Recipe: Easy Pad Thai Quinoa Casserole

Jesse and I absolutely LOVE Thai Food. This should be no secret. We’ve created a Thai Quinoa Casserole and a Curry Recipe in the past few months.

But Pad Thai takes takes 20 minutes standing over a hot stove while 4 boys run around, bumping into you. Yikes! In busy household time, 10 minutes of prep plus 20 minutes of frying is the equivalent of impossible.

So our family is super into casseroles. Whenever we can find a recipe we like, we attempt to casser-fy it. Pad Thai is my absolute favorite Thai dish, and I order it 90% of the time when we go out. So I decided it was time for a casserole version!

Here it is! Voila!

Easy Pad Thai Quinoa Casserole

Serves 4-6

Prep Time: 7 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

Pre-cooked chicken chopped into small pieces (we make a batch at the beginning of the week and use for everything) or tofu if you’re vegan

1 cup rinsed quinoa

1 cup chicken broth (or veggie if you’re vegan)

1/2 cup shredded carrots

1/2 cup chopped green onions

2 cups shredded cabbage

For the dressing:

¼ cup all natural peanut butter
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
3 tablespoon soy sauce, (gluten-free is almost impossible to find, so we skip this)
1 tablespoon honey (use agave if vegan)
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon olive oil
t tsp. chili garlic sauce

For garnish:

1/4 cup crushed peanuts
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400.

2. Cook the quinoa in 2 cups of water for 7 minutes. It will be undercooked.

3. While the quinoa is boiling, combine the sauce ingredients in a small saucepan. Heat and stir until combined.

4. Combine the cabbage, carrots, chicken and onions in a casserole dish. Add the quinoa and chicken broth and stir together with a fork. Add the peanut sauce and stir again.

5. Cook for 30 minutes.

6. Garnish with cilantro and chopped peanuts! Enjoy!