Spinach Artichoke Quinoa Casserole
I’ve been trying my best to balance blogging amidst wedding planning and work but I think it’s obvious that I’ve fallen short over the past few weeks. I know I’ll get back to my normal routine after we say I-do, I just wanted to let y’all know what’s going on. Because I never complain about how busy I am or talk about wedding planning on here so I mean, how else would you know? ;)
I’m hoping to redeem myself with this recipe. And I’m also hoping that you’re a fan of spinach and artichoke dip? Because that’s exactly what this tastes like.
It’s creamy and cheesy with bits of tangy artichoke hearts. It almost literally melts in your mouth.
Similar to my Mediterranean Quinoa Casserole, I used plain non-fat Greek yogurt to keep it light and creamy but also incorporated enough cheese to please the pickiest of five year olds.
I also used frozen spinach and jarred artichoke hearts so that you don’t have to worry about the ingredients spoiling before you get a chance to make it.
I don’t know about you but I despise going to the grocery store more than once a week. When fresh produce doesn’t stay good for very long, it can be a challenge sometimes.
I usually plan our meals that we eat later in the week based around ingredients that won’t spoil as quickly and this recipe is perfect for that. All of the ingredients have a pretty good shelf life. And did you know that you can actually buy frozen cooked quinoa from Trader Joes now?
I personally prefer to soak my quinoa so I’ll stick to cooking my own. I thought about doing a post on that too but I was worried it might bore you to tears?
Anyhow, this casserole. If you like the combo of spinach and artichoke then I can guarantee you will love this. Trust me, it’s a winner!
Ingredients
3 cups quinoa, cooked (approx. 1 cup dry quinoa)
10 ounces frozen spinach, defrosted
2 cups marinated artichoke hearts, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup Italian blend cheese + a few tablespoons for topping
1/4 cup pepper jack cheese
2 medium size eggs
6 ounces plain non-fat Greek yogurt
salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F then prepare a large casserole dish (I used a 1 quart dish) by greasing with Earth Balance, butter or non-stick cooking spray.
- Warm the olive oil over medium heat in a sauté pan and cook the shallot and garlic for a few minutes, until fragrant.
- Using a strainer and a paper towel, press the excess water out from the defrosted spinach then add it to the pan. Add the chopped artichoke hearts (I discarded any tough parts) and a pinch of salt & pepper to the pan and cook for five minutes.
- Meanwhile, combine the eggs, yogurt and cheese in a large bowl and whisk together until well-combined.
- Remove the spinach artichoke mixture from the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes before adding to the bowl with the eggs and cheese.
- Lastly, add the cooked quinoa and stir until everything is mixed together well.
- Place the mixture into the casserole dish, smoothing the top with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle a few tablespoons of cheese on top and cook for 30-35 minutes, until top is light golden brown. Serve warm and enjoy!
Notes
*be sure to use certified gluten-free products for gluten allergies
This looks sooo tasty! I love spinach artichoke dip. I can’t wait to try this out :)
My favorite dip in a healthy package — I like!!
This looks so good–I love spinach artichoke anything and everything!! I agree that I hate going to the grocery store more than once a week but that it is hard since produce spoils so quickly. It’s actually my current annoyance and probably will be until the end of time. No apologies for not blogging–you are super busy and have one of the best excuses around ;) Hope the planning is going well!
I’m obsessed with spinach artichoke dip, so I think I will be so into thiss
Love this combination, quinoa is so versatile.
Redeemed!!! But for real, take as much time as you need. I’ve obviously missed seeing you around here but it’s totally understandable!
Now I’m wishing it wasn’t a holiday here and I had some quinoa in the house so I could make this. I totally forgot it was a holiday until I went to the grocery store and it was closed. Oatmeal for breakfast, lunch and dinner I guess?
Balancing blogging with major life events is very tough!! Blogging takes a lot of focus and energy and it can be discouraging when you perceive some of your recipe attempts as fails. Chin up my dear – we’re here to support you and understand if you need to step away while life is busy. This dip is making my mouth water!!! It is PURE brilliance! I love artichoke hearts and quinoa and love how healthy this is. I think you should 200% post a tutorial on sprouting quinoa! This is something every health food nut should know how to do!!!
Have I told you that I love you? Because I do. :)
Recipe has been saved to my Recipe Box..I’m making this as soon as I get my butt to the store to pick up some artichoke hearts!
