Recipe: Cheesy Chipotle Quinoa Bake

“This cheesy one-pot bake could become your new favourite way to eat quinoa. It channels comfort-food vibes without being overly indulgent. The chipotle-and-tomato-flavoured quinoa is studded with beans and corn, then it’s topped with cheddar cheese that melts and bubbles in the oven. Before serving, scatter fresh cilantro and pickled red onions on top—not just for looks but also for a pop of acidity and freshness. Leftovers reheat well, especially when sprinkled with a bit of extra cheese.”—Bri Beaudoin

Ingredients

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 canned chipotle peppers in adobo, minced, plus 1 tbsp adobo sauce
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 680-ml jar passata (pureed tomatoes)
½ cup water
1 398-ml can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
2 tbsp tamari
1 cup dried quinoa, rinsed and drained
1 398-ml can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1½ cups frozen corn kernels
2 cups shredded aged cheddar cheese, divided
¾ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves, plus more for garnish
½ cup quick pickled red onions* (*You can use the radish-pickling process from the Crispy Rice Salad recipe—just replace the radishes with thinly sliced red onion and omit the chilies.)
2 scallions, thinly sliced

Instructions

Place an oven rack in the centre position and preheat to 425°F. In a large Dutch oven or braiser, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden brown around the edges (8 to 10 minutes). Add the garlic, chipotle peppers and adobo sauce, and cumin and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant (1 to 2 minutes). Pour in the passata. Use the water to rinse the jar and pour the contents into the pot.

Add the fire-roasted tomatoes and tamari, stir, and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Stir in the quinoa. Cover the pot with a lid and bake for 20 minutes, or until the quinoa is fully cooked.

Remove the chipotle-quinoa from the oven and reposition the rack, if needed, so that the top of the pot is 4 to 5 inches under the broiler. Set the oven to broil. To the pot, stir in the pinto beans, corn, 1 cup of the cheddar and the cilantro. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup cheddar. Broil until the cheese is golden brown and bubbling (4 to 8 minutes). Watch carefully, as broil times vary. Remove from the oven and top with pickled red onions, scallions and more cilantro.

Find more vegetarian comfort-food recipes from Beaudoin here!

Excerpted from Evergreen Kitchen: Weeknight Vegetarian Dinners for Everyone by Bri Beaudoin. Copyright © 2022 Bri Beaudoin. Photography by Anguel Dimov. Published by Penguin Canada, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.