Last night was a hot tub, wine and staring at the stars kind of night. Last night was here-is-your-child-daddy, as soon as Alex walked in the door kind of night. It was time to shut off, for me. I honestly had no idea 2nd kid makes a difference in life. LOL, he did!
Fitness, healthy eating aka quinoa casseroles and those nights like yesterday keep me sane, while I’m fully enjoying the ride on a roller coaster of the sweetest years with my kids. Really?! These are the sweetest?! It’s going to get more roller coaster-y?!
Thanks Gosh for that wine, hot tub and Alex. I have no idea how some of you, single moms, and moms with 4 kids do it?! RESPECT!
So, today was Chili Chicken, Kale & Quinoa Casserole kind of day. It’s a new day. This dish is perfect for laid back days like today. No pre-cooking.
It was also 8K run day and 11am hot tub day. I’m getting ready for 11 people Thanksgiving cook off this weekend, 5 kids trashing my never-give-up imitation of a show home house and Monday “spring” cleaning.
So, this quinoa casserole is perfect for today. Tastes like chili but with quinoa, kids love it, I will have it with my Superfood Chia Green Smoothie. After seeing how much you, guys, loved the Tex Mex Bean Quinoa Casserole (over 6K pins so far), I made one more for you.
Note: baked kale doesn’t look pretty.
Happy Thanksgiving, Canada! Sorry I’m more of a ground turkey girl, so I recommend you use your mom’s turkey recipe and my No Peel Healthy Vegetable Mashers to go with it. Your mom will love them, I promise. Mine did!
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa, uncooked
- 3 cups cooked chicken, diced or shredded (rotisserie chicken breast is fine)
- 14 oz can black beans, drained & rinsed
- 12 oz can or 1 + 1/2 cup corn, drained
- 6 kale leaves, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup cilantro + more for garnish, chopped
- 1/2 cup green onions + more for garnish, chopped
- 1 cup salsa, low sodium
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 3 cups Tex Mex (blend of mozzarella & cheddar is OK) cheese, divided
- Jalapeno pepers to taste (optional)
- Cooking spray (I use Misto)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and spray 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray.
- Cook quinoa as per package instructions and add to a large mixing bowl along with kale and mix to combine. You need quinoa to be hot, so it cooks down and reduces in size kale. Saves you extra step of sautéing.
- Add remaining ingredients, reserving 1.5 cup cheese for topping, and mix well to combine. Transfer mixture to a baking dish and press on it gently to flatten. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake for 30 minutes uncovered. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with additional cilantro and green onions. Serve warm.
Nutritional Info
Servings Per Recipe: 8
Amount Per Serving = 1.25 – 1.5 cup:
Calories: 371.0
Total Fat: 13.4 g
Cholesterol: 61.2 mg
Sodium: 666.5 mg
Total Carbs: 39.0 g
Dietary Fiber: 6.4 g
Protein: 26.9 g
WW Points+: 10
Made a recipe? Tag 
Sara
This sounds incredible and the photos make this dish look so appetizing! I love that it call for a lot of pantry staples and would only require a few things to be picked up from the store. I have some turkey breast tenderloins on hand that I’ve been trying to think of a use for, and this may just be the perfect recipe the for them. It’s always a win if I can find a new recipe to sneak kale into that my husband loves!
Olena (iFOODreal)
Turkey would be perfect! Thanks Sara. Hope your husband likes it. My men loved it more than me to be honest.:)
Alexis @ Hummusapien
LOVE how simple this is!! What a fabulous way to sneak quinoa into the kiddos diet. Yum!
Olena (iFOODreal)
Thanks Alexis. I definitely like simple dishes and use of the leftovers. Never dying Ukrainian in me…:)
paula rothman
going to try this with quorn chickn,and vegan cheese~ yum. maybe add a little dry mustard too
Olena (iFOODreal)
🙂 Have fun. Let me know.:)
foodie
Hi Olena,
I love your pictures, they are simply gorgeous. I would love for you to come and share them with us at foodieportal.com.
Thanks.
Olena (iFOODreal)
Thanks, I’ll check it out.
Becca from ItsYummi
Be careful sharing with FoodiePortal. I don’t think they provide links back to your site. #coveringyourback
Olena (iFOODreal)
Oh, tx for the heads up.
Becca from ItsYummi
Oh my gosh, Olena…your talent for making me drool all over myself deserves some sort of award! 😀
Also, please come live at my house and teach me how to photograph casseroles. WOW!
Olena (iFOODreal)
LOL. You made me laugh at 7AM. Thanks Becca!
ashley - baker by nature
Whoa! This is the mother of all casseroles! Gorgeous.
Olena (iFOODreal)
Oh my, Ashley. Thanks! And I was hesitant to post these photos and recipe…Live and learn!
Mike @TheIronYou
This casserole has all the ingredients I love: quinoa, kale and chicken. This is fantastic Olena! (can you ship any leftovers to NYC please?)
Olena (iFOODreal)
Thanks, Mike! Would be nice if we were neighbours, I know.:)
Minoo
Excellent recipe as always, Olena! I had to make this one without chicken, though, but still simple and delicious!
Olena (iFOODreal)
Oh, thank you, Minoo! I’ll tell Alex not to bring lunch to work tomorrow because you will have lots of leftovers.:)
Bridgette
This was so good!!! And the leftovers were even better the next day. I cant wait to make it again, which is saying something. I rarely make the same recipe twice. 🙂
Olena (iFOODreal)
Wow. I’m flattered.:)
Ira m
This looks soooooooo good! Pinning it 🙂 hopefully will make it this week!
Olena (iFOODreal)
Let me know.:)
Robin
Can I sub spinach for the kale?
Olena (iFOODreal)
Sure!
Alexandra
A delicious recipe! I made a double batch tonight; one for dinner, and two smaller ones for the freezer. Thanks for the yummy recipe 🙂
Caroline
Is this recipe spicy?
Olena
No.
Bridgett
How do you get to 288 calories with 3 cups of cheese? Thanks!
Olena
You are right, I fixed it. It’s an older recipe and nutrition calculator picked up someone else’s wrong entered cheese. Back then I didn’t know I should have checked.
kisma
I’m making this for dinner tonight. Tasted it before I put it in the oven. I used spinach cause I’m out of kale. I’m not a calorie counter so I add tons of cheese. Also, may try this without meat next time. I’m not a meat person, but my hubby is. Good though. Thanks
Olena
Yes, pretty much anything works. When you add a ton of cheese, you do not count calories.:)
Olivia Hill
Hi what salsa and tomato sauce did you use? I only have tomato paste and diced tomatoes…
Olena
You can mix both and add some spices to taste. Just make sure total of both is 2 cups.