Italian Chicken Sausage Quinoa Casserole
Published 4/16/2020 • Updated 8/23/2022
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Note: This recipe was formerly called: Sun-Dried Tomato, Kale, and Chicken Sausage Quinoa Bake.
There really is nothing better than throwing everything into a casserole dish raw and baking it to perfection in under 60 minutes!
This Chicken Sausage Quinoa bake packs in the Italian flavors while also packing in veggies and protein. You need minimal ingredients for a maximum amount of flavor!
Key Ingredients
- Quinoa – uncooked red or white quinoa will work just fine!
- Broth/Water – any kind of broth or water is perfect for this.
- Chicken Sausage – we used pre-cooked chicken sausage. Choose your favorite flavor!
- Onion – Adds the perfect amount of flavor.
- Kale – Spinach would also work!
- Sun-Dred Tomatoes – make sure to use the kind that is jarred in olive oil for maximum flavor.
Can you use uncooked sausage?
The short answer here is YES. If you are using uncooked sausage, we suggest that you still slice it into chunks so that it cooks easier. We also recommend you increase the cook-time to a full 60 minutes to ensure your sausage is fully cooked.Can you use precooked quinoa?
We don’t recommend using precooked quinoa as the quinoa to liquid ratio would change!How to make this vegetarian/vegan?
To make this dish vegan/vegetarian, simply remove the chicken sausage and replace it for a different protein such as tofu or garbanzo beans.
Baking Instructions
Once you have everything in your casserole dish, make sure that the veggies and quinoa are pressed into the liquid. Place a piece of tin foil over the casserole dish and bake at 375ºF for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 20 minutes or until the quinoa is fully cooked. Serve with fresh basil and parmesan cheese.Storage
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can get strategic and separate out the 6 servings into meal prep containers for an easy grab-and-go lunch!
More Quinoa Casserole Recipes
- Mexican Sweet Potato Quinoa Casserole
- Quinoa Broccoli and Cheese Casserole
- Healthy Cashew Chicken Quinoa Bake
- Chicken Parmesan Quinoa Casserole
- ALL Quinoa Casseroles
Italian Chicken Sausage Quinoa Casserole
This healthy, superfood-packed dinner only requires 1 dish and 60 minutes of your time. No need to pre-cook the quinoa or sauté any veggies!
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- 2 cups chicken broth, or any kind of broth
- 2 cups chopped kale, packed
- 1/2 cup julienne-cut sun-dried tomatoes, we used the kind in olive oil
- 1/4 large red onion, finely diced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, I used the olive oil from the sun-dried tomato jar
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 5 fully-cooked chicken sausages, sliced (use your favorite!)
Optional
- fresh basil
- parmesan cheese
Instructions
- First, preheat oven to 375ºF. Then, spray a large casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Place quinoa and chicken broth on the bottom of your casserole dish.
- Then, prep kale by de-stalking and chopping into bite-sized pieces. Pack kale into your 1 cup measuring cup by pressing it down. Add 2 cups into the casserole dish.
- Use a fork to remove 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes from the jar and add to the casserole dish.
- Finely dice 1/4 large red onion and add that to the dish as well.
- Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Then drizzle on about 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Pro tip: you can use olive oil straight from the sun-dried tomato jar!
- Mix together everything in the casserole dish so that that’s it’s evenly spread out. Use your hands to press the veggies down to submerge it into the broth.
- Finally, slice 5 fully-cooked chicken sausages into bite-sized pieces and spread evenly on top of casserole.
- Cover casserole dish with a piece of tin foil and bake at 375ºF for 30 minutes. Remove tin foil after 30 minutes and continue baking for another 20 minutes or until quinoa is fully cooked.
- Let cool for 5-10 minutes and serve with fresh basil and parmesan cheese.
Tips & Notes
- This recipe was slightly updated on 3/31/2020. The only thing that changed was the baking instructions!
Nutrition
Calories: 318 kcal, Carbohydrates: 31 g, Protein: 22 g, Fat: 11 g, Fiber: 3 g, Sugar: 3 g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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oh, P.S., please post more one dish meals! I made the sweet potato/black bean/quinoa the other night. #winning!
😀 One dish meals are THE BEST!!!!!!! I am going to start back up doing at least one a week. #whoop
I made this tonight! My hubby nearly ate half the pan! I added marinated artichokes, and white mushrooms to the dish. I didn’t have garlic salt, so I used fresh garlic. It was AMAZE BALLS!! The only thing was that the chicken sausage was a little dried out. I am thinking to not pre-cook? But I am scared to death of samonellla. THANK YOU FOR POSTING !!! (and being inspired by the other bloggers, hehe).
DOODE. I have 3 cans of artichokes…I DIDN’T EVEN THINK to add them! #puregenius
One-dish meal was just what I was looking for!
Honestly – I’ve been frequenting your site when in need of recipe ideas and inspiration. Pretty much anything you have ever posted I would want to make for myself and your directions are clear without being too wordy. Plus, the beautiful pics make me drool! Keep up the good work! And love the new site design.
Awww!! Well thanks 😀 That’s like the best compliment I could ever get!
I love this for any crazy weeknight! One-pot healthy meal…I’m definitely in! BTW…I get the majority of my recipe inspiration from Pinterest 🙂
Oh yes the dishes..eeks! But I think this yummy meal would be worth dirtying many!
😀 I would have to agree!
All of my favorite foods in one dish!! True story: Friday night I made a bowl of kale and then topped it with chicken sausage….. yours looks way better hahah I’ll step it up next time.
GREAT MINDSSSS think alike!
I <3 chicken sausage. Sounds awesome!
I KNOW! What’s your fav brand?
Bilinski organic chicken sausage is the best!!
I am the biggest advocate of cheese and for the first time ever, I could see this working without it purely because of what you’ve put in there- YUM!
I must admit to having stalked your recipes recently. Then again, I did that before with that epic oatmeal. And the paleo brownie. yum yum diabetes caveman.
I do love me some cheese, but sometimes I feel like it takes away from the flava flav.
This bake sounds really good! I like that you don’t use cheese in this. I think this is the only bake recipe without cheese… not that I didn’t like cheese. But not everything has to be smothered in it.
It’s very smart that you use the oil from the sun dried tomatoes;-) great tip!
My major blog crush? Umm I guess that’s you!! 😀 btw I’m going to make your apple cinnamon bars with cream cheese frosting for next Friday! 🙂
Have a nice Sunday!
O0ooooo Can’t wait for you to make those barsssss!!!! SO YUM.
The sundried tomatoes look amazing! There are so many blogs that I love and get inspired from and delicious magazine and jamie magazine is fab!
o0o I’ve never heard of either of those! I will have to look em up 😀