So, I kinda love casseroles. And not too long ago I realized I love baking quinoa. Sure, it’s cooked in a pot before hand. And you could probably make this whole thing in the pot and serve it right away, without baking. But quinoa does something kind of awesome when you bake it. The edges get crispy, the top gets golden and crunchy. And it just turns out plain delicious 
So, I guess technically this would be a side dish. But I’m not going to lie, I just ate one of these for lunch the day I made them. Maybe next time I’d chop up some veggies that we usually get on pizza, peppers, more onions or maybe even some spinach and mix it in to make it a little more veggie-full. Other than that, I totally recommend this as a meal. Even though I’ve been craving cheese like crazy this pregnancy I actually really liked the one with nutritional yeast. So if you’re dairy free or vegan, you are not missing out! Especially since that one got crispier on top from baking, which I love 
Although the cheesy one did photograph nicer I had a seriously hard time narrowing down the pictures.
Yum!
- 1 C uncooked quinoa cooked in 2 C water or about 3½ C cooked quinoa
- 1 6oz can tomato paste
- 3-4 large cloves garlic, finely minced, grated or pressed
- ½ small onion, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp good quality extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp oregano
- ½ tsp fennel seed
- 1 tsp marjoram
- 1 tsp basil
- 1 tbsp dried parsley
- ¼ tsp sugar
- ¾ – 1 tsp sea salt
- dash black pepper
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast(optional)
- ½ C mozzarella cheese, to top(optional)
- Rinse quinoa well and combine with water in a small pot over high heat. Bring to a boil, cover and turn down to low and simmer for 15 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed, the quinoa is tender and completely cooked. Remove from the heat and leave covered in the pot for 5 minutes while assembling other ingredients.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 4 – 1 cup ramekins, 2 – 2 cup dishes or a larger casserole dish, depending on how you want to bake and serve this.
- In a small bowl, combine the tomato paste with the garlic and onion, water and olive oil. Mix well. Add all the seasonings including the nutritional yeast if using. Mix well again before adding the quinoa. Once the mixture is completely mixed, taste for seasonings and add more salt as needed. Then divide evenly among the dishes for baking, sprinkle with cheese if desired and place in the oven. I baked mine in two larger dishes, but this could easily be done in smaller ramekins for individual servings, or in one larger dish.
- Bake 30-35 minutes until the cheese is golden and bubbly or until the quinoa on top is golden and crispy. If desired, sprinkle with more nutritional yeast and fresh basil or parsley and serve.
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{ 37 comments… read them below or add one }
What a great way to serve quinoa!
Kathryn recently posted..lime and blueberry cakes
I LOVE baking quinoa too, it gets such a fun crunchy texture to it.
Narrowing down pictures is the hardest part about food blogging I think. I’ve got 32 pictures of roasted chickpeas to go through later…not looking forward to it!
Gina @ Running to the Kitchen recently posted..Goat cheese & spinach mashed sweet potatoes
quinoa is the best! so many things you can do with it!! love the pizza flavored idea
Pure2raw twins recently posted..doing headstand pose
I would eat this as a main dish, there is so much protein in quinoa that it would be plenty filling
Great idea! I really love lentils with tomato sauce. I will have to try quinoa pizzas next.
Cookie and Kate recently posted..Stovetop Popcorn with Chili Powder and Dark Chocolate
What a wonderful way to make quinoa! It looks absolutely delicious! And I love the photographs
Thanks for sharing!
Marsha @ The Harried Cook recently posted..Red Velvet Ice Cream
love this idea! what could be better than combining quinoa and pizza!
Richa@HobbyandMore recently posted..Spiced Oat Almond Gluten-free Cake, in Strawberry Nuts Goji berry parfait. Vegan GF gum-free
This looks delish, and I bet it’s a great way to introduce quinoa to kiddos, too. I love that you used nutritional yeast!
em recently posted..substitution
Great idea, pizza flavored..my kids would love this!!
vianney recently posted..Orange Persimmon Margarita
You are so brilliant; baked quinoa. pizza style!
I am totally making this and ramping up the veggies like you mentioned; I cannot wait to try this!
Whoa! What a fantastic idea!! Brilliant!
Katie {Epicurean Mom Blog} recently posted..Eggplant Parmesan
Wow! Talk about scrumptious. I will be making this next week. Thanks for the inspiration!
just had quinoa tonight!! This looks yummy!!!
Rawkinmom recently posted..The World’s Greatest Black Bean Burger
Oh my word, this is genius!! Looks delicious!! This will make a fab weekend meal!
Annie @ Naturally Sweet Recipes recently posted..Lemon Love Notes
I love ANYTHING pizza! I am totally making this! Looks amazing Heidi!
Nora @ Natural noshing recently posted..Midnight Fudge
This looks awesome! I love quinoa, I use it all the time!
Jane recently posted..Cauliflower Broccoli Soup with Blue Cheese
Wow, this looks really healthy, delicious and comforting. What a great idea using the quinoa. I haven’t used it in a while but maybe now I will
Eat Good 4 Life recently posted..Eggless tiramisu
I’ve never baked quinoa and now I’m really curious about this magical quality you claim it takes on. This looks so hearty and delicious!
Cara recently posted..Sunday Funday – February 19th, 2012
I made this for dinner last night – fabulous recipe!! I added some green peppers to the mix, but otherwise followed the recipe. Thanks for sharing!!
Great recipe. Good flavor, and a healthier way to enjoy pizza flavor. Very creative – thanks for this.
kitchenriffs recently posted..Braised Belgian Endive
I love casseroles too. And quinoa! It totally makes a good meal since it has protein in it. I wish I was eating this for dinner tonight instead of leftovers…
ohkeeka [The Type A Housewife] recently posted..Recipe | Truffled Mashed Potato Gratin
This is SUCH a great idea! I love quinoa but have never thought to makit it into a casserole – and your description of crispy edges has me drooling! I think I might add some sauteed peppers and maybe mushrooms to mine as well.
Sometimes, I think we were separated at birth with our all too similar palates. This looks SOOOO good. Quinoa doesn’t knock my socks off as is, but in pizza casserole form!? YES, PLEASE!!!
this looks delicious! i need to make this!
Caitlin recently posted..Ice Cream Cake
What a great idea!! I’m always looking for ways to keep quinoa exciting!!!
Any idea on the nutritional info for this? I’m thinking of making this for dinner along side a simple salad for me and my roomies tonight. Let me know if you have the details!
Sorry, I don’t. But you can use a calculator, like this one if you want to find out!
Then I shall! Thanks
FYI, one serving (if this makes 4) comes out to be about: 285 calories, 39g carbs, 11g fat, 9g protein, 5g fiber, and 7g sugar
This was delicious! I added some red peppers, asparagus, arugula, extra onion, and topped mine off with goat cheese. WONDERFUL! Thanks for recipe.
Oh, what a great idea! Did you have an inspiration, or was this your own creation?
I got the idea to bake it like a casserole from a stuffed squash recipe I have that we’ve just been baking in a dish instead of squash. Actually my mother in law was the one who did that, so I guess she’s my inspiration for this idea
This has become one of my go-to recipes. Thanks!
Hey there, what do you mean by “1 6oz can tomato paste”, is it 1,6 oz or 16 oz ? (sorry I’m french, I’m not used to this system at all !)
She means one can that is six ounces.
My husband and I loved this recipe! He thought it was so fun and something a little different. Thanks for the great idea!
Just made this and it was delicious! I added grated parmesean into the leftovers which made it even better!
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