Cajun Quinoa Recipe – A gluten-free one-pan recipe
I have spent more years of my life as a vegetarian than not. However, right now, I am at a point where I am eating a bit of animal protein (we have a non-vegetarian meal about 2-3 times per week). Adam craves meat and requires much more protein than I do on a daily basis. So I try to ensure I strike a balance between what he craves (meat and protein) and what I crave (lots of vegetables and whole grains).
This Cajun Quinoa meal is one of those compromises. It is made with a base of quinoa, plenty of veggies in a variety of colors, and topped with sausage and shrimp. (I could have easily made this vegetarian by using TVP with additional spices instead of the sausage and omitting the shrimp, although it would not have been much of a compromise then.)
Quinoa and spices
One Pan Meal
I learned growing up to be a big fan of one pot/pan meals. If you can make an entire meal without dirtying more than one pot or pan, then you have made clean-up much easier! While I could have made this Cajun Quinoa recipe by cooking the quinoa in one pan, sauteing the veggies, sausage and shrimp in another, and then layering everything and just baking briefly to combine, it would have been a lot more work.
This recipe requires baking for an hour and a half, but once it is in the oven, you can ignore it for over an hour, giving you time to do lots of other things. Plus at the end of the day, the only thing to wash is your baking dish!
Top is quinoa and spices with broth and tomato paste. Bottom, all vegetables are layered on.
Spice Adjustments
I tend to err on the side of under salting. While I know how amazing salt can be in bringing out flavors, I also know that limiting my sodium intake is beneficial for my immediate and long-term health. If you find that you prefer a saltier dish, or if you know your broth or sausage are low sodium, you may want to increase the salt by ½ – 1 tsp.
The sausage I used for this recipe comes with a little of its own kick. As a result, I kept the amount of cayenne low. If you love heat, consider increasing the cayenne to 1 tsp total. If you have different levels of spice tolerance in your family, you can up the zip by adding a Louisiana style hot sauce on top when serving for those who like a little extra kick.
Cajun Quinoa
Equipment
- 9x13" baking dish
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp basil
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp cayenne
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 4 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 celery stalks, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 2 red bell peppers, diced
- 1 medium zucchini, diced
- 3 roma tomatoes, diced
- 12-14 oz andouille sausage, sliced into coins
- 6 oz shrimp, raw, peeled and deveined
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Add rinsed quinoa to a 9”x13” baking dish.
- Add oregano through cayenne to the quinoa.
- Mix tomato paste into the chicken broth and then pour over the quinoa and spices, stirring to combine.
- Add the vegetables in layers on top of the quinoa, ensuring even layers, but do not stir (you want to make sure all of the quinoa remains submerged). Layer vegetables in this order: onion and garlic, celery, bell peppers, zucchini, tomato.
- Spread the sausage coins on top of the tomatoes in an even layer.
- Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil (shiny side down). Carefully place in the oven and allow to bake for 75 minutes. If you need to prepare the shrimp, do so while the rest of the dish is in the oven.
- At the end of the 75 minutes of baking time, take out the dish, remove the aluminum foil, add the shrimp in an even layer over the top. Put back in the oven uncovered for an additional 15 minutes to allow extra liquid to evaporate and shrimp to cook.
- Serve hot.
