Tex Mex Quinoa Casserole
Braise yourselves, this Tex Mex Quinoa Casserole is to die for. I am so excited to be posting this recipe at last.
I have been experimenting with this Tex Mex Quinoa Casserole recipe for a couple of weeks now. I think it is a superb recipe. I am loving making one pot dinners in which you mix everything in a large baking dish and bake until it is done and ready to eat.
For this Tex Mex Quinoa casserole version I didn’t add any chicken to my casserole and kept it strictly vegetarian but if you like you can add some chicken chunks to it for some added protein.
This recipe makes quite a bit, I think at least 6 servings, which you can keep leftovers in the fridge or freeze for future consumption.
This Tex Mex Quinoa Casserole is going to be a recipe that I am going to make quite often. Lately I have been experimenting with recipes that are easy because come May I won’t be able to spend too much time cooking. Plus my husband is going to have to learn a few easy recipes since he is going to have to take over. Let see how that goes…
I used taco seasoning that I purchased at Trade Joes. You can use your own or any other varieties of your choice. Just make sure that the ingredients are herbs and nothing else. The food industry like to add caking agents and other crap to herb mixtures so be careful which ones you purchase if any.
When you bake the Tex Mex Quinoa Casserole make sure you cover it with aluminum foil the first 45 – 1 hr so the top doesn’t burn. I also think this allows the quinoa to cook better.
Anyhow, I hope you guys try this recipe and I hope you like it as much as we do.
Enjoy!
PrintTex Mex Quinoa Casserole
Miryam's original recipe
Yield: 8 servings
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Ingredients:
3 cups quinoa, dry and uncooked
8 oz frozen corn kernels
15oz canned black beans
1 lb canned chopped tomatoes or marinara sauce
6 green onions, chopped
16 oz skim mozzarella, grated
4 cup hot water
1 1/2 tsp Celtic salt
1 tbsp taco seasoning
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350F.
In a 9 x 13 rectangular baking dish, about 5qt capacity as the quinoa will expand and need more room, add all of the ingredients and mix through. Save some of the grated mozzarella cheese, cilantro and green onions to sprinkle over the top. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake covered for 1 hour.
Remove the aluminum foil and sprinkle the rest of the cheese all over the quinoa and bake uncovered for another 30 minutes or until the quinoa is completely cooked. You may want to use your broiler for 2 minutes to brown the top a bit when the quinoa is done cooking. I normally don't do this step though. When the quinoa is done sprinkle the rest of the green onions and cilantro over the top and serve while still warm.
Hello there. My name is Miryam and I am the clinical dietitian and Physician Assistant behind Eat Good 4 Life. My wish is to inspire you to start cooking healthier so that you can live a longer and happier life. Thanks for stopping by (
Love tex mex flavour! The casserole looks super!
This looks delicious…my kids might even eat it with quesadillas on the side. :)
Wow, this looks fantastic! I had no idea that using quinoa in a casserole could be so simple as just putting everything in the dish together, without cooking the quinoa separately first. You learn something new every day, right?! Thanks for sharing your recipe :)
What a beautiful casserole! I love the combination of ingredients, quinoa tastes better with beans and corn!
I made this for dinner it is so delicious.
Made this last night and it was quite yummy! Mine seems to be drier then yours in the picture. Did you drain the cans of tomatoes and black beans? Just not sure why my quinoa was not saucy looking like yours.
Thanks for your help!
No I didn’t drain them. I am sorry it was dried. I have used marinara sauce before too so that may help also add a tad more water, maybe 1/4 cup?. Besides using marinara sauce I have never done anything different. Thanks for stopping by.
Do you drain and or rinse the beans before putting in the casserole?
I don’t. I have heard some people do. Either way is up to you. I don’t though :-) Thanks for stopping by.
How mamy cans Will equal 1 lbs of tomatoes
?
It is a large can 28 oz in size or two regular 14 oz cans :-)
I see the nutritional info listed, but it doesn’t say how many servings per recipe. Some of the numbers seem really high for just one serving. 115.3 gr carbs? 639 mg sodium? 48.9 protein? But I know it’s not for the whole pan because the cheese alone would have more calories & fat than that. Can you please tell how many servings are in the recipe? It looks great and I”d love to try it, but need more info on the nutritional info.
It is for 6 servings. It is listed above the ingredient list :-) I hope you like it. Thanks for stopping by
I made this tonight, it was extremely good & even my toddlers enjoyed it.
My question is that using a 9×13 pan there seemed to be too much liquid for the pan & it kept overflowing in the oven. I had to switch to a much larger pan to safely cook it.
How are you able to get all the ingredients in that size pan with cups of water & cook correctly?
I am glad you liked it. I am pretty sure I used my 9×13 inch rectangular baking dish but I will measure it again next week when I get home. I don’t want anyone else to have the same problem, that is a royal pain in the neck. Sorry you had to go through that. I will let you know next week. Thanks for stopping by :-)
Hi Betsy, sorry for the delay. So I measured the pan today and it is a 9×13. I have something similar baking as we speak and everything seemed to fit in the baking pan. I don’t know why in mine fits and yours it doesn’t :-(
This looks great but my kids and I don’t like beans. Any suggestions for a sub? Maybe pre-cooked drained ground beef? Thanks!
Yes that would work :-) Thanks for stopping by.
I made this for dinner tonight – I didn’t have a 5 qt pan so I halved the recipe and added some browned ground turkey. The cooking time seemed a bit long…it was slightly burnt around the edges and the cheese was too brown. It tasted good though….I will try again and watch it the last 30 minutes, or maybe turn the temperature down.
