Since making the Spinach & Lemon Quinoa Bake in December, I’ve been inspired to cook up a quinoa casserole in the oven. I went with a Southwest/Mexican theme and was amazed at how well it came together. I have to say that I’m pretty excited by this new and easy way of getting quinoa into my diet!
The quinoa cooks directly in the oven, so you don’t have to worry about boiling and preparing it first. If you have a stove-top-to-oven dish (like this gorgeous Le Creuset one), then this is a one-pot meal. If you’re working with a limited kitchen (like me), then you’ll have to fry up the onion and garlic in a frying pan before tossing them into to your casserole dish. Either way, this is a super easy dish that I hope you’ll love as much as I did.
I stirred-in canned beans and corn at the 45-minute mark, but felt that the beans were a little tough. I’ve therefore written the recipe so that they’re added after 30 minutes instead, giving them a half-hour to soften up.
When I pulled the casserole out of the oven, I thought that it needed a bit more color, so I tossed a couple handfuls of baby spinach into it. Pretty + healthy for the win!
This is good straight-up, but pretty darn amazing topped with a dollop of vegan sour cream, diced avocado, and fresh cilantro. You could also melt some vegan cheese (such as Daiya) on top. Mmm!
I’m so excited by the prospect of just tossing everything into one pot and letting it cook-up in the oven. My next step will be to reconfigure my Quinoa Chili recipe so that it uses the same technique!
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 cup quinoa
- 796 ml (28 oz) can diced tomatoes, with liquid
- ½ cup water
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
- 1 tbsp tomato paste or ketchup
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp oregano
- ½ tsp chili powder (more if you like things spicy)
- Salt & freshly ground pepper
- 540 ml (19 oz) can black beans, rinced and drained
- 311 g (11 oz) can corn kernels, with liquid
- 3 cups baby spinach
- Toppings of choice: vegan sour cream, avocado, cilantro, vegan cheese, etc.
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a medium frying pan (or stove-top-safe 2.8 liter/3 quart casserole dish). Add onion and garlic, and saute until translucent, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat; and transfer to oven-safe casserole dish if not already using one.
- Add quinoa, deced tomatoes (with juice), water, nutritional yeast, tomato paste (or ketchup), and spices. Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine.
- COVER and place in oven and set timer for 30 minutes.
- Caferfully remove casserole from oven and stir in drained beans and corn (with liquid). If the mixture looks dry, add a half cup of water.
- Return to oven WITH LID and set timer for another 30 minutes.
- Caferfully remove casserole from oven and stir in spinach. It will wilt from the heat.
- Top with sour cream, diced avocado and/or cilantro and serve.
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Yowza!
I love the color the avocado & sour cream add to the casserole – I would definitely try it but I’m in a college dorm until summer, poo.
But it looks & sounds delish :)
Thanks Monica! If you’re working with a limited cooking arrangement, try this recipe: great colors & flavors, and no cooking required if you use canned beans: http://www.vegangela.com/2011/01/17/avocado-mango-black-bean-salad/
Looks amazing!!! I will definitely be making this soon. :)
Let me know what you think of it – thanks for stopping by ;)
This recipe was fantastic, I can’t thank you enough. I have recently decided to take the path to becoming vegan and it has been quite overwhelming. This was the first vegan recipe my mother and I attempted and it turned out perfectly. We were shocked how easy it was and how colourful the meal looked at the end. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Hi Kimmi! I’m so glad that you liked it! Thanks so much for taking a chance on my recipe and taking the time to comment. Good luck with your path to becoming vegan. It gets a lot easier – promise :)
Oh I’m a huge fan of one-pot dinners and this looks superb! A great one for when guests are over, too, since you can spend the time chatting rather than fussing over the kitchen. Big win! :-)
That’s true! Thanks so much for stopping by, I owe you a visit as well, it’s been too long :)
Im pinning to make this weekend. OMG it looks so good!
I didn’t see this comment come through – Thanks so much! Let me know if you tried it :)
Hi there. The current Food on Friday on Carole’s Chatter is collecting links to posts about Mexican dishes and flavours. I do hope you link this one in. This is the link . Please do pop back to check out some of the other links – there are a lot of good ones already. Have a great week.
