This Creamy Cajun Beans and Cauliflower over Quinoa is a vegetarian dish for EVERYONE! Kids, adults, meat eaters, and veggie lovers will all love this recipe. The not-too-hot fantastic cajun flavors combined with healthy garbanzo beans, black beans, cauliflower, and mushrooms make this a hearty, creamy, and delicious dish. Creaminess comes from creating a roux and then using low fat milk and broth, no fattening/high-calorie heavy cream here!
This is a great dinner recipe for a Meatless Monday or anytime you want to get more veggies and plant-based proteins in!
Equipment
You can use a dutch oven or large frying pan/skillet for this recipe. It needs to be large enough to fit the cauliflower, beans, and sauce. I like to use a dutch oven because it has a wide bottom and tall sides for mixing.
Prep-Ahead Steps for this Cajun Beans and Cauliflower Recipe
For this recipe, you can cut the cauliflower, slice the mushrooms and scallions, make the cajun spice, and drain the beans. You can even make the quinoa ahead and reheat it later.
I like to double or triple this cajun spice mix recipe and keep it for sprinkling into a variety of quick dinner mains or sides. It includes Chili powder, cumin, oregano, garlic powder, smoked paprika, onion powder, cayenne pepper, salt, and ground black pepper.
For the cauliflower, simply take your knife and cut along the outside of the florets about ½ down to get the small tips. You can use all of the florets and even the stems, just cut into small pieces.
Thin slice the scallions. Clean and slice the mushrooms. Drain the black beans and garbanzo beans (chickpeas).
Cooking Steps
To cook this recipe, preheat your pan/pot on high heat. Add Olive oil, mushrooms, cauliflower, and scallions (save some of the greens for garnish). Turn heat down to medium and saute the vegetables for 5-6 minutes until seared and starting to soften. Don’t worry about them cooking completely at this point as they will continue to cook in the coming steps.
Add the garbanzo and black beans, as well as a tablespoon of the cajun seasoning. Stir and cook for another 2 minutes. Sprinkle 2 Tbls of all purpose flour over the cauliflower and mushrooms in the pan and stir to combine.
Serve this over Quinoa for even more protein and a glorious combination that you will fall in love with!
Creamy Cajun Beans and Cauliflower over Quinoa
I love spice and this Creamy Cajun Beans and Cauliflower over Quinoa recipe is great because you can spice-it up or down as much as you want! The cajun flavors and healthy garbanzo beans, black beans, cauliflower, and mushrooms make this a hearty, creamy, and delicious dish. The creaminess comes from creating a roux and then using low fat milk and broth, no fattening/high-calorie heavy cream here! Serve this over our star supergrain, Quinoa and you will fall in love!
Ingredients
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- 2 scallions
- ¼ Head Cauliflower
- ½ cup milk
- 1 cup Vegetable Broth
- 6-7 ounces Garbanzo beans, cooked (Chickpeas)
- 6-7 ounces Black beans, cooked
- 1 cup White Quinoa, uncooked
- 3 Tbls All Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Cajun Seasoning
- ½ teaspoon Chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Cumin
- ½ teaspoon Dried Oregano
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- ½ teaspoon Onion Powder
- ½ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper or to taste
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
Instructions
Prep Ahead Steps
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Of course, you can use a Cajun Seasoning Mix if you have one that you love. But if not, then in a small bowl, mix all of the Cajun seasoning ingredients. Set aside for later.
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Break apart about 2 cups of cauliflower florets into bite-size pieces. Slice the scallions. Slice the mushrooms. Drain and rinse the garbanzo beans and black beans.
Cooking Steps
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Rinse 1 cup of uncooked quinoa in a strainer with warm water. Add to sauce pot with 2 cups water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, stir, then reduce to a light simmer. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, turn off heat, but keep covered until ready to serve.
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To a preheated pan/pot on high heat, add a teaspoon coconut oil, mushrooms, cauliflower, and scallions (save some of the greens for garnish). Turn heat down to medium and saute the vegetables for 5-6 minutes until seared and starting to soften.
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Add the garbanzo and black beans, as well as a tablespoon of the cajun seasoning. Stir and cook for another 2 minutes. Sprinkle 2 Tbls of all purpose flour over the cauliflower and mushrooms in the pan and stir to combine.
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Add ½ cup low-fat milk and stir. Then add the broth and stir. Cook on medium-low until sauce has thickened. Taste for seasoning and add more cajun seasoning as needed.
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Loosen the quinoa with a fork and then place some on each plate. Top with the Creamy Cajun Beans and Cauliflower. Garnish with scallions.
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