Quinoa Mac and Cheese

hawkeygal · February 2012

Ok, not to toot my own horn, but I made some OMG quinoa mac and cheese the other night, and had to share. SUPER good for you, and SUPER low in calories. Here's what I did:

Cooked two cups of dry quinoa with 3 cups of chicken broth. (If you're vegetarian, or don't have any, skip the broth, and just add water. Be sure to rise the lil guys off first well!)

Let the quinoa cool for a bit. I put it in the fridge while I got the second part together.

Chop up one leek
Chop up one bell pepper (feel free to add more/less veggies)
chop up and cook/strain 4 pieces of bacon (I used the real deal, but you can sub/omit)
1 cup of soy milk (I used soy, but you can use rice/almond/real/whatever milk too!)
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese (I used kraft cheddar with a touch of philly cream cheese)

When Quinoa is cooled, add to the milk/egg/cheese/veggie mixture and fold in.

Spray 9 X11 glass dish; spread mixture evenly.

Bake at 350 for about 25-30 minutes (depending how golden brown you want it to be)

slice into 8 pieces. 1/8th should yield about 206 calories.

Sure, it's not super ooey gooey like the mac and cheese from our youth, but it sure hits the spot!

ALSO, I added some leftover crock-pot chicken breasts and added a little bit of buffalo wing hot sauce to leftovers, and ZOMG. Super tasty!

KnottyJen · February 2012

Mmmmm...This sounds Delish! I can't wait to try it out!!!!

jlr_12 · February 2012

This is very similar to a quinoa burger recipe I just tried!

2 cups cooked quinoa
3 eggs
3 tbsp Flour
1 carrot finely grated (or sub zucchini)
1 small onion finely diced
1 cup grated cheese
1/2 cup cottage cheese or sour cream (I didn't have any of either so I left it out...made no difference)
Seasonings...I used 1 tsp chili powder, dash of curry and a tsp of garlic salt...very versatile for any flavor you're looking for

Mix it all together (after letting quinoa cool a bit)..if it's too wet, add a little more flour. Use a 1/4 cup to drop into a hot oiled pan (i spritzed with olive oil between each batch) and flatten to about half an inch thickness. Fry until golden brown, then flip.

You can serve on a bun like a real burger, or a lettuce bed. I just ate mine on their own. Suggested toppings were mayo/ketchup (fry sauce), tatziki...could be anything depending on your flavorings.

When I made it I ended up with 11 patties at 120 calories each (not including the olive oil for frying). Super yummy!