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Cheesy Zucchini Quinoa

[heart_this] · Sep 8, 2012 · 26 Comments

Cheesy Zucchini Quinoa

A cheesy zucchini and quinoa side dish that is super easy to make and it is a great way to use some of the overflowing zucchini in your garden.

One of my goto side dishes is a cheesy broccoli rice which is super easy to make and downright tasty. Ever since I discovered that quinoa can be a good substitute for rice in a lot of dishes I have been slowly remaking a lot of my favourite rice dishes with quinoa and it was time to try a cheesy broccoli quinoa. Well my intention was to make a cheesy broccoli quinoa but I really couldn’t justify buying broccoli when I already had a bunch of zucchini in the fridge just waiting to be used in something and so I ended up making this cheesy zucchini quinoa. This side dish is just as easy to make as the original where you simply need to cook the quinoa and mix in the grated zucchini and cheese. Many different cheeses would work in this but I am rather partial to a nice sharp cheddar or gruyere.

Cheesy Zucchini Quinoa

Cheesy Zucchini Quinoa

Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 20 minutes Servings: 4

A cheesy zucchini and quinoa side dish that is super easy to make and it is a great way to use some of the overflowing zucchini in your garden.

ingredients
  • 1 cup quinoa, well rinsed
  • 1 3/4 cups vegetable broth or water
  • 1 medium zucchini, grated
  • 1 cup cheddar, shredded
  • salt and pepper to taste
directions
  1. Bring the quinoa and broth to a boil over medium heat, reduce the heat and simmer covered until the broth has been absorbed and the quinoa is tender,about 15-20 minutes.
  2. Remove from heat am mix in the zucchini, cheese, salt and pepper.
Similar Recipes:
Cheesy Broccoli Quinoa
Cheesy Broccoli Rice
Broccoli and Cheddar Soup
Broccoli and Cheddar Quiche with a Brown Rice Crust
Mexican Quinoa
Zucchini Cheese Bread

Food, Gluten-free, Quinoa, Recipe, Side Dish, Vegetarian

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. safire says

    September 8, 2012 at 10:12 pm

    What a great idea to use quinoa like how you would prepare risotto! This inspires me to whip something like this up this week!

    Reply
  2. Rosa's Yummy Yums says

    September 8, 2012 at 10:53 pm

    A delicious combination!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

    Reply
  3. Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar says

    September 8, 2012 at 11:04 pm

    Loooove how easy this is! And it looks so tasty!!

    Reply
  4. Tim says

    September 8, 2012 at 11:43 pm

    Sounds great and love the zucchini in there!

    Reply
  5. Minnie(@thelady8home) says

    September 9, 2012 at 2:10 am

    Lovely combinations. Awesome!! Sounds so yummmm!!!

    BTW do join my party. I am hosting a gala dinner extravaganza, a fabulous linky party for all. It's going to go on for the entire weekend. You can post anything – appetizers, drinks, soups, stews, desserts, finger foods – anything that takes your fancy. You can also post party decor or other party related ideas.
    Please come and join the party and help me make it a success.
    http://www.thelady8home.com/2012/09/06/weekend-dinner-extravaganza/

    Reply
  6. Sue/the view from great island says

    September 9, 2012 at 2:39 am

    Quinoa is really amazing, it can take on so many different roles, from rice, to couscous, to my morning oatmeal!

    Reply
  7. Kathleen says

    September 9, 2012 at 3:18 am

    What a delicious use of quinoa!

    Reply
  8. Cooking on a Dime says

    September 9, 2012 at 6:04 pm

    Oh, I am such cheese addict. This looks delicious!

    Reply
  9. Joanne says

    September 10, 2012 at 10:32 am

    This is definitely the perfect side to get non-veggie lovers to eat their veggies!

    Reply
  10. Paper plate making machinery says

    September 10, 2012 at 11:18 am

    This is great. I would love to see more delicious combination on this site!

    Reply
  11. We Are Not Martha says

    September 10, 2012 at 2:19 pm

    I feel like people do not add cheese to quinoa nearly enough. This looks SO awesome!

    Sues

    Reply
  12. Pam says

    September 10, 2012 at 3:24 pm

    It looks like a delicious side dish… I love quinoa.

    Reply
  13. Leah says

    September 12, 2012 at 11:11 am

    So simple and delicious! I used 3/4 cup of cheddar and it's great. Excellent way to use the zucchini in my freezer.

    Reply
  14. Roxana | Roxana's Home Baking says

    September 12, 2012 at 7:18 pm

    I love quinoa and using it instead of rice is a great idea. This would make a delicious weeknight dinner

    Reply
  15. The Mrs says

    September 21, 2012 at 5:28 pm

    This. Is. Fantastic. I made it on Tuesday and have been hogging the leftovers ever since. Every time I think about it, it gets me excited to try different kinds of cheese and vegetables in it, but then I think "why bother?" since the cheddar and zucchini version is so great.

    Love, love, love it. Thank you!

    Reply
  16. Colleen says

    October 3, 2012 at 2:11 am

    Made this for dinner tonight and it was quite tasty. This is the first time I've mixed cheese and quinoa. I don't know why I never thought of that before but definitely use a good cheese and it will make the flavor great!

    Reply
  17. Anonymous says

    October 18, 2012 at 12:12 am

    Just made it for dinner tonight. It was okay, I expected it to be a healthier substitute for Mac and cheese, but it tasted nothing like the classic dish. I might make it again, but as a side and lower my cheesy expectations.

    Reply
  18. Kevin says

    October 18, 2012 at 3:02 pm

    Anonymous: I normally make this as a side dish but you could definitely add more cheese to make is cheesier like mac and cheese.

    Reply
  19. Anonymous says

    February 18, 2013 at 12:38 am

    Made this tonight for dinner with hamburgers. Very tasty! I'll be making it again soon and maybe try it with steamed broccoli. Thank you!

    Reply
  20. Kevin says

    February 19, 2013 at 12:34 am

    Anonymous: Broccoli definitely works in this!

    Reply
  21. Anonymous says

    November 4, 2013 at 1:54 am

    This sounds so good! I'll be it would be good done with hemp hearts. They have a nutty taste so much like quinoa, and they would pulll the carb count down so even a low-carber like me could enjoy this. I'm going to TRY it!

    Reply
  22. Anonymous says

    January 19, 2014 at 10:40 pm

    So the zucchini isn't cooked first?

    Reply
  23. kevin says

    January 24, 2014 at 2:32 pm

    Anonymous: I like the zucchini to be fresh but you could add it a little earlier and let it cook some with the quinoa. Since the zucchini is shredded it will warm when you add it just at the end and not get mushy. Enjoy!

    Reply
  24. linda says

    July 10, 2017 at 7:11 pm

    I have very small zucchinis, could you tell me how many cups of grated zucchini, 1 medium is?
    Thanks

    Reply
  25. kevin says

    July 11, 2017 at 3:48 pm

    Linda: About 1 to 2 cups. Enjoy!

    Reply
  26. Mary Ann says

    July 13, 2020 at 11:37 am

    Looks yummy. I may try this with chicken broth, as I don’t have veggie broth. And I think water would be boring.

    Reply

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Kevin: I came to realize that my meals were boring and that I had been eating the same few dishes over and over again for years. It was time for a change! I now spend my free time searching for, creating and trying tasty new recipes in my closet sized kitchen.
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