Light and refreshing, this Chicken Caesar Quinoa Salad is full of flavor and packed with protein. It’s the perfect side dish for lunch or BBQ!
Chicken Caesar Quinoa Salad Recipe
I love quinoa salad recipes and this one is a family favorite!Delicious, nutritious, explosive or flavorful and crunch. Plus, my love for Caesar salad is real!I like to make Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad Burgerswhich is great Chicken Caesar Pasta Saladeven a Grilled Caesar Salad with Black Shrimp too delicious!
materials needed:
This list includes ingredients for salads and dressings. The full ingredient list and recipe instructions are listed at the end of this post!
For salads:
- Cooked Quinoa: A protein rich base!
- chicken: Chopped, store-bought rotisserie, or shredded rotisserie chicken. I made this with all three and love the smell of freshly grilled chicken!
- lettuce: I use lettuce. Cut it up nicely and swap it out for kale too if you like!
- croutons: I make my own because it’s so easy, but you can totally buy it here at the store.
- Chives: I love this flavor addition!
- Grape tomatoes: This salad tastes great.
- coriander: I love cilantro because it adds all the flavor!
- Fresh Parmesan: Optional, but I think the more the better!
- lemon: Don’t skip this!
- Caesar Salad Dressing: mine Easy Caesar Salad Dressing It was all there in 5 minutes, great!
- Crushed sea salt and black pepper
caesar dressing
- self made mayo (or store bought)
- olive oil
- garlic
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- lemon juice
- Dijon mustard
- anchovy sauce (optional)
- salt + pepper
How to Customize Your Chicken Caesar Quinoa Salad Recipe
Customize it with other add-ons/toppings
Alternative ideas:
- Swap lettuce for kale
- You can swap out the cilantro for another herb if you want!
Creamy Caesar Salad Dressing…awesome!
This Caesar Salad Dressing Recipe is AWESOME and simple. This dressing can be prepared 2 days in advance and stored in a covered container in the refrigerator.
Quinoa in a Quinoa Salad Recipe
While it pairs well with grilled chicken, shrimp, or salmon, quinoa is a great source of complete protein, so this salad is filling! Our in-house nutritionist Gabby says: Quinoa is very healthy, especially for those following a vegan or vegetarian diet. Quinoa is one of the very few plant proteins that contains all nine essential amino acids that our bodies cannot make on their own, making it a complete protein. Not only is quinoa high in protein, it’s also naturally gluten-free and safe for people with celiac disease.
our guide How to Cook Quinoa is my first choice! I like to prep ahead, so this salad is cold! If you’re making this all day, you can add a little heat to it, or to speed up the cooling process, just spread the cooked quinoa on a baking sheet and let it cool in the fridge.
How to cook quinoa on the stove:
This is probably the most common way to cook quinoa! You boil the quinoa and simmer until all the liquid is absorbed! Finally, let it sit for a few minutes and then fluff with a fork. It takes about 20-25 minutes.
Bonus Shortcuts: I recently saw frozen organic quinoa in the freezer section of my local Whole Foods!
Homemade croutons
Of course, you can shorten this step and use store purchases.If you want to make your own or have bread to run out, you can read all about how to make them In this post on how to make croutons at home, this is very simple!
- Cut or tear bread.
- Stir in olive oil and seasonings.
- Bake until light brown and toast.
When you make croutons, you are baking and drying bread. So in theory, the croutons themselves should keep for about two weeks in an airtight container. This is assuming you haven’t changed the recipe and added any non-shelf stable ingredients.
If you make croutons in batches or don’t think you’ll use them up in two weeks, you can also freeze croutons for up to 6 months at a time!
Make ahead quinoa salad recipes for meal prep:
Quinoa salad does a great job as a meal prep. You can prep these components completely ahead of time, even the day before! Just make sure everything is ready and get dressed before serving. This also lasts for a few days in the fridge, but my favorite is to eat it right away!
Shredded Chicken or Roast Chicken: You can prepare it a day or two in advance!
Lettuce, shallots, tomatoes, cilantro and cheese: You can chop these up a day ahead and store in the refrigerator, but it would be ideal if you could chop these fresh before serving!
Homemade croutons: It will keep for up to two weeks, and you can freeze the croutons for up to 6 months at a time!
Quinoa: our guide How to Cook Quinoa is my first choice! I like to prep ahead, so this salad is cold! If you’re making this all day, you can add a little heat to it, or to speed up the cooling process, just spread the cooked quinoa on a baking sheet and let it cool in the fridge.
self made Caesar Salad Dressing: You can make this a day or two ahead and store in the fridge. Pack the salad just before serving.
storage: I will prepare everything else the day of assembly and serving. With all this in mind, this salad will keep for 3-5 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
If you like this quinoa recipe, try these:
Chicken Caesar Quinoa Salad
Light and refreshing, this Chicken Caesar Quinoa Salad is full of flavor and packed with protein. It’s the perfect side dish for lunch or BBQ!
- Preparation time: 00:10
- Cooking time: 00:20
- total time: 00:30
- yield: 4 1X
- category: salad
For salads:
- 2 cups cooked Quinoa (approximately 12 oz)
- 2 cups Chopped chickendiced store-bought rotisserie chicken, or shredded rotisserie chicken
- 2 cups Chopped lettuce (or kale)
- 1 cup roughly chopped or small croutons
- 1/4 cup chopped green onion
- 1 cup chopped grape tomatoes
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
- 1/3 cup Shredded fresh Parmesan cheese, more as needed
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
- 1 lemon juice
- 1/3 cup caesar dressingmore tasting
For the dressing:
- ½ cup mayonnaise, self made or store bought
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon anchovy sauce (optional)
- Songhai Salt
- crushed black pepper
- make croutons If make them homemade and set aside.
- Make Caesar Sauce: Add all seasonings to a small bowl or mason jar and mix well. Taste and adjust seasonings. shelved.
- make quinoa: See the post for various notes!
- Chop the chicken, lettuce, shallots, tomatoes, cilantro, then chop the cheese.
- Combine all salad ingredients in a bowl. Season with salt, pepper and lemon.
- Toss with dressing. Taste and add more seasoning, salt, pepper, and lemon juice as needed!
- Serve immediately and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
notes
- For chicken: you can use Chopped, store-bought rotisserie or shredded rotisserie chicken. I made this with all three and love the smell of freshly grilled chicken!
Key words: Quinoa Salad Recipe
