Description
Chicken and Peach Quinoa Salad is loaded with fresh ingredients like peaches, avocado, cucumber, spinach and radishes, and tossed with a sweet and savoury honey basil vinaigrette. It also comes together in less than 30 minutes, and works perfectly as a summertime main meal!
Ingredients
For the vinaigrette:
- 1/3 cup omega oil (or extra virgin olive oil)
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons liquid honey
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
- Dash of salt
For the salad:
- 2/3 cups quinoa, uncooked
- 1 tablespoon omega oil (or extra virgin olive oil), divided
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
- Dash of salt and pepper
- 4 cups fresh spinach, packed (or greens of choice)
- 2 large peaches, skin on, sliced
- 1 large avocado, sliced
- 1 medium-sized cucumber, sliced
- 8 small radishes, sliced
Instructions
Prepare the vinaigrette:
- Add the ingredients to a blender and blend on high until well combined, but some flecks of basil remain.
- Pour into a jar or dish with a lid, and store at room temperature until ready to use.
Prepare the salad:
- Cook the quinoa according to package instructions.
- While the quinoa is cooking, pre-heat a skillet with 1/2 tablespoon of oil.
- In a small bowl, add the cubed chicken along with the other 1/2 tablespoon of oil, garlic, basil, salt and pepper. Toss to coat the chicken.
- Add chicken to pre-heated skillet, and cook over medium heat for 8-10 minutes, or until chicken is fully cooked and no longer pink.
- Divide out the remaining salad ingredients into 4 bowls, and top with the quinoa, chicken and vinaigrette. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- This recipe also works with grilled chicken breast or a rotisserie chicken. Just slice or chop and add to the salad.
- If you don’t have fresh basil, you can substitute 1 teaspoon of dried basil for 1 tablespoon of fresh.
- Omega Oil is a blend of grapeseed oil, extra virgin olive oil and flaxseed oil. If you can’t get your hands on it, you can substitute extra virgin olive oil.
- You can enjoy this salad warm by serving it right away with the cooked quinoa and chicken, or serve it cold by refrigerating the cooked quinoa and chicken before adding it to the salad.
- To prep this salad in advance, store the veggies, fruit, quinoa, chicken and vinaigrette separately, and assemble when ready to eat.
- Since fresh basil is stored at room temperature, I don’t normally refrigerate the vinaigrette. However, I usually aim to use it within a day or two of making it.
