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Strawberry Mint Quinoa Salad with Chicken

strawberry mint quinoa salad
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This Strawberry Mint Quinoa Salad with Chicken is the perfect summer meal – bursting with flavor and freshness. Top with chicken for a complete satisfying lunch or dinner!

Ingredients

Scale

For the Salad:

  • 2 1/2 cups cooked quinoa (made from ~1 heaping cup dry quinoa)
  • 2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
  • 1 cup arugula or kale, chopped
  • 1 cup buffalo mozzarella cheese, cut into small bite-sized pieces
  • 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
  • 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped
  • 1/4 cup chopped pistachios (or walnuts)
  • dash of sea salt
  • dash of black pepper

For the Champagne Honey Vinaigrette:

  • 1 lemon, juiced
  • 1 TBSP champagne vinegar
  • 1.5 TBSP honey
  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • pinch of sea salt and black pepper

For the Chicken:

  • 1lb boneless chicken breasts (or 4 chicken breast filets)
  • 1 TBSP olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp italian herbs

Instructions

  1. Add dry quinoa to a saucepot and cook according to package directions (1 cup dry quinoa + 2 cups water). Heat to a boil, then cover and let simmer for 10-15 minutes or until all water is absorbed. Fluff with a fork.
  2. While quinoa is cooking, prep your chicken by patting the chicken breasts dry.  Add all chicken seasonings to a bowl, mixing, and evenly distributing among the 4 chicken breasts. Season both sides of each chicken breast with the seasoning until well coated. Heat the TBSP of olive oil in a skillet to medium-high heat and add your chicken breasts to pan fry. Cook chicken breasts for 5 to 7 minutes without moving them around.
  3. Flip both chicken breasts over, add 1 tablespoon of butter or oil to the skillet; swirl butter around and continue to cook the chicken for 7 more minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F. Depending on the size of the chicken breasts, cooking time will vary.
  4. While chicken and quinoa are cooking, prep the rest of your salad ingredients and add to a large bowl – strawberries, arugula or kale, mozzarella, basil, mint, pistachios, salt, and pepper. Mix.
  5. Once the quinoa has cooled, add to salad bowl with the other ingredients and mix to stir well until combined. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.
  6. While chicken is cooling, whisk together all salad dressing ingredients, and drizzle onto salad. Stir well to evenly distribute.
  7. Once chicken has cooled, serve salad among 4 bowls, top with sliced chicken breast, and enjoy immediately!

Nutrition

Keywords: Strawberry Mint Quinoa Salad with Chicken

Find it online: https://carolinegreennutrition.com/strawberry-mint-quinoa-salad-with-chicken/