I hope everyone had a great weekend! Mine was wonderful, however it went by far too fast (don't they all?) I went shopping, to happy hour, spent time at the pool with my parents and boyfriend, and my best friend was in town from Arizona so we went and checked out some news bars that just opened up downtown with friends. Now that it's back to the Monday grind I'm resetting my diet. With the holiday last weekend and all the fun cookouts and summer activities it's easy to fall into some unhealthy eating patterns. So tonight I'm making this healthy BBQ Chicken Quinoa salad which is packed full of protein and flavor!
This tasty salad combines shredded barbecue chicken, quinoa, corn, black beans, avocado, fresh cilantro, croutons, cheese (optional) all over a bed of romaine. I love incorporating quinoa into my meals, because of all of its amazing health benefits. Not only is it extremely protein rich with all nine essential amino acids but it also contains lots of magnesium, lysine, iron, B2, manganese, and almost twice as much fiber as other grain alternatives making it one of the world's healthiest foods. It's also gluten-free! I love adding avocado to dishes as well because it's extremely nutrient rich, contains more potassium than bananas, lots of fiber and antioxidants, and has been shown to help prevent cancer as well as lose weight! Plus it's delicious! The combination of barbecue sauce, avocado, and fresh cilantro really gives this salad and summery taste.
Make your barbecue chicken ahead of time. I usually will make it the night before in the crock-pot. Add your chicken breasts to the crock-pot with some diced garlic, onion, brown sugar, chicken broth, and BBQ sauce (store-bought or homemade). My favorite homemade version is listed on my All-American BBQ Ribs recipe here:
Cook for 3-4 hours on high. Shred the chicken then place back in the crock-pot for another 20-30 minutes. Store in the fridge overnight (unless making the day of) and reheat in the crock-pot prior to serving.
In a large bowl mix together your cooked quinoa, black beans, corn, and fresh cilantro.
Once you've reheated your chicken, add it to the mixture. I like to add another 1-2 tbsp. of the BBQ sauce as well. Stir to incorporate.
Serve your barbecue chicken/quinoa mixture over a bed of romaine and top with sliced avocado, croutons to give it a little crunch, and shredded Monterey Jack cheese. With the infusion of barbecue sauce you don't even need salad dressing! Try it out sometime this week!
- BBQ Chicken: 2 chicken breasts, ¼ cup diced onion, 1 diced garlic clove, ¼ cup chicken broth, 2 tbsp. brown sugar, 1 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce
- ½ cup quinoa, cooked according to package directions
- ½ cup corn, thawed
- ½ cup black beans, rinsed and drained
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
- 1 avocado, sliced
- ½ cup croutons
- 2 tbsp. BBQ sauce
- ¼ cup Monterey Jack shredded cheese (optional)
- 1 romaine heart, chopped
- BBQ Chicken: add chicken to crock-pot. Add chicken broth. Mix together onion, garlic, brown sugar, and BBQ sauce and pour over chicken. Cook on high 3-4 hours. Remove chicken, shred, add back to crock-pot for another 20-30 minutes or until sauce has absorbed. ***Make this ahead of time.***
- Add cooked quinoa, corn, beans, and cilantro to a large bowl and mix.
- Add chicken and additional BBQ sauce and mix.
- Serve over a bed of romaine.
- Top with sliced avocado, croutons, and shredded cheese.
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