If you’re looking for a healthier meal prep lunch or dinner that is easy, mouth watering, nourishing, protein-packed and comprehensive of flavor… like constantly, I have received you.

I started producing these BBQ chicken quinoa bowls as an simple supper when Sidney was a newborn. They remind me of Panera’s BBQ hen salad with southwest flavors, bbq sauce and a straightforward ranch dressing. Just throw the chicken in the sluggish cooker (or pop in on the grill), cook your quinoa in 15 minutes, chop your veggies though the quinoa cooks, and which is it! Evening meal is served.

Bonus: you can use any ranch dressing you’d like or consider my go-to greek yogurt ranch that’s filled with taste and SO quick to make!

Ingredients in BBQ rooster quinoa bowls

These simple & delectable BBQ chicken quinoa bowls are loaded with a rainbow of veggies for tons of various flavors and textures. To make them you’ll have to have:

  • Hen breast: solutions to grill or cook your chicken in the slow cooker down below for ease! To continue to keep them vegetarian, simply swap for tofu or chickpeas.
  • BBQ sauce: I like to use a low sugar BBQ sauce and adore Stubb’s Spicy or Primal Kitchen’s Mango Habanero. These are other great ones from Primal Kitchen!
  • Quinoa: increase a improve of protein from one particular of my favored grains. You can also use common, brown or cauliflower rice if you’d like.
  • Black beans: the beans insert a good deal of fiber and protein to these bowls and give them that burrito bowl flavor.
  • Veggies: these bowls are packed with a correct rainbow of veggies. I like to insert shredded pink cabbage for crunch, sweet corn lower off the cob (or thaw some from frozen), purple onion for some zing, juicy roma tomatoes and a kick of heat from jalapeño. Really do not overlook to leading your bowls with creamy avocado!
  • Ranch: experience free of charge to drizzle with your most loved ranch, or test my greek yogurt ranch or chipotle ranch!
  • To garnish: for more freshness, I like to include chopped cilantro & scallions on leading.

two healthy chicken quinoa bowls with beans, avocado, corn and cabbage

Two ways to prepare dinner your BBQ rooster

See below for simple strategies to cook your BBQ hen, and be guaranteed to check out out all of our go-to methods to cook dinner hen below!

  1. Gradual cooker rooster: Area chicken and BBQ sauce in a sluggish cooker and stir so the BBQ sauce coats the chicken. Cook on superior for 2.5-3 several hours. Then take out rooster from the slow cooker, shred with two forks and then location back again in the gradual cooker, stir and flip the warmth to heat until you are ready to serve.
  2. Grill your hen: marinate hen in a bowl with BBQ sauce for 1 hour, then grill hen above medium higher warmth for 6-9 minutes for every facet, or until eventually the meat thermometer reads 165 levels F. Take out from grill and permit chicken to sit for 5 minutes to keep juices, then cut into strips or dice into bite sized parts.

BBQ chicken quinoa bowls with veggies and drizzled with ranch dressing

How to cook the ideal fluffy quinoa

Don’t forget to get all of our most effective tips & tricks for cooking quinoa here! For the essentials:

  1. Use a 1:2 ratio for quinoa to liquid. In this recipe, you are going to cook dinner 1 cup quinoa in 2 cups of drinking water, which will make about 3 cups of cooked quinoa.
  2. Deliver the h2o to a boil then stir in quinoa. Decrease warmth to small, protect, and allow simmer for precisely 15 minutes. Take away the saucepan from warmth and let stand covered for one more 5-10 minutes.
  3. Quinoa will pop upon cooking and broaden. To assist individual the grains, use a fork and fluff the quinoa.

healthy chicken quinoa bowl with veggies and ranch dressing

Customize your BBQ chicken quinoa bowls

BBQ ranch chicken quinoa bowl with avocado, cabbage, corn, tomato and black beans

Storing recommendations

I endorse storing the chicken, quinoa, veggies & ranch dressing separately in airtight containers in the fridge until finally you’re ready to assemble your bowl and enjoy it. That way every little thing stays good and contemporary!

A lot more means to use this BBQ hen

If you make these healthy chicken quinoa bowls, be positive to tag #ambitiouskitchen on Instagram. We’d also love it if you would depart a remark down below and amount the recipe. We take pleasure in you! xo.

Recipe by: Evi Madison // SRCooking | Images by: Try to eat Appreciate Eats

This put up was at first published on July 21, 2020, and republished on March 8th, 2022.