Healthy Quinoa Chicken Bowls with Honey Mustard Dressing

These healthy quinoa chicken bowls with roast sweet potato cubes, avocado, almonds and edamame, tossed in a sweet, tangy honey mustard dressing, are packed with nutritious ingredients.

Taking just 10 minutes to prep, these chicken salad bowls are perfect for meal prepping!

This healthy salad is an easy chicken recipe that is perfect for making ahead to help ease the rush on those busy weeknights! Like my mango and chicken salad, this is a salad recipe that you will want to eat over and over again.

With lightly spiced roast sweet potatoes, chicken, creamy avocado, crunchy almonds, and bursts of fresh cucumber, tomatoes and edamame, this chicken and quinoa salad is FULL of nutritious ingredients, PACKED with so much flavor, and very filling, so you won’t be reaching for those unhealthy snacks a couple of hours later!

Quinoa is a delicious and healthy grain that I use a lot in a lot of delicious meals, from quinoa fritters to quinoa sweet potato bites and vegetable quinoa bake.

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Why You’re Going To Love This Recipe

• Easy recipe – taking just 10 minutes to prepare, there are no complicated steps to this recipe! A simple, healthy and easy weeknight dinner.
• Healthy – healthy quinoa chicken bowls are packed full of delicious, nutritious ingredients.
• Great for meal prepping – roast the sweet potatoes, cook the quinoa and the chicken (or use leftover BBQ chicken), make the dressing, and store in the fridge.
• Adaptable – use roasted pumpkin instead of sweet potato, stir through some drained canned chickpeas or kidney beans, add a handful of baby spinach or rocket, and use walnuts or pecans instead of almonds!
• Packed with flavour – there are masses of flavour in every mouthful!
• Gluten-free – this chicken salad is gluten-free, making it suitable for those avoiding gluten.

What You Need 

While the list may look long, most of the ingredients for these delicious chicken salad bowls are probably already in your kitchen – perfect for an easy dinner!

Note: Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom for the ingredients quantities and full detailed method.

• Quinoa – you can use white quinoa or tri-coloured quinoa, as I have used here. I do not recommend using quinoa flakes in this recipe.
• Water – to cook the quinoa in. You could cook it in vegetable stock for extra flavour, as in this quinoa bake recipe.
• Sweet potato – I use a large sweet potato in this recipe, chopped into bitesize cubes.
• Olive oil – for roasting the sweet potato.
• Ground cumin – this earthy spice enhances the beautiful flavour of the sweet potato.
• Paprika – this warm, woody spice adds not only flavour but a touch of rich colour to the roasted sweet potato.
• Garlic powder – using garlic powder instead of fresh garlic adds a background flavour to the sweet potato. You can use fresh garlic if you prefer, however just be aware that it can burn in the oven.
• Salt and pepper – to season the roasted sweet potato.
• Slivered almonds – or flaked almonds. Adds a delicious crunch to quinoa chicken bowls.
• Edamame – the easiest option is to buy frozen edamame that has already been shelled. Alternatively, you can cook the whole edamame pods and shell them after cooking. 
• Cooked chicken – this is a great recipe to use leftover cooked rotisserie BBQ chicken or store-bought pre-cooked chicken breast for this recipe. Alternatively, you can cook your own chicken breasts or chicken thighs using the method in this recipe.
• Cherry tomatoes – I like to use cherry tomatoes for their sweet flavour, however you can use larger tomatoes and chop them in to bitesize pieces if that’s what you have on hand.
• Avocados – choose a ripe but firm avocado.
• Cucumber – use either a Lebanese cucumber or half a continental cucumber.

For The Honey Mustard Dressing

• Olive oil – use regular or extra virgin olive oil, whichever you prefer.
• Apple cider vinegar – adds a tang to the dressing. You could substitute with rice wine vinegar, white wine vinegar or champagne vinegar.
• Wholegrain mustard – adds a delicious flavour to the dressing. You can substitute with Dijon mustard if you prefer.
• Honey – adds a touch of sweetness to the dressing, which works so well with the tangy mustard! I like to use Capilano honey; however, feel free to use your favourite brand of liquid honey.
• Salt and pepper – season the dressing mixed with quinoa chicken bowls.

Equipment Required 

You don’t need any fancy equipment to make this healthy quinoa chicken salad, simply:

• Saucepan with a lid – for cooking the quinoa in.
• Flat baking tray lined with baking paper – for roasting the sweet potato.
• Small frying pan – for toasting the almonds.
• Jar – for mixing the dressing.
• Large bowl – for mixing the ingredients.
• Oven – I use a fan-forced oven. If you use a conventional oven, increase the temperature by 10-20 degrees Celsius.

Step By Step Instructions

These healthy chicken bowls take just 10 minutes to prepare! Or, prepare the ingredients ahead of time and store them in the fridge until needed for the quickest family dinner that the whole family will love!

Note: Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom for the ingredients quantities and full detailed method.

Step 1 – Prepare The Quinoa

Rinse the quinoa well and place it into a medium saucepan with the water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then turn the heat down to medium heat to reduce to a simmer. Stir, then cover with a lid and cook.

Remove the pan from the heat and use a fork to make fluffy quinoa. 

While the quinoa cooks, move on to the next recipe steps.

Step 2 – Bake The Sweet Potato

Preheat the oven and line a baking tray with baking paper.

Place the cubes of sweet potato onto the lined baking tray. 

Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle over the cumin, paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Toss to thoroughly coat the sweet potato in the spices.

Place in the preheated oven and bake until tender. 

Step 3 – Toast The Almonds

Place the almonds into a small frying pan (you don’t need any oil). Cook over medium-low heat, stirring, until lightly golden, then set aside.

Note: Keep an eye on them to prevent burning.

Step 4 – Make The Honey Mustard Dressing

To make this homemade dressing, simply place the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, wholegrain mustard, honey, salt and pepper into a jar.

Shake until creamy and combined.

Step 5 – Shell The Edamame

Cook the edamame according to the packet instructions, shelling them if needed.

Step 6 – Assemble The Bowls

Place a cup of cooked quinoa into each bowl. Top with the roasted sweet potato, cooked chicken, edamame, avocado, halved cherry tomatoes, cucumber and toasted almonds.

Drizzle the honey mustard dressing over the top. 

Serve quinoa chicken bowls immediately.

Expert Tips

Here are my top tips for making deliciously healthy chicken quinoa bowls:

• Save time – by cooking the edamame and almonds while the sweet potato and quinoa cook.
• Rinse the quinoa well before cooking – to get rid of any bitter taste.
• Quinoa can be pre-cooked and stored in the fridge for 3-4 days.
• Cooked chicken – you can use leftover cooked BBQ chicken or store-bought pre-cooked chicken breast for this recipe. Alternatively, you can cook your own chicken breasts or thighs using the method in this recipe.
• Edamame – the easiest option is to buy frozen edamame that has already been shelled. Alternatively, you can cook the whole edamame pods and shell them after cooking. 
• Substitutions – for added flavour and texture, try adding finely diced red onion, black beans, red peppers, feta cheese, green beans or even sweet corn!
• Dressing alternatives – mix things up by substituting the honey mustard dressing with a good dollop of creamy hummus or a simple dressing made with greek yogurt and a squeeze lime juice (or lemon juice).
• Serving – for the best taste, serve the bowls immediately while at room temperature.
• Storage – store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
• Freezing – this recipe is not suitable for freezing, although cooked quinoa can be frozen for up to 3 months.

FAQs

Looking for more healthy and nutritious salad recipes? These popular recipes are all packed with flavour and texture and are all super easy to make!

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