Packed with veggies and Italian flavor, this Healthy Parmesan Chicken Quinoa Bake combines nourishing ingredients in a comfort-food casserole.
Cauliflower rice is cooked with quinoa and herbs to create a flavorful base. An entire package of fresh spinach is stirred into the marinara kicking up the nutrition even more. With a nice balance of protein, fat and carbohydrate, this family-friendly veggie filled recipe is dietitian created and kid approved.
Sneak Veggies?
A lot of parents wonder if sneaking veggies into meals is a smart strategy to help their family eat more plants. While this may be effective helping them digest more nutrients in the short term, it doesn’t help them adapt their palate or have an adventurous spirit in the world of food. Using this as a primary method to help them eat more veggies doesn’t work as a long-term solution and may interfere with trust in the parent-child relationship.
However, this doesn’t mean you need to read off the ingredient list and have it approved by your child before making it. We have all eaten dozens of delicious meals at restaurants and gatherings not knowing exactly what was in it.
If you have kids that are a little finicky or even a spouse that is on the fence about some veggies, try thinking about making recipes where you can blend a food that is liked (familiar) with one that is not familiar.
In this recipe, a 12 ounce bag of frozen cauliflower rice is cooked along with quinoa making it almost undetectable once it is seasoned and covered with a bit of sauce and cheese. This might be a nice ‘first step’ for someone who is a little uncertain about cauliflower.
In addition, the marinara sauce is packed with an entire 5oz package of spinach that has been quickly wilted in a saute pan adding vitamins A and C, iron and more. This is an alternative recipe to green smoothies to help everyone in your family eat their greens!
Sometimes eating more veggies is all a matter of presentation and creativity. To be honest, our kids have done their fair share of declining veggies at the dinner table. We are not immune. But, this recipe was well accepted from both my 3 year old and 1 year old. AND my husband who would declare himself not a fan of many veggies thought this was delicious!
The presentation is lovely and perfectly suitable for guests but is also excellent for a weeknight meal. Read the Recipe Notes section for several tips on how to make this recipe easier and adapt it with what you have available. And for those who need it, this recipe is gluten-free.
Save Even More Time
Meal prep is every busy weeknight cook’s saving grace. There are many ways to save time making this recipe on a chaotic weeknight (All of these are tested and work great!):
- Make the entire recipe on your meal prep day and leave off the last step of cooking it in the oven. Cover with foil and refrigerate. On the day you wish to serve, place in the oven to rewarm.
- Cook the chicken in advance and have ready to pop into the recipe the night you are putting it together. The quinoa cauliflower mixture and the spinach marinara can both be made in advance on meal prep day so they are ready to add to the casserole the night you are serving it.
This Healthy Parmesan Chicken Quinoa Bake is a delicious way to help you and your family eat more veggies and get a healthy balance of protein, fat and carbohydrate. Enjoy!
Healthy Parmesan Chicken Quinoa Bake
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs chicken tenders
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 cups low sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
- 5 oz package baby spinach
- 12 oz package frozen riced cauliflower
- 25 oz jar marinara sauce
- 2 oz Parmesan cheese shredded (about ½ cup)
- 2 oz mozzarella cheese shredded (about ½ cup)
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp avocado oil or preferred cooking oil
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1.5 tsp dried oregano or Italian seasoning divided
- ¾ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9×13 pan with oil spray (I use a Misto).
- In a medium saucepan bring chicken broth to boil on high heat. Add in quinoa, bag of cauliflower rice and ¾ tsp dried oregano and bring back to a boil. Then turn down to low, add lid and allow to simmer for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a large non-stick skillet, heat 1 tbsp oil until it shimmers on medium heat. Season both sides of the chicken tenders with salt, pepper, garlic powder and ¾ tsp oregano. Cook chicken in skillet on both sides until fully cooked, about 10 minutes.
- While the chicken and quinoa are cooking, heat 1 tsp oil in a medium-sized pot on medium heat. Add in minced garlic and saute for 1 minute or until slightly golden on edges. Then stir in spinach by the handful and cook for about 3-4 minutes or until wilted. Pour in jar of marinara and simmer for 2-3 minutes on low to warm through.
- Once quinoa & cauliflower mixture is cooked, add half of the spinach marinara sauce and stir to combine. Then pour the quinoa mixture into the 9×13 pan and smooth out. Top with the chicken tenders and then pour on the rest of the sauce. Finally, top with the mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
- Bake casserole for 15 minute or until cheese has melted. Serve warm.
Notes
- Chicken is fully cooked at 165 degrees. Use a meat thermometer to save you from overcooking it and wasting your time.
- A quick way to evenly season your chicken is to put all of the seasonings in a small ramekin or bowl; stir to combine and then sprinkle on top of chicken.
- Chicken breasts can be used in place of chicken tenders but will take longer to cook through. Cut chicken breasts in half to speed up cooking and use a meat thermometer to check it.
- Freshly shredded Parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese will have a better flavor but pre-shredded will save you a few minutes- do what works for you!
- This recipe makes 6 generous portions OR 8 moderate portions. It can easily serve 8 people if serving along with side salad or side dish.
- Reduce sodium by using water or no salt added chicken broth instead of low sodium broth.
- Reduce sodium by using no added salt broth or water to cook quinoa and cauliflower.
