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Cajun Quinoa

While it looks like a lot of ingredients, many of them are the dried herbs and spices which are critical to giving this dish its rich flavor.
This recipe is great on the first night, but it is even more delicious as leftovers, making it a great dish for meal prep. If you are making ahead to serve as a family meal, I would suggest stopping after the first 75 minute cook, reheating in the oven when you are ready to serve it, and then once warm, adding the shrimp for the final 15 minutes. If you are preparing this to be served as lunches and reheated in the microwave, hold off on warming the shrimp until the last few seconds to avoid them becoming tough.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time2 hours
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Cajun, Casserole, Quinoa
Servings: 6
Author: Kate Hesse

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.