Italian Cauliflower and Quinoa Bake

Delicious and with a big protein punch, this vegetarian quinoa bake is a favorite for meatless dinners.

Do you do Meatless Monday? I don’t, really. But I do try to eat at least one vegetarian dinner per week.

At my house, we’re really used to a lot of protein so when I do make a meatless dinner, I try to make sure it’s really hearty and satisfying in the protein department. I love this recipe because it’s gluten-free and high in that needed protein because of the quinoa.

Video: Italian Cauliflower and Quinoa Bake:

Double Protein

One of the tricks to satisfying this protein need is to include at least two protein sources per meal. That’s why my Gallo Pinto recipe, a Nicaraguan dish that has beans and rice topped with a fried egg, is one of our go-to vegetarian dishes too.

Today’s recipe for Italian Cauliflower and Quinoa Bake is similar. It has both high-protein quinoa and also cheese. Combined with the meaty texture of roasted cauliflower, it’s satisfying from the first mouthful.

Quinoa Tip

If you ever find quinoa bitter, it might be a good idea to try rinsing it more thoroughly. This is true even if it says that it’s pre-rinsed. I actually did some tests recently to figure out how best to prepare quinoa. I taste-tested cooked quinoa that had not been rinsed prior to cooking with quinoa that had been rinsed. The difference was definitely there. Furthermore, I then tested if the amount of time spent rinsing it mattered and it really does. Quinoa that has been rinsed for 5 minutes has less bitterness once cooked than quinoa rinsed for 30 seconds or 2 minutes.

To rinse the quinoa, measure it into a fine mesh sieve. Use the sprayer from your kitchen faucet to hit the quinoa with strong jets of water. Rub the quinoa between your fingers as you rinse it for 5 minutes under the water. I know it sounds like a long time, but it’s worth trying if you’ve ever disliked quinoa but want to use it in more recipes.

Note that the recipe below has you cook the quinoa in step #3. You can instead cook the quinoa in the Instant Pot, like this, or you can use leftover cooked quinoa. If you make quinoa for this recipe, I recommend making a double batch so that you can use the leftovers in this Quinoa Salad Bowl with Lemon-Hummus Dressing. If you like these quinoa dinner ideas, I bet you’ll also these Vegetarian Quinoa Fajitas. They’re a huge favorite in my house!

Seasonings To Use

The recipe below calls for dried oregano and basil. However, if you have some store-bought Italian seasoning, that will work perfectly. Even better, try using some Italian Sausage Seasoning. And don’t worry, even though it says sausage in the title, it’s still vegetarian – it’s simply the seasonings typically used when making Italian sausage, no sausage included. I hope you love this recipe! Have a great day! -Christine xo

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This post originally appeared in August 2015 and was revised and republished in October 2018.