Veggie Supreme Pizza Quinoa Casserole! All the delicious flavors of your favorite pizza… in healthy quinoa casserole form! (Vegan, gluten-free)
I thought it might be fun for two of my favorite things (pizza + quinoa) to join forces. I couldn’t help but go all in with a veggie supreme using garlic, onion, mushroom, tomato, spinach, and green pepper. We were even treated with the wonderful smell of pizza as it baked! (And it’s definitely worth noting that the leftovers make a great take-along lunch.)
Although the recipe calls for a 15 oz. can of tomato sauce, we only used about 10-12 oz. to our taste. I’d suggest starting with less and add more as you like. Or feel free to substitute 1-2 cups of your favorite marinara sauce for the tomato sauce, and tweak the seasonings from there. Fresh basil makes a great garnish before serving!
PS – come join The Garden Grazer on Instagram and share a pic if you make or adapt this! I love seeing your beautiful recreations. (Or leave a star rating below if you give it a try – your feedback is very appreciated!)
Vegan Pizza Quinoa Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups white quinoa (uncooked)
- 1 onion
- 1 green bell pepper
- 8 oz. sliced mushrooms
- 3 roma tomatoes (or grape/cherry tomatoes)
- 1 cup fresh spinach
- 3 cloves garlic
- 15 oz. can tomato sauce (or less to taste)
- 1 cup vegan mozzarella shreds (Miyoko's, Follow Your Heart, etc.)
- 1 tsp. dried basil
- 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375.
- Cook quinoa: in a saucepan, add rinsed quinoa and 3 cups water (or veggie broth for more flavor). Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
- Meanwhile, chop onion, green pepper, and tomatoes. Mince garlic.
- In a skillet over medium heat, saute onion, green pepper, and sliced mushrooms with salt for about 10 minutes or until softened. (I use 3 Tbsp. water/broth for no-oil saute method.)
- Add garlic, stir, and saute 1 more minute.
- When quinoa is cooked, place it in a large mixing bowl. Add tomato sauce, tomatoes, spinach, mozzarella, sauteed vegetables (any excess liquid removed), basil, and oregano. Stir to combine.
- Spread mixture into a 9×13 inch baking dish (lightly sprayed if desired) and gently press down. Top with a light sprinkle of cheese if desired.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes. Garnish with fresh basil if desired.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving (estimate)
Enjoying this pizza quinoa casserole? Also feel free to check out the full “Main Dish” recipe archives on the site for more plant based inspiration! (Or this Cheesy Broccoli Quinoa Casserole.)
Hi there. I don't include nutritional facts for my recipes because of the many variables involved. If you'd like to calculate them on your own, I've heard this website is pretty straightforward to use. Hope that helps! 🙂
http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php?ns=1
Looks delicious!!!!
Thanks Courtney!
What is quinoa ……sorry for stupid question but….i really do not know
Hi there! Certainly not a stupid question at all! I have a post about quinoa if you want to check it out. Definitely let me know if you have any other questions that I didn't address there 🙂
http://www.thegardengrazer.com/2013/01/crazy-for-quinoa.html
brilliant idea! looks amazing!
Thanks!
This is a great way to cook quinoa! I am surely going to make this!
Thanks! Hope you enjoy 🙂
Hi:) this looks great, just wondering when you sauté the vegetables should there be oil or just salt? Thanks 🙂
Hi there Robyn! I usually add a tiny bit of oil to saute mine 🙂
Thanks Kaitlin:)
I think this will be my dinner tonight! I'm so excited!
Enjoy Brittany!!
I really like the sound of a pizza quinoa casserole!
Thanks Kevin! 🙂 Hope you get a chance to try it!
I was able to serve this for my carnivore husband and picky 17 year old son. It was enjoyed by all.
Hi Ann! Hooray!! That's fantastic to hear, thanks for letting me know. So glad you all enjoyed it 🙂
What can be substituted for onion and garlic? I am finding lots of recipes that use these seasonings and finding it hard to adapt. thought maybe you might have an idea.
Hi! Onion and garlic are ingredients that provide lots of flavor, so I agree it's tough to find a substitute. Have you tried leeks, green onion, or shallots? They're milder but could still work. Or do you suffer from allergies that don't allow you to eat anything in the onion/garlic family?
