Cheesy broccoli quinoa with sriracha and poached eggs is a fabulous and easy brunch meal to make that’s jam packed with protein to help keep you full for longer. Or, skip the eggs and serve it as a side dish for dinner!

Cheesy Broccoli Quinoa with Sriracha and Poached Eggs in a bowl with a spoon. The bowl is on a striped napkin. The poached eggs are broken and the yolks are running into the quinoa. There's a glass of ice water on the table for drinking.

I’m constantly on the lookout for new meatless recipes and while I mostly want them to be healthy – so, mac and cheese doesn’t count – if they do happen to be made with a cheesy sauce, they also need to be loaded with veggies and protein. 

It’s sort of a head game I play with myself.  I’ve made Annie’s cheesy broccoli quinoa casserole a handful of times in the past year and we’ve seriously loved it every single time.  And it certainly fits my criteria.

Cheesy Broccoli Quinoa with Sriracha and Poached Eggs in a bowl with a spoon. The bowl is on a striped napkin. There are a few squirts of sriracha sauce over the poached eggs.

The recipe makes about 8 servings and I’ll usually eat it for a bunch of lunches during the week as well but I got a fierce hankering for poached eggs last week that I couldn’t knock. 

I had some of this quinoa left in the fridge and though I hadn’t ever eaten it for breakfast before, I figured what the heck?

Cheesy Broccoli Quinoa with Sriracha and Poached Eggs in a bowl with a spoon. The bowl is on a striped napkin. The poached eggs are broken and the yolks are running into the quinoa.

I mixed a teaspoon of sriracha in my warmed up quinoa, poached a couple of eggs (using this tutorial), and squirted some more of the spicy stuff on top before popping that gorgeous egg open and digging in.  I kid you not – the thought of this breakfast got me through a Saturday morning workout that I thought was going to break me. 

This was so so satisfying!  Creamy and spicy broccoli quinoa underneath a couple of runny eggs?  I may never make this quinoa without the sriracha and poached eggs again!

Broccoli Quinoa as a Side Dish

You can certainly skip the eggs on this quinoa if you want to serve this quinoa as a side dish for dinner. It would be fantastic served alongside some roast chicken or flat roast chicken with potatoes

And it would be excellent with pork too! Grilled pork tenderloin is easy to make!

Cheesy Broccoli Quinoa with Sriracha and Poached Eggs in a bowl with a spoon. The bowl is on a striped napkin. The poached eggs are broken and the yolks are running into the quinoa.

Cheesy Broccoli Quinoa with Sriracha and Poached Eggs

Yield: 8 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Inactive Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes

Cheesy broccoli quinoa with sriracha and poached eggs is a perfect brunch recipe! It makes a great breakfast for dinner meal or as a side dish (without the eggs and sriracha) for roast chicken or pork chops.

Ingredients

For the quinoa:

  • 1 ½ cups quinoa
  • 1 head broccoli, cut into small florets
  • 3 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 2 shallots, diced
  • ¼ tsp garlic powder
  • ¼ tsp dry mustard or ½ Dijon mustard
  • ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
  • 2 cups milk
  • 8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 2 cups shredded or chopped cooked chicken

For serving:

  • Sriracha sauce
  • 8 poached eggs

Instructions

  1. Cook the quinoa according to package directions.
  2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400° F. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat and whisk in the flour, shallots, garlic powder, mustard, and cayenne pepper. Cook for 1 minute then slowly whisk the milk in until no lumps remain. Bring the mixture to a simmer and allow the milk to bubble and thicken, about 5 minutes. Turn the heat to low and stir in the cheese, a handful at a time. Season with salt and pepper.
  3. In a very large bowl, stir the quinoa, broccoli, chicken, and cheese sauce together until well-blended. Lightly grease a 13x9-inch casserole dish and pour the quinoa mixture into the dish, smoothing out the top with a spatula. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the top is lightly browned.
  4. As you serve the quinoa, stir some sriracha into each serving, to taste. Top each quinoa serving with two poached eggs and serve hot.

Notes

Smells Like Home original | quinoa recipe adapted from Annie's Eats

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  • Carol at Wild Goose Tea
    March 30, 2014 at 4:15 PM

    I think this looks delicious. My first reaction was—this is kind of an odd combo. Mmm. But you know, its actually kind of like a quiche with the quinoa taking the place of the crust flavor.