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Alright guys, I have got a good one for you…Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Salad.
Seriously, this one is going to rock the blog world. Well….at least I think it should.
Anything involving Buffalo Sauce rocks. No questions.
Buffalo Chicken is a very much-loved food around here. Every time I make it for my Dad he say’s “You could sell this stuff. We need to open a restaurant devoted to all things Buffalo Chicken.” Really he say’s it every time…..and I love it!
After all, the reason I love cooking so much is seeing how people react to my food. It is the best when someone loves something! And I know something is good when I get my dad’s stamp of approval. Don’t get me wrong he will eat just about anything, but for him to say something is really good, means it is really good. He is kind of a toughy.
No joke, this is the best quinoa salad out there. I mean guys, it is Buffalo Chicken.
It’s healthy, quick and super simple. That right there is enough reason to make this. I added some broccoli and carrots for crunch and some blue cheese just cause well, blue cheese is delicious and in my opinion you can not do buffalo sauce without some blue cheese.
It’s just awesome. Perfect snack, lunch or dinner. I am kind of obsessed.
Really if you are out of quinoa you are going to want to go to the store. Now!
Cause I am pretty sure you need to ditch all other previous plans for dinner for tonight and make this. It is just too good not to make.
Ok…here’s how you do it….
First, the quinoa……..rinse and drain the quinoa. Add to the pot with water and bring to a boil. Cover and turn heat to low……Cook about 20 minutes until all water is absorbed. Remove from heat and fluff with fork!
The buffalo sauce dressing…..yuuummmmmm. In a small bowl, whisk olive oil, hot sauce, and seasoned salt. Set aside.
The chicken……Heat a medium sized skillet on medium-high heat. Add 1 T. olive oil and saute the broccoli for about 5 minutes. You want it a little soft, but still crisp. Remove from pan and set aside. Add the chicken to the same pan and cook for about 5 minutes until cooked through. Add 1/4 C. of the buffalo sauce dressing until the chicken absorbs most of it.
Assembling….When everything is ready, add the quinoa to a big bowl and toss in chicken, broccoli, carrots, shredded cabbage, and buffalo sauce dressing. Toss to combine the dressing and all the chicken and veggies. Mix in the blue cheese and half of the green onions. Toss again. Serve warm with extra blue cheese crumbles and green onions on top!! YUM!
Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Salad with Broccoli
Servings: 2 as a main
Calories Per Serving: 1207 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa
Buffalo Dressing
- 1/2 cup hot sauce I recommend Franks
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
Salad
- 3/4 pound boneless skinless chicken breast cut into bite size pieces
- 1 cup broccoli florets
- 3/4 cup shredded carrots
- 3/4 cup shredded cabbage
- 1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles plus more for garnish
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 4 green onions chopped
Instructions
- Cook the quinoa according to package directions.
- Meanwhile, make the buffalo sauce dressing. In a medium bowl combine the olive oil, hot sauce, and seasoned salt. Whisk to combine. Set aside.
- Heat a medium size skillet over medium high heat. Add a tablespoon of olive oil and cook the chicken for about 5 minutes or until cooked through. Add 1/4 cup or so of the buffalo sauce and cook until the chicken absorbs the sauce. Add the broccoli and cook 3-5 minutes or until the broccoli is tender. Remove from the heat.
- In a large salad bowl, toss together the cooked quinoa, chicken, broccoli, carrots, shredded cabbage, and as much of the dressing as desired. Add the blue cheese and half of the green onions. Toss again and serve warm with extra blue cheese crumbles, the remaining green onions, and avocado.
Seriously, go make this now. You’ll be so happy your did!
Shared with: Inside BruCru Life, Lil Luna, Chef In Training, Buns In my Oven, Foodie Friday Friends, Tidy Mom, Taste and Tell, Cheerios and Lattes, Somewhat Simple, Mom on Timeout, I Heart Nap Time, Fine Craft Guide, The Country Cook, Whipperberry, Chef In Training
This post was originally published on March 6, 2013
My husband had sworn he’d never eat quinoa again, however, he’s a sucker for anything buffalo! Huge hit in my house tonight. Thanks!
YEAH! So happy this was a hit, THANKS!
