One of my biggest goals with the SweetPhi blog is to share easy recipes that help busy people. Lately, as things have been even busier than normal with work-schedules changing-etc., I have been making a quinoa and chicken bowls recipe that I prep once and eat all week! I wanted to share with you exactly how I do it.
Quinoa is one of my favorite grains to cook with and use in recipes because it is packed with protein! It’s a great item to include in vegetarian dishes to ensure there is enough protein so its filling for anyone eating it. But, I’m not here to talk about vegetarian dishes – this one is all about the chicken!
Recently, I shared three amazing ‘bowl’ recipes with different (favorite) flavors:
Each of these bowls were made with the same base – chicken and quinoa.
In the past, I made a ton of rice-based bowls, like my sesame salmon rice bowl and my Asian ground turkey and rice bowl. These are, of course, amazing and delicious, but white rice just isn’t anywhere near as healthy as quinoa for you.
To prep for the week, on Sunday, I just make a big batch of quinoa and prep my chicken breasts ahead of time as well. I use three large chicken breasts, cut in half and that is enough for Nick and I for 3 bowl meals each, or 6 bowl meals. You could easily double this if wanting to prep ahead for 2 people for 6 meals.
- OR, you could use a rotisserie chicken, shredded.
Quinoa takes a little bit of time to cook – only about 30 minutes, but longer than rice for example. So that’s why I like to cook it ahead of time. Plus, it re-heats really well, so it’s an easy grain to meal-prep with.
To make your meal prep even easier, I’ve included a printable grocery list that includes the ingredients to make three of my favorite quinoa and chicken bowls recipes so you can prep once and eat all week. Just print the list, run to the store and get cooking!
And, the best part is that the prep doesn’t even take that long and then you’ll have three healthy dinners to enjoy throughout the week! Click HERE for a pdf of the chicken and quinoa bowls grocery list
Quinoa and Chicken Bowls
Ingredients
- 3 large Boneless/skinless chicken breast see cooking instructions below or use rotisserie chicken
- olive oil
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- garlic salt to taste
- 2 garlic cloves pressed
- 3 cups cooked quinoa or [1 1/2 cups uncooked quinoa] see cooking instructions below, or use premade 90-second quinoa
- 3 cups water
- 1 tsp Better than Bullion (or you can use chicken stock in place of water to add more flavor to the quinoa)
Asian chicken and quinoa bowl toppings
- 1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
- 1/2 cup broccoli cooked
- 2 tbs cashews
- 1/4 cup cilantro chopped
Mexican chicken and quinoa bowl toppings
- 1/2 cup black beans rinsed and drained
- 1/4 cup cheddar cheese shredded
- 1/4 cup chunky salsa
- 1/2 avocado sliced
- 2 tbs sour cream
BBQ chicken and quinoa bowl toppings
- 1/4 cup bbq sauce
- 1/4 cup crispy fried onions
- 1 ear corn or 1/2 cup frozen corn
Instructions
Cook Quinoa (1/2 cup uncooked quinoa to 1 cup water) for 2 servings
- Rinse quinoa for about 30 seconds.
- Combine quinoa and water in saucepan and bring to a boil. Decrease heat to low and cook until quinoa has absorbed all of the water.
Cook Chicken
- Coat chicken in olive oil, a dash of salt, pepper, 1 pressed garlic clove (or a dash of garlic salt) and if you have some cumin and chili powder, sprinkle a little on. Bake until done. Time will vary depending on size of chicken breast. Slice and enjoy. Or prep ahead.Alternatively, pan fry the chicken breast or cook it in a slow cooker.
Bowl Assembly
- Prepare toppings for bowls
- To assemble bowls - use 1/2 up cooked quinoa per bowl, top with 1/2 chicken breast (about 4-6 oz), and divide toppings between the bowls. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Some of my favorite meal prep resources:
Kim Henrichs says
My fave fall dinner is definitely carrot ginger soup and homemade bread.
Jess Fout says
Your Healthy Instant Pot Potato Soup is our favorite fall meal! It’s a great way to use up the potatoes & cauliflower from our garden & is just so warm, creamy & satisfying as the temps get cooler!
Sweetphi says
Oh yum! I love that you enjoy that soup- and how incredible you have cauliflower in your own garden!!!
A Meiller says
Love some good chili or cheeseburger soup for fall!
Sweetphi says
Oh yummmm! I’ve only ever had cheeseburger soup once in my life, now I’m craving it.
Kate says
Our favorite fall meal (besides Thanksgiving 😉 is Spicy sausage kale soup!
Sweetphi says
Ooooh yum, spicy sausage kale soup sounds amazing!
Ren says
My favorite fall meal is soup!!! I just love eating soup after a long day to warm me up before bedtime.
Sweetphi says
I really like soups, but don’t make them nearly enough…this year though, I’ve been making them left and right and truly loving them for the exact reason you said 🙂
Linda Bick says
Favorite dinner is tacos 🌮
Sweetphi says
YUM! We love tacos too!
Catherine Pasquinucci says
My favorites for fall include anything squash, or pumpkin, sweet taters, then turkey or ham. Scalloped squash is so cheesy and delicious.
