Description
Southwestern flavors shine in this refreshingly bright, flavorful, and Southwestern Quinoa Potato Stew. It is as healthy as it is delicious. Perfectly seasoned veggies, potatoes, and quinoa working in harmony! It is sure to knock your socks off, and become a new family favorite! Whole Food Plant Based recipe, vegan, no oil, no sugar, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.
Ingredients
- 1 medium yellow onion, fine dice
- 1 celery rib, fine dice
- 1 red bell pepper, small dice
- 2 jalapeno peppers, fine dice (see notes *)
- 1 heaping Tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 cups vegetable broth *
- 1 ½ cups water (or broth)
- 1 – [ 14 oz. can ] petite diced tomatoes
- ¼ cup lime juice
- 10 baby potatoes, quartered (or halved, depending on size, about 3 cups – see notes *)
- 2/3 to ¾ cup quinoa (uncooked – rinsed – see notes *)
- 1 – [ 15 oz. can ] black beans, drained and rinsed
- ¾ cup frozen corn
- ¾ cup frozen peas
Spice/Herb Ingredients:
- 1 ½ teaspoons cumin
- ½ teaspoon chipotle powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 2 Tablespoons dried minced onions
- 3 teaspoons sea salt (+/-)
Optional Toppings:
- Tomatoes, seeded and diced
- Cilantro, rough chop
- Jalapeno peppers, sliced into thin rings
- Mini sweet peppers, sliced into thin rings
- Green onions, sliced
- Avocados, sliced or chunked
Instructions
- Over medium heat, add the onions, celery, and bell pepper into an enamel/ceramic lined Dutch oven. Sauté for 5-7 minutes to soften the veggies. Then add the garlic and sauté for an additional minute.
- Add the vegetable broth, water, petite diced tomatoes, lime juice, and the Spice/Herb Ingredients, do not add the quinoa, beans, corn, or peas. Stir to mix well. Bring up to a boil, then immediately lower to a simmer.
- Add the potatoes and simmer for 10 – 15 minutes uncovered. The cooking time is largely dependent upon the size of the potatoes. The key here is to factor in the timing of when you add the quinoa; in other words, you are trying to time the tenderness of the potatoes with the cooking completion time of the quinoa. If unsure, cook the potatoes 15 minutes, then add the quinoa.
- Then add the quinoa and black beans, stir well, cover the pot, and cook for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, check the quinoa. Once the quinoa is done and the potatoes are tender, check the flavors, add more seasoning, if needed. The flavors will continue to marry even after cooking stops.
- Add the frozen corn and peas and cook until just heated through.
- Serve individual bowls with optional toppings.
Notes
*Jalapeño Peppers: Jalapeno peppers can vary in degrees of heat. If you have an especially hot one, then only use one jalapeno pepper. If you have mild ones, use two.
*Vegetable Stock: We use Pacific Organic Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients; however, this brand of vegetable stock does have a strong flavor so less broth is required when compared to the water ratio. We use a higher water to broth ratio because of this. If you use another brand of vegetable broth, then adjust the water/vegetable broth ratio accordingly. For example, if your vegetable broth brand is mellow and light, then omit the water and use 3 ½ cups of vegetable broth.
*Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary restrictions.
*Baby Potatoes: Baby potatoes come in varying sizes. We used the really tiny bite-sized baby potatoes for this recipe. Cut down potatoes to bite-sized pieces.
*Quinoa Amount: The amount of quinoa used in this recipe can vary based upon desired outcome. If you are looking for a stew, use 2/3 cup of quinoa. If you are looking for a bowl style option (no juice), then use 1 cup of quinoa. We enjoy it both ways. The blog photos of this dish represent the bowl/dinner option.