This cheddar ranch chicken quinoa bake is loaded with good-for-you ingredients plus lots of veggies. A simple casserole where the chicken and quinoa get baked in the same dish!
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Generously grease (quinoa gets sticky!) a 9 x 13 casserole dish.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring 2 cups of chicken broth (I recommend low sodium) and 1/2 cup of milk (unfortunately only cow's milk works in this dish - skim milk never thickened enough in my experimentation so stick with 1%, 2%, or whole milk) to a very warm temperature (right before a boil). In another small bowl, briskly whisk together the remaining 1/2 cup milk, flour, and chicken seasoning blend until smooth.
Add the milk + flour mixture to the chicken broth mixture and whisk until smooth and thick. Remove from heat.
Stir in the quinoa. (I like to rinse the quinoa first in a mesh strainer to remove the bitter saponin coating. Do this unless your quinoa is already pre-rinsed) Stir in the remaining 1 cup of chicken broth.
Pour the creamy quinoa mixture in the bottom of the casserole dish and bake for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, cut the chicken breasts into small and even pieces.
In a small bowl, stir together the Greek yogurt, Greek yogurt salad dressing mix, and 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese.
Mix the chicken into this mixture until all of the chicken pieces are well coated and the mixture is all used up.
Remove the quinoa from the oven, stir well, and add the covered chicken pieces in an even layer on top of the quinoa.
Return to the oven (no need to cover the dish, the chicken won't dry out) and cook for another 25-35 minutes. Stir every 5-10 minutes to keep the quinoa from sticking to the bottom.
Cook until the quinoa has "popped" and most of the liquid has been absorbed (not all.)
Remove and stir in the frozen veggies of your choice. If you aren't using frozen veggies I would recommend steaming veggies first before adding. (You may even just want to steam the frozen veggies too depending on preference).
Top the casserole with the remaining cheddar cheese adding more as desired. Add some salt and pepper and breadcrumbs if desired. Broil for 2-3 minutes or until cheese on top is melted.
Enjoy immediately.
Notes
*Any type of chicken poultry seasoning that you like should work great here