Mexican Flavoured Quinoa with Black Beans

(1)
  • Minutes to Prepare:
  • Minutes to Cook:
  • Number of Servings: 2
Ingredients
0.5 cups dry quinoa (or rice, if you don't have Quinoa on hand)1 cup water1 rounded tsp. cumin1 rounded tsp. chili powder1 cup Black Beans (approx. 1/2 a can)3 medium tomatoes (chopped)2 chopped green onions1 or 2 jalapeno peppers, to taste (minced)1.5 oz Gouda cheese1/4 c. cilantro (FRESH! - the dried stuff is brutal)
Directions
Rinse Quinoa well under cold water (at least 1 min, 3 min preferred). Drain well. Add water, cumin and chili powder and simmer, covered, for 7 min. Stir occassionally.

At the 7 min. mark, add your beans, tomatoes, onions and peppers. I include the seeds in my jalapenos but if you don't like that much heat, make sure you don't include them. After those are added, turn up the heat a bit to simmer out the liquids. Add your cheese and cilantro, stir until cheese is melted. You can also bake the cheese on top, but that's more work and dishes. lol Taste - add a dash of salt if needed (I find with the cheese you don't need it at all).

I generally eat 400 cal meals so this is a great size for me. If you want to cut calories further, you can use reduced fat cheese or eliminate the cheese altogether (saves you approx. 76 calories but you lose some protein). If I want dessert I skip the cheese. :-). In the picture I used red chili peppers from my garden (not sure of the exact name of them). This recipe easily doubles.

Serving Size: 2 - 1.5 cup servings (approx - depends on your veggies)

Number of Servings: 2

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user CELESTIALGIRL.

Servings Per Recipe: 2
Nutritional Info Amount Per Serving
  • Calories: 416.9
  • Total Fat: 10.4 g
  • Cholesterol: 24.2 mg
  • Sodium: 294.1 mg
  • Total Carbs: 63.5 g
  • Dietary Fiber: 13.9 g
  • Protein: 21.3 g

Member Reviews
  • MARISABELLES
    I made few changes, since I did add red chilli pepper on hands, I used orange sweet pepper bell instead. I also substituted gouda cheese with lighter mozarellissima and mMmmhhh! I used pita bread as pocket to make it even more mexican style. Real good. It's a keeper for me. - 8/7/18