I am so proud of this Baked Pumpkin Quinoa. It’s my new favorite recipe, it’s everything I try to achieve when designing a recipe. It’s easy, approachable, accessible and manageable for any level of cook. Plus it looks gourmet af.
I like to call this quinoa bake the entree you would serve at a dinner party… if you didn’t want to cook anything. You just set up this quinoa recipe with all the ingredients, and then the oven does the rest of the work. There is no chopping, simmering, searing or dicing needed, all you do is top it with foil and wait until it’s ready!
I’ll explain everything below, so read on if you want all the details (or jump to the recipe, I won’t mind I promise!)
Table of contents
Is it possible to bake quinoa?
Quinoa is a miracle grain because you can boil it like pasta, steam it, cook it like rice AND bake it in the oven. The oven is my preferred way because it steams to perfection, and you don’t have to worry about tending to it or making sure the pot doesn’t boil over.
To bake quinoa, I recommend using a small, deep dish that can hold twice the amount of water to quinoa. The ratio for baking quinoa is always 1 part quinoa to 2 parts water. Once you have this ratio, bake the quinoa for 30-50 minutes (depending on the amount) at 375°F.
During the baking process the quinoa will almost double in size as it absorbs the water, so be sure that your dish has enough room to hold the amount you are making!
Why this quinoa bake is different
Now that we’ve talked about how to bake quinoa, here’s what makes this baked pumpkin quinoa different. This recipe is all about adding flavor, richness and texture.
Quinoa can be perfectly baked without any flavor or fat, but when you add in aromatics and a small amount of a fat source, it really changes everything. I add olive oil, garlic and lemon juice for much-needed depth of flavor, acid and richness. The pumpkin adds a second layer of mild flavor, color and texture that you don’t get in a normal quinoa bake. And of course, I love a little spice, so I add in Calabrian chili paste to bring this recipe together.
Any pumpkin quinoa recipe can be easy, but this one is both simple and amazingly flavorful, just another reason why this is my favorite recipe that I have made so far.
Ingredients you will need for this pumpkin quinoa recipe
Now that we’ve talked about why you need all these ingredients, here is exactly what you need for this baked pumpkin quinoa:
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup pumpkin
- 1 heaping tablespoon Calabrian chili paste
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
- 3/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- Zest & juice from 1/2 lemon
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup kale, shredded
- 4 ounces burrata
- 3 tablespoons roasted pumpkin seeds
- 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
- Salt & pepper to taste
How to make this baked pumpkin quinoa
To break down the recipe into four words, I’d say, mix-bake-toss-serve. But if you are looking for more ~specifics~ for this pumpkin quinoa recipe, I have those too! Here’s what you need to do to bake this quinoa to perfection:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- In an 8×8″ glass baking dish (9×9″ will also work) combine the quinoa, olive oil, pumpkin, chili paste, garlic, salt, lemon zest and lemon juice.
- Top with 2 cups of water and stir until the ingredients are well combined.
- Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and bake for 375°F for 45-50 minutes, or until all the water is absorbed and the quinoa is cooked.
- Fluff the quinoa with a fork and add in the kale. Stir so that the heat from the quinoa wilts the kale.
- Tear the burrata and mix into the quinoa.
- Top with the pumpkin and pomegranate seeds and add salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve warm!
FAQ
Of course! Just omit the burrata from this recipe or sub in my vegan ricotta 🙂
I recommend storing this in an airtight container such as pyrex or tupperware in the fridge.
This recipe will keep in the fridge for 5-7 days! I recommend leaving off the pomegranate and pumpkin seeds for a longer keep time.
Absolutely! I suggest topping it with pumpkin and pomegranate seeds right before serving, but otherwise, you can batch-cook this and pack it for when you would like to eat it.
Looking for other easy dinner recipes?
I got you covered – try these for dinner sometime!
No-Boil Lemon Asparagus Pasta
Greek Yogurt Marinated Salmon
Herby Tomato, Cumin and Chickpea Salad
And that’s everything for this Baked Pumpkin Quinoa!
If you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.
And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you <3
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 cup pumpkin
- 1 heaping tbsp Calabrian chili paste
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
- 3/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt, plus more to taste
- Zest & juice from 1/2 lemon
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup kale, shredded
- 4 ounces burrata
- 3 tablespoons roasted pumpkin seeds
- 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- In an 8×8" glass baking dish (9×9" will also work) combine the quinoa, olive oil, pumpkin, chili paste, garlic, salt, lemon zest and lemon juice.
