Thanksgiving has a reputation of being the king of carb overload holidays. While many of us take the day to give ourselves a pass, some people don’t. Good on ya but I get stuffing once a year and I can’t turn it down. If you’re trying to stay on track during the holidays, you may feel like you don’t have many options other than turkey or whatever meat is served and salad. Not so, my friends!
This Quinoa Harvest Stuffing is a great side dish if you can take or leave stuffing but want something healthy to help fill up your plate. I use chicken bone broth to bump up the protein that’s already found in the quinoa, roasted sweet potatoes and cranberries to balance with some sweet and raw pepitas for color and crunch. You could easily make this vegetarian by subbing vegetable broth for the chicken bone broth. It’s also a great make ahead dish just leave out the pumpkin seeds to garnish once it’s reheated.
This flavorful dish isn’t just great for Thanksgiving, it’s perfect any time of year. I love to have it with anything from BBQ chicken to broiled fish on top. It’s great to keep on hand pre-portioned for a protein packed post workout snack too. The video shows you how to bring it all together and what the recipe should look like in different stages.
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Quinoa Harvest Stuffing
Notes
Make it vegetarian by subbing vegetable broth over chicken. Customize with your favorite dried fruits and/or spices.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 celery stalks, chopped (about 2 cups)
- 16 ounces sweet potato, diced and roasted
- 4 cups low-sodium organic chicken bone broth (or vegetable)
- 2 cups dry quinoa, rinsed
- 1/2 tsp. sea salt
- 1 tsp. poultry seasoning
- 1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup pepitas
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450.
- Peel and cut 16 ounces of sweet potatoes into bite sized cubes. Coat sheet pan with a tablespoon of olive oil.
- Add sweet potatoes to pan and spread them out. Season with your preferred spices. (I used chipotle powder and cinnamon) Roast for 21 minutes. (Flipping every 7 minutes until done then set aside)
- Heat oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat and add onion and garlic. Cook for about 3 minutes then add the celery.
- Cook for 10 minutes, or until tender.
- Add broth, quinoa, salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to medium-low; cook covered for 15 minutes or until most of liquid is absorbed. Turn off the heat.
- Add cranberries. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes so they can rehydrate.
- Place into serving dish if you're not serving it from the pot, toss in the sweet potatoes then top with the pepitas.
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14 Comments
Another new stuffing for me – sounds healthy! Happy Fiesta Friday and thanks for coming to the party.
It also makes a great side dish for #meatlessmonday!
Something new, something to try. Thanks – Friday Fiesta rocks. Have a very Happy Thanksgiving.
Thanks Rita!
I like quinoa and sometime make for my kids. They call it baby rice. This recipe sounds delicious and I will have to pin and try it later.
Baby rice! I love it!! 😀
Thanks for sharing at the What’s for Dinner party. I hope your Thanksgiving is full of blessings.
You’re very welcome! Yours too!
This sounds really great! Thanks for sharing : )
Thanks so much!
I don’t usually like the traditional stuffing, and this sounds interesting and I’ll have to give it a try.
Well, if you’re not a traditional stuffing fan, this may be just the ticket for you! (Also a great side year round!)
This is such a healthy alternative to the traditional stuffing and is perfect for folks like me who try to be health conscious most of the time.
It’s a nice substitute for traditional stuffing and is a perfect side dish any time of year!