This super delicious bowl of chicken quinoa is full of flavor, perfect for meal prep, and the recipe comes in just 35 minutes. How cool is that?!
Meal Prep is a billion times more effective than willpower alone when it comes to sticking to a healthy diet. When you have a delicious, healthy lunch in the fridge, ready to eat, you just aren’t as likely to fall off the bandwagon. I have tons of meal prep recipes on my website, but I’ll never stop adding more.
Ingredients and substitutions
Red onion – The roasted red onion is absolutely delicious and the best choice in combination with the vegetables used in this chicken quinoa bowl. You can, however, use other onions if you don’t have any red onions in your pantry. Shallots, for example, would be the best alternative.
Garlic – garlic gives every dish a touch of flavour. Fresh garlic is always best, but you can also use a teaspoon of dried garlic if needed.
Vegetables – choose vegetables that roast as quickly as they cook large chicken breasts. My personal favorite for these meal prep bowls are the green beans and red bell pepper. Excellent alternatives would be carrots, celery and cauliflower. Stay away from zucchini, tomatoes and asparagus that roast much faster or brussels sprouts and potatoes or sweet potatoes that take much longer. Make sure the vegetables are all dry after washing as excess water will create steam in the oven.
Chicken breast – I’m usually more of a chicken leg lover, but for some reason, I found this chicken quinoa bowl better with chicken breast in some ways. Both work though.
Quinoa – White quinoa cooks faster, but obviously red quinoa or black quinoa also work great in this recipe. I have a complete tutorial on how to cook quinoa all different ways. Alternatively, you can also cook rice in the Instant Pot.
Spices – lately I’ve been obsessing over the mix of sea salt, pepper, paprika and oregano. You could add cumin to that mix too, or some coriander.
Condiments – hands down feta, dill and lemon juice were my favourites. I’ve tried the recipe with all kinds of toppings. The avocado is great too, but it browns so quickly, so it’s not the best for meal prep. You could add it right before eating. The parmesan and parsley were also very nice.
How to make a chicken quinoa bowl
Prepare all the vegetables, then place them on a large baking sheet and season.
Add the chicken to a separate roasting pan. Don’t add the chicken to the roasting pan because the liquid it releases during cooking will steam the vegetables rather than roast them.
I like working the oil and seasoning the vegetables and chicken with my hands. When using spoons, for example, it is not possible to guarantee that all pieces of vegetable are well coated, and a piece of vegetable without oil will dry out and burn instead of roasting well.
I like to cook chicken and roast vegetables for short periods of time at high temperatures. This results in the best flavor. Then turn the heat up to 400F and roast/bake for just 25 minutes. Don’t overcook the chicken. The internal temperature in the thickest part of the chicken breast should only reach 165F.
Top your chicken quinoa bowl with feta cheese, dill, and lemon juice to make it extra flavorful and bright.
Is quinoa good for losing weight?
I always get these kinds of questions when I prepare a recipe with what today is often referred to as a “superfood”. It’s so important that you stop thinking that a specific food will make you gain or lose weight.
Healthy eating has almost nothing to do with individual foods, but rather with the overall food intake during a day, week and month. The more nutrient-rich ingredients you eat consistently, the better.
If you want to dig deeper into learning how to eat nutritionally well, check out my 6 week clean eating program. It’s the best way to truly understand what it means to eat “well”. It includes a lot of meal prep which helps maintain a healthy diet.
Are Chicken Quinoa Bowls Healthy?
This particular chicken quinoa bowl recipe is, yes! It is nutritionally balanced and provides plenty of protein, complex carbohydrates, healthy fats and plenty of fiber. This is what it means to eat healthy.
Chicken Quinoa Bowl
Print Recipe
Pin Recipe
ingredients
- 1 Red onion
- 3 garlic cloves
- 7 ounce French beans
- 1 big red pepper
- 1 lb chicken breast
- 3 teaspoon paprika
- 3 teaspoon Origan
- sea salt
- pepper
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1.5 cups Quinoa
- 1.5 ounce feta cheese
- 2 Tablespoon fresh dill
- 1 lemon
Instructions
-
Preheat the oven to 400F.
-
Peel and slice the red onion, peel and chop the garlic, deseed and slice the red pepper and if necessary remove the stalks from the green beans.
-
Add all the vegetables to a large roasting pan and season with 1/3 of the paprika and 1/3 of the oregano and also season with sea salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle with a drizzle of olive oil and work the oil and the dressing with your hands.
-
Add the chicken to a separate roasting pan and season with the remaining paprika and oregano and add sea salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle with olive oil and work the oil and season with your hands.
-
Place both vegetables and chicken in the oven for 25 minutes or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165F.
-
Meanwhile, prepare the quinoa either in a pot on the stove according to package directions or in the Instant Pot by adding 1.5 cups quinoa, 1.5 cups water, and a little sea salt and then setting it for 1 minute on high. pressure and letting the pressure release naturally.
-
After the cooking and toasting time has elapsed, remove the pan and roasting pan from the oven and let rest for a few minutes. Sprinkle the crumbled feta cheese and fresh dill over the greens and mix quickly. Fluff the quinoa with a fork.
-
Assemble bowls for meal prep by dividing quinoa, roasted vegetables and chicken breasts into four bowls and drizzle with fresh lemon juice
