This Broccoli Quinoa Casserole is flavored with pesto and loaded with cheese! If you’re stuck on how to make the best vegetarian casserole this recipe has you covered. It has a lot of protein from beans and quinoa and is super easy to throw together.
Broccoli quinoa casserole is part of my plan to make your weeknight dinners easier and healthier.
If you’re rushing to get dinner on the table every night, let me lay out how easy it can be. First, you’ll want to cook up a bunch of quinoa on Sunday while you’re relaxing around the house (it’s quick and mostly hands off).
Then you can use this quinoa to make Buddha bowls, or serve it alongside roasted vegetables and balsamic tofu. You can also use it to assemble this broccoli casserole before work and bake it when you get home!
Quinoa casseroles are everything to me. You can cover them in cheese, they get a little crispy, and I love holding them in a warm and cozy bowl on a cold day.
A lot of quinoa casseroles use uncooked quinoa and cook it right in the pan. While this can be a great time saver, I like to control my perfectly cooked quinoa ahead of time before warming the ingredients in the casserole.
How to make broccoli quinoa casserole
- Cook your quinoa
- Combine cooked quinoa, beans, broccoli, pesto, and half the cheese
- Spread in a baking dish and cover with the remaining cheese
- Bake until hot and crispy!
Tips for customizing your broccoli quinoa casserole recipe:
- Swap the basil pesto for spinach pesto, pistachio pesto, or walnut arugula pesto
- If you like a saucier casserole, consider stirring in a béchamel sauce, or the sauce from my unstuffed shells recipe
- Add halved or quartered cherry tomatoes to the mixture before baking
- Swap the cheese for cheddar cheese and leave off the pesto to make broccoli cheddar quinoa casserole
- If you have leftover quinoa on hand use 4 cups cooked quinoa and omit the water/broth
More vegetarian casseroles
If you make this recipe be sure to rate it, leave a comment, or tag #theliveinkitchen on Instagram!
Recipe
Broccoli Quinoa Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 cups water or broth
- 15 ounces canned great northern beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 head broccoli, cut into bite sized pieces
- ¼ cup pesto
- coarse kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- cherry tomatoes, optional
- fresh basil, optional
Instructions
- In a 2 quart sauce pan, combine quinoa and broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and let cook until all the liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let rest 5-10 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Fluff the quinoa with a fork and transfer it to a large mixing bowl. Add the beans, broccoli, pesto, and 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
- Spray a 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking spray and spread the quinoa mixture evenly in the dish. Top with the remaining cheeses. Bake 25 minutes or until the cheese is melted and beginning to brown. Serve garnished with halved cherry tomatoes, crushed red pepper flakes, and fresh basil if desired.
Melissa says
Great weeknight recipe. I added a bunch of leftover veggies in addition to broccoli (cherry tomatoes, cauli, peas) .
Paula Glofka says
Sounds delicious!!!