• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Blissful Basil logo

menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • About
  • Recipes
  • FAQ
  • Spirituality
×

You are here Home » Quinoa Mac + Cheese

2 Comments · March 7, 2013

Quinoa Mac + Cheese

Quinoa Mac and Cheese

How many of you consider Mac + Cheese to be one of your favorite foods? It's certainly within my top 5 favorites, and I guilt-lessly indulge in moderation on a fairly regular basis.

Speaking of guilt as it relates to food, let's all work on making food and guilt mutually exclusive. In fact, let's all work to feel less guilty, in general, and more self-compassionate, overall. Can we do it? I know we can.

Having a healthy relationship with food and your body means being mindful of the signals your body is sending you and thoughtfully fueling or not fueling in response. By thoughtfully fueling, I mean making sure you balance what you need with what you're craving: fruits, veggies, healthy fats, whole grains, protein and, yes, treats! Be it chocolate, chips, cheese or cake, mindfully indulging will round out a healthy perspective on food. When we deprive ourselves of indulging in moderation and get caught up in black-and-white thinking about food -- this is good, that is bad, I can eat this, I can't eat that -- we end up obsessing about the things on our bad, can't-eat list and turn something that is supposed to be satisfying into something that produces anxiety. This, in turn, can cause us to develop an overly-emotional relationship with food where we are either thinking way too much about it or not thinking about it at all; both of which distort our mind-body connection and put us out of touch with the reality of what our bodies are trying to communicate.

Alright, let's lighten the tone again. Bottom line, food and guilt are mutually exclusive and mac + cheese is awesome.

What's even better than mac + cheese? Quinoa smothered in gruyère, white cheddar, and crispy sage breadcrumbs. Oh. Em. Freakin. Gee. This is a new favorite. You should also know that my ultimate taste tester and likely my #1 fan, Dan, declared it his favorite thing I have ever made. Ever?! These are humbling words coming from the man who has taste buds so sensitive he once detected that I reduced the salt in a recipe by ⅛ of a teaspoon. So, if you don't trust my likely-biased judgment, trust my husband's because he's quite the critic.

This quinoa + cheese holds up nicely and can be easily sliced into squares, yet still manages to be ultimately tender upon first, second, third and, heck, every bite. The sage breadcrumbs add an extra dose of savory and allow the flavors of the cheeses to reach their full potential. This is a mac + cheese dish cozy enough for winter and light enough for spring; the perfect harmony of seasons cuddled up in one pan.

Quinoa Mac and Cheese

Quinoa Mac and Cheese

Quinoa Mac and Cheese

Quinoa Mac + Cheese
 
Save Print
Prep time
20 mins
Cook time
50 mins
Total time
1 hour 10 mins
 
Author: Ashley Melillo | Blissful Basil
Recipe type: Pasta, Main
Serves: 10-12
Ingredients
For the Quinoa + Cheese:
  • 2 cups dry quinoa, cooked according to package instructions
  • 3 cups plain almond milk
  • 3 tablespoons earth balance or butter
  • 3 tablespoons flour
  • 6 ounces gruyère cheese, grated*
  • 10 ounces part-skim white cheddar cheese, grated*
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • black pepper
For the Sage-Breadcrumb Topping
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
  • ⅓ cup parmesan cheese
  • ¼ cup fresh sage, chopped
  • *See notes for vegan option
Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 375° F.
  2. Heat the milk in a sauce pan over medium high heat to simmer (do not boil).
  3. Heat butter in a large nonstick pot over medium heat until melted. Add in the flour and whisk until smooth. Cook for 2 minutes. Then, slowly add in the hot milk. Remove pot from heat and begin whisking in the grated gruyère and cheddar. Continue to whisk until all cheese is incorporated and you have a thick, creamy sauce.
  4. Fold the quinoa into the cheese sauce and pour mixture into a large, lightly greased baking dish.
  5. To make the breadcrumb topping, heat the olive oil in a small nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add in the sage and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant. Add in the breadcrumbs and cook for another minute or until toasted. Remove from heat, swiftly stir in the parmesan and spread the breadcrumb mixture over the mac + cheese.
  6. Bake for 35 minutes or until breadcrumbs are golden and cheese is bubbling. Let stand 10 minutes and serve. Leftovers can be stored in fridge or frozen.
Notes
*To make vegan, substitute a mixture of meltable vegan cheddar and mozzarella cheeses for the quinoa (e.g., Daiya) and a vegan parmesan cheese for the topping.
3.2.2646

Related Posts

  • Something I've Been Working OnSomething I've Been Working On
  • Dear Special K, What Will You Gain When You Stop Contradicting?Dear Special K, What Will You Gain When You Stop Contradicting?
  • Sweet + Salty Almond Butter CupsSweet + Salty Almond Butter Cups
  • Blogging Is My Happy PlaceBlogging Is My Happy Place
  • The Vegetarian InquisitionThe Vegetarian Inquisition
  • White Cheddar and Asiago Mac 'n Cheese with Chard and Caramelized ShallotsWhite Cheddar and Asiago Mac 'n Cheese with Chard and Caramelized Shallots
« S'mores Smoothie
Chipotle Kale Caesar Salad »

Stay in Touch

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Snapchat
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. samantha says

    March 07, 2013 at 11:18 am

    yum! this looks fantastic!!! mac and cheese is definitely in my top 5 as well! :)

    Reply
  2. gottagetbaked says

    March 09, 2013 at 1:22 pm

    My husband and I love mac 'n cheese. I would've never thought I could healthify it by using quinoa instead of macaroni. Love this!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

If you've made this recipe, please feel free to rate it!




Rate this recipe:  

Primary Sidebar

Meet Ashley

Psychologist turned plant-passionate recipe writer + cookbook author. Lover of animals, veggies + space documentaries. My name is Ashley, and I’m the writer and photographer behind Blissful Basil. Read More…

Join over 100,000 followers!

  • Bloglovin
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Receive Recipes by Email!

Search

Hi, I'm Skylar! This is a fake profile talking about how I switched to a paleo diet and it helped my eczema and I grew 4". Trust me, I'm an online doctor.

More about me →

Popular

  • From Nashville with Love
  • Easy Vegan Enchiladas
  • Dreamy Vegan Tomato Soup
  • Vegan Golden Butternut Squash Bisque

You can duplicate your homepage's trending recipes section in the sidebar to reinforce the internal linking.

We no longer recommend using a search bar, newsletter form or category drop-down menu in the sidebar. See the Modern Sidebar post for details.

If the block editor is not narrower than usual, simply save the page and refresh it.

Footer

↑ back to top


Keep in Touch


  • Sign Up! for emails and updates + receive a Free eCookbook with our top 9 weeknight dinner recipes.

Blissful Basil

  • Privacy Policy
  • About
  • Spirituality + Psychology
  • Recipe Index
  • Contact
  • Blog

Food + Recipes

  • Pasta recipes
  • Sandwich recipes
  • Soup recipes
  • Dessert recipes
  • Snack recipes

Copyright © 2010–2022 Blissful Basil