Mexican Quinoa is a simple “dump it and forget about it” slow cooker meal. We add uncooked quinoa, vegetables, beans, and seasonings, then let it cook. Serve with toppings like cheese, sour cream, avocado, and lime for a delicious and hearty meal.
Mexican Quinoa
These Quinoa Tacos are wildly popular in my home and truthfully, I don’t think meal prep gets much easier than that recipe. Everything gets thrown in the slow cooker (no advance prep) and you’re left with an ultra-tasty, meatless, taco filling that is hearty and keeps you full.
I wanted to take the idea of having loads of flavor with easy prep time from those tacos and apply it to another nutritious and vegetarian meal. Enter: Mexican Quinoa. Just as easy, filling, and packed with good-for-you ingredients.
This dish does pack a bit of a spicy punch, but nothing too overwhelming. You can adjust the seasonings to your preference, and with some cheese, sour cream, and/or avocado topping the bowl, the spice isn’t bad. Even my two-year-old can’t get enough of this dish!
Mexican Quinoa Ingredients
The three main ingredients that impact the spiciness level of this dish are the enchilada sauce, taco seasoning packet, and jalapeño peppers.
- Butternut Squash: Chop into small pieces for even cooking. If the squash pieces are too large they won’t get tender in time.
- Quinoa: This is the base of the dish, absorbing flavors and adding protein. Rinse it first to get rid of any bitter taste.
- Black Beans: Rinse canned black beans before adding. If you want to make your own black beans follow this recipe.
- Corn: I like using frozen corn for it’s flavor and freshness but canned works great here as well.
- Fire-roasted Diced Tomatoes: Include the juice for more sauce to cook everything in.
- Enchilada Sauce & Taco Seasoning: Create the signature Mexican taste. Use mild varieties if you prefer less heat. I love and recommend Old El Paso’s® mild red enchilada sauce.
- Vegetable or Chicken Stock: You can use vegetable or chicken broth, for a vegetarian option use the vegetable stock. Quality stock improves flavor.
- Jalapeños: Add a mild kick but are optional. For less heat, remove the seeds and ribs before dicing, or use poblano pepper for milder flavor.
Quick Tip
If you’d prefer to make your own taco seasoning blend instead of using a store-bought mix, here’s my go-to taco seasoning blend (this mix perfectly replaces the store-bought mix)
Topping Suggestions
Mexican Quinoa is good by itself, but adding toppings makes it even better. You should definitely try it with sharp Cheddar cheese, sour cream, and cut-up avocado. Here are more topping ideas:
- Grated sharp (or extra-sharp) Cheddar cheese
- Chopped cherry tomatoes
- Fresh chopped cilantro or thinly sliced green onions
- A squeeze of fresh lime
- A large scoop of sour cream (we use fat-free to keep these on the light side); you can also use Greek yogurt.
- Sliced avocado or scoop of guacamole
- Pickled red onions (I share a quick pickled red onion recipe on these Chicken Tinga Tacos.)
How To Make Mexican Quinoa
- Prep Slow Cooker: Spray with nonstick spray. A liner can make cleanup easier.
- Chop Squash: Peel and cube butternut squash. Small, even pieces cook more consistently.
- Add Ingredients: Combine quinoa, beans, corn, tomatoes, jalapeño, sauce, and stock in the cooker.
- Season: Mix in taco seasoning. Adjust seasoning to taste preference.
- Cook: Set on high for 4 hours until quinoa and squash are tender. Check at 3.5 hours to prevent overcooking.
- Adjust Consistency: Let stand if too liquidy; quinoa absorbs extra water. Stirring helps evenly absorb the liquid.
- Serve: Top with cheese, sour cream, avocado, cilantro, and lime.
Shortcut Suggestions
- Buy pre-peeled and cubed squash. Although it is a bit more spendy, buying prepared squash basically removes any prep time on this Mexican quinoa. Cubed squash can be found in the produce section of many grocery stores.
- Use frozen, cubed squash for this recipe; it works well. Just check that the squash pieces are small, about 1/2-inch cubes. If they’re too big, they might not cook fully with the rest of the ingredients.
