One Pan Mexican Quinoa
Wonderfully light, healthy and nutritious. And it’s so easy to make – even the quinoa is cooked right in the pan!
Despite my daily 3-mile runs, all the morning donuts have finally caught up with me. So Jason and I made a pact to lighten up our diet before our Cabo trip in 6 weeks. But instead of eating bland, boring salads, I decided to make a fun, healthy quinoa dish that we would both really enjoy.
And that’s exactly what this quinoa dish is. With a fun Mexican twist, this dish is chockfull of so many amazing flavors, from the tangy lime juice to the hint of spiciness from the chili powder and jalapeno. And not only is this healthy and nutritious but it’s also unbelievably easy to make. Simply throw everything into the skillet and that’s it. Even the quinoa is cooked right in the pan, really letting the flavors soak in.
Now who said healthy food has to be boring?
One Pan Mexican Quinoa
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 jalapeno, minced
- 1 cup quinoa
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- 1 cup corn kernels, frozen, canned or roasted
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 avocado, halved, seeded, peeled and diced
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add garlic and jalapeno, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in quinoa, vegetable broth, beans, tomatoes, corn, chili powder and cumin; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer until quinoa is cooked through, about 20 minutes.
- Stir in avocado, lime juice and cilantro.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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Nice recipe! I did not have a lime so I used a bit of citrus + I just don’t like cumin so I did not use it at all. I like following along my nutrition so I calculated my version of the recipe using nutriely recipe calculator (https://nutriely.com/recipe-builder). Here are the values that I got for 1 serving:
Energy 686kcal (2,869 kj)
Carbohydrates 104g
Protein 32g
Fat 10g
Alcohol 0g
Water 213g
Iron 12mg
Calcium 211mg
Chromium 1ug
Sodium 343mg
Iodine 1ug
Copper 1mg
Salt 873mg
Selenium 9ug
Zinc 4mg
Manganese 2mg
Magnesium 318mg
Potassium 2,328mg
Fluoride (fluerine) 0mg
Phosphorus 819mg
Molybdenum 0mg
Vitamin d 0ug
Vitamin e alphatocopherol 3mg
Vitamin c (ascorbic acid) 22mg
Vitamin b-12 (cobalamin) 0ug
Vitamin a retinol activity equivalents 77ug
Thiamin (vitamin b1) 1mg
Riboflavine (vitamin b2) 0mg
Vitamin b6 pyridoxine (hydrochloride) 1mg
Vitamin k 13ug
Niacin equivalents, total 12mg
Folate 563ug
Fibre, total 24g
Starch 93g
Polyols 0g
I just refound this on my pinterest account… how did I let this fall off my dinner routine!? It is so good & my kids EAT IT UUUUP!
This is delicious and light-and packed with protein. Love it!
Looks interesting!! Do you not need to rinse the quinoa at least a few times before you dump it in the pan?
Simple and delicious will make again.
This was very tasty. I did as others suggested and added taco seasoning and I am glad I did. I only added about a tablespoon; next time I’ll add a little more. I did not put in the jalapeno because I didn’t have any, so I added a little cayenne pepper. I threw in a couple handfuls of spinach, but I left out the corn. We are trying to eat more green vegetables. I will be making this again. We are having the leftovers tonight and I can’t wait.
Great flavors! We adapted based on what was in the cupboard ( no jalapeño, used green chilies, no roasted tomatoes used fresh tomatoes diced on top with the cilantro) and the flavor profile is delicious!
wow… so creative…
This is a regular rotation in my house now! I add (shredded) chicken and omit the corn to make this more macro-friendly.
I also add homemade taco seasoning, as this is otherwise a bit bland. (1 tbsp chili powder, 1/2 tbsp cumin, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/4 tsp of: garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, red pepper flakes.)
I love this meal because you can eat it as a bowl, or throw it into a burrito, or even over salad. It’s versatile and makes a ton to eat on throughout the week.
Delicious and healthy! Thank you!!
This is a family favorite. We’ve tried it with the lime juice, Avocado and Cilantro. But our favorite is just a handful of spinach, chopped well.
This was excellent! I ended up adding 2 cups broth total (the mixture kept getting g too dry before the quinoa cooked), then mixed in cooked ground chicken at the end. My picky hubby even loved it and said I’m making him a believer in quinoa. Thank you!
We are on a Plant-based diet. After eating the Mexican quinoa, I’ll never eat tacos any other way. Absolutely delicious.
This is a great recipe that I’ve been making for a few years now. I add onion and red pepper at the start of the recipe and serve with brown rice, corn tortillas, iceberg lettuce, grated cheese and I also have a little extra creme fraiche. Love it.
Insanely good!
Looks so delicious
Can you use rice instead of Quinoa?
It is delicious. Is this recipe vegan??
Thank you!
This is so tasty, healthy and lightweight for n your stomach. I paired this with some blackened salmon and it was delicious
Love this recipe!! I modified it a bit for my family’s tastes – added onion to step 1 and left out bathe jalapeño. Also left out the corn. Served it with avocado and lime juice and added a small spoon of green salsa to mine for some heat. Hubs prefers it without the lime juice. Thanks so much for the recipe!
This tasted great!! I added white onion and bell pepper to step 1, then green onion to step 2. This required more vegetable broth. Makes more than enough for leftovers.