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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Made this tonight and it is delicious! It is totally customizable to what you have on hand. The proportion of liquid versus quinoa is perfect! It must be delicious vegetarian, however I had one thin cut smoked pork chop I had to use and it worked beautifully. I didn’t have black beans so I added garbanzo beans, no jalapenos, so I added TJs jalapeno diced tomatoes, no corn, so I doubled the spices. Omitted the lime and added more cilantro You get the picture. This recipe is perfect! Thanks so much.
5 year later.
“This recipe is perfect!”
Yet you completely derived from the original recipe. lol
I made this last night for lunch this week. My husband had a bit of it for dinner last night and he loved it! This also provides about 70% of your potassium DV, which everyone knows it’s so hard to come by unless you’re constantly stuffing yourself with apricots, avocadoes and bananas! haha Great share! Thanks.
I am so glad I stumbled across your site this morning! Now I know exactly what I’m making for dinner tonight, and I don’t have to worry about my pencil skirt being too tight tomorrow 🙂
Consider me a new follower!
I’ll bet this is good served cold as stuffing in a whole tomato! Or even to east as salsa, with home-fried corn tortilla chips! I think this will be in the works in my kitchen tomorrow, too! Florida tomatoes are fully ripe and delicious now, and I’m craving just that sort of lunch! Minus avocado, though. Ew. :-]
This was so easy and delicious. I added grilled chicken to it and it made a complete meal. Next time I will wrap some up in a whole wheat flour tortilla. Can’t wait to eat the leftovers!! Thanks!
I’m in love with that top photo! So awesome! And this looks too good to be healthy, love that.
I made this for Supper last night and added chorizo and it was delicious ! Thank you or this recipe.
I am curious about what others would say about chorizo adding too much fat for an E meal. Sure sounds good though!
Oooooh, made this today and it is SOOOOO good! Like you I’m trying to lose a few pounds for an upcoming tropical vay-cay and need a change from salads. The only problem with this dish is knowing when to stop eating. I’ve had two servings and arguing with myself about a third!
Thanks for posting this delish recipe!!
One pan & Mexican… I love it! I need to lose a few pounds myself before June. This will definitely be on my dinner menu soon!
Made this last night. It was so delicious! We will put this on the “meatless Monday” rotation.
YUM! I’ve lightened up my diet this April and this sounds great!
Trish
Quinoa is love. A one pot dish equals a win. This gal is trying this stat!
One pan? I’m listening.
Could this be any easier? Love it!
This looks amazing!! I have been looking for mexican quinoa recipe to replace mexican rice but I totally love your version! 🙂
This looks delicious! I’m going to try this for dinner this week. I have always liked the texture of Quinoa but never know how to season it!
I’m always on the hunt for easy and delicious vegetarian recipes, and this is the next one I’ll be trying! Love the convenience of a one-skillet dish and all of the fresh Mexican ingredients. I bet the addition of any protein would be amazing too!
black beans are the protien and quinoa too!
This is definitely the opposite of boring healthy food. It looks so good! Wish I had a whole pan full right now. 🙂
You had me at one pan! This dish looks awesome – healthy has never looked so good!
If you don’t purchase ‘pre-rinsed’ quinoa, make sure to do so thoroughly otherwise it will taste like soap! A natural protection against bugs and other thing wanting to eat it.
Am going to try this tonight 🙂
Oh, no! I don’t think I have pre-rinsed and it’s all in the pot simmering now.. is it still ok to eat?
Alexa, it should be fine but there may be a bit of bitterness to it.
I just made this tonight and neglected to rinse the quinoa — guess I got lucky because there was no soapy or funny taste at all. Possibly depends on what brand of quinoa or where you get it? I’ll try to remember that next time…the package does say to rinse.
This dish was delicious and my whole family — even the picky one — ate it up! Served the avocado mixed with lime juice and cilantro as a topping, since I knew we would have some left and I didn’t want the avocado to go all weird. Will absolutely make this again!