- Choose pre-minced garlic from a jar to save time. You can also use a garlic press with fresh garlic cloves to save time.
- Buy pre-rinsed quinoa to save time. Quinoa has a bitter outer layer that usually needs washing off, but pre-rinsed quinoa is already cleaned for you.
Dietary Concerns
- Vegan: As written, this recipe is vegan. Keep toppings, such as sour cream and Cheddar cheese off, or use vegan alternatives.
- Vegetarian: As written this recipe is also vegetarian. Be sure to use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock to keep it vegetarian.
- Gluten-free: Check ingredient labels for gluten-free processing. Many enchilada sauces and seasonings contain gluten, but Old El Paso enchilada sauce is usually safe—still, make sure by checking the label. You can lessen gluten risk by using homemade taco seasoning instead of store-bought.
- Dairy-Free: Use a dairy-free cheese and/or sour cream for toppings.
Storage
- Store: Put leftover Mexican quinoa in an air tight container and store in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Freeze: Place leftovers in an air tight freezer friendly container or gallon sized bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge before reheating.
More Simple Quinoa Recipes
- Quinoa Enchilada Bake with sweet potatoes and black beans
- Quinoa Salad with avocados and a lemon dressing
- Tex Mex Quinoa easy slow cooker recipe
- Quinoa Chili with lots of veggies and black beans
- Quinoa Black Bean Salad with a cilantro dressing
Mexican Quinoa
Mexican Quinoa is a simple "dump it and forget about it" slow cooker meal. We add uncooked quinoa, vegetables, beans, and seasonings, then let it cook. Serve with toppings like cheese, sour cream, avocado, and lime for a delicious and hearty meal.
Ingredients
- 1.25 pounds peeled and cubed butternut squash (cut into 1/2-inch pieces) about 4 cups
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 1 can (15.25 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 can (14.5 oz) petite fire-roasted diced tomatoes undrained
- 1 small diced jalapeño (~2 tablespoons), optional Note 1
- 2 cans (19 oz EACH) mild red enchilada sauce Note 2
- 1 cup vegetable or chicken stock (or broth) (we love Swanson vegetable stock best)
- 1 packet (1.25 oz) taco seasoning Note 3
- Optional toppings: freshly grated sharp or extra-sharp Cheddar cheese, fresh lime juice, sour cream, chopped cilantro, diced avocado, etc.
Instructions
- PREP: Spray a 6-quart slow cooker with nonstick spray generously or use a liner.
- BUTTERNUT SQUASH: Peel, seed, and cut butternut squash into small 1/2-inch cubes to ensure even cooking. Add to slow cooker.
- SLOW COOKER: Combine corn, black beans, rinsed quinoa (I rinse in a fine-mesh sieve), minced garlic, tomatoes, optional jalapeño, enchilada sauce, vegetable or chicken broth, and taco seasoning.
- COOK: Stir well, cover, and cook on high for 3.5 to 4.5 hours until quinoa pops and squash is tender. Uncover, stir, and set to low, letting it stand for 15-25 minutes until liquid absorbs, stirring occasionally. Prepare toppings and sides during this time.
- SERVE: Season with salt and pepper if needed. Serve Mexican Quinoa in bowls, topped with Cheddar cheese, sour cream, avocado, cilantro, and lime juice.
Recipe Notes
Note 1: Jalapeños add a nice kick but are optional. For less heat, remove the ribs and seeds before dicing, or use milder poblano peppers instead.
Note 2: Make sure you pick the right-sized can of enchilada sauce -- these are the slightly larger cans. Taste the sauce before use; if too spicy, use one can and replace the other with chicken or vegetable broth..
Note 3: Taco seasoning packets differ in spice and flavor; McCormick's Mild is a favorite. For homemade, whisk 1 tablespoon mild chili powder, 1 teaspoon each of ground cumin and paprika, and 1/2 teaspoon each of onion powder, garlic powder, dried oregano, fine sea salt, and pepper.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 223kcal | Carbohydrates: 43.5g | Protein: 9.8g | Fat: 2.2g | Cholesterol: 0.9mg | Sodium: 1198.1mg | Fiber: 8.7g | Sugar: 9.3g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this last week, but I added a pound of my homemade chicken chorizo (cooked first), and it was fantastic! Great recipe, thanks!
