Healthy Beef Quinoa Nachos | Recipes Made Simple 

These healthy quinoa nachos would be great for Cinco de Mayo, a casual lunch, or even great for the picky eaters for any meal! I love to serve this with ground beef, or even with tortilla chips and a form of pico de gallo salsa and guacamole.

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 I love easy meals.

 These quinoa nachos are made with fresh ingredients and you can easily make the beef and quinoa ahead of time for a really quick meal on a busy weeknight. I made it last week and it took me literally 10 minutes total since I prepped ahead.

My oldest son is a picky eater (just like his mama was) and only loves certain things. It is so nice to serve a dish that has different ingredients that he loves and that are also healthy. It’s a win! The warm quinoa filling and fresh cilantro sprinkled over top make my mouth instantly water.

I have a homemade taco seasoning that I use for the beef and squeeze a ton of fresh limes over the quinoa to give it some zest. This meal is one of my favorites not only nutritionally, but also for simplicity too.

It can also be turned into a vegan recipe if you do not eat beef. Simply omit the beef and you will still have a nutritional and great recipe. I love real food recipes like this one because it is truly guilt-free and it is filling.

Healthy Quinoa Nacho Ingredients

• 1 lb. of Ground Beef
• 2 Limes
• 1 Onion (Red Onion or White Onion)
• 2 tsp. Sea Salt and Black pepper
• 1 tsp. Garlic Powder + Onion Powder
• 2 Tbsp. Taco Seasoning
• 1-2 Cups Quinoa
• 1 Cup of Shredded Cheese
• 1 Cup Chopped Cilantro
• Pico De Gallo or Guacamole (Optional) 

Tools You May Need

• Large Skillet
• 9 x 13 glass baking dish
• Wooden spoon
• Cheese grater
• Knife
• Cutting Board
• Medium Saucepot 
• Colander 

I love that you can add anything to this dish to make it healthy and tasty. When I do not have any Pico De Gallo, salsa, or any guacamole on hand I just add in fresh veggies for more flavor. It does make meal prep a breeze when thinking of meals for the week because it can be a catch-all meal to make at the end of a week.

It follows the same formula as nachos, but there aren’t any chips (well you could add tortilla chips or corn chips if you wanted).

I just switched the quinoa for chips. Sometimes I add both. You could also add a dollop of sour cream on top of your finished meal to make it unhealthy and give it a great flavor all at the same time!

Other Add-Ins That Could Work: Bell peppers or green chilis

HOW TO MAKE HEALTHY BEEF QUINOA NACHOS

• Brown your beef in a large skillet, along with your diced onion. Once the onion is translucent and the beef is browned, drain off the fat in a colander. Put it back in the skillet and add in your seasonings. If you are using taco seasoning, add that in with about a ½ cup of water in the bottom of the skillet. Otherwise just season with onion powder, garlic powder, ½ lime, and salt + pepper. 

 

• Start cooking your quinoa in the water (about 3 cups) over medium heat. I like to pre-soak my quinoa for about 15-30 minutes in a measuring cup. Then add it to boiling water until the quinoa is completely cooked through. Rinse again and drain. 

 

• In a 9 x 13 glass pan add the quinoa mixture to the bottom and squeeze 1 full lime overtop. Sprinkle salt over the quinoa and layer the cheese, beef, and cilantro. Keep out about ¼ cup of cilantro for the topping.

 

• Bake for 10 minutes at 350 or until the cheese has melted all of the ways through.

 

• Top with sliced avocados, guacamole, salsa, and the rest of the cilantro. Squeeze 1 /2 lime over top and enjoy! You can add some black pepper here if you want, totally optional.