Since I eat quinoa all the time, I get asked a lot what recipe should somebody who’s not really a fan of quinoa try to get themselves to like it. This is that recipe.
I made this last Thanksgiving and then again for Christmas Eve since it was such a hit. If you’ve never seen 80 year old aunts nudging each other to get the serving spoon for more quinoa, it’s quite hysterical. The only difference I made this year was using oil in place of butter and vegetable broth for chicken broth so that this was both vegan and gluten-free. You won’t miss the white bread in this untraditional stuffing.
If you want to save some time and chopping, you can buy pre-diced mirepoix at most grocery stores like Trader Joe’s nowadays.
The Best Quinoa Dressing
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Ingredients(Makes 8 servings):
- 2 cups quinoa, rinsed
- 4 cups vegetable broth(or chicken broth)
- 2 medium carrots, diced
- 2 stalks of celery, diced
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon parsley
- 1/2 tablespoon rosemary
- 1/4 cup cane sugar
Method:
- Bring the quinoa and broth to a boil in a large pot. Cover the pot and turn off the heat, letting the quinoa sit to absorb the water.
- In a pan, sauté the onion, celery, and carrots in 2 tablespoons of oil until the onions are translucent and the carrots have cooked through.
- When the quinoa is fully cooked, add in the sautéed vegetables, sugar, and herbs. Mix those in while fluffing the quinoa.
- Move to a serving bowl and serve warm.
I’ve never been so happy for Thanksgiving leftovers.
Over the weekend I saw two recipes for quinoa pecan stuffing that caught my eye. I loved the presentation and photos from this recipe on For The Love Of Food(just try looking at it and not getting hungry). And I loved the addition of butternut squash and pecans in this recipe from The Cooking Channel, but I didn’t love the choice of seasoning. Instead I worked from both recipes, picking what I think is the best of both and making a different quinoa stuffing.
Is it the best I ever had? Not really. But it’s the best I ever had that cooks up in 20 minutes in one pot. If I made this again I’d sauté some onions and celery and perhaps mushrooms like one of the original recipe has to develop the flavor a little more.
Quinoa Pecan Stuffing With Butternut Squash
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Ingredients(Makes 4 servings):
-
1 cup quinoa, washed and drained
-
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth*
-
1 cup cooked and diced butternut squash
-
3/4 teaspoon savory herbs like thyme and rosemary
-
1/2 teaspoon salt
-
1/2 cup crushed pecans plus more for garnish
*Since there’s very few seasonings in this recipe, using broth and not water is important to add deep flavor.
Method:
-
Bring the quinoa and broth to a boil over the stove. Cover the pot and turn off the heat, letting the quinoa absorb the liquid for 15 minutes until it’s fully cooked.
-
Add in the diced squash, herbs, salt, and pecans and mix those in while fluffing the quinoa.
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Serve hot and garnish with extra pecans if desired.
I was worried using so few ingredients the recipe wouldn’t hold up to either of the originals, but the broth adds a ton of flavor(I used Rapunzel’s vegan bullion cubes in case you’re wondering). A fun variation on this would be substituting cubed sweet potatoes in for the butternut squash.