Sweetphi says
YES to all of those things, scalloped squash especially!
Kathryn Lambert says
My favorite fall recipe is a family favorite called Cape Cod Chicken. You bake chicken breasts or a combination of breasts and thighs with chopped onions and curry and cranberry jelly with whole cranberries (I usually use canned cranberry jelly) and this bakes up so beautifully and I serve it with rice or quinoa and some roasted broccoli. Yummy! Easy weeknight dinner and so totally fall. I’ve also made this for Rosh Hashanah or for Sukkot. It’s always been a fall favorite.
Sweetphi says
Oh my goodness, this sounds absolutely incredible!! I recently made a pork tenderloin with cranberries and it was incredible, I’ll have to try chicken!!
Sara Williams says
My favorite fall meal is Southwestern Chicken Soup from a recipe I found in Real Simple magazine years ago. It’s so easy, and the whole family loves it! Link below in case you’d like to try it.
https://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/southwestern-chicken-soup
Heather Ford says
My favorite fall dinner is roasted chicken with carrots and potatoes! Such a simple dish but a total comfort food from childhood and soooooo delicious! I’ve been leaning toward being vegetarian but when I smell something like this I just want to gobble it all down!
Sweetphi says
I love a good simple roast chicken with carrots and potatoes!
Susan L Craig says
Our family favorite is your 5 Ingredient Cinnamon Spice Roasted Carrots. I think they would be a good addition to a quinoa bowl.
Sweetphi says
Oooooh I love that feedback and idea about adding them to a quinoa bowl, thank you so much for sharing!!
Monica M says
One of my favorites for Fall is making a big pot of Chili. I also like to make soups (like butternut squash, Tomato Basil and Potato). Who doesn’t like a big bowl of homemade soup 🙂
Sweetphi says
I agree, who doesn’t love a good bowl of soup?
Amy Cooley says
Give me all the soups during the fall season! I go for a hearty chili and my kids love loaded baked potato soup.
Sweetphi says
Me too – I’m not even that big of a fan of soups but I’ve been making them left and right lately
Jackie says
My favorite fall recipe is maple bacon sweet potato soup! The candied maple bacon with the sweet potato soup is amazing!!
Sweetphi says
Oooooh, maple bacon sweet potato soup…now that sounds amazing!
Mary CARUTHERS says
My Favorite phone recipe is Tuscan chicken with just a small mound of pumpkin added to it. It is so delicious over rice.
Sweetphi says
Oh, that sounds absolutely delicious, thank you for sharing!
Stephanie says
My favorite fall meal would have to be — chicken chili. Throw it all in the crockpot. And TA-DA !! Dinner is done!!! And the house smells amazing!!
Sweetphi says
Ooooh, yum, I love a good chicken chili too, I haven’t made one in ages so you’ve inspired me to do so 🙂
Wendy Burrow says
My FAVORITE fall meal recipe is arroz con pollo! But it definitely has to be Cuban style like at our local restaurant! Delicious drumsticks with just the right herbs and NO sauce (cardamom? cinnamon? I can’t tell!), rice, black beans, lime juice, and wonderful pickled salad with shredded red cabbage. So light, so good, so flavorful-I almost always the whole plate!
Sweetphi says
Oh my goodness, I’ve never had that dish and after googling I need to make it asap, thank you for sharing!
Aysel says
Ah, my favourite fall recipe is one of the more predictable ones – pumpkin soup. It’s definitely handy to buy frozen pumpkin cubes if I’m pressed for time, but it just tastes so much better if I take the time roast the pumpkin flesh at home. My parents always used to add nutmeg to all their fall dishes – the spice gives it a whole other dimension of flavor.
Sweetphi says
Oh I love the addition of nutmeg to pumpkin soup!!
Kristen Bark says
I love adding pumpkin or butternut squash to chili this time of year. Sneaks in an extra serving of veggies, makes it creamy and cozy.
Sweetphi says
After reading your comment I’m thinking why have I never tried that lol, thank you for sharing, totally going to try thaT!
Jeffrey says
My favorite fall dinner is Macaroni and Cheese! Some people think of it as a side dish, but I completely disagree. The Ooey Gooey cheesy goodness is so awesome that it can stand by itself!
Monica says
As the weather gets cooler, I like to make homemade soups and chili. Butternut squash soup is on the menu this week
Mary W says
A family favorite meal when the weather turns cooler is Green Chili Chicken Enchilada casserole. Sometimes I make it with red sauce or even half and half. A casserole like this means Fall is here in our southern home.
Simon says
I also love to use quinoa in recipes as I’m now in to healthy eating. This article is very useful for busy weeks! Pinned!
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much, so glad you liked this post!
Darcy says
A quinoa tip I’ve learned; I love it but my husband isn’t 100% onboard, haha! So I mix white rice and quinoa in a 50/50 ratio and cook in my rice cooker. (Use the amount of water 100% rice would call for.) It’s SO good and an easy “middle ground” for our tastes. 🙂 A bit of shredded parm (the real stuff, not the stuff in the can) takes it over the top! 🙂
Sweetphi says
Ooooh I love that tip, thank you for sharing!