Mexican Quinoa Bake

A quinoa and turkey bake with all your favorite Mexican-food ingredients makes for a filling, but healthy dinner.

Happy Monday and (almost) Cinco de Mayo friends!

Mondays always come around way too fast. And after a fun weekend, It’s even harder getting back into the work week. With the Summer Search Boston Kentucky Derby Cocktail and lots of other fun this past weekend, I know Monday is going to be a tough one. To keep me going during the week, I love breaking up my normal routine with something fun, but simple. It can be as easy as grabbing a drink after work one night with a friend or having a wine and movie night with MJD at home. With Cinco de Mayo this week, I have a feeling I’m going to break up this week with some Mexican food and margaritas to celebrate!

The inspiration for this Mexican Quinoa Bake came from a few places. First, I wanted to make something for you guys that you could easily make to celebrate Cinco de Mayo even though it falls on a Tuesday night, but that was a little more unique than tacos. It comes together easily which is both great for weeknight dinners or if you are hosting friends as you can assemble it earlier and then just throw in the oven to bake when you are ready! Secondly, I was inspired by my Turkey, Spinach and Quinoa Casserole which is one of my most viewed and most pinned recipes (plus I know a lot of my girlfriends loved it 😉 ). By combining that turkey-quinoa casserole idea with traditional Mexican flavors, my Mexican Quinoa Bake was born.

To round out your Cinco de Mayo meal, be sure to check out my recipe for Pineapple Margaritas and my classic-with-a-kick Cinco de Mayo Brownies!

How are you planning to celebrate Cinco de Mayo? I see lots of margaritas in my future

xoxo, Jenna

You’ll Need:

Makes 6-8 Servings

• 1 cup quinoa
• 1.5 cups water
• 1.25 pounds ground turkey
• 1/2 cup onion, minced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 can black beans (15 ounces), drained and rinsed
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 small jalapeno, chopped
• 1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup shredded mexican cheese
• Avocado to garnish

To Make:

Preheat your oven to 375 Degrees F. Prepare your baking or casserole dish by spraying with non-stick spray.

Prepare the quinoa using the ratio of 1 cup of quinoa to 1.5 cups of water. Undercook the quinoa by 3 minutes less than what is called for on the package to allow for cooking in the oven. Once finished, remove and place in large mixing bowl.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown the ground turkey with the minced onion and garlic for 4-6 minutes. Once browned, remove from heat, drain and add turkey to large mixing bowl with quinoa.

Prepare green pepper, red pepper and jalapeno by chopping finely and placing into mixing bowl.

Drain and rinse can of black beans and place into the mixing bowl as well.

Add cumin, chipotle chili powder and salt & pepper (if desired) to ingredients in mixing bowl.

Stir well to combine, adding in half of the cheese to the mixture

Pour mixture into prepared baking dish and cook uncovered for 16-20 minutes, until cooked through.

Remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake for 5-7 minutes or until cheese is melted (you can also broil for a few minutes at this stage for a bit of additional crunchiness).

Garnish with sliced avocado and serve warm.