A quick and easy one-pan meal, this Thai Peanut Quinoa Bake makes a flavorful vegetarian dinner recipe for the whole family. Topped with a zesty peanut sauce, your weekday dinners are officially complete!
Sometimes it feels like I’ve spent the majority of my adult life figuring out what balance looks like to me. I basically went from carnivore to vegan and now find myself somewhere in between. I went from buying 100% conventional produce to thinking organic is the only way. I’ve realized I can eat meat and be conscious about where my meat is sourced. I can buy organic when it’s available but not stress when I have to occasionally buy conventional. Healthy living doesn’t fall on one extreme or the other for me… it falls somewhere in the middle.
Which brings me to this thai peanut quinoa bake recipe. I used to have very polarizing opinions about Costco but have recently realized, it’s okay to fall somewhere in the middle! This recipe came about when I came across a gigantic bag of quinoa at Costco for $16. $16!
Dinner doesn’t get much easier than this – you need a few key ingredients, one baking dish and you’ve got a delicious meal ready in no time.
Thai Peanut Quinoa Bake Ingredients:
- uncooked quinoa
- vegetables – red onion, broccoli, red bell pepper, and frozen shelled edamame.
- coconut milk
- seasonings and spices – curry powder, ground ginger, cayenne powder and sea salt.
The most important part (in my opinion) is this peanut sauce!
Here’s what you need for the sauce:
- natural smooth peanut butter
- garlic clove
- rice vinegar
- tamari (or soy sauce if not gluten-free)
- honey (use maple syrup if vegan)
- sesame oil
- red pepper flakes
- ground ginger
Do You Have to Precook the Quinoa?
No! One of the best things about this recipe (besides the flavor) is that you don’t have to pre-cook the quinoa. You can literally mix all of the ingredients together and bake. It doesn’t get much simpler than that… it’s the perfect recipe to assign to your partner that might not be super comfortable in the kitchen. The quinoa takes on all of the amazing flavors it’s surrounded by in the dish.
How to Make This Thai Peanut Quinoa Bake [Step-By-Step]
STEP 1: Preheat oven and grease a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish.
STEP 2: Add uncooked quinoa to casserole dish and top with red onion, broccoli, edamame and bell pepper.
STEP 3: Combine water and coconut milk and stir in curry powder, ginger, cayenne and salt.
STEP 4: Make peanut sauce by combining all ingredients in a jar and shaking everything together (or mix in a bowl).
STEP 5: Pour water-coconut milk mixture over quinoa-vegetable mixture until well coated and then drizzle with HALF of thai peanut sauce.
STEP 6: Cover with tinfoil (or a top if your casserole dish has one) and bake for 45 minutes covered.
STEP 8: Remove tin foil and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until all liquid has been absorbed by quinoa.Top with remaining peanut sauce and serve.
PrintThai Peanut Quinoa Bake
A quick and easy one-pan meal, this Thai Peanut Quinoa Bake makes a flavorful vegetarian dinner recipe for the whole family. Topped with a zesty peanut sauce, your weekday dinners are officially complete!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Total Time: 65 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Thai
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- coconut oil, for greasing
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed and drained*
- 1 medium red onion, chopped
- 3 cups broccoli, chopped (about 1 head)
- 1 1/2 cups frozen shelled edamame
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 cup water
- 1 14 ounce can coconut milk
- 1 1/2 tsp of curry powder
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- pinch of cayenne powder
- 1 tsp sea salt
For the Peanut Sauce:
- 1/4 cup natural smooth peanut butter
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp tamari (or soy sauce if not gluten-free)
- 1 tbsp honey (maple syrup if vegan)
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp ground ginger
Instructions
For the Peanut Sauce:
- Add all ingredients together in a large bowl.
For the Casserole:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease a large casserole dish (9×13) with coconut oil or coconut oil spray.
- Add uncooked quinoa to casserole dish and top with red onion, broccoli, edamame and bell pepper.
- Combine water and coconut milk and stir in curry powder, ginger, cayenne and salt.
- Pour water-coconut milk mixture over quinoa-vegetable mixture until well coated.
- Top with half of peanut sauce and cover with tin foil.
- Bake for 45 minutes covered with tin foil.
- Remove tin foil and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until all liquid has been absorbed by quinoa.
- Top with remaining peanut sauce and serve.
*I used white quinoa however you may need to bake for longer with tricolor quinoa – approx 50 minute covered and 15-20 minutes uncovered.
Like this post? Here are other simple dinner recipes you might enjoy:
- Eggplant Parmesan Quinoa Casserole
- Instant Pot Kung Pao Chicken
- Everything Bagel Baked Chicken Tenders
- Veggie Pad Thai
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49 Comments
Danielle
February 7, 2023 at 7:33 pmSo good and so easy!
★★★★★
Christa
March 15, 2021 at 5:22 pmThis recipe is so easy to assemble. The sauce is amazing. Thank you for having it on your site.
★★★★★
Deb Proulx
February 16, 2021 at 9:30 pmAmazing recipe! Thanks so much! I definitely will be making it again and again and again!
★★★★★
Davida Lederle
February 17, 2021 at 10:30 amSo happy to hear that!
Tamara
July 11, 2020 at 9:52 pmThis recipe is delicious! And so so so easy, which I love 🙂 Have been hunting for some truly simple throw stuff together after work meal ideas, and you have some great ones.
★★★★★
Sara
May 24, 2020 at 11:00 amOh my, this recipe is to die for! I made it last week for my boyfriend’s birthday and it was a huge success. I subbed in courgettes instead of broccoli because I didn’t have any in the fridge and it worked perfectly. I was looking forward to eating the leftovers for lunch the next day, but there weren’t any (and it was just three of us). This is definitely going to become a regular in our kitchen. Thanks for All your healthy and delicious recipes, Davida!
★★★★★
Davida Lederle
May 25, 2020 at 2:13 pmSo happy to hear that Sara! Thanks so much for the feedback. I so appreciate it!