Sauteed vegetables, quinoa, salsa and ground beef cooked together for a delicious casserole that is served with cilantro lime sour cream. This Quinoa Beef Bake is an quick and easy weeknight meal!
Home
I know we’re almost all in a position where we are currently home 24/7. My office closed last week, so I have been home, and keeping my kids home with me. Over this past week I have realized that daycare providers and teachers are severely underpaid. After one week of trying to get my preschoolers to work on learning their letters and numbers, I’m pretty sure they know less than they did two weeks ago. I’m worried that if this keeps up indefinitely, we may just end up watching Frozen all day every day.
However, I have had ample time to work on and photograph recipes. It’s actually a perfect outlet for stress and thoughts. I’ve been playing around with multiple rice and quinoa dishes, and this week, I tweaked one that I’m proud to share!
Quinoa Beef Bake
This dish is easy, and totally customizable. So, if you’re running low on supplies, you can switch it up!
Grain
I recommend staying with quinoa for this recipe as cooking times and liquids may vary for other grains. However, if you want to experiment, go for it!
Vegetables
I used sweet onion, corn, and jalapeno for this recipe. Other good options would include: bell pepper, red onion, and tomatoes.
Salsa
Use your favorite salsa! I used 1/2 salsa verde and 1/2 mild red salsa as I didn’t want it to be too spicy for my kids. If I was going to make it for just my husband and myself, it would’ve been all salsa verde!
Liquid
For this recipe I used 1 cup of chicken broth. However, you could spice it up and use a cup of enchilada sauce, or for a heartier taste, beef broth.
Toppings
No green onions or cilantro? No problem! Sprinkle cheese over the top when you uncover the casserole in the oven for the last 20 minutes of baking. Top with more salsa, enchilada sauce, or plain sour cream. You can’t go wrong.
This Quinoa Beef Bake is quick, easy, and super tasty! You can also double the recipe and freeze half of it before baking to enjoy another night or whenever you might be short on time.
Beef Quinoa Bake
Ingredients
Quinoa
- 1 cup dry quinoa
- 2 cups water
- 1/2 tbsp butter
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Beef
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
Casserole
- 1 15.5 ounce can black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 jalapeno seeds removed and chopped (leave a few seeds if you want to kick the spice up)
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels
- 1 sweet onion diced
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup salsa I use 1/2 cup salsa verde and 1/2 cup red salsa
Serving
- green onions diced
- 8 ounces sour cream
- zest of 1 lime
- juice of 1 lime
- pinch salt
- 2 tbsp cilantro chopped finely
Instructions
Quinoa
- Bring water, butter, salt, and quinoa to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and let cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
Beef
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Saute until cooked through. Remove beef from pan but leave oil/fat in pan.
Vegetables/Casserole
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- If there is not much oil/fat in the pan after removing the beef, add another tbsp of olive oil. Keeping pan over medium-high heat, add jalapeno, corn, and onion. Saute until browned, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
- In a large bowl stir together cooked quinoa, sauteed beef, sauteed vegetables, black beans, cumon, chili powder, chicken broth, and green salsa. Transfer to 3.5 quart or 9×13 baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake covered for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and bake for an additional 20 minutes.
Serving
- While casserole is baking, make cilantro lime sour cream. In a small bowl, stir together sour cream, lime zest, lime juice, salt and cilantro.
- Serve casserole in individual dishes, topped with cilantro lime sour cream and green onions to taste.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: All nutritional information provided on this website is an estimate only and is not guaranteed.
If you enjoyed this Quinoa Beef Bake you should check out these other SugarSpicesLife recipes:
Quinoa Turkey Enchilada Stuffed Peppers
Sriracha Honey Chicken Thighs
Hint of Lime CrockPot Chicken Chili
Chicken and Roasted Vegetable Enchilada Casserole
Links to items used to make this recipe:
Microplane: I use this to zest the lime
Le Creuset 14″ Stoneware Casserole Dish
[…] beef cooked together for a delicious casserole that is served with cilantro lime sour cream. This Quinoa Beef Bake is an quick and easy weeknight […]