This cheddar chicken quinoa bake is an easy, healthy casserole everyone will love. Use leftover rotisserie chicken for a simple dinner for busy nights!
Updated 9/6/2017: recipe video added below! Text and pictures are still original to the post.
I don’t think I’ve ever been on point with holiday appropriate recipes in the past 2 years of this blog. So why start now? I bet you’re probably all Peeped and Cadbury’d out anyway.
Ps- if I don’t get at least 1 Cadbury crème egg before this weekend is over, I may cry. Childhood obsession still going strong.
This is about as far from my Easter brunch menu as possible but now I’m kinda wishing I could replace that spiral ham (not my thing, but grandpa loves it) in the fridge with the cheesy deliciousness of this cheddar chicken quinoa bake.
It’s one of those simple meals, packed full of flavor but still healthy enough that you can load your plate up and not think twice.
Using precooked chicken (leftover rotisserie chicken is great for this!) keeps it super simple and easy enough for those busy weeknight meals when dinner all in one casserole dish is just the kind of thing you need.
How To Make This Cheddar Chicken Quinoa Bake
Tools you’ll need for this bake:
- skillet
- large mixing bowl
- baking dish
Pretty simple stuff, right?
The shallot, garlic and green onions get sautéed in the skillet first with some olive oil. Then we add the tomatoes, sauce and seasonings. That’s it for the skillet.
In a large bowl the cooked quinoa, shredded chicken, peppers and cilantro get mixed together then we add everything from the skillet and mix well.
This whole mixture gets transferred to a baking dish, topped with the cheddar cheese then baked off.
Couldn’t be easier!
Meals like this cheddar chicken quinoa bake make great meal-prep options if you’re into that. You could easily assemble this on the weekend and bake off the night you want it.
Or, bake it over the weekend and just store it in the fridge until you want to reheat and eat.
You could even double the recipe for a bigger batch.
My crossfit box just announced another paleo challenge starting mid next month and while of course I’ll be doing it (because I’m easily peer pressured into stuff like this) meals like this make me hate paleo.
Ain’t nothing wrong with quinoa and some cheddar cheese!
In fact, I’d call this a pretty damn healthy casserole despite paleo not agreeing.
But, I have 3 weeks before I need to deal with that.
Until then, you can find me in the corner shoving cheese, chocolate and all the carbs in my face.
Because obviously, that’s what you do before starting a diet, right?
Recipes Similar To This Cheddar Chicken Quinoa Bake to Try:
Pumpkin tortilla casserole
Turkey sausage spaghetti squash baked ziti
Turkey chili pie
Cheddar Chicken Quinoa Bake
This cheddar chicken quinoa bake is an easy and healthy casserole everyone will love.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 1 tomato, chopped
- 1 8oz. can tomato sauce
- dash of red pepper flakes
- salt & pepper
- 2 cups cooked & shredded chicken (I used leftovers from a roasted chicken)
- 2 cups cooked quinoa (I used a mixture of red & white)
- 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 green chili pepper, diced (optional)
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
- 11/2 cups grated white cheddar cheese, divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease an 8Ã?8 baking dish.
- In a skillet over medium-high heat, add olive oil, shallot, garlic and green onions. Saute for about 2-3 minutes.
- Add chopped tomato, tomato sauce, red pepper flakes and salt & pepper. Stir and simmer for 5-7 minutes.
- Meanwhile, combine quinoa, chicken, red pepper, chili pepper, cilantro and 1 cup of the cheddar cheese in a large bowl. Season with salt & pepper to taste.
- Add sauce to the bowl and toss to combine.
- Transfer mixture to the baking dish.
- Top with remaining 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese and cover with foil.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 10 minutes.
- Remove from oven and garnish with additional green onions and/or cilantro.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 976Total Fat: 66gSaturated Fat: 34gTrans Fat: 2gUnsaturated Fat: 25gCholesterol: 217mgSodium: 1528mgCarbohydrates: 34gFiber: 5gSugar: 7gProtein: 61g
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition information can vary for a variety of reasons. For the most precise nutritional data use your preferred nutrition calculator based on the actual ingredients you used in the recipe.
Maureen Plumb
Wednesday 25th of November 2020
This dish was very yummy. Loved every bite. After calculating the caloric intake of this dish I was surprised how high it is in calories. I will make this dish again, but I will have to substitute the cheese for a lighter kind. 449.50 calories for 1 serving. A lot of transfats from the cheese. I do have to say it was sooooo good.
Sandy Singer
Wednesday 19th of August 2020
Have you tried it with frozen cooked quinoa? I was wondering if it would make recipe watery.
Running to the Kitchen
Wednesday 19th of August 2020
I haven't. I'd suggest thawing it in a mesh strainer before using if you go that route.
Kate Schwenke
Wednesday 6th of May 2020
I love this recipe! Any thoughts on how it would freeze to be reheated later?
Running to the Kitchen
Wednesday 6th of May 2020
I think it would freeze very well, give it a shot!
Ryan Whiteside
Wednesday 12th of February 2020
Followed the recipe exactly. Good, but the quinoa was a bit hard. I would suggest first cooking the quinoa.
Running to the Kitchen
Wednesday 12th of February 2020
Glad you enjoyed it! The recipe does call for using "cooked quinoa" not dry/raw so yes, it should definitely be cooked first!
Brooke
Monday 17th of December 2018
Would brown rice work in this as well?
Running to the Kitchen
Monday 17th of December 2018
Yes, definitely! Any grain would pretty much work honestly :)