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And it’s buffalo time.

Easy Creamy Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Bake | halfbakedharvest.com

Again.

What’s new?

Well, it’s quinoa AND it’s buffalo. Actually, it’s Tieghan being so predictable.

Easy Creamy Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Bake | halfbakedharvest.com

But whatever, I just don’t care anymore. It’s football season, the weather’s turning colder and I honestly could not go on one more day without sharing this one with you guys.

It’s been burning up space on my computer for way too many weeks.

Ah wait, let’s talk about my computer here for just one second.

Easy Creamy Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Bake | halfbakedharvest.com

See, I take a lot of photos. I mean A LOT. Like way more than you guys will ever see. Sometimes, no pretty much all the time, over two-hundred photos per recipe. Yeah, two-hundred.

Trust me, I have tried to take less photos and for me it just does not work. I end up with photos that are just ok, but I always wish I would have taken more. Like with these photos. I didn’t take enough, hated them all and regretted taking less than usual. Lesson learned.

Anyway, my computer?

Easy Creamy Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Bake | halfbakedharvest.com

Oh my gosh, it is so FULL.

I have zero space and my computer is running like molasses. No wait, it is more like molasses when the bottle is basically empty and you are trying to get the very last half teaspoon out.

Oh what? No else does that?

Come one. Didn’t your mothers ever teach you to use every last drop? Well, mine did and it will for every be ingrained into my brain.

So yeah, I wait the ten minutes for the very last drop. Sometimes it is torture.

Easy Creamy Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Bake | halfbakedharvest.com

The point is, I need to start getting rid of photos or just learn how to organize them better. Oh and be a smarter person and use a hard drive. Yeah, that is probably what I should do.

Enough about my computer issues, back to the food.

The creamy, cheesy, buffalo chicken quinoa.

Basically, it is like a healthier version of buffalo chicken mac and cheese. I think it is safe to call it a healthy meal. I mean, there is quinoa, baby kale (completely your choice) and broccoli (again, your choice). It’s kind of the perfect meal for everyone, even vegetarians. Just leave the chicken out and you are good to go (promise it is still going to be just as awesome minus the chicken).

Oh and it’s kind of crazy easy. Cook the quinoa, make the sauce, put um together and throw it in the oven to get all nice and bubbly. Oh it’s so good.

Easy Creamy Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Bake | halfbakedharvest.com

Easy Creamy Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Bake

Author: Tieghan Gerard
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings: 6 Servings
Calories Per Serving: 434 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

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Ingredients

Instructions

  • Place quinoa in a fine-mesh strainer and rinse thoroughly under running water.
  • Transfer quinoa to a medium saucepan. Add water or broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and add the chopped kale and broccoli right on top of the water, do not stir. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until water is absorbed. Remove from heat and let sit, covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff quinoa with a fork and stir the veggies into the quinoa. Add the chicken, toss and set aside.
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the 1 tablespoon of butter, once it’s melted and bubbly add the flour. Whisk together to create a roux and cook for 1-2 minutes until mixture gets a bit golden in color. Add milk, stir and turn down heat to low. Continue stirring until milk thickens. Add in gouda and half of the cheddar cheese and continue to stir until mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat and stir in the 1/4 melted butter, hot sauce, seasoned salt and pepper.
  • Pour the sauce over the quinoa mixture and mix well to combine. Once combined, spray an 8x8 or 9x9 baking dish with non-stick spray and pour the entire quinoa mixture into the dish. Top with remaining fresh cheddar cheese, sliced (for an extra gooey top) or shredded.
  • Bake for 10 to 15 minutes and then turn the broiler on and broil for 1 to 2 minutes or until cheese is golden and bubbly.
  • Remove from the oven and top with blue cheese, fresh cilantro and green onions. Allow to sit five minutes and then serve.
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Easy Creamy Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Bake | halfbakedharvest.com

Um, I think you need this tonight. Yeah, you do!

