Time Saving, Healthy Chicken Quinoa Recipe

Have you ever tried making something healthy out of your pantry that actually turned out to be a family favorite? This was how my Chicken Quinoa Recipe came to be. Many people have been asking me to share some of my favorite recipes. Although this is a Chicken Quinoa recipe, it can be a chicken rice recipe or altered in many ways to fit your family’s preferences.

In a few past articles, I had written about a time when I was super busy. I was working from home full-time, without childcare for my young children, homeschooling, and running two additional side businesses. I was trying to find more ways to be efficient with my time, while keeping my family healthy. Ordering dinner out was becoming a habit and was not a healthy lifestyle that I wanted for my family. I was always searching for fast, easy, healthy recipes for dinner.

Some of my favorite recipes that I had been finding were “dump” recipes and sheet pan recipes. These were recipes where you threw everything you needed for the meal (typically meat, veggies, and seasonings) onto a pan or in a crock pot and cooked it. It was a recipe that you didn’t have to do multiple steps or stand over while it was cooking.

One day, I needed to find a dinner that I could throw together and forget about. I didn’t have time to search for recipes or shop. So, I grabbed a few foods and threw them together, and put it all in the oven for about 45 minutes.

When we ate it, everyone in the house enjoyed it and asked for it to be on the rotation. I didn’t measure anything and hardly remembered what I did. I then had to figure out how to recreate it. Over time, people have been asking for the recipe and I’ve worked at recreating it.

I’m going to share what I think are the measurements and directions here. This way, you can try my healthy Chicken Quinoa “Dump” recipe and see how your family likes it. Mine used to like it, but now my picky eaters won’t eat it anymore. They don’t like chicken or foods mixed together. One kid also can’t eat quinoa, so it has been through a few modifications since that first time.

Ways I’ve Modified This Chicken Quinoa Recipe

The first modification I made was to use rice instead of the Quinoa. Don’t use instant rice, but the kind that needs to boil about 20 minutes. I like Jasmine because it is sweet, though it is not the healthiest. You could also use brown rice or sprouted rice. Again, really anything that you have to typically cook for a little bit.

Once I got an InstantPot, I decided to try making this meal in it. It makes it much more quickly. I put it all in the InstantPot in the same order as the recipe states. I add 2-2.5 cups of chicken broth. If you add about 2 Tbsp more than the quinoa or rice directions require, it will minimize the chances of getting the dreaded “burn” notice. I then cook it on high pressure on the poultry setting for 12 minutes for chicken breasts, or 10 minutes for chicken tenderloins.

When my kids stopped liking all the foods cooked together, I made the rice separately on the stove. I then used less chicken broth (1/2 c in the oven or 1 cup in the InstantPot) in the pan. We still liked a bit of broth, because it made a nice juice to use on the rice.

Notes:

I used to use the tan quinoa most often. When I was looking at quinoa this time, I saw red and thought it would add nice color to the dish. Unfortunately, the look affected the taste for my family. Apparently, they like the bland look of the tan quinoa better.

You can substitute rice and it tastes similar. Just don’t use the minute rice, that’ll get too mushy. My favorite is Jasmine rice, but you can use any rice that typically boils on the stove for about 20 minutes. I just use the amount of chicken broth that the rice directions says to use for 1 cup of rice.

This meal can be made in the InstantPot much more quickly than the oven. I cook it on high pressure on the poultry setting for 12 minutes for Chicken Breasts, and 10 minutes for Chicken Tenderloins.

For time sake, I started cooking with chicken tenderloins most often. I substitute them for any chicken breast recipe I find. I do it because they cook faster, and are already smaller portions, so my picky eaters waste less.