A simple, savory, and wholesome meal in a bowl, this vegan cheesy kale quinoa recipe is pure healthy comfort food!
Vegan quinoa with kale
The one bowl, plant based meal is such a perfect dinner for any cold winter night, and the vegan friendly recipe is super easy to customize.
Make it your own by using up the ingredients you have on hand.
Add your favorite veggies, or swap out the kale for spinach. Try rice or barley in place of the quinoa, or increase the protein in this powerhouse main or side dish with the addition of beans or another favorite protein source.
The vegan quinoa recipe comes with both gluten free and soy free options. And you can opt to eat it as a hot meal or as a cold quinoa salad.
Packed in a thermos, leftovers make a really great lunch on the go.
Readers also love this Sticky Sesame Cauliflower
Comfort food quinoa bowls
One of my goals for the year is to really make a conscious effort to slow down, especially when it comes to meals.
Food is such a huge part of my life (clearly – I run a food blog as my Full-Time Job!).
And I grew up in a family that believed in long, relaxing meals together at the table, even on weeknights. We would eat slowly, enjoying both the food and the time catching up with each other.
But working from home, it is often easy to fall into the habit of inhaling my meals much too quickly while focused on other projects, never actually sitting down.
I know I am not alone in this, and it isn’t only a problem for people who work from home. Many of my friends complain they find themselves doing the same thing, eating lunch at their desk in ten minutes flat so they can get back to work.
Meals like this comforting vegan quinoa bowl dinner ought to be savored slowly, letting your senses take in all of the flavors and textures.
Serve it with rustic bread or a side salad, and a glass of wine if you wish, for a healthy and filling meal that will leave you feeling nourished without weighing you down.
Still craving vegan comfort food? Try Vegan French Toast
Ingredients for the recipe
You will need water, quinoa, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, nutritional yeast or Parmesan cheese, milk of choice, optional vegan butter, and greens of choice.
Kale is my favorite green for the quinoa recipe. However, spinach, bok choy, collard greens, and Swiss chard also work.
Feel free to go with red, white, black, tri color, or yellow quinoa. As mentioned earlier, you may also substitute uncooked rice or barley for the quinoa.
I like almond milk or oat milk, or canned coconut milk for a richer quinoa dish. If you prefer, unsweetened creamer can be used instead.
For a protein packed vegan meal in a bowl, add a half cup of black beans, pinto beans, chickpeas, or firm tofu when you add the spices.
Or serve the quinoa with Vegan Meatballs
Cheesy vegan quinoa recipe video
Above – watch the step by step recipe video
How to make cheesy kale quinoa
Add the uncooked quinoa, water, salt, nutritional yeast or cheese, optional butter, and garlic and onion powders to a medium saucepan.
Bring to a boil over medium heat.
Once it starts to boil, lower the heat to a simmer and cover the pot. Simmer for twenty minutes or until the water is absorbed and quinoa is fluffy.
Now stir in the milk of choice or creamer and kale. Return the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently until the greens wilt and the quinoa or grains reach your desired texture and thickness.
If you choose to add a source of protein, you can either add it along with the spices or cook it separately and then stir it in near the end.
Portion the quinoa recipe into bowls, and serve hot.
Or let the saucepan cool, then divide its contents into meal prep containers to refrigerate and enjoy leftovers cold or hot throughout the week.
Readers have written in to say that you can also make the recipe in an instant pot.
Add the quinoa, water, salt, spices, nutritional yeast, and optional butter to your machine, and cook on the Rice setting (twelve minutes at low pressure). Quick release the pressure, and stir in the remaining ingredients.
Be sure to try all of these Cauliflower Recipes
Measuring the meal prep quinoa recipe in grams
Prefer to measure with a food scale instead of cups and tablespoons?
Here are the amounts to use: 300 grams of water, 90 grams of uncooked quinoa, 18 grams of nutritional yeast, 120 grams milk of choice, 25 to 30 grams of raw kale or spinach, and 3 grams of salt.
Do not forget to add in the onion and garlic powders as well.
Leftover quinoa? Make Breakfast Quinoa
Creamy Cheesy Quinoa Bowls
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup raw quinoa
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast or Parmesan
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp each garlic and onion powders
- 1 cup kale or spinach, chopped
- 1/2 cup milk of choice or unsweetened creamer
- optional 2 tsp butter or vegan butter for added richness
- optional protein of choice
Instructions
- Bring the first 5 ingredients and optional butter to a boil. Once boiling, turn to a simmer and cover 20 minutes or until fluffy. Stir in the kale and milk or cream, and return to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently until kale wilts and quinoa reaches your desired texture and thickness. If adding a protein, such as tofu or beans, you can cook the protein first or stir it in with the quinoa, depending on what type of protein you’re using and if it needs to be cooked longer.Although I haven't tried it, a few readers say you can make this in the Instant Pot. One reader, Rebecca, did it this way: "I combined the first five ingredients and cooked on the “RICE” setting (12 minutes low pressure). I quick-released the pressure and added the remaining ingredients. It turned out perfectly!"View Nutrition Facts
Video
Notes
More healthy comfort food ideas
Or this Healthy Mac and Cheese
Thanks,
sharing Veg Quinoa Recipe
I tried it.It is good & tasty. Quinoa seeds are very healthy to body
It have a rich amount of fiber,antioxidants and iron
This recipe is fantastic! It is my go-to food when I’m craving something warm and soothing and it’s easy to make little adjustments depending on how my taste buds are feeling that day (personally, I usually only use about 1 tablespoon of the nutritional yeast because the flavor is pretty strong to me). I don’t know how many times I’ve made it since I first tried it, but it continues to hit the spot every time. I also love that it takes almost no time or effort at all! Great recipe, Katie!
I’ve been looking forward to making this since you first posted it, Katie, so I decided to make it for dinner last night. When I got to the adding kale/spinach step, I realized that someone had eaten most of the spinach, so I nipped out to the store to get more. When I got back, the house smelled delicious but would have smelled that much better if I had remembered to turn off the burner before I left. Fortunately, the recipe is so quick to put together that I was able to make a second batch, which was somehow even better than the first. It’s definitely going into regular rotation. Thank you for the recipe!
This is one of my all-time favourite recipes of yours!! I love subbing onion powder for half a diced onion, and I definitely love to triple the recipe because I want it to last!!! There was a day I subbed the coconut milk for cream of mushroom soup, and added in chopped mushrooms in addition to spinach and it was heavenly!! This recipe is so flexible, fast, and fun! Thank you Katie!
Great recipe! I substituted homemade tofu ricotta for the buttery spread and the cashew cream and added a whole bag of frozen chopped spinach. It was fabulous! Thanks Katie for another marvelous recipe!
This was soo good! I only had vanilla almond milk and it still turned out amazing!
Ive made this for dinner tonight, and even without the addition of cream, it tastes amazing!
My only concern,is that even though I have followed the recipe exactly, there is just about enough for me, let alone 2-4 servings!
I am in the UK so have a feeling my measuring cup is smaller than a US one. Is there any way you could let me know how many grams one cup would be, so I can readjust the recipe? (for reference, my measuring cup came out at 100g of raw quinoa).
Many thanks
Laura
It’s not just you, I also get about 1.25 servings out of this
This recipe could not have been any easier and it’s was SO good! It is my new favorite comfort food and will become part of the rotation of regulars.
I love this recipe and make it often, but to say it serves 4 is a major stretch! I get 2 meager portions out of this recipe.
So delicious ! Thank you for sharing !