Creamy Cheesy Chicken and Garlic Quinoa Bake

• servings: 6 servings
• active time: 10 minutes
• total time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

3-3/4 cups chicken broth (divided)

1-1/2 cups quinoa (rinsed)

2 chicken breasts (cut into bite-sized pieces)

salt and pepper

2 Tablespoons butter

3 cloves garlic (minced)

2 Tablespoons gluten free flour (or AP flour if not GF)

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

3 Roma tomatoes (seeded then chopped)

3 green onions (chopped)

6 oz freshly shredded fontina cheese (divided)

Directions

Cook quinoa

Bring 2-3/4 cups chicken broth to a boil in a saucepan then add rinsed and drained quinoa. Place a lid on top, turn heat down to medium, and then simmer until nearly all the liquid has been absorbed and quinoa is tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat then let sit for 10 minutes with the lid on then remove lid and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8×8 baking dish with nonstick spray then set aside.

Cook chicken

Spray a large skillet over medium-high heat with extra virgin olive oil or nonstick spray then add chicken, season with salt and pepper, and then saute until golden brown – chicken does not need to be cooked all the way through. Remove to a plate then set aside.

Simmer

Turn heat down to medium then melt butter in skillet and add garlic. Saute for 1 minute or until golden brown and fragrant. Sprinkle in flour then whisk to combine and cook for 1 minute. Slowly stream in remaining 1 cup chicken broth and milk a splash at a time, whisking to avoid lumps. Add Italian seasoning, season with salt and pepper, and then turn heat up slightly to bring to a simmer. Turn heat back down to medium then simmer until slightly thickened, 5 minutes.

Combine

Remove skillet from heat then add cooked quinoa, chicken, tomatoes, green onions, and half the cheese and then stir to combine – mixture might look soupy but it’s fine.

Bake

Pour mixture into prepared baking dish then sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Place on top of a baking sheet in case of bubble overs then bake for 20-25 minutes or until top is golden brown and bubbly. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Nutrition

• Calories: 447 kcal
• Total Fat: 19 g
• Saturated Fat: 10 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
• Trans Fat: 0.2 g
• Cholesterol: 99 mg
• Sodium: 864 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 35 g
• Dietary Fiber: 4 g
• Total Sugars: 4 g
• Protein: 34 g