Juicy Chicken Quinoa Bowl

This flavorful Chicken Quinoa Bowl is super easy to make and bursting with nutrition. This dish takes minimal time to make which makes it a great dinner idea for those busy weeknights. This is also a great idea to meal prep for the week!

This roasted lemon chicken broccoli and quinoa salad was everything you could imagine and more.  An amazingly delicious salad with perfectly cooked lemon chicken.  The chicken was roasted on the same baking pan as the lemon, which gave it the juiciest flavor. 

The quinoa also only takes about 15 minutes to cook and steaming broccoli takes about the same amount of time, as well. This dish is very quick and easy to make. This would be perfect for those busy weeknights when you have minimal time to cook, but still want that healthy meal on the table.

If you are looking for other healthy weeknight dinner ideas then you must try must Super Easy Black Bean Burgers which are also a great vegetarian dish! My Chicken Sausage Pasta dish is also a very quick and easy meal to whip up and it's super yummy and the kids loved it too!

Ingredients for this dish

Here are the ingredients you will need to make this juicy chicken meal.

• chicken breast - boneless, skinless, and the fat trimmed off.
• olive oil - I prefer olive oil in my dressings but feel free to use your favorite. I've listed some substitutions below.
• lemons - thinly sliced and seeded
• chicken broth - I prefer using low-sodium because I like to be in charge of how much salt goes into my dish.
• quinoa - quinoa is gluten-free and naturally high in protein so that is an added bonus for this meal.
• broccoli - 1 medium head, stems cut off
• red-wine vinegar - has a tangy, fruity, acidic taste that pairs well with most salad dressing ingredients.
• dijon mustard - adds a sharp bold flavor to this salad dressing.
• baby spinach - I like adding in a hearty leafy green to this recipe.
• nuts - chopped into small pieces - you can use your choice of nut here. I recommend using walnuts, pine nuts, pecans, or even almonds.
• dried cranberries - have a sweet and chewy texture that helps balance out this dish.

Directions for this meal

Step-by-Step directions on how to make this delicious easy dinner.

Step 1 - Preheat oven to 425° degrees Fahrenheit. Place your chicken on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with 1 tbsp. of the oil and sprinkle with a little salt. Roast for 10 minutes.

Step 2 - Place your sliced lemon on the other side of the baking sheet and roast, turning once until the lemons are browned and the internal temperature of the chicken is 165, about 20 minutes total.

Step 3 - Meanwhile, cook your quinoa according to the package directions. Steam your broccoli as well. To steam broccoli follow the directions below.

Step 4 - Chop up half of the lemon slices.  Combine in a large bowl with vinegar, mustard, and the remaining 3 tbsp of oil and ¼ tsp of salt.  Mix to combine.

Step 5 - Once chicken is cooked, shred the chicken using 2 forks and add the lemon, broccoli, quinoa, spinach, nuts, and cranberries to the dressing and toss to combine.  Drizzle with more dressing before serving if desired.

Step 6 - To plate, spoon quinoa into a dish and top with the chicken mixture.

How to steam broccoli

First, begin by cutting your broccoli into bite-sized pieces removing most of the stem.

Next, fill a pot with about ½ an inch of water and boil the water. Use a pot that a steamer basket can fit in. If you don't have a steamer basket you can use a colander as long as it fits inside the pot.

Then, place your cut broccoli inside the steamer basket and set the basket over the boiling water and boil until the broccoli is crisp and tender, about 6-10 minutes.

Last, once done remove from heat and place in a bowl to keep warm and set aside.

Substitutions and Variations

Broccoli - if you want a good way to cut corners you can always buy a frozen bag of broccoli over fresh and just pop that baby in the microwave and add it to your dish.  

Olive Oil - there are alot of options to use in place of olive oil because you are using it as a dressing you can choose your favorite. Some ideas are canola oil, peanut oil, walnut oil, safflower oil, or flavor-infused oils would be delicious.

Red Wine Vinegar - if you don't have this ingredient at home you can substitute it with white wine vinegar, sherry vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or even lemon or lime juice.

Dijon Mustard - here are a couple of other mustards you can swap in place of Dijon. Try stone-ground mustard, yellow mustard, spicy brown, or another favorite of mine honey mustard.

Dried Cranberries - if you don't have dried cranberries at home you can swap them out for raisins or even a mixed dried fruit combo would taste divine.

How can the kids help

I love cooking with my children and I do it with most of my recipes. If you also enjoy doing the same then here are some fun ways to include them in this recipe-making process.

• Have your child add all the ingredients together to make the dressing.
• Teach them how to shred chicken using 2 forks.
• I have child-friendly cookware and my kids use knives that are safe for kids to help chop vegetables.

Tips and FAQ's

Other chicken dishes you will also LOVE

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