Quinoa Enchilada Bake
I love enchilada sauce. Possibly much more than normal people. So when my friend sent me this recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod, naturally I had to try it. In order to make it kid-friendly, I eliminated the jalapeños and added the spice at serving with an array of hot sauces. (I usually prefer Tabasco Chipotle, but in my opinion this worked best with Cholula.)
I used my homemade enchilada sauce, and shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses to use as the topping.
We used tortilla chips to scoop it up, but it occurs to me that it would also make an interesting taco or burrito filling.
Quinoa Enchilada Bake
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| Serves | 8 |
| Prep time | 30 minutes |
| Cook time | 30 minutes |
| Total time | 1 hour |
| Dietary | Vegetarian |
| Meal type | Main Dish |
| Misc | Child Friendly, Freezable, Serve Hot |
| Website | Two Peas and Their Pod |
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa (rinsed and drained)
- 2 cups water
- 1 tablespoon grapeseed or olive oil
- 1 onion (diced)
- 1 red pepper (diced)
- 1 cup roasted corn kernels
- 1 lime (juiced)
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- kosher salt
- freshly ground pepper
- 2 cans black beans (drained)
- 2 cups enchilada sauce
- 2 cups Mexican cheese - cheddar jack (shredded)
- green onions (sliced)
- avocados (sliced)
- sour cream
Directions
| Step 1 | |
| Cook quinoa in water according to package instructions, about 20 minutes. | |
| Step 2 | |
| While the quinoa is cooking, heat the oil in a skillet. Saute onions and peppers until soft. | |
| Step 3 | |
| Add corn and cook for another 3 minutes. | |
| Step 4 | |
| Add lime juice, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper. | |
| Step 5 | |
| Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a baking dish and set aside. | |
| Step 6 | |
| Mix cooked quinoa with onion and pepper mixture. Pour in enchilada sauce and mix until combined. Mix in .5 cup shredded cheese. | |
| Step 7 | |
| Pour mixture into baking dish. Top with additional cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes. | |
| Step 8 | |
| Garnish with green onions, avocado, sour cream and the hot sauce of your choice. | |
Results
It wasn’t bad, but I had been so excited about this — meatless, high protein and enchilada sauce! — that I think I wanted to like it more than I did.
I think that it would have benefitted from the jalapeños, but there’s nothing that turns The Assistant off faster than a mouthful of burn. And yes, to a 7 year old, jalapeños are too much burn. (Let’s not discuss the night that I accidentally fed him sausages stuffed with habañero cheese. Ahem.)
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