This Chicken Broccoli Quinoa Casserole is gluten free, and easy to make. I made a super easy 5 minute sauce for this using Chicken Broth, Coconut Milk, Almond Flour, and spices!
I love a good cheesy, creamy casserole (or Hotdish, as the Minnesotan in me likes to say). 🙂 I’ve been experimenting a little more using Quinoa in casseroles. Quinoa is like the super star of gluten free grains, but wait, it’s technically not a grain. It’s actually a seed!
Sometimes Quinoa gets labeled as a grain, but it’s actually a grain crop that’s grown for its edible seeds. I just learned this today too! (If you already knew this, then you are two steps ahead of me!) Here I’ve been eating Quinoa for the last year and a half and always thought is was a grain. Ahhh good old Wikipedia comes to the rescue again!
Ok guys, so this Chicken Broccoli Quinoa Casserole is super easy to make too. I just layered the dry Quinoa and Broccoli on the bottom of a casserole dish while I was cooking the chicken. Then added the cooked chicken on top.
Now let’s talk about the sauce… The thing that holds together casseroles so well and gives it that good flavor is the sauce and spices. In the past I was always taught that a good casserole or Hotdish as I like to call it, requires some sort of can of cream of something or other. (Usually not the most healthy option)
So I decided to experiment and make my own creamy sauce that is a much healthier version! This sauce is super easy to make too, I whipped it up in like 5 minutes!
I made a super easy 5 minute creamy sauce for this using Chicken Broth, Coconut Milk, Almond Flour, and spices!
- In saucepan add chicken broth and flour, whisk until smooth over high heat, about 1 min
- Whisk in milk and spices for about 3-4 min until thickened slightly
Then I just poured this yummy sauce over the top of everything and topped with cheese.
Popped it in the oven for about 40 minutes and Bam (yes I love using Emeril’s catch phrase)- dinner is served!
Things I love about this casserole (Hotdish):
A) It’s super easy to make
B) While it’s baking in the oven I can get tons of stuff done around the house
C) It brings my family together at the dinner table on a busy night
D) It’s über creamy, cheesy, and every mouthful is bursting with goodness.
If you try this and like this, please leave a comment below! I love to hear feedback!
More Casserole Recipes
- Mexican Chicken and Rice Casserole
- Chicken Quinoa Mexican Casserole
- Cheesy Chicken Broccoli and Rice Casserole
Chicken Broccoli Quinoa Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 boneless Chicken Breast chopped into 1 inch pieces
- 1 10 oz bag frozen Broccoli
- 1 cup uncooked Quinoa
- 1 Tbs Coconut Oil
- 1 cup Chicken Broth
- ½ cup Almond Flour you can substitute with regular flour
- 2 cups Unsweetened Coconut Milk you can substitute with regular milk
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Onion Powder
- ½ teaspoon Chipotle Chili Powder
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- ½ cup shredded Mexican Cheese
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan Cheese
- Non-Stick cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- In large frying pan add coconut oil and chicken, cook over med-high heat until no longer pink
- Spray non-stick cooking spray on bottom of 2 qt casserole dish
- Layer Quinoa on bottom of dish
- Top with Broccoli
- Add cooked chicken over broccoli
- In saucepan add chicken broth and flour, whisk until smooth over high heat, about 1 min
- Whisk in milk and spices for about 3-4 min until thickened slightly
- Pour sauce over chicken mixture and stir to combine
- Top with cheese
- Cover with foil and bake 30 min
- Uncover and bake another 5-10 min
- Enjoy!
David Sain says
Uncooked quinoa was still not cooked through at 35 minutes. Somewhat soft but not fully cooked. I would recommend at least 50 minutes as the sauce poured over frozen broccoli takes some time to heat up.
Sara says
Hi David, I’m sorry you had issues making this. Did you follow the recipe as is? I’ve tested this recipe several times and it always turns out great!