Cheesy Quinoa and Bacon Casserole

If you are like me, you can never have too many casserole recipes. And this one is packed with veggies, cheese , bacon and quinoa. This is the perfect meatless, comfort food made with just 5 simple, wholesome ingredients.

With three busy kids, I need to have lots of make-ahead-meals in my rotation.  This casserole can be prepared the night before, or in the morning and then placed in the oven later.  

You can easily omit the bacon if you want to keep this vegetarian, but why would you do something like that? 😉  Make sure you choose quality center cut, low sodium, nitrate and nitrite free bacon.  

It's important!  It tastes just as good as the kind that is filled with all of those nasty chemicals.  

Pinky swear.

Bacon really does make everything better, doesn't it?

I mean, let's be honest, cheese + bacon is a match made in heaven.  Add some quinoa and spinach for some added nutrition and this dish is just about as perfect as it gets.  

All three of the kiddies liked it too (which rarely happens!)

But for now I will just be thankful and count my blessings.

Let's be honest, they like probably this casserole because of the bacon but who ares, I am still counting this as a win.

And the next time I made this I even sprinkled some crumbled bacon in the middle of this casserole to make it more tasty. The kids loved it.

And of course I did too because I absolutely love bacon as well.

I have made this so many times and I think each time I used a different type of cheese. Basically I just use whatever I have in the house, like Cheddar, Monterrey Jack, Pepper Jack, Manchego, Asiago... you name it. 

I was going to try it with Gruyere cheese but couldn't get past the smell (sorry all of you Gruyere lovers).  I loved all of the different cheese and hope you try using new ones too.

Just make sure you come back and let me know. I love hearing all of your substitutions and suggestions, you guys always have the best ideas.

I also tried it another time with kale instead of spinach and it was delicious too. If I ma being completely honest, I definitely preferred it with spinach instead of kale but it still was tasty.

Cheesy Quinoa and Bacon Casserole

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Servings: 8 servings

Author: Lauren Kelly

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 ½ cups quinoa rinsed and drained
• ▢ 3 cups water
• ▢ 1 cup milk of choice
• ▢ 4 cups baby spinach
• ▢ 1 ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese- I use Vermont Sharp from Cabot
• ▢ 4 pieces of center cut nitrate-free cooked bacon, crumbled

Instructions

• Place rinsed quinoa and water in a large sauce pan under high heat.
• Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes until all liquid is gone.
• Add milk and spinach and stir until mixed well and spinach wilts. Remove from heat.
• Add one cup of cheese and mix well. Place in lightly greased 9 x 13 casserole dish and cover.
• Place in the refrigerator if you are baking later.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Bake in oven for 30 minutes until melted.
• Add remaining ½ cup cheese and crumbled bacon and broil for 4-5 minutes until lightly browned.

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Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 servings, 8 servings in total
Amount Per Serving
Calories 266  Calories from Fat 121
Total Fat 13.5g
Saturated Fat 6.4g
Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 35mg
Sodium 381mg
Potassium 345mg
Total Carbohydrates 21.7g
Dietary Fiber 2.4g
Sugars 1.5g
Protein 14.5g

This recipe only has 5 ingredients! Well 6 if you count the water! 😉

If you make this Cheesy Quinoa and Bacon Casserole or any of the other recipes I have shared with you, please some back and let me know. You guys know that I love to hear from you!

I hope you enjoy these! Thank you for stopping by and please come back soon!