This looks amazing Sarah! I love one pan dishes – I’m all about an easy clean-up. Definitely making this next weekend!
I feel quite down too when I ruin lots of recipes and therefore am not able to blog :-( I really miss it when I have to take some time off!
Glad to see your back with such a fantastic recipe. This looks like the most perfect dinner ever, and I’m definietly loving that it uses canned artichokes and frozen spinach! This is happening soon, you bet!
Have a lovely week! <3
Mhmm I LOVE me a good spinach artichoke dip, so this casserole looks right up my alley. Thanks so much for sharing!
I have no doubt I’d love this. I’m actually making Spinach Artichoke Pizza for dinner tonight! I’ll be giving this recipe a try soon!
Made this for dinner tonight and it was quite tasty! Thanks for the recipe!
This sounds delicious! I love spinach artichoke dip and your use of Greek yogurt. I’d love to hear about how you sprout your quinoa. I’ve never done that before.
I’ve been trying (and failing) to convince Josh to like quinoa for years. He looooves spinach and artichoke dip and pasta, so hopefully I can convince him with this!
I’d actually really like to hear about sprouting quinoa! I have no idea at all what that does to the quinoa or how to do it, so spill!
We have made it and love it! It’s a staple meal for us. Was wondering what the calorie count per serving is though?
This looks so good! I love spinach artichoke dip, but it’s usually pretty bad for you.
Hope you get some down time during all the craziness!
The spinach and artichoke dip hasn’t arrived yet here in Europe. I sense it’s huge in the US. Time for me to dip in it :) Love that you combined to Quinoa making it a big part of a full balanced main course.
Girl, thank you for lightening up my favorite party dip!!! This sounds absolutely fantastic!
Please teach me how to sprout my quinoa! It will not bore me to tears :) And this dish is beautiful.
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Oh, its so hard to balance blogging and real life sometimes! I dont even have anything as exciting as wedding planning to blame – which should definitely take priority by the way :) And definitely do that post of sprouting quinoa, I have a sprouter and have been playing around with different seeds and legumes but havent tried quinoa yet and I’d love some tips!
(also, did I mention how amazingingly delicious this dish looks and sounds!?)
I’m with you – I just don’t have time to go to the grocery store more than once week so I do the same thing! This sounds awesome – dip goodness in a healthier meal?? I’ll take it! And good luck with all the craziness! It can be so hard to balance it all!
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Oh my goodness I have all of these things… and I have been craving spinach artichoke dip, but how could I make it healthy?? Thank you so much, going to hopefully make this tonight, it looks amazing!
yes.yes.yes. You go girl! This looks amazing! Thank you once again!
You’re balancing wedding planning + work + an amazing food blog and you do it with grace and style. I’m not doing anything of the sort and I still can’t find time to blog the way I want to/used to. Where’s my excuse. Anyway, do you think this would work without cheese? I’m trying not to eat dairy, or at least reduce it, sooo… Otherwise, I’m in! I’ve been favoring quinoa lately and this is a great way to mix it up!
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Please bore me with your quinoa sprouting technique!
Diana
This looks and sounds so good! I would expect nothing less from you though :)
Spinach and artichoke as a dip is one of my favs so sure I’d love this too.
Please tell me about sprouting quinoa! And thanks for this gorgeous recipe. It is on my list for this week.
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I made this last night and it was crazy delicious. Thanks for sharing!
I’m so glad you liked it, Kristen! Thank you for the feedback. :)
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Can I use fresh spinach?
Yes, but you would have to use more (probably two to three times) since it will cook down quite a bit. Also be sure to squeeze out any excess moisture after cooking.
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This was DELICIOUS, thank you so much for this recipe!! I added about 1/4 cup of canned julienned sun dried tomatoes towards the end to the spinach and artichoke mixture which was YUM, and also a pinch of cayenne to the cheese mixture for extra spice. I used fresh spinach – a whole 6oz bag (but probably could have doubled that!). Added a pinch of salt to the quinoa as it cooked, but besides that, didn’t find it needed any extra salt. Can’t wait to eat the leftovers over the next few days, and I bet this would freeze well, too.
