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 LOVED this meal! It was so easy to make and tasted delicious…I’ve already shared the recipe with several dinner guests and other friends!
Like many other people on this chain, I LOVE this recipe (with some alternations for personal taste).
I did the first step w/ jalapeños, oil and garlic, but added two chopped chicken breasts, salt, pepper and chili powder. Then, I made the quinoa in a separate pan w/ chicken broth, more garlic, jalapeños, corn, beans, diced tomatoes and chiles. Added the chicken into the whole mix once the quinoa started to soften.
I left the avocado on the side as a garnish so it didn’t brown, soften or smoosh.
I see that this recipe makes 4 servings, but how much is 1 serving?
I would estimate anywhere from 1 to 1/2 cups.
I just made this dish and will definitely be adding it to my collection of recipes. It is flavorful, delicious, and by far the best quinoa meal I have ever had! Thanks Chungah!
I found you via pinterest blog and I think I will stay a while. I LOVE this recipe because I make lots of Mexican recipes and I love quinoa. Best of all, I have every single ingredient for this dish, can’t wait to get started. Looks amazing, I love colors/flavors/spices and all things Mexican (healthy without the cheesy/greasy stuff) and this is right up my alley! Thanks again!
Hi Chungah! I just discovered your site and am thrilled I have! I made this dish tonight and had to write and say how much my husband and I loved it! It was so damn delcious, easy and nutritious and satisfying. And, I am so impressed that mine looked as good as yours! I’m in Canada and we are having a cold snowy night so tucking in with this warm, spicy, hearty dish just hit the spot! I’m looking forward to trying more of your recipes and receiving your newsletter. Wishing you much success! Xx
is this gluten free?
Kad, this recipe is not specifically tailored to be gluten-free.
Hi,
I made this recipe for me and my dad ( especially in order to show him how a vegetarian meal can be so delicious) and we both liked it !!!
Tks for sharing this recipe
xx
Can I just use regular tomatoes if I don’t have the 1 (14.5 oz) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes? I don’t like spicy and I don’t know if these are spicy or not but I also don’t’ have time to stop at the supermarket.
Will this be ok to heat in the microwave the next day for lunch?
Geovanna, if you are not a fan of spicy foods, it is best to use a can of diced tomatoes instead. The liquid in these cans are crucial for a one pot dish like this. As for reheating in the microwave – it should be just fine.
I am not sure what happened but it has been cooking to 1.5 hrs and is not done.
Something has clearly gone wrong if it’s still not cooked through at this point!
This has become one of my family’s favorite dishes. I don’t put a jalapeño but add additional pepper. Also added onion and half a green bell pepper with the garlic and OO at the beginning. Also have made it with black beans and kidney beans (at different times) and both were excellent. I always add chicken because we like it a bit more filling. I will try sausage at some point that sounds good too! Thanks so much for this great recipe!!
I made this for dinner last night and it is delicious – I did make a few substitutions based on what I had on hand and it still turned out wonderful. It is even better cold today for lunch with an extra squeeze of lime juice! Thank you!
Hi there, I found this recipe on pintrest the other day and made it today. Delicious! Thanks for a great recipe.
This is really good. The only thing I’d change is this: cook it in a 10-inch skillet. The recipe says “a large skillet,” without a measurement. I used a 12-inch skillet and had to add water to get the quinoa cooked. It just spread the ingredients out too far, not allowing the liquids to be in full contact with all the grain.
I’ll make this again.
Thanks ! That comment is invaluable, I too would have used my large skillet ( 12 inch ) and have the same problem with not having enough liquid. Then I would have added more and probably ended up with glue. I will use my 10 inch skillet. Recipe looks and sounds amazing so I’ve got my fingers crossed. Cheers. Rebecca
Ok, so I made it. I did not have avocados, so I went ahead without them. The FLAVOR… Every bite is full of flavor and excitement. Loved it! thank you for posting the recipe with a beautiful picture of the dish. The picture is what intrigued me and the recipe really awaken my appetite for quinoa 🙂 thank you.
How can this possibly have 14g of FAT in it?? that has to be wrong
Sudie, the numbers are correct. The amount of fat in an avocado tends to be underestimated. An average sized avocado (200g) will have 30g of fat, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil has 14g of fat.
I just made this and it was so good! I used just normal diced tomatoes because i could not find fire roasted. For this reason, I would add a bit more seasoning. I am just wondering, would this freeze well? Let me know! And Thanks for posting!!
I’m so glad you tried this recipes! As for freezing, unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
I had this for dinner tonight and it is great and easy to make . Thanks for sharing .
Made this last night and have to say it was DELICIOUS!!! It was my first time cooking with Quinoa and I love it.
SO fantastic. I’m a college student with little time and energy for cooking, but this was so easy to make and tastes amazing. Thank you for this