We were at a large neighborhood and someone brought this dish. My husband who is a very laid back guy got all excited about this dish. We saw ~20 people taking photos of the recipe and it was the first (and perhaps only dish) to be completely cleaned out. Anyway it has become a fan favorite in our house!
This is amazing!! THANK YOU! 🙂
i made this the other day and it was delicious! which was surprising because lately I dislike chicken and haven’t found a good quinoa recipe. So, I was thrilled!….However….. I put this into my calorie app and found out this has A TON of sodium!! if you divide the recipe into 4, each portion has 1140mg sodium from the hotsauce alone (from franksredhot.com, original).. thats insane!! I WILL make this again though and try to highly reduce the amount of hot sauce in this.
but, the recipe was delicious. thank you!
YES! I am thrilled you love this recipe, thank you!! Sorry about the sodium though…I love the hot sauce though! Hope you can make it work for you though. Thanks again! 🙂
This is such a fantastic recipe (the ONLY way my husband will eat Quinoa!!). It’s so flavorful and healthy. Rather than sauté my veggies, I steamed them for a slightly healthier version and also cut the olive oil back a bit.. Amazing. I pinned it, saved it to my favorites and also shared it with my friends and family on Facebook!
THANK YOU! So happy you guys enjoyed it! Also, thank you so much for sharing! 🙂
Truly amazing recipe. I love quinoa salads, and am always looking for new ideas. I used about half of the oil, and didn’t miss it. I also subbed leftover rotisserie chicken, which sped up the process. My teenage boy loved it as well, but my 5 year old wouldn’t touch it as he hates foods that are “mixed.” This will become a regular in our house, and I am sharing this recipe!
So happy you loved this! Thanks!
Made this and LOVED IT. I used a store-bought bag of “Broccoli Slaw” (which already contains carrots and cabbage) to save time. It came out great! My husband and I think this is our favorite recipe we’ve tried in a long time. Thank you for the recipe!
YA!! So happy you loved this! Thanks!
I made this tonight! OMGosh!!! It is so YUMMY!!!
So happy you loved it! Thanks!
Made this for dinner with a few shortcuts (rotisserie chicken and angel hair coleslaw mix) and it was SO good! Open a branch of that buffalo sauce restaurant in Cleveland, please 😉
Haha! Thanks so much, Kimberly! So happy you loved this!
This was AMAZING!!!! Thank you!!! My whole family enjoyed it!
ya! So happy you guys loved it!
Hi! Can’t wait to make this. Just to clarify- Do you use the original Frank’s Red Hot or do you use the Frank’s buffalo sauce?? Thanks!
I use original. Hope you love this!
Wow this looks AMAZING!!! I love any and all things buffalo chicken [really, it’s just a vehicle for blue cheese for me 🙂 ] and this is a new one. I’m making it tonight!!! Thanks so much for this delicious recipe!
Thanks Caroline! Hope you love it!!
I made this for dinner last night – SOOOO good!!!! Everybody loved it so much, even the first time quinoa eaters couldn’t get enough of it.
Thank you so much for sharing 🙂
YAY! So happy you love this! Thanks for making it and reporting back!
This recipe is so sooo good! It’s a regular in my household! My husband I just love it!! Thanks for sharing!!
YAY!! So happy you love it!! Thanks for reporting back, Lindsay!
What are the nutrition facts for this meal?
Hi Kayla! I wish I could help you, but I do not no the nutrition for this. You can calculate it online though!
Hope you love this!
Am I the only one who can’t see the broccoli in the photos? I didn’t think I was THAT blind. So, is there actually broccoli in the version photographed at the beginning of the recipe, or did you decide to omit it?
Ha! I promise there is actually broccoli in the photographed dish and it is good! I actually hid some of it on purpose because I did no not want some people to get turned off by the broccoli, but we LOVE this with the broccoli and again, it promise it is in there!
Okay, good to know! I can see it one or two of the pics, but not others, so when I was grocery shopping for the recipe I forgot the broccoli (since I didn’t remember seeing it). Instead, I diced up a bunch of celery and put that in, plus added extra carrots and cabbage. I’ll be sure to use the broccoli next time, as I love it!
So sorry for the confusion!