I’ve been holding out on you. This One Pan Broccoli Quinoa Skillet with Parmesan and White Beans has been my go-to lunch/solo night on the couch/HELP MY PANTRY IS EMPTY WHAT DO I COOK meal for, um…the last three months.
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I had the best of intentions to post it sooner, I really did! Easy, healthy meals like this broccoli quinoa skillet are some of my favorite recipes to share with you, especially when that recipe:
- Cooks in just ONE pan.
- Is ready in 32 minutes max, less if you are super speedy.
- Uses mostly pantry staples that I bet you have on hand right now.
- Can be easily adapted to just about any vegetable lurking in your produce drawer.
I really am the worst.
Go back for seconds and forgive me?
The best explanation I have for why it took me so long to finally stop and photograph this easy, healthy meal is that the times that I am most inclined to make it are also the ones when I am the most rushed.
Want to linger in the kitchen for hours and ponder life while stoically mincing garlic? This simple broccoli quinoa skillet is not that recipe.
Want to get a healthy dinner on the table as quickly as possible, meal prep a nutritious lunch you can eat all week long, or cook a meatless recipe that is still satisfying? This recipe is it!
Though to be clear, just because it is speedy to prepare does not mean that this broccoli quinoa skillet isn’t delicious enough to be worthy of a relaxed Friday night dinner. It’s creamy and flavorful, and the sprinkle of Parmesan cheese brings a little extra fancy to any night of the week.
Why I Love This Healthy Recipe
Although this recipe is vegetarian, it is still plenty satisfying thanks to the addition of quinoa (a complete protein) and a staple you’ll always find in my pantry, white beans.
Whenever I’m looking to bulk up the nutritional value of my meals, beans are one of my go-to ingredients.
If you’re looking for a fast, simple way to improve your diet, beans are an excellent option. They’re easy, inexpensive, sustainable, and packed with protein and fiber. You’ll love them in this Cavatelli and Broccoli too.
Recipe Adaptations
- Use Different Vegetables. I make this recipe most often with broccoli, but you can easily swap it out for any other vegetable that you have on hand. Quinoa, white beans, and spinach is a nice combo (especially when your spinach is on the brink of expiration), and I’ve also taken to tossing in any leftover roasted vegetables we may have from the night before.
How to Store Broccoli Quinoa Skillet
- To Store. Place leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Enjoy warm, cold, or at room temperature. (I liked mine best warm, but it tastes great all three ways!)
Other Healthy Dinner Recipes with Broccoli
And now, without further delay, the recipe! I promise it will have been worth the wait.
One Pan Broccoli Quinoa Skillet with Parmesan and White Beans
Video
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Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil divided
- 1 medium shallot finely chopped (about 1/2 cup), or 1/2 small yellow onion, diced
- 4 cups chopped fresh broccoli florets about 8 ounces
- 3 cloves garlic minced (about 1 tablespoon)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¾ cup uncooked quinoa
- 1 ½ cups low-sodium vegetable stock or chicken stock
- 1 can reduced-sodium white beans (15 ounces) (such as Great Northern or cannellini), rinsed and drained
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus additional for serving
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Heat a large, deep skillet or sauté pan over medium low. Add half the oil to the skillet. Once the oil is hot, add the shallot. Cook until slightly softened, about 2 minutes, not allowing the shallot to brown. Add the broccoli, garlic, salt, and pepper. Sauté until the broccoli is crisp-tender, about 3 to 4 additional minutes. Remove the broccoli and shallots from the skillet and set aside.
- Add the remaining oil to the skillet. Add the quinoa and let toast for 1 minute, stirring often and scraping up along the bottom of the pan. Add the chicken stock. Bring to a boil, and then lower the heat. Cover and let simmer until the quinoa is tender, about 12 minutes. Stir in the white beans and broccoli mixture and cook until warmed through, about 2 additional minutes. Stir in the Parmesan and sprinkle with fresh parsley. Taste and add additional salt or pepper as desired. Serve hot, with additional Parmesan.
Notes
- Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Enjoy warm, cold, or at room temperature. (I liked mine best warm, but it tastes great all three ways!)
This sounds so good and healthy! I have quinoa in my pantry and always have an assortment of vegetables on hand. Will definitely be trying this soon!
Thanks, Peggy! I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Could you cook this with chicken instead of white beans if you wanted to include meat? If so, how would you prepare it?
Hi Samantha! I think you could saute diced pieces of chicken with salt pepper and olive oil first, then set them aside and make the recipe as directed. Then, just stir the chicken in at the end. I hope you love the recipe!
Looks delicious. Love how you used parmesan to season the dish. Gives such a great base of flavour (:
Parm is one of my favorite cheeses! Thanks so much and I hope you enjoy the recipe.
Like what you said about beans – LOVE them! I get teased by my husband about my extensive supply of pasta – I know they taste the same but I need ALL the shapes to survive. And I have a very healthy number of various kinds of beans – I seriously could eat them cold from the can. As a protein, they can’t be beat and for me that’s great because I’m not a huge meat eater. I am so lucky to have a large pantry so that my pasta collection and the beans have a place to live. Wishes for a nice weekend to everyone.
