One-Pot Mexican Stew

Ever since I learned how to cook one-pot meals, I feel like everything in my life has become much simpler (and a lot tastier, too).

Just mix a few ingredients in a pot, add a bit of water, cook for a few minutes with a lid, and boom—you have a healthy, nutritious, and delicious meal.

You won't find anything easier than this.

The principle behind one-pot cooking is simple:

Use a wide pot with a large surface area, which helps with faster cooking and higher liquid evaporation.

Additionally, use ingredients that don't require very long cooking times, such as pasta, noodles, quinoa, red lentils, or ready-to-eat/quick-cooking products like bulgur, canned legumes, or frozen vegetables.

Just toss everything into the pot and you've got a complete meal.

A bit about this One-Pot Mexican Stew

• For this stew, I used uncooked quinoa because it cooks quickly and fits the Mexican-style flavor profile perfectly.

You can swap the quinoa for pasta, Israeli couscous, red lentils, or any other quick-cooking food (yes, noodles work too!).

• To ensure a solid protein boost, I added canned kidney beans, which is a fantastic way to eat legumes without needing to soak and boil them beforehand.

If you're worried about preservatives, you can rest easy—canned beans generally don't contain them (the vacuum seal in the can is what preserves the food).

• I didn't add many spices—just a bit of garlic, cilantro, chili pepper, and salt—and it turns out absolutely top-tier!

My Vegan Shredding Challenge

Nutritional Values

Nutritional values per serving (1 out of 3), weight: 370g

• 447 calories
• 21g protein
• 80g carbohydrates
• 4.8g fat

Print

One-Pot Mexican Stew

Prep Time 4 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Servings 3 servings

Calories 447 kcal

Ingredients

• 1 can kidney beans, drained 580g
• 1 cup uncooked white quinoa 230g
• 3 tbsp corn kernels 40g
• 1 cup crushed tomatoes 100g
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 handful fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 chili pepper, sliced
• 1 cup boiling water 220 ml

Instructions

1. Place all stew ingredients into a wide pot (like a saute pan).

2. The order of ingredients doesn't matter.

3. Reserve a little cilantro and chili pepper for garnish at the end of cooking.

4. Add boiling water until the ingredients are just covered.

5. Cover the pot with a lid and bring back to a boil.

6. Lower the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes.

7. That's it, the stew is ready!

8. Garnish with the remaining cilantro and chili pepper and serve with a ripe avocado.

Recipe Video