- Top with 2 cups of water and stir until the ingredients are well combined.
- Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and bake at 375°F for 45-50 minutes, or until all the water is absorbed and the quinoa is cooked.
- Fluff the quinoa with a fork and add in the kale. Stir so that the heat from the quinoa wilts the kale.
- Tear the burrata and mix into the quinoa.
- Top with the pumpkin and pomegranate seeds and add salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve warm!
Comments
Âllo! What would you suggest for subbing the cheese? I can’t find it for the life of me! Maybe a plant-based suggestion?
Thank you so much!
If you have a vegan ricotta recipe you like (I also have on on my site!) I recommend that! But you can also omit it 🙂
Looks delicious is it 1/2 a cup of pumpkin purée or chopped pumpkin?
puree!
The pumpkin is added after cooking with the Pom? The photo shows it on top of he dry quinoa before cooking. Can you clarify? Looks great.
No, in step #2 it says add it in with the quinoa before the water 🙂 If you add it in at the end it won’t cook down the texture and it will be very raw tasting.
Did I mess something up if I barely got three portions out of this? I’m a small eater but there was no way to get 6 portions out of this, although it tasted great!
I just finished making this for my lunch meal prep for the week. I used gojuchang instead of the calabrian chili since that’s what I could find at the grocery and it was amazing. This is JUST what I needed – I love to cook, but some weeks you just want something EASY but still tasty and healthy. You understood the assignment! This will definitely go in my heavy rotation.
Comments like this are everything – I’m so glad you found it helpful and liked it too!
You used dry quinoa correct? Everybody eats differently but this had be and my bf set for meal prep for the week!
[…] Baked Pumpkin Quinoa — Justine Snacks […]
Awesome recipe! So quick and easy! Any ideas for a substitution for the chili? I’m pretty heat sensitive.
Where can I find Calabrian chili paste? Would Sambal Oelek chili paste work? Thanks! Looking forward to making this!
Hi! You can find it at Trader Joe’s or other big chain grocery stores, they usually sell it in jars near the pickled peppers/olives, but it can sometimes be tricky to find! Sambal will work as well, it will just give a slightly sharper flavor 🙂
Sun dried tomatoes would be a great sub!
My quinoa came out quite soupy even though I baked it for an extra 15 minutes… on the upside it tasted really good, like really really good. I was wondering whether or not you used convection or regular bake on your oven, as I know when I use convection it does seem to speed up my baking. I’ll definitely try again and hopefully I get less soggy, more fluffy quinoa!
I’m so sorry this happened! I actually don’t have a convection setting on my oven, so I recommend the regular setting. And it is rare that ovens are properly calibrated (Samin Nosrat has a great chapter on how poorly ovens actually regulate temperature in her book!) so I recommend getting an oven thermometer if you can 🙂 If you try again, I recommend setting your oven 25 degrees higher and hopefully that will help!
Weeknight dinner life saver! It was so easy and unique! I let the family pick their own toppings; used goat cheese, pumpkin seeds and craisins because that is what we had on hand. Very delicious and versatile, thanks for the idea!
Just made this for weekday meal prep! So deloicious and easy! But my quinoa is so soggy, Is it because I used red quinoa and pre washde it? I baked it for probably an hour and a half. I may try to make the quinoa on the stovetap next time and add the ingredients after the fact. This will be added to the lunch rotation for sure! I am also newly obessed with Calabrian chilie paste and have been topping everything with it
Omg we love a calabrian chili past moment! A few ideas about the quinoa, mine was pre-washed so maybe that factored into it, another reason is ovens are almost never calibrated right (Samin Nosrat has a great article on it) so it might be better to increase your oven’s temperature by 25 degrees if you try it again!
Amazing! I’ve made this twice this week already. I subbed fresh mozzarella because we can’t get burrata in the mountains of Wyoming.
I love this recipe, and so did my kiddos. It didn’t feed 6 for us but we got 4 nice size helpings.
I am so glad I found your blog.
This makes me so happy! I’m so glad you liked it! And good intel on the servings, I can readjust!
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