Did you cover it with the aluminum foil? The first time it I made this that is what happened to mine that is why I used the foil for my subsequent times :-) I am glad you are going to try to make it again! Thanks for stopping by.
I did use the foil for the first hour but then not for the last 30 minutes. It was still yummy though! Even my picky 7 year old liked it. :)
That is unfortunate. Maybe like you mentioned, decreasing the oven temperature may work. I need to make it again soon too so I will see if there is another way to make sure this doesn’t happen. Awesome your son liked it :-)
Wow this looks great can’t wait to try it. Have you ever made this is a crock pot? I am thinking this would be good for a work potluck. Thanks! Sue
No I haven’t but that is a great idea :-)
I noticed that you used dry quinoa. Does not it have any bitter taste? I usually have to rinse it before cooking it.
I will definitely try it.
I haven’t noticed a bitter taste but you can rinse if you like. I don’t think that would hurt :-)
You know what else would be perfect in this casserole? Some kale, or another hearty green that can be wilted in to add extra nutrition love. Hi Miryam! I love the blog, I found your site from FoodGawker. Just thought I would pass a long the fellow food blogger love. Keep up the good work and delicious recipes!
Cheers,
That sounds great. I have something similar in the oven right now w/ some cruciferous veggie mix in it. Thanks for stopping by.
Just wanted to let you know I did make this and it was so good. I made for potluck at work and everyone loved it! I did cook the quinoa before adding and cooked in the crockpot at low for 3 to 4 hours and it was perfect!! Thanks for this recipe!!
Hi, I made this recipe last night and it was so good. My husband ate 3 big pieces. Just one question… it didnt stay together very well. I cut them into pieces but as we scooped it out, it would fall apart. Any advice?
Thanks!!
I am glad your family liked it. Unless you had more cheese I don’t think it will stay together. It is OK though, quinoa does that :-) Thanks for stopping by!!
Can you freeze portions and then reheat them at a later date?
For sure :-) Thanks for stopping by.
I love this recipe! I featured it in a recent blog post of mine :)
http://www.recipechatter.com/simple-nutritious-quinoa-casseroles/
If I am planning to add some bite size pieces of boneless skinless chicken breast to this recipe, would you recommend adding it raw or cooked? Thanks :)
I think raw would be fine as it will get baked in the oven. Just make sure they are not too big :-)
it looks amazing! can i use red or green beans instead of black? and can i use regular not frozen corn ?
Absolutely, that will work just fine!
The above nutrition facts — is that for the entire dish or just one serving? Thanks!
It is just for one serving but I will change it actually bc the dish gives more than 6 servings :-)
Hi Miryam. First of all I would like to say I lovee your recipes! I just made this casserole and took it out of the oven an hour later to find that it was still full of water and the quinoa was not cooked. I took out the foil anyway and after 30 mins of being cooked uncovered there is still a little water and the quinoa is not cooked. Any suggestions as to where I went wrong? :/ thanks so much
Oh so sorry that happened. It should have cooked for sure, especially after being there for 1 h and 30 minutes. Was the water hot when you added it to the casserole? otherwise it will take a lot longer. I really don’t know what could have gone wrong. I am assuming you had a preheated oven too and the temperature of the oven was correct. I have no idea…so sorry!!
Thank you for your response :)
Sure thing. Thanks for stopping by!!
This looks fantastic! Am going to try it today!
I hope you like it :-)
This was incredibly delicious! The only change I made was 1/2 quinoa and 1/2 brown rice. My kids loved it!
That is awesome. I am glad they liked it :-)
Can you cook the quinoa before and then mix with remaining ingredients and bake?
No, it will become really mushy and nasty. Sorry!
I also had mine overflow, and I didn’t even use all the water! I think 3 cups of quinoa is too much! Mine was also bland. Next time I will use to rotel tomatoes and 2 cups if quinoa, I think. Maybe mexican cheese blend as well?
Oh no. I should check the size of my baking pan again but I am most certain is a 9×13. I will have to increase the spices in the recipe then. Thanks for your notes!
If I only want to use 2 cups of quinoa, how much hot water should I use? I plan to add some ground turkey and I don’t want to have too much for my dish.
I would do 2 1/2 cups. I think that should be enough!
If I use dry black beans could you tell me how muchbto Use and if I use water?
Thank you
Oh wow just saw this. Sorry for the delayed response. Unfortunately I wouldn’t be able to advice because dried beans behave so much different that already cooked beans. I would suggest keeping an eye on them and adding more water as you go. Thanks for stopping by!
I just made this recipe and it was very bland, I followed your instructions to a T! I guess I will add hot sauce and salsa since I don’t want to waste all that food. In the future I think other users should use less quinoa, after I made it I saw other similar recipes using 1-2 cups of quinoa.
Also you say your pan is 9/13, however you are not including the depth of the pan. My pan is a standard pyrex 9/13, and about 2.5inches deep. yours must be a lot deeper as mine was also overflowing!
Oh no…maybe I should measure the depth of my pan. I wonder if that maybe the issue. I hope so because some readers have been noting that too…you can most definitely add some hot sauce. I always add some heat to it. I think my taco seasoning and marinara sauce probably has to do w/ the fact that we don’t get a bland mixture but you can add more taco seasoning next time for sure!! Thanks for leaving a reply.
I love this casserole. It’s become such a staple for me. It’s easy and freezable. Sometimes I fry some ground beef to serve with it. Love it! Thanks for sharing.