Simply a bunch of nourishing leftovers baked together with eggs and cheese, make this rainbow quinoa egg bake your easy recipe template for tasty spur-of-the-moment meals.
Especially on longer summer days, when we take Carlos-dog on his after-dinner walk, Robbie and I find ourselves asking each other what’s for dinner. I may have a vague idea, but half the time there’s no solid dinner plan. Rainbow quinoa egg bake is a brain child from one of those evening walks.
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For this rendition of a skillet egg bake, diced carrots and green onions get a quick sauté, and are stirred into leftover tri-color quinoa along with a dollop of favorite cottage cheese, sun-dried tomatoes from the pantry, and golden-browned vegetarian sausage crumbles . Mix that with 4 eggs and pour it all into an oiled skillet. Sprinkle with grated sharp cheese and a dusting of red Aleppo pepper, give it 20 minutes in the oven, and ta-da, dinner’s ready, on the table. Easy. Delicious.
Start by asking what do we have in the fridge? Rainbow quinoa from the night before, check. Gorgeous yellow farm eggs, check. That last wedge of cheese, grate it. For sure, fresh veggies. Sun-dried tomatoes from the jar of dried tomatoes in the pantry, check. No plan becomes a plan. I kid you not, dinners like this happen a lot at our house.
Rainbow Quinoa Egg Bake recipe notes:
- Use a well-seasoned oven proof cast-iron or non-stick skillet, or any casserole pan sprayed with cooking spray.
- I’ve included the quinoa cooking step in the recipe in case you don’t already have a stash of cooked quinoa.
- Follow the template, but get creative. Be sure to include a colorful vegetable, like carrots, or maybe diced sweet potatoes. If you don’t have quinao, use cooked rice or barley, even pasta.
- Think about what you have around for extra flavor, like the veggie sausage and sun-dried tomatoes in this recipe. Diced artichoke hearts or salty Kalamata olives are nice to have in the pantry for last minute skillet egg bakes.
- I found a bunch of green onions about to go bad in the crisper, so in they went. For your aromatic you could use red onions instead.
- When preparing quinoa, or rice or another grain, cook more than you need–the trick is to have leftovers. (If you think your leftovers might turn into a science experiment before you get around to using them, stash them in the freezer. 😉 Defrost in a saucepan, on low flame, adding a couple tablespoons of water. Or defrost in the nuclear oven, aka microwave.)
- Egg bakes remind me of frittatas—though I wouldn’t call them that–frittatas use at least twice the eggs.
Make it a fabulous week–get in the kitchen and cook something delicious!
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Rainbow Quinoa Egg Bake
Ingredients
- ¾ cup rainbow quinoa , rinsed (2 cups cooked)
- 1 ½ cups water
- 2 teaspoons plus 1 teaspoon olive oil , plus another teaspoon for baking.
- 2 carrots , cut in 1/2-inch dice, (2/3 cup)
- ⅔ cup chopped green onion
- 4 ounces vegetarian “sausage” , optional
- ½ cup cottage cheese
- 4 eggs , lightly beaten
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
- About 3 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes in oil , drained and chopped
- ½ cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
- ¼ teaspoon Aleppo pepper or freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan. Add a pinch of salt and the rinsed quinoa. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and cook about 15 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed. You should have about 2 cups of cooked quinoa.
- Preheat over to 350°F.
- Heat the first 2 teaspoons of oil in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium flame. Add the carrots and sauté 5 to 8 minutes, until they begin to soften. Stir in the green onion and sauté a few more minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside. Wipe out the skillet.
- If using vegetarian sausage, cook it: Heat a teaspoon of oil in the skillet. Chop the “sausage” into chunks, add to the skillet, and cook. Breaking up the chunks with a wooden spoon, stir occasionally until the “sausage” crumbles are golden brown. Transfer to the bowl with the carrots and onions. Wipe out the skillet. Coat the skillet with the remaining teaspoon of olive oil.
- Stir the quinoa, cottage cheese, beaten eggs, sun-dried tomatoes, and salt into the bowl with the vegetables and “sausage.” Transfer the mixture to the oiled skillet.
- Scatter the grated cheese over the top and sprinkle with pepper.
- Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until the eggs are barely set, and have begun to puff up on the edges.
- Let cool a few minutes. Serve in wedges with a crisp green salad.
I’ll try this. I have a ton of quinoa and am bored with eating it in salads. GREG · 19 May, 2016
I’d love to know how the recipe comes out for you Greg! · 22 May, 2016
I finally decided to make my own quinoa salad a couple of weeks ago and didn’t realize how easy it was to prepare. Definitely want to try your recipe out now!! · 23 May, 2016
Thanks Lisa! I also love quinoa because it cooks faster than rice. · 23 May, 2016
Yum! · 28 May, 2016