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 2 cups organic fresh baby spinach, chopped & packed
- 1 cup mild or medium salsa*
- 1 can black beans, rinsed & drained
- 1 cup shredded cheese (cheddar or pepper jack)**, divided
Optional toppings & sides:
- sliced avocado, plain Greek yogurt, fresh cilantro, whole-grain tortilla chips or warm tortillas
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F. Set a large (8.5 x 11 in. or similar size) oven-safe dish aside, or if you have a large oven-safe skillet (my 10” by 3” shown above works perfectly), you can use that to both sauté and bake.
- Bring quinoa and broth/water to a boil in a medium sauce pan. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and cover with a tight-fitting lid; set a timer for 12 mins.
- Meanwhile, prepare peppers and onion: chop bell peppers into bite-sized pieces (remove the stem and seeds), dice the jalapeño (remove the seeds, and also scrape out the ribs for less heat), and peel and chop the onion.
- Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add all of the peppers and onion; stir to coat with oil. Sauté without stirring for 5-7 mins, or until the bottom pieces start to become charred. Add the garlic, if using, and saute for 1-2 more mins. Add half of the chili powder (½ tbsp) and stir for 30 seconds. Remove from heat.
- When the quinoa timer goes off: Check to see if the liquid has been absorbed and the outer layer (germ) has separated from the seeds. If neither has happened, replace the lid and continue cooking, checking about every minute. If it looks like all of the germs have separated, it’s done; if there’s some remaining liquid, you can steam it for a couple mins with the lid on and the heat off.
- If you’re using a separate baking dish, move the sautéed veggies from the skillet to a large mixing bowl. (Or you can carefully mix everything right in whichever pan/dish is going in the oven to save yourself a dish to wash!). Add the quinoa, frozen corn, spinach, salsa, drained and rinsed beans, half of the cheese (1/2 cup), and remaining chili powder; stir to combine. Give it a try and add salt, pepper, more chili powder, etc. to taste (I added some freshly ground pepper and a bit of cayenne). Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.
- Bake at 375 F for 10-15 minutes, or until cheese on top is melted. Meanwhile, prepare any toppings/sides. Serve right away, or you can shut the oven off and let it coast to keep it warm for a bit. Leftovers keep well in the fridge for about a week or freezer for a month (caveat: I'm personally not a fan of the texture fresh spinach gets when it's frozen and defrosted, so I prefer to add it in later).
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