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?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
The recipe is great and with a little cotija cheese on top i stuffed pablanos with this!
This Mexican Quinoa is AWESOME! I added some chopped onions & onion powder for additional flavor since I’m cutting sodium. I also added a dollop of plain Greek yogurt as a topping. So delicious and healthy. Yummmm!
This was delicious! And so simple! We loved this quinoa. The only changes I made was omitting corn and using plain water, only because I didn’t have these on hand.
As soon as they legalize marrying a quinoa dish I am leaving my husband to do just that. This was so simple to make and was SO DELICIOUS and I have to now figure out how to not eat the whole pan in one sitting.
I’m making this one soon for my family but, I’m going to add Chipotle Lime Kale Garden Fusions to supercharge it!
I just made this using red Quinoa. It lives up to Damn Delicious. We have a new meatless meal.
looks yummy but why is the fat count so high?
Avocados are high in fat, but it is monounsaturated fat, which is the “good” fat that helps lower bad cholesterol as long as you consume them in moderation.
Made this today and it was DELICIOUS! I didn’t have all the ingredients so I improvised a bit. I used roasted red peppers instead of tomatoes and just left out the corn. I am tripling the batch next time. Thank you!
I made this recipe a few months ago and loved it! We just picked up a bunch of red peppers and I’m wondering if this would make a good filling for stuffed peppers. Has anyone tried that?
That sounds like a great idea!
Don’t really like quinoa but thought I’d try this for a vegetarian guest. It was amazing! I served it on green chili corn tortillas (La Tortilla Factory). We made quinoa tacos. This is on my regular dinner rotation. Thank you!
This was awesome! Definitely a keeper. My one-year-old loved it too, and made a big mess eating it right up!
i just made this and it’s amazing!! I used the fire roasted diced tomatoes with garlic added (in addition to fresh garlic). Definitely putting this in my regular rotation – my 4 year old and 17 month old loved it too!! Thanks for sharing!
Making this tonight for my Bible study group. Sounds delicious. For future reference, can this be made in crockpot? I love using my crockpot.
Unfortunately, it is very difficult to give exact conversion information to translate a traditional stovetop recipe to be used in a slow cooker without further recipe testing. However, here is an article worth checking out on a possible conversion guide: http://www.thekitchn.com/5-tips-for-converting-recipes-to-the-slow-cooker-189343.
Oh my gosh – this recipe is so good! I was looking for something quick to prepare, vegetarian, packed with protein, gluten-free, dairy-free, and delicious. This recipe scores on all counts. Thank you so much for sharing!
I love this recipe, it’s quick and delicious! But how can I get my quinoa to come out fluffy instead of mushy?
Thanks!
Victoria, here is a great article on How To Cook Fluffy, Tasty Quinoa.
Will be trying this soon (uhm, like tomorrow, because I was already at the store today). I am ALWAYS looking for new Quinoa Recipes.
Since I’m not vegan, I used chicken broth & also used chipotle peppers since it’s all I had on hand & this turned out really nice. We have it at breakfast with a fried egg over the top or also as a burrito filling. Even by itself, the dish has great favors & loaded with protein & fiber!
cant wait to try this meal tonight. Have you ever put chicken in it??
I actually have not but many of my readers have added in their favorite proteins with great results!
I made this yesterday and It was delicious, no jalapeños because I didn’t have some,no cilantro because we hate cilantro but it was sooo good,thanks.
Thank you for the awesome, EASY recipe! I literally threw everything in, did some chores, it was done and its bomb. I have enough for the next couple days. Thank you!