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
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
- 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.
- Remove from heat am mix in the zucchini, cheese, salt and pepper.
safire says
September 8, 2012 at 10:12 pmWhat a great idea to use quinoa like how you would prepare risotto! This inspires me to whip something like this up this week!
Rosa's Yummy Yums says
September 8, 2012 at 10:53 pmA delicious combination!
Cheers,
Rosa
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar says
September 8, 2012 at 11:04 pmLoooove how easy this is! And it looks so tasty!!
Tim says
September 8, 2012 at 11:43 pmSounds great and love the zucchini in there!
Minnie(@thelady8home) says
September 9, 2012 at 2:10 amLovely combinations. Awesome!! Sounds so yummmm!!!
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Sue/the view from great island says
September 9, 2012 at 2:39 amQuinoa is really amazing, it can take on so many different roles, from rice, to couscous, to my morning oatmeal!
Kathleen says
September 9, 2012 at 3:18 amWhat a delicious use of quinoa!
Cooking on a Dime says
September 9, 2012 at 6:04 pmOh, I am such cheese addict. This looks delicious!
Joanne says
September 10, 2012 at 10:32 amThis is definitely the perfect side to get non-veggie lovers to eat their veggies!
Paper plate making machinery says
September 10, 2012 at 11:18 amThis is great. I would love to see more delicious combination on this site!
We Are Not Martha says
September 10, 2012 at 2:19 pmI feel like people do not add cheese to quinoa nearly enough. This looks SO awesome!
Sues
Pam says
September 10, 2012 at 3:24 pmIt looks like a delicious side dish… I love quinoa.
Leah says
September 12, 2012 at 11:11 amSo simple and delicious! I used 3/4 cup of cheddar and it's great. Excellent way to use the zucchini in my freezer.
Roxana | Roxana's Home Baking says
September 12, 2012 at 7:18 pmI love quinoa and using it instead of rice is a great idea. This would make a delicious weeknight dinner
The Mrs says
September 21, 2012 at 5:28 pmThis. 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!
Colleen says
October 3, 2012 at 2:11 amMade 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!
Anonymous says
October 18, 2012 at 12:12 amJust 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.
Kevin says
October 18, 2012 at 3:02 pmAnonymous: I normally make this as a side dish but you could definitely add more cheese to make is cheesier like mac and cheese.
Anonymous says
February 18, 2013 at 12:38 amMade this tonight for dinner with hamburgers. Very tasty! I'll be making it again soon and maybe try it with steamed broccoli. Thank you!
Kevin says
February 19, 2013 at 12:34 amAnonymous: Broccoli definitely works in this!
Anonymous says
November 4, 2013 at 1:54 amThis 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!
Anonymous says
January 19, 2014 at 10:40 pmSo the zucchini isn't cooked first?
kevin says
January 24, 2014 at 2:32 pmAnonymous: 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!
linda says
July 10, 2017 at 7:11 pmI have very small zucchinis, could you tell me how many cups of grated zucchini, 1 medium is?
Thanks
kevin says
July 11, 2017 at 3:48 pmLinda: About 1 to 2 cups. Enjoy!