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Comments

  1. HBH never disappoints! Made this for dinner tonight & it was awesome! I made some slight changes; I used cauliflower instead of broccoli, & added shredded carrots & zucchini while omitting the kale. I planned to make a double batch (to give one pan to a friend) but realized I didn’t have enough quinoa, so I used 50/50 quinoa & rice. My whole family loved it & I have plenty of leftovers too. It really tastes like delicious junk food, but it’s filled with whole grains, veggies, protein, so no guilt here. A++

    Reply

  2. I made this last night with a few minor modifications (like adding some diced celery and carrots (sauté in pan before adding quinoa/water) and eliminating the Gouda, blue cheese crumbles, cilantro and green onion (didn’t have them on hand) and instead added ~1/2 cup blue cheese dressing into the cheese sauce mixture)… and it was delicious!! Definitey a keeper recipe – thank you!

    Reply

  3. hi there! I have loved your recipes from afar for a while – and after pinning this months ago, I finally just made this recipe this morning for tonight’s dinner. It’s SO good, thank you so much for posting it. I absolutely love gouda, but I didn’t buy any for the recipe since I had a half block of monterey jack I’ve been needing to use up. So I used some sharp cheddar and bleu cheese mixed in to the quinoa, and the monterey jack on top because I shredded it myself and knew it would melt best.

    I also had some onion and celery to use up, and so I sauteed them in the butter before making the roux. I think it added a LOT of flavor, so I def recommend doing that. I didn’t use chicken because I’m horrible and let mine go bad before being able to cook it! But luckily there was so much other good stuff I don’t think I’ll miss it at all!

    Reply

  4. I made this delicious dish and absolutely LOVED it! It was like a delicious broccoli, chicken & cheese casserole, amped up with yummy buffalo goodness. I’m making it again soon. Nom!

    Reply

  5. I made this tonight for dinner and my boyfriend loved it! (This is a RARE event, at best I get “not bad” – I’m a good cook, he’s just picky)

    I doubled the amount of cheddar (in hindsight probably not necessary), but I also substituted the butter for coconut oil to try to make it a little more healthy – you would never know the difference!

    I put all the information into a recipe calculator on My Fitness Pal and got the below information for anyone interested (based on 6 servings):
    Calories Carbs Fat Protein Sodium Sugar
    Total: 2,985 175 157 237 7,474 22
    Per Serving: 498 29 26 40 1246 4

    Overall not too bad for a filling comfort food type of meal!

    Reply

  7. Just made this! I left out the gouda cheese and blue cheese on top, but put more cheddar. Next time i might mix a tablespoon of ranch or blue cheese dressing into the mix. Was very spicy. I might use less milk to have more of a thicker texture. Great recipe!

    Reply

  8. I totally hear you about being a photo pack rat. Only thing is, I take all those photos and still don’t come out with photos anywhere near as good as these ones! One bit of advice… how do you get photos of the finished product without it getting COLD?! And without you and your hungry dining partners getting impatient?! That is always where I struggle!

    Also, making this tonight 😉

    Reply

    1. Hey Johanna! I always shoot during the day for the light. This means dinner is pretty mush always reheated, so I do not have to worry about hungry people waiting to eat! Let me know if you have any more questions!

      Thanks for making this, I hope you love it!

      Reply

  9. Had pinned a buffalo chicken quinoa recipe forever ago and last night when i went to retrieve it the link had gone missing. I came across your recipe instead and never has such a happy accident happened at dinner! This is a great idea, and looks exactly how something creamy, cheesy, hot, and bubbly should look coming out of the oven. This was MY special Halloween treat last night, thanks for putting your great ideas and recipes out there!

    Reply

  11. I made this tonight for dinner for my boyfriend and I. Disclosure: The boyfriend doesn’t do “healthy” meals, and he thinks Quinoa is some karate move. Verdict: He had three helpings. Huge hit! This was delicious and creative! Tieghan, I love your blog and recipes. This was my first time visiting your site, and I’ll definitely be making more of your culinary concoctions!

    Reply