An easy weeknight or make-ahead meal to use up your leftover quinoa. Be comfortable just dumping ingredients together – there’s no need to measure!
It all started with a truck load of leftover quinoa. For some reason, I totally and completely overestimated how much quinoa I was going to eat during the week, and I was left with about 6 cups of cooked quinoa. Of course, I could have easily just frozen the entire leftover container. But as a master ingredient repurposer, I wanted to turn it into something else.
I started looking around my pantry to see what else I could throw in. I had one sweet potato, cans of various beans, a jar of salsa, nutritional yeast (obvi), and some frozen vegetables. I began with a sweet potato and black beans, but I also wanted something green. Based on limited freezer options, I opted for spinach and edamame. After dumping everything together and adding some spices, I had a fully assembled casserole ready to bake.
I didn’t measure when I made this dish, so the ingredients below are all estimates. I want you to feel empowered to just throw ingredients in a bowl without being confined to specific measurements. This is another dish that’s basically impossible to mess up, so just go for it! Start with some quinoa and add your beans and vegetables until you have the ratio you want. Then add some salsa, spices, and nutritional yeast, pack it all into a casserole dish, and bake!
Mexican Quinoa Casserole
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 6 cups quinoa
- 1 jar of salsa
- 1 can black beans
- 1 sweet potato peeled and cubed
- 3/4 cup frozen spinach
- ¾ cup frozen edamame
- 1/3 cup nutritional yeast + more for sprinkling on top
- 3 T chili powder
- 1 T cumin
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Instructions:
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Preheat the oven to 375F.
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Add everything to a mixing bowl and mix until well combined.
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Press into a casserole dish sprinkle with nutritional yeast. Cover with foil.
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Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the sweet potato is fork tender.
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Uncover, and bake another 5 minutes, or until the edges start to get crispy.
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Serve with more salsa, hot sauce, avocado, or cilantro.
Recipe Notes
This dish is also a great one to make ahead. After pressing everything into the casserole dish, cover with plastic wrap, and store in the refrigerator until you’re ready to eat it.