Recipe: $13.24| Per Serving: $3.31 | Yield: 4
This post is part of a series about homemade frozen dinners. Please see How to Make Homemade Frozen Meals for more information.
Next up on this week of homemade frozen meals is Italian Quinoa Marinara with Sausage & White Beans.
When I lived in Peru in 2013, Quinoa was an all-star. It was so cheap and so available! Our Peruvian roommate taught me to make Peruvian quinoa stew and the best way to cook quinoa (with butter and garlic), and one of my student’s favorite meals was actually Quinoa Marinara. It’s exactly what it sounds like: quinoa with marinara sauce.
That was also around the time when the rest of the world was starting to enjoy quinoa, so there are now hundreds of different ways to prepare it all over the globe. (Tacos, Mediterranean Bowls, Sushi, etc.)
Simple is the name of the game with frozen meal prep, and this recipe is no exception!
This Italian Quinoa Marinara is packed with protein from the sausage, white beans, and quinoa, and paired with flavorful marinara and frozen spinach for added nutrients. If you can handle cheese, feel free to top it off with grated Parmesan!
Ingredients for Italian Quinoa Marinara Meal Prep (All Ingredients Found at Trader Joe’s)
- 16 oz TJ’s Frozen Cooked Quinoa (use all)
- 10-12 oz Frozen Spinach (use half the bag)
- 1 jar (25 oz) Trader Joe’s Organic Spaghetti Marinara Sauce (use half)
- 1 can organic white beans (use all) — double if vegan / vegetarian
- Trader Joe’s Organic Chicken Sausage (use 4 links, about 10 oz)
How to Make Italian Quinoa Marinara Meal Prep
- Combine the quinoa, spinach, and about 1 cup of marinara sauce. Divide this mixture among the 4 containers. It should take up about half the container.
- Drain and rinse the white beans. Slice the sausage. Combine with the remaining 1/2 cup of marinara sauce. Divide among the remaining containers.
- Seal the containers and freeze. That’s it!
Does this Frozen Meal Get Soggy?
As you can see from the images, it might get a little bit soggy. This is soggier than you can expect because my quinoa got waterlogged (I thawed it slightly in water, but the bag had a hole). If yours is a brick and you need to thaw it a bit so you can mix it, I’d recommend thawing with the microwave or with time, not with water!
Paleo: Nope, not this time. (Beans and quinoa are not Paleo.) You could double the sausage and replace the quinoa with cauliflower rice for Paleo.
Vegetarian: You can easily omit the sausage and double the white beans for vegan/vegetarian.
↓ PIN THIS FOR LATER ↓
Italian Quinoa Marinara with Sausage & White Beans Frozen Meal Prep
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
This easy Italian Quinoa Marinara Frozen Meal Plan is perfect for planning your lunches ahead of time!
Ingredients
- 16 oz Trader Joe’s Frozen Cooked Quinoa
- 15–6 oz frozen chopped spinach
- 1 1/2 cups marinara sauce (half a 25-oz jar)
- 1 can organic white beans (use all) — double if vegan / vegetarian
- 4 links Trader Joe’s Organic Chicken Sausage (about 10 oz)
Instructions
- I’ve noticed that the quinoa is sometimes frozen solid. You can hack it with a knife or thaw it slightly to make it more manageable.
- Combine the quinoa, spinach, and about 1 cup of marinara sauce. Divide this mixture among the 4 containers. It should take up about half the container.
- Drain and rinse the white beans.
- Slice the sausage.
- Combine the beans and sliced sausage with the remaining 1/2 cup of marinara sauce. Divide among the remaining containers.
- Cover and freeze!
Notes
Vegan / Vegetarian: double the white beans and omit the sausage.
Nutrition label is for recipe as written, including white beans and sausage.
- Prep Time: 5
- Category: Frozen Meals
- Method: No Cook
- Cuisine: Italian
Keywords: frozen meal prep, quinoa marinara, quinoa marinara meal prep, frozen dinners, homemade frozen dinners