Spinach Artichoke Quinoa Casserole
Published 9/18/2020 • Updated 8/23/2022
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This spinach artichoke quinoa casserole is veggie filled, easy to make, and perfectly creamy! It takes the classic flavors of spinach artichoke dip and makes it into dinner. Make it tonight for dinner or for an easy meal prep recipe all week!
Spinach Artichoke Dip or Casserole?
Do you love a warm and cheesy spinach casserole dip? So do we! We have this delicious baked spinach artichoke dip that we just love! We took the spinach artichoke combination and took it up a notch and made a delicious spinach artichoke casserole.
All we did was add some extra vegetables and quinoa (because we love quinoa recipes on FFF) and it morphed an average healthy appetizer into a delicious healthy dinner! We are obsessed!
Everything You Need
The beauty of this recipe is that you throw all of your ingredients in a greased casserole dish, cover it with a delicious sauce, and bake! Here is what you need.
- Quinoa
- White onion
- Spinach
- Potatoes
- Artichokes
- Cream cheese
- Broth
- Milk
- Garlic powder
- Salt
- Mozzarella
- Parmesan
It’s All About the Cheese Sauce
What makes this quinoa casserole creamy? The cheese sauce of course! It’s as easy as 1-2-3 to make, too!
Sometimes you thicken sauces with corn starch or a roux, but this casserole is thickened with a cheese sauce and the starch from the potatoes.
All you have to do is make a quick and delicious roux to pour mix with all the ingredients. As the casserole bakes, the starch from the potatoes and the cheese sauce will thicken to deliciousness!
Pro tip
You have to stir this casserole halfway through it’s bake time, if you want your casserole a bit saucier, feel free to add a little extra broth to the casserole at this time!
Tips + Tricks for the Perfect Quinoa Casserole
Spray the Dish
Before putting any of the ingredients in the casserole dish, make sure you spray the dish! Why? Because sometimes the cheese and quinoa can get a bit sticky and make for hard clean up!
Liquid:Quinoa Ratio
The liquid to quinoa ratio is usually 1:3.5. In this recipe we use 1 1/2 cups quinoa and 3 cups liquid (broth and milk). However, you can always add more liquid to your casserole if you want it a bit saucier!
Cover the Casserole
Covering the casserole with aluminum foil or a casserole cover is very important. It traps the heat in the casserole dish and allows the quinoa to cook perfectly! We remove the cover from the casserole dish at 30 minutes.
Let it Sit
When you remove the casserole from the oven it is very important that you let it rest for at least 10 minutes. It gives the access liquid time to set up in the casserole dish. So, if your casserole seems too watery, give it some time to sit and that will change!
Spinach Artichoke Quinoa Casserole
Ingredients
Roux
- 2 cups 2% milk
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour
- 4-oz. cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup fat-free greek yogurt
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
Casserole
- 1.5 cups uncooked white quinoa
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large russet potato, diced into small cubes
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, finely diced
- 2 15-oz. cans artichoke hearts, drained and diced
- 5-oz. fresh spinach
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- First, preheat oven to 375ºF and spray a large casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Next, add quinoa, garlic, potato, onion, chopped artichoke hearts, spinach, and broth to the bottom of your casserole dish and mix. Set aside.
- Prepare the roux. Heat a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Add butter.
- When butter is melted add flour to the saucepan and whisk together. When the butter and flour form a paste or crumble, slowly pour the milk into the saucepan, whisking consistently while pouring.
- Whisk the mixture over medium heat until the milk mixture begins to thicken (about 4-5 minutes).
- Turn heat to low and whisk the cream cheese, Greek yogurt, salt, pepper, and garlic into the milk mixture until smooth.
- Remove from heat and add the cheese and salt to the saucepan. Whisk until the cheese sauce is thick and creamy.
- Pour sauce on top of veggies and then mix, making sure everything is submerged.
- Cover casserole dish with a piece of tin foil and then bake at 375ºF for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and mix. Cover and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until you can easily pierce your potatoes with a fork and the quinoa has sprouted.
- Remove from oven, top with the mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese and place back into the oven, uncovered, for another 5 minutes to melt the cheese.
Tips & Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I love the FFF casserole recipes and this one was great. I added an extra half cup of water because it didn’t seem like enough liquid or maybe my roux was too thick.
Great recipe to use up spinach!
So glad you loved this casserole, Robin!
Good but took twice as long to cook!
The flavor on this is five star for sure! It took far longer for my quinoa and potatoes to cook than the recipe called for (almost an hour and a half!) but it was worth the wait.
This was very runny for me. Any ideas why this would happen?!
Could you use cauliflower rice? And what would you sub for cream cheese?
Could you use rice?
Hey Jen! I’m sure you can, but we haven’t tested it. I suggest using instant rice and reducing the liquid!