Pesto Chicken Quinoa Bowls
These pesto chicken quinoa bowls are loaded with flavorful cast iron chicken breast, homemade parsley walnut pesto, spinach and shredded parmesan cheese for a flavorful gluten-free recipe that is perfect for meal prep! It's light and fresh, making it a great lunch option.
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Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts - 2-3 chicken breasts
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian herb seasoning blend
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil or avocado oil
For the Quinoa Bowls:
- 1.5 cups quinoa - 270g
- 3 cups gluten-free chicken broth or water
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups parsley walnut pesto - homemade or your favorite pesto, divided
- 2 cups spinach - roughly chopped (60g)
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese - 45g, plus more for serving
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Instructions
For the Chicken:
- Place the chicken breasts in between two pieces of parchment paper or plastic cling wrap.
- With a meat mallet, pound the chicken to an even 1-inch thickness. Set aside.
- Combine the salt, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, and ground black pepper in a small bowl.
- Sprinkle both sides of the chicken breast with the seasonings.
- Preheat a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Once heated, add the olive oil to the skillet and let heat for 1-2 minutes until hot.
- Add the chicken breasts to the cast iron skillet.
- Cook for 7-8 minutes over medium heat until the bottom side is golden. Then, flip and cook for another 7-8 minutes, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165F.
- Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before slicing into thin slices.
For the Quinoa Bowls:
- In a medium pot over medium high heat, bring quinoa and chicken (or water) to a boil.
- Once it has reached a boil, cover the pot with a lid and lower to simmer.
- Allow to cook for 15-20 minutes until all of the water has evaporated. Fluff the quinoa with a fork.
- Add the spinach, half of the pesto, and the parmesan cheese to the quinoa and stir to combine.
- To assemble the bowls, spoon about 1/2 cup of cooked quinoa mixture into each individual bowl.
- Top with sliced chicken breast and a spoonful of the remaining pesto. Garnish with additional parmesan cheese if desired.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- If you have celiac disease or are on a gluten-free diet, be sure to use gluten-free chicken broth as some are not gluten-free.
- You can use my parsley walnut pesto recipe or your favorite pesto recipe. Store-bought pesto also works great in this recipe.
- I love my cast iron chicken breasts in this recipe, but you can cook your chicken your preferred way. Poached, grilled, smoked, or oven-baked all work. This is also a great way to use up leftover chicken or store-bought rotisserie chicken.
- To make this recipe dairy-free, use my parsley walnut pesto recipe which is already dairy-free and omit the parmesan cheese.
- To make this recipe vegetarian, omit the chicken breast (or use tofu in its place) and use vegetable broth or water to cook the quinoa.
- To make this recipe vegan, follow both the dairy-free and vegetarian recommendations above to omit the meat and dairy from this recipe.
Nutrition
Calories: 613kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 37g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 87mg | Sodium: 1594mg | Potassium: 757mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 2302IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 215mg | Iron: 3mg