I love beans too Chris, and I totally agree with you about the pasta shapes. Every one is special! I hope you have a great weekend too!
This sounds wonderful and I am adding it to my list. The “Half-Cup Habit” campaign is inspiring a lot of creativity and I appreciate the results like this recipe. Do you add the broccoli mixture back in at the end with the beans? It doesn’t say.
I’m so glad you are enjoying the recipe and the half-cup habit campaign too! Yes, the broccoli goes in at the end. I apologize for the confusion there!
Hi! I am an old goat and new to quinoa lol. I have really been trying to use it more and more. I made this today and have a question. It says to cook the quinoa 12 minutes or until tender. There was still quite a bit of liquid so I kept cooking until the broth was absorbed and more fluffy. Is that correct? Or should I have stopped at 12 min. It was really good anyway but am thinking I may have overcooked in looking at picture. Thank you so much!
Hi Kathy, 12 minutes is how long mine took for the liquid to be absorbed and the quinoa to be fluffy, but exact timing may vary from stove to stove. If yours turned out fluffy, it sounds like it was a success! I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Hi Erin. This sounds DELISH and I will definitely try it. I love that you respond to each comment. Thanks so much. ?
Hi Robin, I hope you enjoy!! :)
Made this tonight, it was easy and excellent! I am already looking forward to leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Thanks for a great recipe!
Thanks so much for giving it a try and taking the time to leave this review, Sarah! I’m glad to hear you enjoyed it!
very nice quinoa
Thank you!
hey girl- this looks really good! Y’all have a great weekend!
Thanks so much, Shawnna! Happy weekend to you too!
I used this as inspiration for our dinner the other night, and it was fabulous! I used seasoned brown rice that we already had prepared, a 12-oz. bag of raw broccoli florets from Aldi, half a red onion, tons of fresh garlic, and I finished with fresh lemon juice. I topped our bowls with more parm and avocado. We’re having the leftovers tonight! I shared on Instagram. I hope others will make it because it’s so easy and amazing!
Sounds delicious! Thanks so much for sharing your tweaks, Kori!
Easy recipe and very tasty! I actually used frozen broccoli and it worked well. I will definitely make this again. I love the addition of the Parmesan cheese! It takes the dish to a different level.
Thank you Erin!
Anna, I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave this awesome review!
Love this recipe! I didn’t have all of the ingredients so I omitted the broccoli and white beans. I doubled on the Parmesan cheese and it came out delicious. Tasted just like risotto… great recipes and creative ideas!
Ash, I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks so much for sharing your tweaks and for taking the time to leave a review!
Great combo. I used white limassol which were good as well. Will make again.?
So glad to hear it Betsy, thank you!!
I’m sorry, Erin–I so wanted to love this dish like we love so many of the others on your site. It just didn’t come together. It tasted as if I threw some beans, quinoa and broccoli in a bowl. My husband was polite, but this just seemed healthy.
Eileen, I’m sorry this didn’t hit the spot for you! We enjoyed it (and others have too), but all tastes are different. I know it’s disappointing to try a new recipe and not enjoy it, so I truly wish you would have loved this!
I have some leftover COOKED quinoa. Any way I could use that with this dish?
Hi Brie, I think that could work! I haven’t tried it myself, but the 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa works out to a little over 2 cups cooked. You wouldn’t need to remove the bean/broccoli mixture from the skillet at the end of step 1 and could just stir in the cooked quinoa. (Omit the chicken broth too.) If you give it a try, I would love to know how it goes!
Made this tonight as a side dish for pork chops. I left the beans out since I had a protein. It was fantastic! My husband and daughter both liked it as well. Thanks Erin!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for taking the time to report back!
Holy cow this is delicious! I love spice so I added some red pepper flakes with the salt and pepper. It’s a keeper!!
Hooray! Thanks for reporting back, Allison! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Loved this for a quick dinner and am going to add to our regular rotation!! Love you Erin!!
I’m so glad you love it, Elizabeth! Thanks for reporting back! :)
Another quick, easy, scrumptous meal and most definitely one to keep in the rotation. Added some extra protein by adding cooked Mighty Spark ground turkey/bacon blend. Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks for reporting back, Jed! I’m glad to hear you enjoyed it!
I made this last Thursday and thought it was alright. I heated up leftovers Friday and it was so good! Some things are just better the next day. I gave my mom some leftovers and she got the recipe from me.
As an afterthought, I heated up and sliced a link of apple chicken sausage and tossed it in my bowl of leftovers. Only 100 calories a link and it satisfies the carnivore in me. Next time I think I’ll add 3 or 4 links to the recipe and I’m also interested in trying this out with other veggies as you suggested. Thanks for the recipe.
Thank you so much for sharing! I agree that sometimes leftovers can be an unsuspecting delight! I hope you enjoy any further variations you may try!
I just made this for dinner. I was recently diagnosed with Hashimoto and this recipe has all the check marks. Thank you for coming up with easy conscience meals. I’m so incredibly grateful!
