Chipotle quinoa casserole

I am in love with all of these quinoa casseroles I have been making lately and this chipotle quinoa casserole is equally delicious and easy to make.

I normally buy my quinoa in bulk at Costco because we go through this ingredient like water. We have been using brown rice quite a bit but a lot less lately since we are enjoying quinoa.

I kept this chipotle quinoa casserole vegetarian but if you like you can add some organic chicken breast pieces to the mix. It will bake nicely with the quinoa in the oven.

For the chipotle sauce, I bought mine already prepared at a local store but now that it is gone I intend to make my own for sure. It is so easy. All you need is chipotle peppers in adobo sauce mixed in with a little bit of tomato sauce pureed in your food processor and you are done. I will post a recipe for it soon.

For this recipe I used a 9×13 porcelain baking dish. Some of you have found that the mixture, when baking the other quinoa casseroles I have in the blog, is not big enough to fit all the ingredients in a 9×13 baking dish. I have remeasured my baking dish and I have gotten the same dimensions. I don’t know, maybe I am doing something wrong. If you have any other bigger baking dishes use them. I don’t want you to go through the hassle and transfer half your mixture to another dish.

If you have left overs this chipotle quinoa casserole recipe is great to freeze and have later on. I am making several recipes that I have been freezing for my busy days ahead because I am starting school very soon. Well, I am already studying so I am extremely busy and I don’t want to compromise the quality of our meals.

I hope you like this chipotle quinoa casserole. It is extremely easy, delicious and very healthy.

Enjoy!

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Chipotle quinoa casserole

Miryam's original recipe

Yield: 6-8 servings

Total Time: 1 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 3 cups quinoa, dry and uncooked
• 8 oz frozen corn kernels
• 2 15oz canned black beans
• 1 lb canned marinara sauce
• 8 oz extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• 8 oz mozzarella cheese, grated
• 1 cup chipotle sauce, see note below
• 2 cups cruciferous veggie mix, shredded, any other green will do
• 3 cups hot water
• 1 1/2 tsp Celtic salt
• 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, and cilantro 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 cilantro over the top and serve while still warm.

NOTE: You can make your own chipotle sauce by placing chipotles in adobo sauce in your blender with some tomato juice. If you use this make sure you add a bit less of it because it will be more concentrated. 1/2 cup of the sauce, depending on how spicy you want your quinoa, should be sufficient. If you choose to make your own chipotle sauce add an extra 1/3 cup water to the quinoa.