Looking for a fast and frugal meal that packs complete protein, plenty of vitamins, and fills you up quick?
Look no further!
Quinoa Chili is one of my all time favorite recipes. I first got the recipe at a playdate, and immediately fell in love.
Quinoa is an amazing grain. It’s a complete protein, and full of vitamins and minerals. It’s a lot of nutritional bang, for very little money.
I’ve adapted a bit to suit my tastes, but that’s pretty easy to do, so don’t be afraid to experiment.
In the picture above, I added some sundried tomatoes I had on hand, which gave the recipe a whole new tang. I also went light on the beans/tomatoes in this bowl.
(I cooked them separately this time)
There are 2 ways to cook this, the 1st is quick and easy, and can be done in less than 30 minutes.
Quinoa Chili Recipe
Ingredients:
* 1 onion
* garlic (at least 3 cloves)
* 28 oz. can of organic tomatoes
* 3 cups cooked organic beans (you can use 2 cans, or about 1 1/2 cups dried beans soaked and cooked)
* 1 28 oz. can Organic Tomato Puree or 1 carton of organic soup
* 1 tsp. chili powder
* 1 tsp. cumin
* 1-2 tsp. cayenne pepper (to taste)
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1 c. organic quinoa rinsed (try and find pre-rinsed if you can it saves you so much time)
* bag of frozen corn (Trader Joe’s Organic Roasted Corn is divine in this recipe.)
* other veggies if you like (I like to add greens right at the end of cooking)
Cooking instructions (prep time: 5 minutes, cooking time: 30 minutes) Serves 6-8
Saute onion in butter or oil until translucent.
Add chopped garlic, and saute, stirring, for approx. 2 minutes.
Add tomatoes, beans, puree or soup, and spices.
Simmer for 15 minutes, then add quinoa.
Cook for 10 minutes then add corn and other vegetables.
Simmer for another 5 minutes.
Serve hot.
Good accompaniments are cheese, sour cream, tortillas or tortilla chips.
To make a larger batch:
Cook a double or triple batch of beans and tomatoes, tomato puree, and spices.
Let cool.
Freeze in family sized portions.
When you want to make chili, defrost in the fridge overnight (you could probably put it right into a pot, but I haven’t tried that).
Heat up and add quinoa and veggies.
Enjoy!
Do you have any favorite fall recipes?
Kelly
Want some more recipes to try?
- Kale Coconut Salad Recipe
- Best Organic Pancake Recipe for Fall (or Anytime!)
- Vegan Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
sounds delicious! Definitely trying this 🙂
sounds delicious! Definitely trying this 🙂
Leigh says
thanks for sharing this! I have a whole bag of quinoa I've been trying to use up and this looks yummy
Leigh says
thanks for sharing this! I have a whole bag of quinoa I've been trying to use up and this looks yummy
We'll see. 🙂
I think I have the world's pickiest family, but it's payback for my youth-I was worse than all of them!
We'll see. 🙂
I think I have the world's pickiest family, but it's payback for my youth-I was worse than all of them!
Remodeling the kitchen sounds like it's tough. We're looking at doing that in a few years, and I'm not looking forward to it at all!
No problem! I was veggie for over 10 years, love veggie chili. 🙂
Remodeling the kitchen sounds like it's tough. We're looking at doing that in a few years, and I'm not looking forward to it at all!
No problem! I was veggie for over 10 years, love veggie chili. 🙂
Such a great recipe and so good for you. Keep up the great work and maybe the family will eat it someday.
Such a great recipe and so good for you. Keep up the great work and maybe the family will eat it someday.
Sheila says
I love quinoa. As a vegan, I look for new recipes using quinoa because it's a complete protein. Once we get our stove back in (remodeling our kitchen), I'm going to have to try this.
Sheila says
I love quinoa. As a vegan, I look for new recipes using quinoa because it's a complete protein. Once we get our stove back in (remodeling our kitchen), I'm going to have to try this.
Wow! I'm going vegetarian for health & financial reasons. Just this morning I was craving chili but wondering how to do it without meat. Never thought of quinoa. Great idea - I'm going to try it this weekend. Thanks for sharing!
Wow! I'm going vegetarian for health & financial reasons. Just this morning I was craving chili but wondering how to do it without meat. Never thought of quinoa. Great idea - I'm going to try it this weekend. Thanks for sharing!