Thanks so much Carole! I’ll go link a few Mexican Vegan recipes now… :)
Thank You for posting this! Im Mexican and i thought it was incredible! This turned out amazing!!
Wow, I’m honored! Thanks for trying it, and taking the time to leave feedback :)
Angela I stumbled upon your website the other day and I’m so glad I did. Your recipes look fantastic. I made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious. I plan to make it again over the weekend to have on hand for a quick lunch or dinner. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Aimee – I’m so glad you tried it and liked it. Thanks for letting me know :)
Angela, thank you for linking this in to Food on Friday. We have got a super collection of Mexican dishes. I hope you have stopped by some of the other links to check them out!
Ps I have just signed up to follow your blog. A follow back to Carole’s Chatter would be wonderful – or have you already followed? Cheers
Ps If you would like email reminders of future Food on Fridays, just pop by and comment and include your email – I won’t publish it – and the reminder will be by bcc so it will remain private
Thanks Carole! Yes, I’ve added your blog to my RSS reader and will follow the Food on Fridays posts there. Thanks again!
Ange just made this for dinner as was in need of an easy, comforting meal after a big night out. I upped the chilli and added some fresh grape tomatoes. LOVED it! It was a winner for both Lindsay and I and think it’ll feature as a regular on the menu each week. Thanks!
YAY! I’m so glad you like it! Fresh grape tomatoes are a great addition. Stay tuned for a curry version… :)
This is fantastic! Do you think it would work in a slow cooker?
I don’t see why not, although I don’t own one, so I can’t comment on how long it would take. If you try it and it works, please let me know, so I can update the recipe.
Thanks! I will!
Awesome and so easy!! Such a tasty, healthy and easy dish to make, we loved it and are so glad to find another Mexican inspired dish to add to our list, will be making this again.
I did a bit of a guacamole mix on top with mushed avocado, coriander/cilantro, some fresh chopped tomato, some extra cumin, lemon juice and shallots.
Yummo! Thanks!
Hi Kristin – Glad you liked it! I like your additions, and I’m especially liking the addition of fresh tomatoes. Thanks for taking a chance on my recipe, and taking the time to comment. Take care!
Just wanted to say that I love your website! I stumbled across it this evening when looking for some new avocado recipes and have spotted so many recipes that I want to try. I love the layout of each recipe too and the fact that there are lots of photos. Very best wishes from the UK!
Thanks so much Liz! This comment totally made my day :)
I am going to try this with a slow cooker too. Will report back! Looks amazing and I love a ‘one pot wonder’ with a pop of green at the finish. Can’t wait!
Ha ha, totally! Let us know about the slow cooker :)
I made this last night and we really loved it! I’m gonna try some of your soup recipes later in the week. Love your site!
Hi Matt! I’m so glad you liked it – thanks for taking the time to let me know, and thanks also for the link back on your site. Adding your blog to my RSS reader now :)
I’m eating this right now and had to comment on how delicious it is. And so easy! Usually I’m one to “doctor” a recipe but this is perfect AS IS! Makes me feel like I’m back home in Texas ;-) Thank you!
Thanks Ashley – I’m so glad you liked it!
Thank you so much for this recipe! It was simple enough for me to make and turned out absolutely delicious! I bought some tortillas and plan to wrap up some of the leftovers to make burritos :)
Great, happy to hear it. Great idea with the burritos :)
This was delicious, thanks so much for sharing! I only had crushed tomatoes and it worked but I think the diced probably work best. Can you recommend a vegan sour cream brand? Thanks, I love your recipes!
Hi Michelle – Glad you liked the casserole! I use Tofutti brand sour cream. Hope that helps!
Hi Angela! I’ve been following your blog a few months now and made at least 4-5 recipes which by the way were ALL amazing!! I can’t wait to try this one- just wondering if you had a recipe for vegan sour cream by any chance?
Thank you! :) x
Hi Erin! Thanks for the kind words – glad you like the recipes! This is a good homemade vegan sour cream recipe: http://vegweb.com/recipes/tofu-sour-cream
LOVVVVED it!!! Easy, tasty & covered most colors of the rainbow – our daily goal :)))) Thanks so much!!
I’m referring along to our vegan facebook group.
YAY! I’m super happy to hear it. Thanks for sharing it, I’ve got more on the way… :)