Looking for a lightened-up dinner that will feed the whole family? Make this protein-packed (and veggie-packed!) chicken parmesan quinoa bake in just 60-minutes!
This might be the quinoa bake of all quinoa bakes. It’s been on FFF’s content calendar for like 6 months and it kept getting pushed off. Whelp- the recipe is finally here and ready for you to make. It feeds 4-6 and is full of SO MUCH FLAVOR. It’s packed with protein and veggies…what more could you ask for?
Mushrooms, you say?
YOU’RE IN LUCK. I finally took one for the team and cooked with mushrooms. It wasn’t half bad. 
- olives – too salty
- eggplant – weird texture
- mushrooms – weird texture
3 foods on my dislike list and everything else is a thumbs up. I’d say that’s pretty stellar.
Linley convinced me that mushrooms needed to go in the base of the sauce. FOINEEEEEEEE. I was pleasantly surprised that I LOVED the mushrooms. I think it was because they were finely diced instead of whole. They added great flavor and I couldn’t even tell they were in there texture-wise. FEW.
So once again for this casserole…you throw everything in your baking dish completely RAW! Veggies, meat, quinoa…everything is RAW! Then all you have to do is bake it for an hour.
If you’re a single lady like me, this is the ultimate meal-prep casserole because it will feed you all week. It’s also a great casserole to make if you’re going to a pot-luck or needing to feed a bunch of people. You can always cut up the chicken or even add more chicken breasts.
I do want to note that you will likely have leftover quinoa sauce after you finish eating all of the chicken. That’s just the way the cookie crumbles. Lin and I made it into a hash and served it with a runny egg and toast one morning for breakfast. That’s the way Team Fit Foodie does it.
Chicken Parmesan Quinoa Bake
- 1 cup quinoa, uncooked
- 1 green pepper, diced
- 1.5 cup mushrooms, diced
- ½ cup yellow onion, finely diced
- 2 cups marinara sauce (any kind of spaghetti sauce will work!)
- 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons flour (I used white whole wheat, but white or gluten-free will work, too!)
- 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 4 large chicken breasts (or 6 medium chicken breasts)
- salt and pepper, to taste
- Preheat oven to 375ºF and spray a casserole dish with coconut oil cooking spray.
- Prep veggies by dicing a whole green pepper and 1.5 cups of mushrooms. Finely dice ½ a yellow onion (~1/2 cup).
- Place 1 cup of uncooked quinoa on the bottom of your casserole dish and then layer on veggies.
- Add 2 cups of marinara sauce, 1 cup of chicken broth, and a table of minced garlic to the casserole dish and mix everything together. Set aside.
- In a medium-size bowl, mix together flour, shredded parmesan, and garlic powder. Then, crack an egg into a small bowl and whisk.
- Prep chicken breast by dipping into the egg and then into the parmesan mixture making sure everything is generously coated. Place chicken breast on top of quinoa mixture
- Finally, sprinkle on the leftover parmesan mixture and even more cheese if you desire. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Bake at 375º, uncovered for 20 minutes. Then, cover with tin foil and bake for an additional 40 minutes or until the quinoa is fully cooked.
