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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I found this recipe the same day I found your Easy English Toffee. It looked good, and really adaptable, so I kept a copy.
I had most of the ingredients on-hand, which helped, and I had some others that needed clearing from fridge that I figured would work out just fine. That said, I threw in some ground turkey, a red bell pepper and shredded some kale into it, along with everything else.
And as far as canned corn, I know there’s concern with too much moisture, but I put the whole works in, liquid and all, and when the lid came off, I just turned the heat down a little and let the excess boil off.
In any event, it turned out great. Since it’s just the wife and me, it lasted for about three meals. We even used some of it for taco filling.
Another great recipe. Thanks!
I made this dish for myself and my 2 teenage daughters. Typically my kids are skeptical of anything that involves quinoa. However, they couldn’t get enough of this dish! It went over so well that it is going into our regular dinner rotation. Thank you for sharing this!!
How much is in a serving size?
I would roughly estimate about 1-2 cups per serving.
First time using quinoa and this recipe was easy and delicious! I did forget to rinse the quinoa, but it didn’t ruin it thank goodness. I didn’t have broth, so I used water. Probably made it a little bland but I added more chili powder and it tasted great to me! Thank you! Excited to have this for lunch this week!
One thing that should be mentioned is that quinoa should be well-rinsed before cooking.
Yes, absolutely! It is best to follow package instructions to prepare the quinoa as directed in the recipe.
This was great! Liked by husband, teen and preteen. I added a bit of Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, and didn’t have avocado available, but the rest was the same. Thank you!
I’ve had this pinned forever and finally made it today. I only had regular diced tomatoes, but made everything else exactly as the recipe says and it is fantastic! Definitely going into my regular lunch rotation, and next time I will probably add some meat to up the protein factor.
This is so yummy. Making it right now for the second time in 3 weeks.
Would a can of coconut milk work in this recipe??
New to this blog and loving it.
Coconut milk sounds amazing but without having tried it myself, it’s hard to say how this will turn out. As always, please use your best judgment.
I made this tonight. It is so pretty in the pan. We enjoyed it but I think I would use a different canned tomatoes (my dh couldn’t tell though). Lots leftover for tomorrow, maybe with some cornmeal buns. Thank you! I looked at a lot of quinoa recipes last night and this was the one that stood out. Thanks also for the handy print feature, I’ll be using this recipe again!
Really good making this for the 2nd time …. my husband liked it and had no idea what is made of…served with corn tortillas and salsa.
This may have been asked but I didn’t go through all 380 comments…..if I want to double or triple this recipe for a party, does it work exactly the same? I am always nervous in doubling recipes that the liquid ratio or cook time won’t be the same. Have you tried it in bigger batches?
Stacy, this is just one of those recipes I do not recommend doubling. It may be best to make this twice.
I LOVE all of your recipes and this was no exception! It was just so amazing. We burned it a little the first time we made it so the second time we used a pot instead of a skillet, added a second cup of vegetable broth, and let it simmer for an extra 15 minutes. It was just so delicious! Great seasoning and textures. Its a weekly staple when we have a little extra to be fancy with quinoa.
Do I need to rinse the quinoa first?
Yes. Detailed instructions should be listed on the packaging.
I feed a marching band of about 100 quite often and this is one of my go to recipes when I am doing sandwich wraps for the kids and we have about 4 or 5 vegetarians in the group. It is as delicious cold as it is warm and is great wrapped in a tortilla with some fresh baby spinach leaves. I even have a couple of non vegetarians who prefer it over the chicken or tuna salad wraps I make as well.
Just whipped this up to serve as a side dish at a family cookout today – offering mild salsa on the side – WOWZA!! Guests love it!!!
I make this dish quite frequently and eat it for my lunches at work. I must say how much I love this recipe!!!! It’s so filling and so full of flavor and not to mention it’s easy to make! Thank you for this recipe! It’s so Damn Delicious!
I plan to make this for some carnivores…what do you suggest for adding meat? I’ve seen chicken and chorizo suggested, but when? Pre-cooked or raw?
This really depends on the type of meat used – so if you used crumbled chorizo, you can add it in the beginning. If you are using chicken, it may be best to add it in at the very end. But as always, it is best to use your own personal judgment.
This IS damn delicious. Awesome recipe and so easy. Thank you!
I whipped this up for dinner tonight, so easy and damn delicious!
Thank you for all your shares, you are SO creative AND you share…nice duo =))
Can you use white rice? or any rice to make this? just put it in there uncooked…does the timing need to be adjusted?
Depending on the type of rice used, cooking time will have to be adjusted as needed.