I have homemade taco seasoning. I’m thinking a packet would hold at least 1 Tbsp. That sounds like way too much. What do you think? I figure: if it is runny, I’ll serve it over brown rice. Thanks!
A packet of taco seasoning generally holds about 2 tablespoons. You can definitely scale the amount of seasoning to your personal preference 🙂 And yes great idea to serve it over some brown rice 🙂 Hope you love this Pat!
Any tips for omitting the pre-made enchilada sauce?
You can google a recipe for homemade enchilada sauce and try that. I haven’t tried a homemade version in this so I’m not sure how the flavor will be (too spicy or too mild?) so you may want to use half homemade enchilada sauce and half chicken or vegetable broth.
This looks delicious and I cannot wait to try it.
I also want to thank you from those of us with onion sensitivities that this does not contain onion (except for what is in the enchilada sauce and taco seasoning). I normally exclude it from my meals, but it’s nice to see someone else cook a dish without it.
Thank you Shannon!! My husband actually HATES onions haha. So while they are one of my very favorite additions, I have to use them sparingly in my recipes when he’s either out of town for business or I’ve disguised them well enough… And then there are plenty of recipes just without them 🙂
Today was the perfect cool, rainy Sunday to make a hearty dinner. I’m so glad I found this recipe on Pinterest. I followed your recipe exactly and it was DELICIOUS and so flavorful. I added tortilla chips as a topping, which gave it a nice crunch. I’ll definitely be making this again soon.
Oh so glad to hear it!! Thank you so much for your kind comment! 🙂 And I love the idea of topping it with tortilla chips!
hi,
I’d love to try this and also the quinoa soup recipe – but I stay clear of the ready-made sauces and spice mixes and only use non-processed ingredients. What would you recommend as substitutes ? What does these sauces/spice mixes contain that I can use as seasoning , making them myself ?
Thanks
Jacob
I would recommend searching the internet for a recipe for homemade taco seasoning and homemade enchilada sauce and using the same amount of the homemade versions as indicated in the recipe 🙂
I made this last night and let it run long while I was sleeping — about 8 hours. It smells amazing and I’m sure will taste great, but it did end up kind of as one big moosh. The quinoa has blended together more than it should, and burnt quinoa formed a ring around the top of my crockpot. I’ll just scrape that off and eat the good stuff in the middle – but as you did in this post, I warn against cooking quinoa long on low heat!
Yeah, unfortunately, I’ve never had success with quinoa at low temperatures over long time periods! Hopefully you can still enjoy that center section 🙂 Thanks for the comment Libby!
Hi, I am from Brazil and trying to learn how to improve my cookbook with my slow cooker anda here it is not easy to find canned black beans, do you think I could use the raw beans instead just adapting the time of cooking? I dont have a clue about how to adapt this since I dont have canned beans to test the texture. Sorry for the question if it is not apropriate…
Hi Izabela! I think your best bet is to cook the black beans completely separate (not in the slow cooker) and then add them to the finished product. Raw black beans will cook at a much different time then the rest of these ingredients will 🙂
This recipe was amazing!! Thanks so much for sharing! The only I changes I made, we’re making homemade enchilada sauce (http://www.food.com/recipe/mexican-enchilada-sauce-109685, I make it in bulk and freeze extra) and I used fresh corn, because it was on sale. I will definitely will be making this again!
Hi im in australia and love the sound of this recipe.. i dont think we can get a premade enchilada sauce here.. im assuning ita a tomato based sauce..do u think i could sub it for passata with additonal herbs n spices id probably need to so some googling extras if any to add in plus urs uggestions r welcome
I would recommend just making your own. Although, I did see some pre-made enchilada sauce in a Woolworth’s when I was in Perth if you want to try and look at the grocery store 🙂 If not, try searching a homemade enchilada sauce and trying that out.