Southwestern Chicken Quinoa Bowl

DESCRIPTION

This easy chicken quinoa bowl is made with healthy and wholesome ingredients with a subtle nod to delicious southwestern flavors. It's great for meal prep or for a quick dinner on a busy weeknight!

INGREDIENTS

Shredded Chicken

• 110g chicken breast (2 chicken breasts)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp black Pepper
• 1/8 tsp oregano
• 1/8 tsp cumin
• 1/8 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/8 tsp chilli
• 1/8 tsp onion powder
• 120ml low sodium chicken stock or water

Other Ingredients

• 100g black beans
• 100g corn
• 70g mixed salad greens
• 370g cooked quinoa (about 2 cups)
• 1 avocado
• 10 cherry or grape tomatoes
• 1/2 lime
• A few sprigs of cilantro, chopped

INSTRUCTIONS

Make Shredded Chicken

1. Heat up olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and put in chicken. Season the top of the chicken with salt and pepper. Let it sear for 5 minutes.
2. Flip the chicken, and add chicken stock and the rest of the spices. Cover and cook for 7-10 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165 °F / 75°C. You can check this using an instant read thermometer. Alternatively you can tell the chicken is cooked when the center is no longer pink.
3. Remove chicken from skillet and shred using two forks.

Prepare the Other Ingredients and Assemble

4. While the chicken is cooking, prepare the rest of the ingredients. Cut tomatoes into halves, and slice avocado.
5. Assemble your bowls by layering each one with salad greens, quinoa, tomatoes, shredded chicken, corn, black beans and avocado. Add a sprinkle of salt, pepper and smoked paprika. Finally, top with chopped cilantro and a squeeze of lime.

NOTES

• For the shredded chicken, you can use thigh meat instead of breast if you prefer; it will be juicier but will take slightly longer to cook. If you use water instead of chicken stock, add a little bit of extra salt when poaching.
• Use any salad greens you like. I used a mix of baby spinach and arugula.
• Adjust spices according to your taste. Omit chilli if you don't like spicy.
• Substitute quinoa with brown rice if you like.
• Substitute chicken with any other proteins you like. Omit or use tofu to make this vegan/vegetarian-friendly.

© Chloe Ting Recipes – https://chloeting.com/recipes/southwestern-chicken-quinoa-bowl