Chicken Quinoa

If chicken soup and pilaf had a kid, I think it would be chicken quinoa. Quinoa is a very healthy ancient grain from South America; it's very filling! I think it's delicious. I used leftover roasted chicken to make this come together faster, but any kind of lean cooked meat can be used in this recipe. To make a vegetarian version, omit the meat and use vegetable stock instead of chicken.

• Preparation Time: 15 mins
• Cooking Time: 30 mins
• Total Time: 45 mins
• Calories: 377 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1 cup chicken broth
• ¼ cup diced onion
• ½ cup quinoa
• ¼ cup diced celery
• ¼ cup diced green bell pepper
• 1 tablespoon parsley flakes
• ¼ cup diced carrot
• 1 cup chopped cooked chicken

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook and stir onion, carrot, celery, bell pepper, and garlic in hot oil until vegetables are tender, 5 to 7 minutes.

Step 2

Stir chicken and parsley into the vegetable mixture; cook and stir for about 1 minute. Add quinoa to the chicken mixture. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook and stir until quinoa is toasted, about 2 minutes.

Step 3

Pour chicken broth over the quinoa mixture; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low. Place a cover on the saucepan and cook mixture at a simmer until the quinoa is tender, about 15 minutes. Turn heat completely off and allow mixture to sit covered another 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Fluff with a fork to serve.