Quinoa Bake with Roasted Butternut Squash and Onions
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If you are unfamiliar, quinoa bakes, in essence, are casseroles made with quinoa. As you can imagine (and confirm with a quick Pinterest search), the variations are limited only by your imagination. From feta to gouda, ground turkey to chorizo, boiled broccoli to roasted onions, cumin to oregano, the ingredients, seasonings, and combinations can all be tailored to your liking.
I like this combination: roasted onions and butternut squash, a mix of Gruyère and parmesan, and ALL the Thanksgiving herbs: sage, rosemary, and thyme.
Quinoa Bake with Roasted Butternut Squash and Onions
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: Serves 6
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa (I like red for visual appeal)
- 3 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided plus more for greasing
- 4 cups 1/2-inch cubes butternut squash (about), 1.25 lbs. post peeling
- 2 cups diced red onion
- 2 tablespoons finely minced herbs, any combination of thyme, sage, and rosemary
- 1 cup milk, any milk fat you like (I use whole)
- 4 ounces grated Gruyère cheese (about 1 1/4 cups)
- 1 1/2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. In a medium saucepan, combine the quinoa, 2 cups of water, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover, and let cook for 15 minutes. Remove pan from heat.
- Meanwhile, grease a rimmed sheet pan lightly with olive oil. Place cubed squash and diced onion on pan. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons olive oil, sprinkle with 1 to 2 teaspoons kosher salt (depending on your tolerance — if you are sensitive, use 1 teaspoon), and toss to coat. Spread vegetables out into an even layer. Transfer to the oven and roast for 25 to 30 minutes or until squash and onions are just beginning to brown. Remove pan from oven. Increase oven temp to 425°F.
- Uncover quinoa pan and fluff with a fork. Add 1 tablespoon of the herbs, the milk, and half of the cheese, and mix with a spatula to combine. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the roasted squash and onions and fold gently to combine. Transfer mixture to a lightly greased 9×13-inch baking dish. Cover evenly with the remaining cheese.
- In a small bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil, the remaining herbs, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Toss with your fingers until the breadcrumbs are fully saturated and seasoned. Spread this evenly atop the cheese. At this point, the pan can be stashed in the fridge for as long as a day (maybe longer) and baked when needed. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until evenly golden. Let cool briefly before serving.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
22 Comments on “Quinoa Bake with Roasted Butternut Squash and Onions”
This was delicious!! I have made up a pan for lunches tomorrow and started nibbling… to be fair, it’s almost dinner, but I’ve probably had a portion now! I’m not going to lie, I did add a chicken breast to this, but will be making this meatless on occasion, too. A+ recipe!
So happy to hear this, Chrstine! You inspired me to make it, too … made it last night… so satisfying and comforting yet somehow healthy tasting, too. Thanks for writing in!
I love all of your recipes!! Can you please post how many servings are in your recipes please?
I must start … a goal for this year is to get the servings for my recipes up to date … some of them have them, some of them don’t. I will try!
Tasty! I imagine roasted cauliflower -kept on the crisp side would be equally fantastic.
Yes, absolutely! Love that idea.
I tried this last week and we loved it. I added roasted brussel sprouts and leftover roasted chicken. It was so good, that I made it again for this week’s rotation!
Oh yum! Love this. Yeah, I think the variations are endless here.
I haven’t tried this yet, but I will. I’m looking for recipes for my daughter who is suffering from leaky gut syndrome. For now, under a Dr.’s care she can’t eat anything with a rice base or oats. ie: no breadcrumbs. Do you have any alternatives for this? It would be greatly appreciated.
I finally made this just in time to realize this will be a wonderful addition to the Thanksgiving table for the vegetarians in the crowd. It tastes like stuffing in so many ways, but regardless, it’s a homey, warming dinner for a winter night. Well, it’s winter here already, but fall, too. It comes together quickly. I didn’t have red onions and vidalia were delicious as well. I roasted the squash on convection at a higher temperature to speed things along. Also, I did drain the quinoa before mixing it with the milk and cheese. Very little to drain, and I baked it in a round, white porcelain gratin dish. Very pretty. Great recipe. Thank you.
So happy to hear this!
Can you recommend a substitute for the Gruyere? Lactose intolerant. Ty
Hi Patricia! I would just leave it out. The olive oil bread crumb topping is delicious … maybe add an extra splash of olive oil to account for the absence of the cheese.
This looks so delicious! Can wait to try it. What type of bread are you using for your breadcrumbs? Also–do you think using Delicata Squash instead of butternut would work?
Thanks!
Hi Carla! Any bread is fine. I’m likely using my mother’s peasant bread, which I almost always have on hand, but when I have found myself without homemade bread, I have successfully whizzed in the food processor a couple of English muffins or a bagel or anything I have on hand.
Delicata would be great!
I never thought of quinoa as comfort food, but this quinoa bake with butternut squash is just the thing for cold weather cooking. This would also be a perfect dish for vegetarians at Thanksgiving, although omnivores would love it too—I would bet that a taste of this would change ‘no quinoa for me’ people into fans.
There was a little bit of excess liquid after the quinoa had simmered for 15 minutes, so I drained it before adding all the other ingredients. Thank you Ali for another winner!
Alyson, you’re so right — this would be perfect for a vegetarian Thanksgiving. And I think you’re right… it is bound to turn around anyone wary of quinoa.
Thanks so much for writing. So glad you liked this one!
So easy and delicious. I happened to have some quinoa in the freezer, so even faster.
Thanks for yet another keeper!
So nice to hear this, Jeannie! Smart to have cooked quinoa on hand in the freezer.
Thank you for this super delicious recipe! This was worth the time in the kitchen to assemble it – in spades. Thank you for all you do. I trust your recipes so much!
Great to hear! Thank you so much for your kind words. Means a lot 🙂
This sounds delicious with many of my favorite ingredients. Has anyone tried freezing this. Before baking or after? I want to make it for a friend who is having surgery so she might not want to eat it right away.