This quinoa pizza casserole is the perfect healthy side dish if you love pizza! With all the flavors you love, plus topped with cheese (and your other favorite pizza toppings) everyone will love this! Gluten-free with a vegan option.
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.
I highly recommend baking it for best results!
I guess technically this would be a side dish. But I just ate one of these for lunch the day I made them.
Maybe next time I’ll chop up some veggies that we usually get on pizza. Perhaps some bell 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.
For a vegan and dairy-free version, you can top it off with some nutritional yeast for some cheese taste (or use vegan cheese, if you like that!). I used a non-fortified nutritional yeast that’s free of synthetic additives.
So if you’re vegan, you are not missing out! Especially since that one got crispier on top from baking, which I loved.
This quinoa pizza casserole is perfect for when you have leftover cooked quinoa. You’ll need 3 1/2 cups cooked quinoa so it can really help get rid of those leftovers.
If a casserole’s not your thing, you have to check out my Mini Pizza Quinoa Bites!
Or for something different with quinoa, try this Quinoa Stuffing Stuffed Squash or Vegetarian Quinoa Chili. This Mexian Quinoa Salad also looks delicious!
And if you’re in the mood for actual pizza? Check out this fathead dough! It looks delicious.

- 1 cup uncooked quinoa cooked in 2 cups water or about 3 1/2 cups cooked quinoa
- 1 6-oz can tomato paste
- 3-4 large cloves garlic finely minced, grated or pressed
- 1/2 small onion finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons good quality extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon fennel seed
- 1 teaspoon marjoram
- 1 teaspoon basil
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- 3/4-1 teaspoon sea salt
- dash black pepper
- 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast optional
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese to top(optional)
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Photos updated 3/2020. Here’s an old one:
{ 50 comments… read them below or add one }
Love the idea of having pizza in casserole form! And I got a ton of quinoa on hand to use so this is perfeccct
You had me at pizza! Such a brilliant idea to use quinoa in it. Saving this for Meatless Monday.
This looks so amazing and ready to accommodate any custom “pizza” toppings desired. i’m going to try it next week, thanks for the inspo!
This looks wonderful! Easy to make and super delicious!
All the delicious goodness of a pizza in a healthy & easy to make casserole!
This looks SO good. You’ve used so many healing herbs in this recipe.. I love it!!
I also really appreciate the choice to make it as a casserole or as ‘bites’ which makes me think of all the times that this would be perfect in my home. Thanks!
Never knew you could make pizza crust with quinoa, but wow, the texture is so good!
could I get the nutritional information to this recipe, please .
Casserole looks healthy and great quinoa
Just love this recipe and you can add whatever you’re cravin’ Thank you
I came across this recipe when I was searching for vegan quinoa recipes and was immediately intrigued by the idea. I made it and just about licked the plate clean! I plan on making it again tonight and tossing in a few leftover mushrooms as well. Thanks!
This was awesome! Thought it could turn out dry but it was not at all. Best quinoa recipe I’ve ever made.
I added:
1 squash sliced thin
4 mushrooms sliced thin
1 tablespoon sriracha sauce
Turned out amazing!
This is a delicious recipe! I have made it twice plus right this moment I have it in the oven. Last time I made it I added fresh mozz to the mix, simply because I needed to use it before it went bad and extra cheesy goodness is always good! This time I chopped up a full zucchini and added it. I love zucchini so I’m excited to see how it tastes with veggies. In love! Thanks for posting this.
Just made this and it was delicious! I added grated parmesean into the leftovers which made it even better!
My husband and I loved this recipe! He thought it was so fun and something a little different. Thanks for the great idea!
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.
This has become one of my go-to recipes. Thanks!
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 was delicious! I added some red peppers, asparagus, arugula, extra onion, and topped mine off with goat cheese. WONDERFUL! Thanks for recipe.
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 🙂
Then I shall! Thanks 🙂
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!
What a great idea!! I’m always looking for ways to keep quinoa exciting!!!
this looks delicious! i need to make this!
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 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.
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…
Great recipe. Good flavor, and a healthier way to enjoy pizza flavor. Very creative – thanks for this.
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!!
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!
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 🙂
This looks awesome! I love quinoa, I use it all the time!
I love ANYTHING pizza! I am totally making this! Looks amazing Heidi!
Oh my word, this is genius!! Looks delicious!! This will make a fab weekend meal!
just had quinoa tonight!! This looks yummy!!!
Wow! Talk about scrumptious. I will be making this next week. Thanks for the inspiration!
Whoa! What a fantastic idea!! Brilliant!
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!
Great idea, pizza flavored..my kids would love this!!
This looks delish, and I bet it’s a great way to introduce quinoa to kiddos, too. I love that you used nutritional yeast!
love this idea! what could be better than combining quinoa and pizza!
What a wonderful way to make quinoa! It looks absolutely delicious! And I love the photographs 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Great idea! I really love lentils with tomato sauce. I will have to try quinoa pizzas next.
I would eat this as a main dish, there is so much protein in quinoa that it would be plenty filling
quinoa is the best! so many things you can do with it!! love the pizza flavored idea 🙂
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!
What a great way to serve quinoa!
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