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I love to spend my time in the kitchen. Cooking is something that I am incredibly passionate about, and I often use it as a stress reliever. Is anyone else out there a procrasti-baker?
However, as a busy graduate student, sometimes I just don’t have time (or let’s face it, the energy) to slave over a home-cooked meal. I just want an easy yet delicious recipe that I can make in less than 30 minutes and plop into a bowl. That way I have a little time to collapse onto my couch and relax for a bit before starting on my never-ending pile of homework. What fun! 😉
Luckily, this One Pot Tex-Mex Quinoa checks ALL of those boxes. Hearty quinoa, bell peppers, and salsa combine to make a zesty, filling, and nourishing meal! This recipe will make enough for 4 to 5 dinners too, so after you cook it once, you can save even more time by just reheating it over the next few days. If you don’t like to repeat leftovers, you could put it in a freezer-safe bag and it will save well that way too. Personally, I like to enjoy this with a nice salad on the side for some extra greens!
One Pot Tex-Mex Quinoa
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cup Dry Quinoa + 2 cups Water
- 3/4 cup Salsa of choice
- 1 cup Green Pepper diced
- 1 large Zucchini sliced
- 1 1/2 cup Cooked Black Beans
- 1/3 cup Fresh Cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Chop and slice your veggies
- In a medium-large pot, sauté the diced Green Pepper with a little water over medium heat for 2-5 minutes
- Add the sliced Zucchini, Quinoa, Salsa, and 2 cups of Water into the pot and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Let cook for 20 minutes.
- Turn the heat off, quickly open the lid, and stir in the black beans. Re-cover and let sit for 5 minutes (This allows the beans to heat up if you are serving this dish right away!)
- Uncover the quinoa, stir in the cilantro, and fluff with a fork.
Recipe Notes
- If you are using canned Black Beans, be sure to rinse and drain them before adding them to the quinoa
- If you are just using this recipe for Meal Prep and do not plan on eating it right away, you can just add the Black Beans with the cilantro at the end
This recipe is part of my “Vegan Meal Prep in 1 Hour” video on Youtube, where I show you how to make your breakfasts, lunches, and dinners for a work or school week…all in 50 minutes! You can check out the video here, or I will embed it below as well:
What is your go-to meal when you’re in a time crunch? Let me know in the comments below! I’d love to get some new ideas for myself 🙂
Looks so good, is there a written, printable recipe anywhere?
I can’t find it here, the link does not work either.
Greetings from The Netherlands
Hi Caitlin! I made your recipe a few months ago and really enjoyed it! I am having trouble viewing the recipe now though – it doesn’t seem to be showing up on the page. I’m not sure if the issue is on my end, but I wanted to point it out to you. Thanks!
Hi Carolyn, can you tell us which recipe you’re referring to? We recently had a revamp of the blog so that might be what caused the recipe to not show up temporarily. Let us know if you’re still having trouble and we’ll look into it.
Hi! Sure, it is: One-Pot Mexican Quinoa (30 Minute Meal!) Thank you!
Thanks, Carolyn! It should be working now using this link: One-Pot Mexican Quinoa
The One Pot Mexican Quinoa recipe is still not showing.
sorry about that, it should show up now!
I’m so glad I found this recipe! I literally had exactly 3/4 cup of salsa and 1 1/3 cup of quinoa, and some black beans that all needed to be used up. This was perfect!
That’s awesome! It was meant to be!
Just made this and it was delicious. I didn’t have any cilantro so I just picked some basil from my garden and that worked great. I also added some pink salt and black pepper.
I like the innovative substitution! Thanks so much, Jill!
One of my favourite recipes! My boyfriend (the non-vegan) also loves it. Highly recommend – we add cayenne, paprika, salt, and lime as well.
Great additions!
Omg this was delicious! I added the juice of 1/2 lime and served it with avocado and some tortilla chips…10/10 will make again
Yum! Glad you liked it, Zoe