Oh my word this is TASTY!!! Just made it for dinner (we do eat a lot of vegetarian dishes in our house) and it is FABULOUS!! Since there are only two of us, it made enough for 3 dinners for us and 3 lunches for my husband. LOVED it!
Hi Mary! Wonderful to hear!! So happy you and your husband enjoyed it. It's always a bonus to have leftovers! Thanks for the message 🙂
Made this last night. LOVED it. Thank you so much. My husband likened it to lasagna!!! lol.
Woohoo! Glad it was a success for you guys! Mmmm… pizza lasagna 😉
Discovered your website tonight…I am a big fan already! Cannot wait to try your recipes!
Hi Amanda! Yay! So happy to have you here. Hope you LOVE the recipes you try! Come on back and let me know which ones you try out if you get the chance 🙂
Can this be frozen before baking???
I haven't personally tried that yet, but I'm guessing it would do very well as a freezer meal! Would love to hear if you try it, and I'll be sure to update if I do too 🙂
Hi Christi! Awesome question. I always recommend making your own sauce when possible – there are lots of great recipes out there. (Here's one I use for regular pizza, though it's thicker than the canned sauce: http://www.thegardengrazer.com/2012/05/pizza-sauce.html) Otherwise, I try to find the healthiest store alternative, organic if possible. As far as cheese, Daiya is a great dairy-free alternative if you'd like to try that. If you go with regular cheese, I prefer the ones with no antibiotics or hormones (rBGH), which I buy at Trader Joe's but I'm guessing they'd have those at Whole Foods as well! Hope that helps! 🙂
I'm totally going to try this – MINUS the cheese! Great idea! Thanks!
Awesome Heather! Enjoy!!
My favorite thing about your blog is that you post recipes with a lot of ingredients I usually have on hand anyway…but find such a creative way of putting them together! One day it's Asian, next it's Mexican (similar ingredients, just with switching up the sauces/way it's made). Cost efficient and delicious 🙂
Hi CJ! Thank you so much for your sweet comments. It truly makes my day to hear that because that's exactly what I strive for the website to be! So glad you're enjoying the recipes, and thanks for taking the time to leave a message. Happy New Year, take care! 🙂
You had me at Pizza Quinoa!
Haha – two magical foods collide 🙂 Enjoy Autumn!
Googled a quinoa and broccoli casserole and discovered your site. Loved it! Just took the pizza casserole out of the oven. Smells delicious. Will definitely use your site a lot more…and I have already recommended it to friends! Thank you 🙂
Hi Colleen! Thanks so much for the sweet comment – and for recommending the site to friends! 🙂 Hope you loved the casserole and any other recipes you try here!! Take care!
WOW! This is so incredibly tasty!!! I have a severe dairy allergy so I had to substitute with vegan cheese, but this was such a treat!!!!!!!! I haven't had pizza in years and this truly captures the flavor! Thanks for the recipe!!!
Hey Chelsea! Aww thanks so much for the sweet comment – SO glad you enjoyed this and the pizza flavors translated! I looove the smell of this dish while it's baking. I transitioned to vegan, but haven't tried this one with vegan cheese yet. Now you've got me craving it again! 😉
Hello! I was wondering how many servings this recipe makes?
Hey Sara! It does make a decent amount – I'd estimate about 6-8 servings 🙂 Hope you enjoy!!
Kaitlin, I made this tonight, with a serious tweak! I love quinoa, but my next marathon is coming up one week from today, so this week is all about carbs! While I know quinoa is a very healthy source of carbs, I am craving pasta (rungry!) so I made Pasta Pizza Casserole ala The Garden Grazer! I kept your recipe but subbed whole grain & brown rice pasta (had smaller portions of both, so mixed..) using my favorite vegan mozzarella from Trader Joe's (has a slightly sweet/smoky taste) and it was soooooooo good! I'll definitely be making this again with quinoa and also with pasta! Thanks as always for your inspirations! Sorry, no picture this time, too "rungry" and had to eat it asap! 🙂
Okay this is AWESOME Terri!! What a great substitution – I'm all about the pasta too and gotta give it a try! Thank you for sharing your adaption and hope the marathon went well!! <3 -Kaitlin