BBQ Chicken Quinoa Bake

This savory Southwestern casserole will tickle your taste buds! So quick and easy, you’d never believe that it’s healthy too.

Guest Post By: Molly Hodul, Dominican University Dietetics Student

Quinoa is all the rage this year, so why not make a de-lish dish featuring this trendy grain? This Southwestern casserole is sweet, savory, tasty, colorful, quick, and easy. What’s not to love? No need to make sides because this protein-packed dish has all the essentials – black beans, sweet corn, fresh cilantro, and quinoa rolled into one. Avoiding gluten? No problem. You can make it gluten-free by altering just one ingredient – the barbecue sauce. Here’s a list of gluten-free barbecue sauces available in most supermarkets.

This recipe originally came from Gimme Some Oven. If you’re new to quinoa, here are a few pointers and timesaving cooking tips. As a rule of thumb: 1 cup of uncooked quinoa makes 3 cups of cooked quinoa. For added flavor, cook quinoa in chicken or vegetable stock instead of water. Be sure to slice and dice your garnishes while the casserole is cooking so you can simply toss them on when you’re family is ready to eat. For more tasty chicken casserole dishes try Shanghai Chicken and Two-Way Tetrazzini. You’ll also find them on my iTunes app Time To Eat Healthy: Homemade Meals In Minutes.

BBQ Chicken Quinoa Bake

8 Servings

Prep Time= 10 minutes

Cook Time= 20 minutes

Ingredients:

3 cups cooked quinoa

2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Colby Jack cheese, divided into 1 ½ cup and ½ cup portions

2 cups (250 grams) cooked chicken, shredded

1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup whole-kernel corn, canned or frozen (and then thawed)

1 ¼ cup barbecue sauce (or Gluten-free barbecue sauce), plus extra for drizzling

Optional garnishes: fresh chopped cilantro, finely-chopped red onion, diced avocado, cherry tomatoes, or sour cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. In large bowl, stir together quinoa, 1 ½ cups cheese, chicken, black beans, corn, and barbecue sauce until well combined.
3. Transfer quinoa mixture to large 8.5 x 11-inch baking dish, and sprinkle remaining ½ cup cheese evenly on top. Bake15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted and casserole is heated through.
4. Remove from the oven; drizzle desired amount of BBQ sauce across top. Garnish with desired toppings. Serve immediately.

 Nutritional Information per (1 cup) Serving without garnish: 372 calories, 23 grams protein, 44 grams carbohydrates, 12 grams fat, 6 grams saturated fat, 52 milligrams cholesterol, 6 grams fiber, 708 milligrams sodium