Once again I find myself thinking that I should have read through the whole recipe a little more thoroughly before making this “casserole.” I liked the list of ingredients but as began following the directions, I quickly realized that there was no way it would turn out as written.
The directions had you adding quinoa, bringing the mixture to a boil, then removing it from the heat. There is no way the quinoa would ever get cooked if you followed this step.
The prep time listed for this recipe is also a bit off. I’m not the fastest in the kitchen but the 15 time alloted for prep on the recipe is not accurate. I’d say more like 25 minutes to put it all together before it is ready to go into the oven.
When it came time to put it in the oven, I needed a pan that would also work in the broiler as this dish would be placed under the broiler to melt and brown the cheese. I used my Tramontina Dutch Oven. For this recipe, I used the larger size in this set. If I were to make this again, I would halve the recipe and use the smaller dutch oven. It made way too much food for the four of us.
Substitutions/Additions made by Cooking After Class for Chicken & Quinoa Bake:
- substituted avocado oil for canola oil
- used chicken breast instead of thighs, I sliced the chicken before cooking because the chicken breast was so thick
- green onions instead of shallots
- regular quinoa instead of multicolored
Tips from Cooking After Class for making Chicken & Quinoa Bake:
- In order for the quinoa to fully cook, you will need to bring it to a boil and then cover it until the liquid is absorbed and the quinoa is cooked (about 10-15 minutes)
- This really isn’t what I would term a casserole. It does not hold together. I ate it plain and the flavors were great. The kids ate it as a taco and really liked the addition of shredded sharp cheddar cheese on it. They also added avocado and Lexie used a little plain greek yogurt too. Very versatile…you can make it your own 🙂 The bones are good…just needs a little tweaking.
- Consider halving the recipe. After all four of us ate, we still had more than half left over.
RECIPE: Chicken, Quinoa and Sweet Potato Casserole
Effort: Moderate
Time: Prep 25 minutes, Cook 25 minutes
Kids Comments: Like the combination of ingredients but it’s better with sharp cheddar cheese added 🧀
Make it Again: Maybe…takes a bit longer to make than I typically have time for but it is a unique and tasty combination.