This made my day! Thank you for taking the time to share this kind review, Laura! I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe!
such a quick, healthy and delicious weeknight meal. I subbed bulgar wheat since i was out of quinoa, and it turned out great!
I’m so happy that you enjoyed it, Savannah! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
I made this tonight and it was delicious! It’s like super healthy comfort food. I made it according to the recipe this time, but next time I’m going to try it with asparagus. Thanks for a great recipe!
I’m so happy that you enjoyed it, Nina! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
I took a tip from one of your other recipes and roasted the broccoli before adding. I also added a generous amount of Italian seasoning and a dash of cayenne pepper. Wow! Quick and easy and the whole family loved it.
I’m so happy that you enjoyed it, Melanie! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
I made this because I had leftover quinoa. It was better than expected. I added a pinch of rosemary giving it a Tuscan flavor. I would make it again.
Whooo hooo! So happy to hear it, thank you!
Delicious. My entire family loved it. I ran out of quinoa and substituted farrow. It was so satisfying. I also added extra garlic and basil
Hi Janine! So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for this kind review!
Absolutely loved this! My husband is Mexican and insists on white rice and tortillas with every meal. He’s currently on chemotherapy and we are looking at healthy options. He really enjoyed this, I added spinach and onion and paired it with tilapia.
Hi Lacie! I’m so sorry to hear about your husband and I do hope he husband gets better soon! Thank you for this kind review!
Easy and quick recipe to put together for a gathering. I prepped everything in the morning for dinner in the evening. The meal prep turned out fantastic. The meal turned out great. I used 2 cans of chicken broth. I made 2 mistakes, the quinoa was a little crunchy and I should have cooked the broccoli al dente as they came out overcooked. I did add cayenne pepper and Italian seasoning though it was good without it.
I will be making this recipe again using dried beans soaked overnight.
I’m so happy that you enjoyed it, Chris! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
So good and so easy. Added a good squeeze of lemon to finish the dish and I would use a little less parsley next time. I will definitely make this again and add to my list to make for company.
Hi Allison! So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for this kind review!
Erin – this was delicious!! Thank you for the recipe!
Yay! Thank you Peg!
Found this recipe, and it was perfect for an emergency lunch for the family. I added some cooked diced chicken. Also, recipe is missing some acidity, so I deglazed the pan with some rice vinegar after sautéing everything.
Great to hear, thank you Ben!
Erin, I have been a huge fan of yours for years. One of your granola recipes is in my cupboard at all times. My favorite is to mix it with yogurt.
I tried this recipe and as always a homerun! The only change was to take out the beans and subed cauliflower. I used it as a bed for a yummy piece of cod.
Thank you for sharing all of your excellent recipes.
Yay! Thank you so much, Laura!
I made this for dinner last night. It was quick and easy and SOOOO delicious! I had more for lunch today and it was just as good. An additional benefit, I typed it in on My Fitness Pal and it recognized the recipe and added it right to my food intake for the day. Easy! And did I mention delicious?!?
So glad you enjoyed it, Michelle! Thank you!
Easy and delicious! I didn’t have any broccoli on hand, so I substituted some Brussels sprouts instead. Threw in a handful of cherry tomatoes, too. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Thank you Susan!
Easy and very good! Even my carnivore husband really liked it!
AMAZING, thank you!
We absolutely loved it! It was quick to make.
Great to hear, Monica! Thank you!
I’ve made this recipe countless times but I don’t think I’ve ever commented. I love this recipe, it is very versatile! I just made it for lunch and used chickpeas and asparagus. Delicious!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Bonnie! Thank you!
It tasted great! I put mushrooms in too. I seasoned the broccoli with olive oil , garlic and salt and put it into the oven, so it was a bit crispy!
Delicious, and so easy to make. I love that I could make it with any left over veggies next time. Thank you!
So glad to hear you enjoyed it, Angi!
I have been making this recipe for 6 years! It has no business being this delicious given it’s so simple. I do swap parmesan for shredded reduced fat cheddar and up it to 1/2 cup. This recipe is such a treat for a weekday meal!
Yay! So glad you are enjoying it and it’s on that you come back to time and time again, Anna!
Can we substitute frozen broccoli or other frozen veggies for fresh?
Hi Joanne, sure I think that could work but I’d make sure it was thawed first. Hope this helps!
Great flavor to effort ratio! I used leftover cooked broccoli and added it at the end. I may freeze a serving for a day when I don’t want to cook. I added a quarter of an orange pepper, chopped, because I needed to use it. I love one pot meals and will likely make this often.
Great to hear! Thank you BJ!
This looks like a perfect quick weeknight meal for my family. Question about the quinoa though. I’ve always thought that quinoa had to be rinsed thoroughly before cooking to avoid a soapy flavor. The way I read this recipe, we’re just tossing it in the pan dry. Have I been needlessly washing it all these years??
I’ll be back to leave my stars after I make this!
Hi Nora! Some pre-packaged quinoa may have already been rinsed. However, it’s still a good idea to rinse it again before cooking. Enjoy!