A vegan diet is a great (and easy!) way to help your health, the environment, and animals. To help encourage and support our readers in making healthy and humane diet choices, Nourrie Cuisine is partnering with Photographers for Animals to bring you delicious vegan recipes—accompanied by mouthwatering photo tutorials! We’ll post recipes and step-by-step photography instructions on (meatless) Mondays.
Gluten Free, Vegan Mexican Quinoa
I’m always looking for new ways to eat quinoa. My biggest complaint about quinoa is that by the time I’m ready to make dinner, I’m too hungry to wait the 25-30 minutes it takes to make. It also typically takes juggling of timing with the vegetables I’m pairing with it, so they are ready at the same time. This new recipe takes care of both of those obstacles.
Though I normally like to cook with fresh ingredients, sometimes you just have to make your peace with canned vegetables as a necessity of everyday life. The bulk of this recipe is in three cans, and it all cooks in one pan. We always have onions and garlic on hand, so the only fresh ingredients I need to add to my list are a jalapeno and cilantro.
Time: 20 minutes
Makes: 4 Servings
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
3-4 Cloves Garlic
½ Onion
1 Jalapenos
1 cup Quinoa (I used ½ cup red and ½ cup white—but one color is just as tasty)
1 cup Vegetable Broth
1 (15 oz.) can Black Beans (drained and rinsed)
1 (15 oz.) can Fire-Roasted Diced Tomatoes
1 (15 oz.) can Corn (drained)
1 teaspoon Chili Powder
1/2 teaspoon Cumin
Fresh Lime Juice (or bottle in a bind)
Handful of fresh Cilantro
Salt and Pepper to taste
Start by chopping up the fresh ingredients in the food processor – Onion, Garlic, and Jalapeno. Get those sautéing in a large pan with the olive oil while you prep the rest.
By the time you have the cans opened and drained you can just start putting in the other ingredients as you go. Quinoa, Veg Broth, Beans, Tomatoes, Corn, Chili Powder, and Cumin. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until quinoa is cooked, about 20 minutes.
Right when you are ready to serve, stir in chopped fresh cilantro and squeeze in the lime juice – and, as always, salt and pepper to taste.
This dish is easy and fast—like a crock pot recipe on steroids. And it’s delish.
Post and Photos by Elizabeth Putsche.
Adapted from Damn Delicious.
Vegan chef Elena Johnson is the president of Nourrie Cuisine, a company committed to fresh, wholesome, organic food that feeds the body and soul. Photographer Elizabeth Putsche is the executive director of Photographers for Animals. Elena and Elizabeth met nearly a decade ago through an animal protection organization and became fast friends. Together they create #MeatlessMonday recipe tutorials to encourage healthy and humane diet choices. Elena is a member of Photographers for Animals’ advisory board.
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