Unhealthy Quinoa Mac and Cheese

Take the health benefits of quinoa and override them with a ton of cheese. You won’t regret it!

Step: 1

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

Step: 2

Process cubed bread in a food processor to make bread crumbs. Set aside.

Step: 3

Heat olive oil in a deep ovenproof skillet or Dutch oven. Add onion; cook and stir until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic; cook and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Step: 4

Add quinoa, chicken stock, and water to the skillet. Bring to a simmer; cover and cook until quinoa is tender, about 10 minutes.

Step: 5

Heat 1/4 cup butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add flour; cook and stir to form a paste, about 2 minutes. Slowly whisk in skim milk. Season with salt and ground black pepper; simmer on low until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in Cheddar and mozzarella cheeses, a little at a time, until combined. Stir cheese sauce into quinoa mixture in the skillet.

Step: 6

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a separate skillet over medium heat. Add bread crumbs; cook and stir until crumbs are toasted, about 2 minutes. Place tomato slices on top of quinoa; top with bread crumbs. Quinoa mixture will be soupy but will firm up during baking.

Step: 7

Bake in the oven until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Allow to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Per Serving: 629 calories; protein 27.3g; carbohydrates 58.4g; fat 31.7g; cholesterol 80.5mg; sodium 932.7mg.

The most obvious way to choose a side dish is to look at your main dish (pasta, chicken, seared tofu) and choose more different. When you’re cooking pasta, go for a simple healthy dish . Making steak? Go for something light. If you’re making stir-fry with rice, it must not a best idea to also make a rice salad.

This also can make to cooking process . You don’t want to overcommit your oven by scheduling three dishes at once in there, or be juggling four pans on the cooking items . But sometimes you can made a dish do double-duty .