Goodness of an enchilada with a healthy addition of quinoa, cooked in one pot for a quick meal or a relaxed weekend dinner on the couch. This Chicken Enchilada Quinoa is packed with all our favorite mexican flavors and topped with melty cheese.
Cooking with Quinoa
For some of you who may not have tried quinoa, this is a great recipe to try. It is flavorful and quinoa incorporates so well with all the other ingredients. Prounounced as “Keen-Wah”, Quinoa is a seed and not a grain. Quinoa is a whole protein with all of the nine essential amono acids. It is also naturally gluten-free and a great source of protein for vegetarians.
What is Chicken Enchilada Quinoa?
- Classic enchiladas with a twist!
- This Chicken Enchilada Quinoa recipe uses quinoa instead of the traditional tortillas.
- Rather than layering or rolling the delicious fillings inside the tortillas, this is a faster one pot dump and ready version that is similar to a casserole.
- In addition all the spicy mexican flavors that are packed in this meal, it is also very healthy and nutritious.
Best quinoa to use
Quinoa is commonly sold in three colors – white/ivory, red and black. I prefer organic white/ivory quinoa that gives a fluffy post-cook texture either red or white and buy the Kirkland signature organic quinoa sold at Costco.
Note: White quinoa can have a slightly muted, bitter taste. Rinse the quinoa 2 to 3 times and drain well to remove the slight bitter taste.
Our other favorite quinoa recipes:
- Instant Pot Quinoa – A perfect meal prep recipe
- Quinoa Almond Date Truffles – love for breakfast, snack or dessert
How to make Vegetarian Enchilada Quinoa
- Substitute ground chicken with soya granules or vegan meat
- Substitute ground chicken with vegetables like mushrooms, zuchinni or squash
Variations for Chicken Enchilada Quinoa
- Use 2 cups of low sodium broth instead of water
- If you do not have taco seasoning, for each tablespoon of taco seasoning use 1 teaspoon paprika, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, 1/4 teaspoon oregano and 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Fire roasted tomatoes can be substituted with fresh diced tomatoes.
How to make Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Quinoa – step by step
- Set the Instant Pot to saute mode and heat 1 tablespoon of oil. Add ground chicken and break it in with a spatula. Add quinoa, black beans, corn, tomatoes, garlic, onion, jalapeños, water, enchilada sauce, chili powder and cumin(photos 1 – 4).
- Mix well, breaking in any lumps of ground chicken. Close the Instant Pot with pressure release valve to sealing. Set the Instant Pot to Manual/Pressure Cook (Hi) for 4 minutes. Allow 10 minutes natural pressure release. Open the Instant Pot and mix the enchilada quinoa. Garnish with cilantro and scallions (photos 5 – 6).
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Goodness of an enchilada with healthy quinoa, black beans, fire roasted tomatoes and jalapenos, all cooked in one pot for a quick and healthy one pot meal.
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 cups uncooked quinoa
- 1 can 15-ounce black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 1 can 15-ounce diced fire roasted tomatoes
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 or 2 jalapeno peppers finely chopped (depending on the heat level you want)
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup enchilada sauce
- 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 3 green onions chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped
- 1 avocado peeled and diced
- 1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese or mexican cheese
- 4 lime wedges
Set the Instant Pot to saute mode and heat 1 tablespoon of oil. Add ground chicken and break it in with a spatula. Add quinoa, black beans, corn, tomatoes, garlic, onion, jalapeños, water, enchilada sauce, chili powder and cumin.
Mix well, breaking in any lumps of ground chicken. Close the Instant Pot with pressure release valve to sealing. Set the Instant Pot to Manual/Pressure Cook (Hi) for 4 minutes. Allow 10 minutes natural pressure release. Open the Instant Pot and mix the enchilada quinoa. Garnish with cilantro and scallions.
Serve with diced avocados, pepper jack cheese and a squeeze of fresh lime.
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Made this tonight and it was wonderful! HIt for the whole family and so easy to make. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for the feedback!
I added salt to this but other than that it was great. Easy and healthy!
Thank you for the feedback. So glad you enjoyed it