Festive Quinoa Stuffing

Although bread based stuffing is traditional, it can be nice to have something a little different on the Thanksgiving table. Quinoa is one of my favorite stuffing base; this complete protein can be used as a side dish as well as a vegetarian main course when stuffed into a squash. The recipe I am sharing with you today is not only gluten free, vegan, and high in protein, but low in fat as well. The fats that I do add to it are in the form of heart healthy olive oil and crunchy hazelnuts.  This dish is not just for Thanksgiving, but an easy weekday side dish or main dish as well!

Author: Amy Lyons O’Neil

Amy has worked for Fresh and Natural Foods since 2006 contributing to the variety of healthful foods we offer. She graduated with a degree in studio art from Bethel University in 2007, but in her senior year of college, found that her passion was with the art of food. She later used her photography and culinary skills to create a vegan food and recipe blog, Fragrant Vanilla Cake. She has also written 3 cookbooks. She specializes in vegan and vegetarian recipes. Local, fresh and organic food has always been her focus in whatever she creates.

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Servings: 6-8 servings | Prep Time: 5 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Ready in: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups tricolor quinoa, rinsed and drained
• 1 large organic onion,
• 2 medium organic apples, diced
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1/4 cup organic orange juice
• 1/2 tsp sea salt, or to taste
• 1 cup toasted hazelnuts

Instructions

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a large saucepan, add quinoa. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until all the water is absorbed about 15 minutes, or when all the grains have turned from white to transparent, and the spiral-like germ has separated. Drain, and set aside in a large bowl. Meanwhile, sauté the onion and apple in the olive oil over medium heat for about 5 minutes until soft, then add to the quinoa. Add all of the other ingredients to the quinoa and mix well. Serve warm. *Note: if you wish to stuff the quinoa into a squash, you can use any small squash such as butternut, kabocha, or acorn. To do so, cut the squash in half and take out the seeds. Oil the cut side, then place cut side down on a foil lined sheet pan and roast at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes to an hour until tender. Then stuff it with the quinoa to serve.