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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This was one of the most delicious meals I’ve ever eaten. You can do so much with this and it’s nutritious. Because I just used Rotel, I added a cup of broth. Onion and red pepper were also sautéed in butter before being served with sour cream, salsa, and Tostitos. Thank you very much
I probably left a review for this sometime in the past; suppose I’ve made it maybe 40 times more n the past 6 years or so. It’s so easy amd everyone in the family loves it. It is also an awesome meal when camping: use canned veggies if car camping, dehydrated is backpacking.
This is an excellent choice if you’re trying to eat a low FODMAP diet, to help with digestive issues. Because I can’t have onions or garlic on this diet, I used garlic-infused olive oil. I also left out the corn (personal preference). Followed the rest of the recipe as is, but didn’t add the avocado, lime and cilantro until the next day when I warmed up leftovers. And I couldn’t resist adding TexMex cheese on top! Fabulous meal and very filling!
Yum! This recipe is delicious and versatile. I followed the recipe base but added some veggie crumbles and a bell pepper. I added more of the seasonings based on personal preference. Topped it with some shredded cheese and a bit of sour cream and devoured it. I will definitely be making this again!
This is so easy to throw together on a weeknight. We usually make fajita meat to go with it and boom- full meal. I use this recipe ALL THE TIME.
This is a really delicious easy, healthy recipe that I’ve made for potlucks, dinners, and meal prep. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe from the bottom of my heart and my full and satisfied stomach.
I haven’t made this yet but sounds delicious. Not a big fan of quinoa. Could you use couscous?
I would give this a try and think about using it for spaghetti sauce, I do that and I love it, also try rinsing the quinoa before using it, that might help with the flavor.
Quinoa is the best food I have ever come to known, this is highly rich in protein. before reading your blog I ate quinoa in the normal way but now I got a good quinoa recipe and I will try it, Thanks for sharing a wonderful recipe which is very useful and most people just missed it, but you helped a lot. Subscribed your blog.
This is so incredibly good. When making it for the second time I added a higher amount of spices and added a bell pepper. The quinoa turns out perfectly cooked.
This was easy and damn delicious for real. I cut it in half because I’m one person but it will be in rotation.
I honestly wasn’t looking forward to making this. I just wanted something healthy. This was so good! I added some cheese after it was done which took it to another level but it was great without it. So easy! I’ll definitely make again!
Each of us added 1/2 teaspoon extra seasonings and vegan meatless gluten-free meat substitute. I absolutely loved it! Oh my God, wrap them in corn tortillas! Definitely one of my favorites now! My sincere thanks go out to you!
This is such an easy, flavorful dish that is filling without being heavy. Perfect for lunch or meal prep. I’ve made it a few times, and the most recent time I didn’t have vegetable broth on hand so I used water with a few extra spices to compensate (garlic powder, onion powder, extra salt and pepper). It still turned out perfectly. Thanks so much for this recipe!
Amazing!!! WOW!!! Each of us added 1/2 teaspoon extra seasonings and vegan meatless gluten-free meat substitute. I absolutely loved it! Oh my God, wrap them in corn tortillas! Definitely one of my favorites now! My sincere thanks go out to you!
I have a package of dry quinoa. Would you cook that first and then add it in to the recipe and simmer it for 20min?
No, add the raw rinsed quinoa and it will cook in the stock and all the other ingredients. The beauty of one pan recipes.
Looks Damn Delicious! Making this soon. Might to a red wine reduction with onion, garlic, red pepper and butter instead of vegitable broth and use diced green mango instead of jalapeños.
Mmmmmmmmmm!
Curious how that turned out? You made me think of trying that with beer.
When you say Green Mango, can I assume you are from the Midwest and mean Green Pepper? 😉
We make this dish at least once a month. We love it! We put leftovers over spinach the next day.
Also another vote for how great this recipe is – really delicious, healthy, low cost and a big hit with the family.
This was one of the best dinners ever. You can do so much with this and it’s healthy. I added a cup of broth because I just used rotel. I also included onion and red pepper with sour cream, salsa and tostitos with serving. Thank you so much for this new exciting and even good for you recipe!
I first made this probably 5 years ago and it’s a staple in our families rotation – wife and ALL the kids love it. It’s also a great camping meal – requires only one pot and 100% shelf stable ingredients. I’ve even made backpacking with dehydrated beans and veggies.
This is very good…I was skeptical but it’s become part of our monthly rotation. The only amendment I would make is to drain the tomatoes first otherwise you will be cooking for hours. I am also not keen on hot avocados so I just serve it on the side.