Easy weeknight red beans and quinoa is a reliably delicious 30-minute vegan one-pot dinner. Quick-cooking quinoa with red kidney beans, a little diced celery, and green bell pepper with smoked paprika, a splash of apple cider vinegar, and a kick of Tabasco hot sauce - dinner on the fly you'll love!
The short ingredient list makes this the perfect busy-day meal. Plus, I'll show you how to make delicious quinoa that you can use with any recipe.
This was the first official quinoa recipe I tried when I decided to incorporate more plant-based foods into my life. It inspired other quick favorites like orange quinoa and black beans, cranberry quinoa salad with kale, and easy quinoa pilaf with chickpeas. I highly recommend them all!
Table of Contents
⭐ Why You'll Like This Recipe
- A delicious main dish with easy ingredients that's a complete meal in one pot.
- This tasty recipe follows the principles of a plant-based diet using wholesome ingredients and no added olive oil.
- It's easy! Fuss-free meal preparation and quick cooking.
📋 Recipe Ingredients
Red beans. I used common red kidney beans rather than the small red beans for convenience - they are everywhere. They also provide a great flavor for my famous red beans and rice with tofu sausage. Any canned beans work for this recipe, so use what you have in the pantry. I recommend pinto beans or
Quinoa. Protein-rich white quinoa is the most common, but don't limit yourself. Black or red quinoa or tricolor quinoa can be used. The cooking time and amount of liquid is the same. See my tricolor quinoa side dish recipe for more info or another easy recipe idea.
Smoked paprika. Added spicy heat and smoky flavor from a jar. Use sweet paprika or ½ a teaspoon of cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes as a substitute or a few teaspoons of my special chili powder blend, which has a little of everything.
Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the complete list of ingredients with measurements plus recipe instructions.
📖 Recipe Variations
You can customize this recipe using added veggies like diced zucchini or red peppers. Substitute red onions for yellow onions or lemon juice for hot sauce. This forgiving, basic recipe is a great palate to experiment with.
⏲️ Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Cook the onions, celery, and green pepper over medium heat.
Step 2: Stir in the garlic and spices.
Step 3: Mix in the broth, vinegar, Tabasco, quinoa, and beans.
Step 4: Simmer for 15 minutes until the liquid is absorbed.
🔪 Pro Tips
Use a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed large saucepan with a lid.
Heat the pan before adding the onions, pepper and celery. Preheating keeps the veggies from sticking.
Tips for Cooking Quinoa
- Rinse quinoa before cooking. Rinsing reduces the bitter flavor from the saponins on the outside of the grains. Most get washed away during packaging. Rinsing gets rid of the rest.
- Cook quinoa with the lid off or on. But always place the lid and let it rest for 2-3 minutes after cooking.
- Fluff quinoa after cooking and settling. Then, add other spices or ingredients (if called for in your recipe).
🍴 Serving Suggestions
Serve quinoa and beans as a main course garnished with sliced green onions (spring onions) and a smattering of chopped fresh parsley. It's an ideal weeknight meal because everything is in one pot, keeping even the dishes to a minimum.
Tasty sides like cranberry and apple salad, balsamic cucumber salad, or oil-free mango coleslaw go well with the flavors of this delicious quinoa main dish.
💭 Frequently Asked Questions
Store leftover quinoa and red beans in an airtight container for 5 days in the refrigerator or freeze it for 3 months.
One of the best ways to reheat cooked quinoa is in a basket steamer over boiling water. If you reheat in a pan, you'll need to add water or broth to keep it from sticking. The microwave is another good way to reheat individual servings.
Quinoa can be tricky to cook perfectly in the Instant Pot, and it actually takes more time than the stovetop cooking method. For this reason, I recommend cooking it on the stove so you can keep an eye on the liquid to quinoa.
I recommend bulgur wheat as a good stand-in for quinoa for red beans and quinoa. Bulgur takes about the same time to cook with the same amount of liquid. If you use brown rice for this recipe, use 1 ½ cups with 3 ½ cups of vegetable broth. Allow 35 minutes to cook the rice.
🥘 Vegan Quinoa Recipes
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👩🏻🍳 Recipe
Easy Weeknight Red Beans and Quinoa
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Ingredients
- 1 medium onion - diced, 1 - 1 ½ cups
- 1 medium green bell pepper - diced, about 1 cup
- 2 stalks celery - diced
- 3 cloves garlic - minced or pressed
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- ½ -1 teaspoon Tabasco - or your favorite hot sauce
- 4 cups vegetable broth - or water plus vegan stock cubes
- 3 cups red kidney beans - or red beans, 2-15 ounce/400 gram cans, rinsed and drained
- 2 cups quinoa - rinsed
- salt and pepper to taste
- ½ cup green onions - sliced, optional
- ¼ cup parsley - chopped, optional
Instructions
- Heat a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed large saucepan to medium heat. Add the onion, green bell pepper, and celery. Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently until the onions are slightly browned.
- Add the garlic, smoked paprika, and thyme. Mix well.
- Stir in the apple cider vinegar, tabasco, veggie broth, kidney beans, and quinoa. Use a wooden spoon to clear the bottom of the pan.
- Bring the ingredients to a low boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook covered or uncovered for 15 minutes until the liquid is absorbed. Then add the lid (if cooking uncovered) and let the quinoa sit for 2-3 minutes.
- Fluff the quinoa, taste, and add salt, black pepper, or more Tabasco if desired.
- Garnish with sliced green onions and/or chopped parsley if using.
Video
Notes
- Rinse quinoa to reduce the bitter flavor and dust from the package.
- This recipe uses white quinoa; however, you can use red or black quinoa or a combination (tricolor quinoa).
- Store leftover quinoa and red beans in an airtight container for 5 days in the refrigerator or freeze it for 3 months.
- One of the best ways to reheat cooked quinoa is in a basket steamer over boiling water. If you reheat in a pan, you'll need to add water or broth to keep it from sticking. The microwave is another good way to reheat individual servings.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimation only.
Delana
Tried this and absolutely loved it!
Denise
This makes me so happy. Really appreciate the kind comments. This is one of our favorites too.
Mandy
It was amazing! Love how tasty it was to start up my day
Denise
Glad you enjoyed this recipe - it's power-packed with protein and goodness. I agree - a great way to start things up. 🙂
Hana
Super delicious. Just the right amount of spicy! We added in a yellow pepper for some extra color and some left over spinach.
Denise
So glad you enjoyed this.Big fan of easy recipes in out house 🙂
Amanda
How many cups that make it 353 calories sweetie??
Denise
Hi, the servings are about 2 cups, so you're looking at about 175 calories in 1 cup (I'm doing math early) 🙂 Let me know if you have any other questions. My best to you 🙂
Lillith W
I. LOVE. THIS. RECIPE! In the past I've stayed away from quinoa because it never leaves me feeling satisfied. I'm so glad that I tried this - so glad in fact that I have made it TWICE this week. On Thursday I made it as written and served it with roasted veggies. On Saturday I made it with black beans instead of red, used cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, and a pinch of cayenne powder and then served it on a baked sweet potato. Both were amazing and loved by the whole family! THANK YOU FOR THIS!!!!!!
Denise
Yahoo! This makes my day. Mixing quinoa with other ingredients (especially beans) is a great way to make it satisfying. This great easy recipe has been a favorite of ours and I hope now, yours too. 🙂
Casandra
Amazing! Simple & delicious! 🙏✨
Denise
I'm SO happy you enjoyed this one - I am officially thrilled! 🙂