This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
I tagged this recipe in the “healthy” category because it’s QUINOA (which can do no wrong) and has broccoli. So, healthy, yea? But then it’s also covered in a hefty cup of cheese. So. Logic. I’m just going to keep telling myself that this is a healthy dinner option and live the happy life.
When I first made this, I envisioned it being more of a quinoa “mac n cheese” of sorts. Then I realized that to accomplish this I would probably need to make a roux and not just throw a bunch of cheese on top of the quinoa. Maybe I’ll work on that recipe for later. For now, we have this which is kind of more like a casserole of cheesy yumminess.
One of my favorite parts about this recipe is that it’s one of those “throw it all in the same pot” kind of recipes. My favorite recipes of all time: quick and easy. Also, see multiple notes above about cheese <3.
The chicken and onion are cooked in a bit of olive oil until the chicken is just cooked on the outside.
The quinoa is added in, stirred, and allowed to toast a bit before the liquid is added.
Next the broccoli. You can cut the broccoli up more if you like but I prefer big old chunks of broccoli that are JUST the right size that you can still fit it in your mouth in one (slightly large) bite.
Once the chicken is fully cooked, the broccoli is tender, and the quinoa is nice and fluffy, our hefty portion of cheese is added on top and allowed to melt over the heat before being removed.
I typically like to use freshly shredded cheese for something like this because it just seems to melt so much better than pre-shredded cheese, however, I had a big ole bag of this cheese in the fridge so I went with it.
I made this on a Sunday night and I’ll tell you from experience that it tastes even better the next day for lunch!
Happy Thursday!
Cheesy Broccoli and Chicken Quinoa
Ingredients
- 2 large chicken breasts, diced into cubes or shredded
- 1 small yellow onion
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 cup of quinoa
- 1 ½ cups of chicken broth, plus a few extra tablespoons if needed
- 2 heaping cups of broccoli, chopped
- 1 cup of cheddar cheese, shredded
- SP to taste
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the chicken and the onion in the olive oil for 405 minutes or until the chicken is just cooked on the outside. Dont worry about cooking it all the way through yet since it will be on the stove for quite a bit longer.
- Add in the garlic and cook for an additional minute.
- Add in the dry quinoa, stir together, and let the quinoa toast for 2-3 minutes and then stir in the broth. Reduce to a simmer and cook covered for 10 minutes.
- Stir in the broccoli and cook covered for an additional 7-10 minutes or until the broccoli and quinoa are both tender. If the liquid is all gone but the quinoa is not quite done yet, add in a few additional tablespoons of broth (or water).
- Salt and pepper to taste.
- Give the mixture a stir and then pour the cheese evenly over the top. Keep the skillet over the heat until the cheese is fully melted.
- Remove from heat and serve immediately.
- ENJOY!!
We have made this a couple times and it is one of our favorites. My question is can you make this up and freeze it? Would love an answer
Thanks,
Ron
I think that this would freeze well but unfortunately I have never tried it. Let me know how it turns out!
Made this with chicken thighs and water instead of stock. Was delicious! Adding it into my rotation. Thanks for the recipe.
Yup. This was delicious. Took a little longer to cook for me and soak up all the liquid but once it did it was great! I used boneless skinless chicken thighs cause that’s what I had on hand.
YAY! Thank you so much for letting me know that you made this and liked it :) I always appreciate that. In my experience, quinoa seems to cook at varying speeds. I’m not really sure why but like you, sometimes I end up having to cook it a bit longer OR add in a bit more liquid than usual to get it fully cooked. Anyways, glad it turned out good!
Cheese makes everything better!
ooooh this looks GOOD. i am also impressed by its one-pot wonderfulness. must add it to my list of things to try! and yes, still definitely healthy. cheese is full of much-needed calcium, right?! ;)
ooh! This makes me think that I should research ALL the health benefits to cheese (there’s got to be quite a few, right?), write a post about it, and then refrence that every time I dump a ton of cheese in a recipe.