Broccoli Quinoa Casserole
Healthy, cheesy comfort food without any of the guilt!
Jason and I have decided to have a mini getaway after his graduation in May. He’s been in architecture grad school for the last 3 years, and seeing that this is the last break he’ll ever have, we will be flying to a gorgeous resort to Cabo for 5 whole days! That being said, I have 2 months to get ready for bikini season, and since I love food too much to “diet”, I’ve lightened up a classic comfort food favorite.
This casserole is made completely from scratch with healthy ingredients – but have no fear – there’s plenty of cheese, creaminess, toasted breadcrumbs for that extra crunch, and an overall balance of veggies and quinoa for that extra protein. And if Jason, the all-time quinoa hater, devoured this without looking up, well, I’m sure your pickiest of eaters will just gobble this up too!
Broccoli Quinoa Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa
- 1 head broccoli, cut into florets and finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon olive oil, divided
- ⅓ cup Panko*
- 3 boneless, skinless thin-sliced chicken breasts
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups 2% milk
- 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
- ⅓ cup Greek yogurt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil an 9×13 baking dish or coat with nonstick spray.
- In a large saucepan of 2 cups water, cook quinoa according to package instructions. Within the last 5 minutes of cooking time, add broccoli on top and steam until cooked through.
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add Panko and cook, stirring, until browned and toasted, about 3 minutes; set aside.
- Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in the skillet. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper, to taste. Add to skillet and cook, flipping once, until cooked through, about 3-4 minutes per side. Let cool before dicing into bite-size pieces; set aside.
- Melt butter in the skillet over medium heat. Whisk in flour until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk, and cook, whisking constantly, until slightly thickened, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in quinoa, broccoli, chicken, 1 cup cheese and Greek yogurt; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Spread broccoli mixture into the prepared baking dish; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Place into oven and bake until cheese has melted, about 5 minutes.
- Serve immediately, sprinkled with Panko, if desired.
Notes
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Can you make this ahead and freeze? If so, how do you reheat?
I was looking for a side to go with fish. I’m on a low sodium diet and this recipe jumped out at me. I excluded the chicken, used low sodium cheese, no added salt and it was delicious. I will definitely make again with the chicken. Thanks for the recipe!
Great recipe and for the instructions
After reading the reviews of this recipe, I opted to season the chicken with McCormick Montreal Chicken and cooked the quinoa in chicken broth (see cookiandkate.com. for the best method of cooking quinoa). I also baked the casserole for 15 minutes and broiled it for 5 more minutes. So good!
I’ve made this about three times. I sautee broccoli first then remove from pan, add onion, garlic and mushrooms to this dish and bake for 20-25 mins ..it’s a hit every time.
I tried this recipe a couple months back and it was ok … A little soupy in texture. This time I whisked much more aggressively and kept in the oven for about 15 minutes instead of 5. It was delicious!!! Now that I have the hang of it, I will make it more often. Perfect healthier version of comfort food.
Really — heat up the oven only to use it for 5 minutes to melt cheese?! Why not do the whole thing on the stovetop?
Hi Vivian! You are more than welcome to do this on the stovetop. We simply did it this way and found it to be delicious. 🙂
The recipe was delicious! I left out the chicken and served it with grilled chicken instead. Everyone loved it more than eating broccoli and quinoa separately. Cheese does make everything better:) it was definitely a great alternative to traditional Mac-n-cheese. Thanks!!
I loved this so much! I read the reviews before cooking and took some suggestions. I cooked my quinoa in chicken stock and steamed the broccoli after (I used frozen). I sautéed onion garlic after the chicken and set aside. I sprinkled Unami seasoning all throughout the dish. Then used whole wheat Panko for the top. My 1 year old ate 3 plates! It was soooo good.
Great recipe, will make again. It needs more seasoning. I will add onion and garlic next time.
Takes a little bit longer than 30 minutes to make & have ready, but it was absolutely delicious!
I love this recipe. It’s a comfort food that I make for myself often. I read someone talking about spicing it up and I wanted to share something I do that’s pretty yummy. At the step when it’s basically all cooked and you’re just combining everything and about to pour it into a baking dish to go into the oven, I like to add the Trader Joe’s umami mushroom seasoning and some nutmeg. I eyeball both, but the nutmeg should just be providing a HINT of depth. It’s probably 1/8 teaspoon. The mushroom seasoning probably isn’t as delicate of a flavor because this dish isn’t lacking in the umami department; the spice just added yumminess. I do wish there were nutrition facts on this one. While the ingredients are fairly healthy, I’m a little nervous to see the macros on it.
Awesome recipe, I also use it with Orzo. I add garlic and onion as well for some flavor.
It’s very simple but pretty good! I might add some spice to it next time but haven’t figured out what to add yet (sage, red pepper, chives?). After 5 minutes in the oven it was soupy and not very appealing, so I left it in for probably almost 30 minutes while I worked on something else and it firmed up and got a little brown and crispy on top, which was nice. I used fake chicken chunks (Quorn) since we are vegetarian and I ran out of cheddar so I mixed in a little gruyere I had on hand. Use a big pan since you have to mix everything together at the end!
Thanks so much for all of your recipes. I tried this recipe and my picky eaters finished their portion, which is not usual. Just wonder, what other dish would you suggest to serve with this?
Delish! I subbed sour cream for the yogurt, and added a little cauliflower and mushrooms. Insanely good!
Is there nutritional information for this?
Hi Shannon! Nutritional information is provided only for select recipes at this time. However, if it is not available for a specific recipe, we recommend using free online resources at your discretion (you can Google “nutritional calculator”). Hope that helps!
So easy to follow and really delicious!
Just wondering if anyone has tried this as a side dish, without the chicken? It sounds great and I would like to take it to a neighborhood dinner to be served with a smoked turkey. Thanks for any input!
Amazing! Would definitely make this again. Even my picky 3 year old ate it and said it was yummy! I used sour cream instead of Greek yogurt as I couldn’t afford a $5 tub of Greek yogurt lol. Especially for 1/2 a cup.
Husband loved it as well! I added some garlic and onions as other reviewers said it was a tad bland, and a dash of Italian seasoning. This is a recipe that would be great for a potluck as it is easy and delicious!
Thank you for your feedback, Rachel!
Followed as written and we couldn’t get enough! Thank you!