Quinoa Salad With Chicken, Almonds and Avocado
- Total Time
- 20 minutes
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 2cups tricolor quinoa (12 ounces), rinsed well and drained
- ¼cup finely diced shallot or onion
- 3tablespoons sherry vinegar
- 1tablespoon Dijon mustard
- ⅓cup extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- 2cups leftover chicken meat, torn from a rotisserie bird
- ¾cup dried cranberries
- 2cups fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- ½cup roasted salted almonds, chopped
- 1avocado, pitted, peeled and thinly sliced
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
605 calories; 29 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 18 grams monounsaturated fat; 6 grams polyunsaturated fat; 61 grams carbohydrates; 10 grams dietary fiber; 16 grams sugars; 28 grams protein; 574 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Bring a large saucepan of generously salted water to a boil. Add quinoa and boil, stirring occasionally, until tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Step 2
Meanwhile, whisk the shallot, vinegar, mustard, oil and a generous pinch of salt and pepper in a very large bowl. When quinoa is done, drain very well, then add to the dressing, along with the chicken, cranberries and parsley. Fold until evenly mixed and cooled, then season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Step 3
Divide the salad among dishes and top with the chopped almonds and avocado.
- It’s fastest and easiest to rinse grains in a sieve. Simply run cold water over them while gently shaking the sieve, then gently shake dry. It’s important to rinse grains to clean them and in the case of quinoa, to remove saponins, which can leave a bitter or soapy aftertaste. As it’s also tough to get flavors into grains once they’re cooked, it's a good idea to season them with salt at this point.
Private Notes
Comments
A terrific base. Omitted chicken to make vegetarian. For dinner, I added roasted asparagus. For tomorrow’s lunch, I’ll add diced apple and cheese.
Quinoa is not cooked like pasta (in lots of boiling, salty water) but like other grains with just enough water so that it's absorbed in the cooking process. I used 9 ounces Lundberg tricolor quinoa, 2 cups water, and 1 tsp salt cooked for about 20 minutes until all the water was absorbed and the quinoa was fluffy (follow package directions). I cut the chopped parsley to 1 1/2 cups for the reduced amount of quinoa but kept all the other ingredients the same. Still served 4 nicely.
Just had this for dinner. It was delicious, and I'll definitely make it again. My only modification would be in the proportion of chicken to quinoa: more chicken and less quinoa would be my preference. In other words, I would probably make perhaps 8 ounces of quinoa with 2+ cups of chicken. Then of course I'd have to make adjustments to the quantities for the dressing. But it was a little on the dry side, so maybe I'd cut it back by 1/4 instead of 1/3.
My partner’s favorite salad. I use 1.5 cups of uncooked quinoa and cook it in my rice cooker (a scant 2 cups of water seems to do the trick). I keep the dressing the same.
Way too much quinoa considering the other minimal ingredients, which equals not much flavor. I used arugula rather than parsley, added more cherries, chicken and nuts; still not enough flavor. Adding feta cheese made a huge improvement. It is a mountain of salad so i’ll share with the neighbors.
Cut grain in half but the quinoa still suck up all the dressing. Added a sliced tomato. I think arugula or spring mix would also help this salad, perhaps olives or artichoke? It needs something more.