Who doesn’t love enchiladas!? I mean honestly, we could eat Mexican food every. single. night. But we all know that’s probably not such a good idea for our cholesterol- ha! Our favorite cookbook has a great enchilada recipe using quinoa instead of tortillas, and let me tell you…it’s AMAZING. Andrew and I love this recipe so much and we always have leftovers for the next night.
WARNING!! I’ve changed this recipe slightly to make it a tad less spicy, and I’ve also added chicken to satisfy the hubs 🙂
Quinoa Fiesta Enchilada Bake
By: Skinnytaste
Servings: 6
Ingredients:
- 1 lb cooked chicken cut up into small chunks
- 1/2 tsp olive oil
- 1 clove crushed garlic
- cooking spray
- 1 1/4 cups quinoa
- 1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 t(8 oz) can red enchilada sauce (not spicy)
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 (4 oz) can diced green chiles
- 3/4 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
- 3/4 cup fresh or frozen thawed corn
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus 2 tbsp for garnish
- 1 1/2 cups part-skim shredded Mexican cheese blend, divided*
- 1 medium (4 oz) haas avocado, diced
- 2 tbsp chopped scallions
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly spray a 9 x 12 baking dish with oil.
In a medium saucepan cook the quinoa with 1 3/4 cups broth according to package instructions; when cooked, fluff with a fork and set aside.
Meanwhile in a small saucepan heat the oil over medium low heat. Add the garlic and saute until golden, about 1 – 2 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, 1/4 tsp kosher salt, cumin, 1/4 cup broth and enchilada sauce. Bring to a boil and simmer 3 to 4 minutes. Feel free to add as much enchilada sauce as you’d like. I like ours to be a little on the sauce-heavy side, so I’ll add the whole can.
In a large bowl combine the cooked quinoa, cooked chicken, green chiles, corn, black beans and 1/4 cup cilantro. Stir in 1/2 cup of the cheese and mix will. Place into the baking dish and spread out. Top with the enchilada sauce and remaining cheese.
Cover with foil and bake until hot the cheese is melted, about 20 to 25 minutes.
To serve, top with avocado, scallions and remaining fresh cilantro. Cut into 6 pieces and serve right away.
