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 tried this last night with the exception that I added onions. My hubby grumps if there’s no meat so he had left over fajitas & the quinoa beside it. It was very good, very flavorful & I’ll use it more often. This was my first try with quinoa & I enjoyed it. Family liked it but couldn’t get past the idea that it was a main course! LOL, so I guess it’ll be a side dish. Bet it’ll be good chilled today for lunch as a salad! Thanks!
oh by the way, you’re part of my new year resolution! I’m trying one of your recipes weekly…so far we tried the quinoa (yum) & the Salmon with sriracha cream sauce…ooooo!
This was delicious! I baked a couple haddock fillets and served this on the side. Love a nice, easy, healthy meal! I’m not a huge fan of the larger diced tomatoes, so I’ll probably chop them for 3-4 seconds with my immersion blender next time before adding them to the pan. But there WILL be a next time. Thanks for the recipe!
AMAZING! I’m really inexperienced in the kitchen and am shocked at how well this turned out. It’s definitely one of my new go-to meals!
Yum! I added an onion and chorizo at the beginning with the garlic. Delicious!
This recipe is amazing!! I added some shredded chicken breast. Not needed, but 100% damn delicious (: Hubby loved it and asked if I would make more lol
Thanks for posting!
Loved this! I didn’t have jalapenos so I just used more garlic, I also didn’t have lime or cilantro but I did have rotel with lime and cilantro so I just added a can of that, I think the extra tomatoes made it a little runny but it was delicious I crumbed up tortilla chips(multigrain) as well and my roommate added some low fat Mexican cheese, it was so good!
Quick, easy, damn delicious!
this was a massive hit with myself and my boys…… I just omitted the jalapenos (didn’t have any in) and put a pinch of chilli flakes in instead
I am on the Daniel Fast and this was a perfect dinner for me. I didn’t have any quinoa so I replaced it with Israeli couscous, Everything else I followed as per the recipe, oh, except for adding some green onion. It was very good Thank you!
We wanted to let you know we shared your delicious recipe on our 40+ Skinny Recipes To Start Your Year Healthy post! Check it out! Feel free to share on social media! Happy & Healthy New Year!
http://www.theshoppingmama.com/2015/01/40-skinny-recipes-to-start-your-year-healthy-including-desserts/
Catherine @ The Shopping Mama
I’ve made this twice now… but in my experience this dish is way more ‘wet’ then it’s displayed on the pictures.
I think I will have to use less then one cup of broth (250ml)…. any tips?
You can try reducing the amount of liquid for next time but I also worry that your heat source may have been set too high which may have hindered the quinoa to soak up all the liquid.
Just made this – darned delicious!! Cooked perfectly in wide pan. Ratio of quinoa to liquid was perfect. Love all your recipes.
Looks delicious! Do you drain the diced tomatoes?
There is no need to drain the tomatoes.
LOVE this recipe! I made steak fajitas for New Years Eve and paired them with this dish! It went together perfectly. I’m not big into spicy food, but this dish had just the right amount of spiciness. Thanks for the great recipe, the flavors are great. So easy to make too! I plan to add this recipe to my favorites. 🙂
Followed instructions, as written! Quick, easy, made with ingredients I always have on hand and FULL of flavor! Definitely a keeper!
I have never had Quinoa before but was attracted to the recipe because it was so colorful and looks delicious. However I’m not a big on spicy foods, would it ruin it if I left out the jalapeno?
Also I recently graduated college and I have recently started at my new job and finding it hard to eat healthy dinners and lunches, is this recipe freezable?
Michelle, it should be fine to omit the jalapeno or reduce the amount, as needed. As for freezing, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! I recommend using your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
Good for dinner after hard working day… Yes, I love when I’m at work and my Redmond 4502 multicooker is cooking for me. It’s so fast and delicious, so unbelievable!
MY GO TO RECIPE WHEN I NEED DINNER IN A FLASH!
I cannot make this recipe without being hunted down for a link or copy- everyone loves it. It is fabulous and quick. I use frozen corn, and when I have time, home cooked black beans. It is packed with both flavor and nutrition.
I just made this for lunch after searching for hours for a recipe that sounded like what I wanted. It was as easy and delicious as stated even though I made substitutions for the corn and cilantro and used a serrano chili instead of jalapeno.