Pizza Quinoa Casserole

by Erin

It’s Secret Recipe Club time, woohoo! This month I had Nora’s Natural Noshing. In light of the insanity of my last post featuring a roundup of peanut butter and chocolate deliciousness, you would think I would have to share another peanut butter and chocolate recipe today. I did consider making her bite-size peanut butter layer cups, and would’ve even been a healthier option compared to the majority or recipes I shared on Saturday. But I figured I have an entire football season ahead of me to fill with peanut butter and chocolate, so let’s try something else today.

Quinoa is not yet a staple in my diet, but I do use it occasionally. Most recently have enjoyed mixing in candied walnuts and blueberries for breakfast. So when I saw this recipe on Natural Noshing, I had to give it a try.

Although I didn’t think this casserole quite tasted like pizza, it was a great tasting side to accompany the chicken asiago sausage I had as the main dish. If I had added pepperoni, Italian sausage, and green peppers, it probably would have tasted more like pizza and even been able to be a main course by itself. Or maybe add chicken and have it be a chicken Parmesan casserole – there are many options and is definitely something I would make again!

PIZZA QUINOA CASSEROLE

Serves 4 as a side

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked quinoa cooked in 2 cups water or about 3-1/2 cups cooked quinoa

6 oz. tomato paste

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 small onion, diced

2 Tbsp water

1-1/2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 Roma tomatoes, diced

2 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped

1 Tbsp dried parsley

1 tsp marjoram

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp fennel seed (used caraway seed because I did not have fennel)

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

1/4 tsp sugar

3/4 salt

1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella

Directions:

  1. Rinse quinoa well and combine with water in a small pot over high heat.  Bring to a boil, cover and turn down to low and simmer for 15 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed, the quinoa is tender and completely cooked.  Remove from the heat and leave covered in the pot for 5 minutes while assembling other ingredients.
  2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease four 1 cup ramekins, two 2 cup dishes or a larger casserole dish, depending on how you want to bake and serve this.
  3. In a medium bowl, combine the tomato paste with the garlic and onion, water and olive oil.  Mix well.  Add tomatoes and all the seasonings.  Mix well again before adding the quinoa.  Once the mixture is completely mixed, taste for seasonings and add more salt as needed.  Then divide evenly among the dishes for baking, sprinkle with cheese and place in the oven.
  4. Bake 30-35 minutes until the cheese is golden and bubbly or until the quinoa on top is golden and crispy.  If desired, sprinkle with more fresh basil or parsley and serve.

Source: Natural Noshing




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20 comments

Fran May 21, 2013 - 6:58 pm

Only has quinoa in a cold salas. This looks delicious and definitely going to try it

Reply
Danielle September 4, 2012 - 10:24 pm

Looks great :-) Quinoa is a favorite of mine!!

Reply
kirstin September 1, 2012 - 2:52 pm

YUM! This looks yummy! I may have to try it.

Reply
Shari, The Saucy Gourmet August 31, 2012 - 11:15 am

I have only tried quinoa once and I think I over cooked it. I am going to try this recipe this weekend, it looks so yummy!

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Kelsey @ K&K Test Kitchen August 30, 2012 - 9:57 am

Wow, I would have never thought to put quinoa in a casserole. I like it! Lately, I’ve been obsessed with quinoa, but you can only eat so many quinoa salads, so I’m excited to try this version!

Reply
Jenni August 28, 2012 - 12:08 pm

This looks delicious! Great SRC pick, Erin!

Reply
April @ Angel's Homestead August 28, 2012 - 7:10 am

I tried Quinoa one time before and didn’t really care for it, but it certainly looks good in this dish.

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Anna @ hiddenponies August 28, 2012 - 12:33 am

Quinoa isn’t a staple for me yet either but I’m trying to incorporate more of it so I always love seeing new ways to use it! Pizza flavoured anything is a good idea in my books :)

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Vicki @ WITK August 27, 2012 - 9:48 pm

I have a whole container of quinoa that I have been trying to figure out what to do with, this is an excellent idea! Looks like s good side, definitely too rich for the main dish!

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Asiya August 27, 2012 - 7:39 pm

I’ve been trying to add quinoa into our diet more without much success…this looks like a good option since it is smothered with tomato sauce and cheese. Great SRC pick!

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Erin @Erin's DC Kitchen August 27, 2012 - 7:15 pm

Yum I live finding new ways to use quinoa! I just made a quinoa avocado and corn dish flavored with cumin and shallots that my husband actually ate- your dish seems promising too!

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Jennifer @ Peanut Butter and Peppers August 27, 2012 - 6:16 pm

Ohh yummy! This sounds amazing and so creative!!!

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SnoWhite @ Finding Joy in My Kitchen August 27, 2012 - 6:14 pm

What a great looking casserole! Quinoa has been on my list to try … this recipe may have pushed me over the top. Yum.

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bakingaddict August 27, 2012 - 5:17 pm

I’ve never had quinoa either. This looks like a great recipe.

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Kate | Food Babbles August 27, 2012 - 4:43 pm

I love quinoa!! And I’ve never had a version like this. Great choice! I need to make this.

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Megan August 27, 2012 - 2:17 pm

What a creative way to use quinoa! Love it!

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Kitchen Ninja (Julianne) August 27, 2012 - 1:43 pm

Quinoa is fantastic and using it in place of pasta here is a great idea. I’m definitely adding this to my do-to list!

Reply
Sarah E. August 27, 2012 - 11:33 am

I’ve never had quinoa, but I keep seeing recipes for it and it looks like it’d be a good food to try! Those look really delicious!

Reply

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