Thanks for the feedback, Alison! Your adaptations sound delicious! :)
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Wow… just made this for one of my #3DinnersAWeek videos, and it was FANTASTIC (of course I’ll link back to you once it’s up :-) I didn’t have any Greek Yogurt, so I added in ricotta cheese, and it still came out amazing! It was really yummy with some multi colored baby bell peppers dipped in.
I’m so happy you enjoyed it Diana! I love the addition of bell peppers too. Yum!
Made this for guests last night and it was a big hit! I doubled the greens (I used 10 oz. spinach and 10 oz. kale) and halved the Italian cheese as I had a super health-conscious crowd. It was still plenty creamy and sinful-tasting. :)
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Looks great. Thoughts on freezing this? And if so, before baking?
I would think it would be better to bake it first and then freeze it but I haven’t tried so I can’t say for sure. Hopefully it works out for you!
Awesome Recipe! tossed in a 1/2 cup of chopped mushrooms and crubbled a bit of smoked salmon that were sitting in the fridge as well! This is an awesome dish that is very versatile, Thank You for the idea :)
I’m so happy to hear you like it! Smoked salmon sounds like a delicious addition. Thanks for the feedback Graham! :)
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I just found your website, and the recipes look delicious. I just wish you had the nutritional information for each recipe posted. Maybe I’m missing it??
Hi Karen! I’m so happy you found me. :) And no, you aren’t missing the nutritional info, I haven’t got around to adding it yet because I try to focus more on eating whole foods rather than counting calories. But I understand it is helpful to a lot of people so I’m considering implementing it very soon. In the meantime, MyFitness Pal has a great calorie calculator on their website. All you have to do is copy and paste the URL of the recipe and it matches up the ingredients for you. Hopefully that helps for now. Thank you for the feedback!
I would be interested in your soaking of the quinoa. I rinse it but haven’t read about soaking it.
I made this tonight. Was looking for a light, healthy and sifferwnt casserole and this came up. My sister and I loved it! I may have baked it too long so next time I will shorten that. I used fresh spinach and jalapeño cheese with the italian blend. Thanks!!
I’m so glad to hear to enjoyed it! Thanks for the comment, Stacy! :)
Yikes weird auto-correct / typo thing lol. I meant something “different” :-). Thanks!!
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Was disappointed. Followed the recipe EXACTLY. Soaked, rinsed and toasted my quinoa as usual. The casserole is okay but not at all creamy. Actually it’s kind of dry and tastes nothing at all like my artichoke spinach dip. Like I said it’s ok and I’d probably like it a lot more if I hadn’t expected a really creamy “tastes just like the dip” casserole.
Sorry to hear you didn’t like it, Jane. I didn’t mean to mislead you with my description. It genuinely tastes like the dip to me, without it actually being the same exact texture of the dip. It’s supposed to be a casserole, not a dip.
Hi Sarah, just wondering – the recipe states two cups of jarred artichoke hearts, but how many jars is that usually for you? Thanks!
It’s usually about 2 (10-ounce) jars with a little left over. :)
I made the casserole. The flavors were tasty, especially the marinated artichoke hearts and the spinach. I don’t use quinoa often, but it was kind of nutty and pleasant. Like Jane, I expected it to be more mushy and rich than it came out. I think I could make a fattier version by adding cream cheese or cream of mushroom soup for a softer texture. To use what I have, I will probably eat the casserole on toasted ciabatta with melty cream cheese and maybe something salty like smoked salmon (as someone here recommended), potato chips, or bacon. I think next time I will add some chopped carmelized onion, some Parmesan cheese, cream cheese, and maybe kale (as mentioned by another user). If I wasn’t expecting it to be like the cheesy dip, I may have liked it more. I can say that mine needs salt.
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I made this for lunch today, and it’s THE BOMB!! I used full fat Greek yogurt and added approx. 1/2 teaspoon of both salt and pepper. It’s so good, and according to MyFitnessPal less than 500 calories for 1/4 of the pan!! I love it!
I’ve made this twice and have enjoyed it each time. It’s healthy and has a nice tang due to artichokes. For some reason the first time I made it there was a stronger artichoke flavor which I liked. The only thing I can think of is that I may have added the liquid in the marinated artichoke jar. Is the liquid meant to be added?
This is my second comment. I just thought of another difference. The second time I made the dish I didn’t use a name brand jar of marinated artichokes and think it had a milder flavor.