Easy Quinoa and Pecan Casserole
Hello, comfort food!
It’s nice to eat ya.
Quinoa has long been one of my favorite side dishes, but recently I’ve been looking for more ways to make it a main dish. We certainly aren’t vegetarian but we don’t want meat for dinner every evening either. I’m always on the lookout for ways to make veggie nights a little tastier. My quinoa and pecan casserole fits the bill.
Why I Love Quinoa
If you’ve never had quinoa before, you must try it soon. Quinoa, which looks similar to a grain, is actually a protein-packed seed.
I love quinoa because I know I’m feeding my family a healthy food when I serve it. I try to buy sprouted quinoa
because sprouting seeds, nuts, and grains helps the nutrients in them to be more available.
I also love quinoa because it’s great as a sweet or savory dish, morning, noon, or night. Quinoa can handle different flavors, herbs, and spices. Your imagination is your only limit when it comes to cooking quinoa.
You can make quinoa into a ‘oatmeal’ for breakfast, a casserole or dinner, or even a stuffing for peppers or squash. Be sure to check out my quinoa stuffed acorn squash recipe.
Another reason I love quinoa is that it’s a gluten-free, meat-free option that’s filling and super-healthy. As I said before, we don’t eat meat every day and quinoa allows us to make a hearty meal out of a plant-based superfood.
Important Note:
Once you read the recipe you’ll realize this isn’t actually a vegetarian meal because I use bone broth to cook the quinoa. But you could easily substitute water or, for more flavor, vegetable stock for the bone broth.
No matter which liquid you decide to use to cook the quinoa, this dish is sure to become a family comfort food favorite.
Here’s the recipe!
Ingredients
2 cups quinoa
4 cups bone broth (or water, or vegetable stock
)
1 cup sliced pecans
1 cup shredded cheese (I’ve used cheddar or gouda.) (Chevre would be tasty in this dish, as well)
1 cup sliced mushrooms (I like baby bellas)
1/4 cup sliced black olives
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
butter to grease the casserole dish
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Butter a 13 X 9 casserole dish
.
To cook the quinoa:
Pour bone broth in a large pot and bring to a boil.
Add the quinoa, reduce the heat to low, cover the pot and cook for 15 minutes.
To saute the mushrooms:
Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat.
Saute the mushrooms in the olive oil until they are soft. (About 10 minutes)
To make the casserole:
When the quinoa is cooked, add the rest of the ingredients to the pot and stir.
Pour the quinoa mixture into the casserole dish and put it in the oven.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Optional: Add more cheese to the top of the casserole. Because . . . I mean . . . cheese, right?
Quinoa and Pecan Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 cups quinoa
- 4 cups bone broth or water, or vegetable stock
- 1 cup sliced pecans
- 1 cup shredded cheese chevre would be tasty in this dish, as well
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms I like baby bellas
- 1/4 cup sliced black olives
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- butter to grease the casserole dish
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Butter a 13 X 9 casserole dish.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Butter a 13 X 9 casserole dish.
- To cook the quinoa:
- Pour bone broth in a large pot and bring to a boil.
- Add the quinoa, reduce the heat to low, cover the pot and cook for 15 minutes.
- To saute the mushrooms:
- Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat.
- Saute the mushrooms in the olive oil until they are soft. (About 10 minutes)
- To make the casserole:
- When the quinoa is cooked, add the rest of the ingredients to the pot and stir.
- Pour the quinoa mixture into the casserole dish and put it in the oven.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
Before you go!
This is how I get a real food dinner on the table on even the busiest evenings. It’s all about planning, baby. Check it out!
