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It’s no secret that I love quinoa. It’s a perfect base to add flavors to and quinoa is ideal as a main ingredient for a salad.
This quinoa salad is loaded with crunchy, flavorful vegetables such as, red onions, sweet cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and jalapeño peppers and mixed with a white wine vinaigrette. I topped the salad with several strips of warm grilled chicken. It’s a salad everyone in my family enjoys. It’s light, full of flavor and a lovely summertime meal.
Salsa Verde is a spicy and tangy Mexican green salsa made with tomatillos, onion, peppers, lime juice and cilantro. There are several brands we love and I usually keep a jar of it in my refrigerator. The salsa goes great with the quinoa salad because it added a wonderful spicy flavor! Not necessary, but if you like a little more “spice”, give it a try. We also added a handful of toasted almonds for some added crunch.
This Chicken and Quinoa Salad would be a great dish to bring to a pot luck or to take to a party. It’s a dish we’ll certainly enjoy often on these hot, summer evenings.
Chicken And Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups quinoa, cooked
- 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 1/2 small red onion, chopped
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
- 1 large cucumber, chopped
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 pound chicken breasts, cooked
- Salsa Verde (optional)
- 1/4 cup toasted almonds (optional)
Instructions
- Place the cooked quinoa in a large bowl. Add to the bowl, the tarragon, parsley, red onion, tomatoes, pepper and cucumber. Toss to mix the ingredients together.
- In a small bowl, whisk the white wine vinegar and olive oil together. Pour over the salad.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Top with slices of chicken.
- Serve with Salsa Verde and top with toasted almonds, if desired.
