Today’s recipe is a cheesy chicken and quinoa Italian bake!
We love some pasta at our house, but as we all know, it’s not the healthiest choice!
My family often uses this chickpea pasta as a healthier alternative, but I decided to mix things up and try quinoa. I’ve made some recipes with quinoa in the past and honestly kind of thought…eh. It felt like I was chewing seeds….flavorless, puffy seeds. I fully expected to try this and not share it here, because I know you guy are not interested in “eh,” you know?
BUT, much to my pleasant surprise this recipe was really great!! The quinoa soaks up all the sauce and actually has so much flavor! A cheesy, protein packed, delicious Italian-inspired dish that skips the pasta and is easy to make! If you’re a leftover person, this is actually just as good (maybe even better!) the next day!
Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa
1 1/2 cups water or chicken broth
3 cups of chicken, cooked – Rotisserie works great!
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce, divided
1 1/2 cups of mozzerella cheese, divided
1 cup parmesan cheese, divided
Fresh basil, optional
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Rinse and soak 1 cup of quinoa for about 10 minutes in warm water. Bring 1 1/2 cups of water or chicken broth to a boil in a saucepan. Drain quinoa and add it to the boiling pan. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer, cooking 12-15 minutes. Turn the heat off and let sit for 5 minutes. Then stir to fluff with a fork and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine chicken, 2/3 of your jar of spaghetti sauce, 1/2 cup of mozzarella and 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese and stir. Add in quinoa and combine well.
Pour mixture into a 9×13 baking dish and top with the remaining spaghetti sauce and then remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.
Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
Top with fresh chopped basil (optional) and enjoy!
Cheesy Chicken and Quinoa Italian Bake
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa
- 1 1/2 cups water or chicken broth
- 3 cups chicken-cooked Rotisserie works great
- 1 jar favorite spaghetti sauce divided
- 1 1/2 cups mozzerella divided
- 1 cup parmesan divided
- fresh basil- optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Rinse and soak 1 cup of quinoa for about 10 minutes in warm water.
- Bring 1 1/2 cups of water or chicken broth to boil in a saucepan. Drain quinoa and add to boiling water.
- Cover and reduce heat to simmer, cooking 12-15 minutes.
- Turn off heat and let sit for 5 minutes. Stir to fluff with a fork and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine chicken, 2/3 of your jar of sauce, 1/2 cup of mozz and 1/2 cup of parmesan. Stir in quinoa and mix well.
- Pour mixture into a 9x13 pan and top with the remaining sauce, mozzarella and parmesan.
- Bake in the over 12-15 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Top with fresh basil and enjoy!
For more Italian recipes, be sure to check out these posts:
Lasagna Rolls
Find them HERE.
Trader Joe’s Ravioli Dinner
Find it HERE.
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