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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It is actually delicious. I have eaten it chilled from fridge and warm of course from microwave. It is completely good for lunch, dinner, or when I’m in rush and I haven’t eaten anything all day. It is refreshing and satisfying. Sometimes I add lots of kale and/or spinach after the onion, before the bell peppers. I like to see greens in my food. I have tried both separated paprika or chilli powder, and it tastes good; careful with the amount of chilli powder haha. As well different spices. I have cooked this meal several times since Summer 2019. No regrets, and I do recommend it a lot.
I think i put some extra water in this dish as mine was a little watery after cooking it
I plan on making this soon, but I had one question. Why only 1 cup of broth? Typically with quinoa it’s a 2:1 ratio liquid to quinoa. It looks amazing, and I can’t wait to try it!
Thanks in advance!
I just made this following the exact recipe. It came out perfectly. I was wondering the same thing as you but the added ingredients must give enough liquid to make it work. It was delicious.
Great dish! Easy and delicious!
This was delicious and easy to make! Took an additional pan but we had it with an over easy egg on top for a little something extra and then drizzled with some Valentina hot sauce!
I just made this, I wanted something tasty and healthy. It was easy to make and delicious, I served it with salad and a few tortilla chips. I will be adding this to my regular dinners. Thank you for the recipe. 🙂
Surely would like to know steps to make in an instant pot! Love your recipes!
This was better than I thought it would be. I dont like kennel corn so i switched it out for just a little chickpeas, not even a whole can. Also, i made guacamole on the side which made it 10xs better.
This is awesome. We used chicken broth in place of veggie stock. I tossed in a few peppers and an onion & added a little different twist to the seasonings. GREAT base recipe!! SO SO GOOD.
I have been making this for several years now, for my vegetarian kids. I always double the recipe, and we will eat this until it’s gone. It is delicious ! Filling and you won’t miss the meat. I am on low sodium, so this is perfect. Add a little cheddar and tortilla chips, even better. I sometimes add a sliced zucchini to it before cooking, makes a nice addition, adding a veggie. Thanks for your delicious recipes!
We made this with the addition of mushrooms and bell peppers The seasoning was was great!
LOVE this recipe!! Thank you for sharing!
I’ve made this numerous times and it is so amazingly tasty. SO GOOD!
Great base recipe! I used chicken broth, added shrimp and omitted the corn.
I like it!!!
I have made this a lot, but am not making it for Parent-Teacher conferences at my daughter’s school. What is the best way to make this in advance and serve a day later? Serve Cold? Keep the avacadoes separate? Any thoughts are appreciated.
I always double the ecipe and reheat the next day. It’s just as good the next day.
super quick and delicious, even for an amateur cook like me. i subbed the tomatoes for salsa since that’s what i had on hand. just needed to add an extra cup of water/broth, but the result was still great.
Delicious
So easy and delicious..it is definitely on our ‘Must make again’ list. Served with a spicy crusted salmon. Fantastic. I didn’t have roasted tomato (which would have been even better) so only used regular diced tomato. Still, it’s keeper!
I made this tonight for me and my son as we like to do meatless Mondays and it was great! Followed the recipe exactly with ONE exception. As I’m dieting, I substituted the quinoa with cauliflower rice to make it lower calorie. We did add some low carb tortillas which made it even more of a meal. It had just the right amount of heat. I included Sriracha sauce and some cilantro lime garlic sauce on the side, but this was great on its own and those extras were unnecessary and went unused. Thanks Chungah for yet ANOTHER fantastic recipe!
I saw all the great reviews and was afraid that my expectaTions will exceed the result, but result was perfect, the reviews are so good because this dosh is amazing. I subbed black beans for white chickpeas (garbonzo) as I only had dry black beans and was too hungry so needed to cook this asap, I also did not have chilli powder so I used chilli flakes ans used chillies instead of jalapeño, I will go more spicy next time but That’s just me, otherwise the taste is perfect for everyone.
Thank you so much, this is a gem as I had been looking for a good quinoa recipe like forever and was fairly sceptical until I tasted it, so glad I went through with it now this is on my favourites list.