Test Kitchen: Southwestern Quinoa Stew

Easy, healthy recipes tested for you weekly at the Sargent Choice Test Kitchen

Caroline Kohler, Dietetics Student, SAR ’19

About the Sargent Choice Test Kitchen: We’re all about making healthy taste delicious here at Sargent Choice.  That’s why we’ve teamed up with faculty-in-residence Dr. Karen Jacobs to offer students a one-of-a-kind opportunity to trial and taste-test new Sargent Choice healthy recipes each week at the Sargent Choice Test Kitchen.  Dr. Karen Jacobs invites students of all majors (not just nutrition) into her home on Boston University’s campus to cook up a recipe developed by Sargent Choice Registered Dietitian, Jennifer Culbert.  Feedback from the weekly Test Kitchen gets incorporated into future Sargent Choice recipes and helps shape the face of healthy dining at BU.

At this week’s Test Kitchen, Southwest Quinoa Stew was on the menu. This easy, one-pot recipe is a delicious and filling meal that is great to prep and eat all week long. And with a hearty combination of quinoa and beans, this stew is a great way to incorporate plant-based meals into your diet.

What We Liked About The Stew:

  • All the ingredients went into one pot and the stew cooked very quickly—a great recipe for a hungry crowd!
  • The tomatoes formed the basis of a “broth” and the quinoa soaked up the tomato juice during cooking, making the stew hearty and healthy.
  • This recipe is very flexible and can include almost any vegetable—so if you need to utilize expiring produce from the fridge, it can go in this stew.

Tips and Tricks:

  • In addition to cumin, we put in paprika for more flavor. If you like spice, you could also add some chili powder.
  • The Greek yogurt was great as a topping—like a healthy sour cream—but you could also mix it in at the end of cooking for a creamier stew.
  • For added texture, you could save some of chopped veggies, such as onions, celery, or even some bell peppers, to use as toppings.
  • This stew is great to eat as leftovers!

Benefits of Plant-Based Meals:

  • Quinoa, beans, and tofu are lower in saturated fat compared to animal based proteins, which, when consumed as part of an overall balanced diet, can help reduce the risk of heart disease.
  • Plant-based proteins have additional vitamins and minerals, and beans are a good source of fiber as well.
  • Incorporating a few plant-based meals a week is not only good for you—it’s good for the environment as plant protein has a lower carbon footprint than animal protein.

Sargent Choice Southwestern Quinoa Stew

Recipe modified from Cookie and Kate
Yield: ~ 6 servings

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 celery stocks, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 jalapeños, seeded and chopped
3 ½ cups water
1 large can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup quinoa (dry, uncooked)
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Freshly ground black pepper
*Optional garnishes: crumbled tortilla chips, Greek yogurt

Directions:

  1. In a medium Dutch oven or soup pot, warm the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, carrots, garlic, and jalapeños. Sauté until the vegetables are tender, about 8 minutes.
  2. Add the water, tomatoes, beans, cumin, salt, quinoa, and cilantro. Season with pepper and bring the soup to a boil.
  3. Once boiling, lower the heat, cover the pot, and let the stew simmer until the quinoa is tender, about 15 minutes. You can serve this soup right away or use an immersion blender to purée a couple cups of the stew – this helps to thicken while still leaving some texture.
  4. Divide into bowls and serve with any garnishes you you’d like.