Parmesan Pumpkin Quinoa with Spinach is 30 minute meal with fluffy quinoa, sweet and savory sauce and fresh spinach!
Spinach artichoke quinoa casserole and kale and quinoa salad are other quinoa recipes showcasing favorite fall flavors!
Table of contents
Parmesan pumpkin quinoa with spinach is a nutritious and comforting fall dish! It’s perfect to use as a healthy side dish or a complete meatless meal all on its own.
It’s an easy and deliciously cozy meal that your body craves when you’ve had maybe one too many desserts!
I love pumpkin spice everything as much as the next person, but what we’re talking about here is pure creamy pumpkin loaded with nutrients and fresh flavor.
I have used it to make healthy pumpkin pie and healthy pumpkin muffins but I’m just as excited to use it in savory dishes like this one.
I know you and your family will love it too!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here’s what you need to make this healthy, naturally gluten free, and wholesome pumpkin quinoa dish!
- Quinoa, uncooked
- Large onion
- Garlic
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Pumpkin purée
- Chicken stock
- Salt
- Pepper
- Parmesan cheese
- Baby spinach leaves
Recipe Tip
Use leftover quinoa. If you don’t need to cook up some fresh quinoa because you have leftovers, use it instead. This is why I like to cook up big batches of quinoa and freeze portions of it for later.
How to Make Pumpkin Quinoa
A wholesome delicious one pot meal has never been easier!
Cook up some fresh quinoa or use any leftovers you have. Set it aside. You’ll need 3 1/2 cups of cooked quinoa for this recipe. See below for further details.
Get ahead by grating fresh Parmesan from a block and setting that aside too.
Preheat a large deep skillet over low-medium heat. Heat the olive oil and sauté the onion and garlic until translucent. Stir occasionally. Then, you’ll add the pumpkin purée, chicken stock, salt, and pepper.
Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer uncovered for 5 minutes.
Melt in the Parmesan cheese, remove it from heat and add the quinoa and spinach. Give that a gentle stir to combine. If it’s too thick for your liking, add a bit more broth. Serve hot!
Recipe Tip
Separation of liquid. You may notice this because of the Parmesan cheese. It’s completely normal, just stir it and it’s good to go.
How to Cook Quinoa
You can find the detailed instructions here, how to cook quinoa on the stove or make Instant Pot quinoa. No matter what method you use, you’ll need quinoa and water. Then you cover it, cook, and fluff.
Variations
The quinoa and pumpkin are the base of this dish but you can be flexible with most of the other ingredients.
- Additional veggies. Throw in some bell pepper, carrots, broccoli, zucchini, or mushrooms.
- Use kale instead of spinach. Chop it up fine before adding. Massage it first, if you’d like to tenderize it a bit.
- Other stock. To make this vegetarian, use vegetable stock instead.
- Different cheese. Swap the Parmesan for feta cheese, or use a bit of both. They are both briny and salty, although feta will be a bit stronger.
FAQs
Yes, if you use vegetable stock and skip the Parmesan. If you have a vegan cheese you like, try adding that instead.
Keep any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.
Up to 4 days. It will thicken as it sits and cools, so you may need to add a splash of broth while you reheat it.
Sure thing. The best thing to do is make the quinoa ahead of time. This will save you a ton of time. Grate your cheese, and keep that in the fridge for days.
Serving Suggestions
Here are some main dish ideas to round out your fall menus. Serve Parmesan pumpkin quinoa with spinach on the side of:
More Quinoa Recipes to Try
- Mediterranean quinoa salad
- Black bean quinoa casserole
- Instant Pot ground turkey quinoa bowls
- Chicken quinoa skillet
Parmesan Pumpkin Quinoa with Spinach
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa, uncooked (3 1/2 cups cooked quinoa)
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 1 large garlic clove minced
- 1 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 3 cups chicken stock low sodium
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 3/4 cup 1.5 oz Parmesan cheese shredded
- 4 handfuls baby spinach leaves
Instructions
- Cook quinoa using how to cook quinoa stovetop or Instant Pot quinoa method for perfect results. Set aside.
- In the meanwhile, preheat large deep skillet on low – medium heat and add olive oil. Add onion and garlic, saute until translucent, stirring occasionally. Add pumpkin puree, chicken stock, salt, pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and let the sauce simmer for 5 minutes uncovered.
- Stir in Parmesan cheese until melted. Remove from heat and add quinoa and spinach. Stir gently to combine. Adjust thickness with extra chicken stock if desired. I like my quinoa saucy and hot. Because of Parmesan cheese, liquid separation with time is normal. Just give it a good stir. Serve hot.
Notes
- Store: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 – 4 days.
I’ve made this a few times, so yummy! Do you think it could be easily doubled? (I want to bring some to a potluck and have some for home too!)
Of course! Quinoa cooks separately anyways. Glad you like it that much.:)
Just made this….SO YUMMY!!! I can’t get enough!
Enjoy!
I am making this right now and omg i cant wait to dig in! It smells amazing!!
Enjoy Tracy! You must be not American because they all gobbled up turkey today.:)
This recipe sounds amazing! Headed to a ‘Pumpkin Palooza Potluck Party’ soon and tight on time after a full days work, but like the idea of bringing something savory as so many others will bring sweet. Thoughts on preparing ahead of time and serving cold? I’m still trying to imagine the flavors warm vs cold and any insight is much appreciated! Thank you!
Wow, even pumpkin parties exist. North Americans love their pumpkin for sure LOL. This dish is best served warm because of melted Parmesan cheese. Cold you might get in trouble.:) Do you have a slow cooker? Put cooked dish in there, turn on High for 20 minutes or so and then switch to Warm.
I made it with only 2 cups of chicken broth (trader joe’s didn’t have chicken stock) because I didn’t want it like a soup- it was good! I thought it could have used a little more flavor, but on my second serving I added some nutritional yeast and that made it much better! Overall it was a healthy, tasty meal.
Great!!! You can add more flavour with extra Parmesan cheese. Nutritional yeast would add cheesy flavour without extra calories, true. Isn’t chicken broth and stock the same thing?!:)
This is the second time in a week that I’ve made this! I count macros so I used only a quarter cup of quinoa, half cup of pumpkin, and sub Parmesan for 0.2oz of nutritional yeast, yummy
Like I mentioned on Instagram I just bought nutritional yeast and am in love!!! Glad you liked it!
I made this last night and it turned out very soupy. The flavor was delicious, but I’m wondering if starting with 1/2 the chicken stock and then adding as needed?
Yes, you can do that. I also do not rinse my quinoa maybe that’s why it needed more liquid. It also soaks the liquid as it sits longer. So, if you ate it right away instead of letting sit covered for another 15 minutes before serving that could be. Also the liquids separate so give it a good stir. Hope this helps.
Hi, this recipe seems delicious! I know quinoa is a complete cereal but I will add chickpeas and walnuts since I love to find crunchy texture in all my plate. Thank you for sharing.
That sounds like a delicious addition!
This is so yummy! I made it for dinner tonight as a side dish and we still have lots left over for tomorrow. I love quinoa and I’m so glad I stumbled across this one. 🙂
That’s beautiful. I am going to turn orange with how much pumpkin I’ve been eating lately! It’s such a perfect, versatile vegetable.