Thai-Style Chicken Quinoa Bowl.
Say hello to your stereotypical trying-to-be-healthy Monday recipe.
Like the many Mondays that have come before, I attempt to lure you in with the promise of half-assed vegetables and a balanced meal. Only to finish you off with a bowl full of butter and a glass of tequila on Friday.
I guess it doesn’t have to be Monday… but it is. And the truth is that even though I like quinoa, one of my main goals in life is seeing how many unhealthy things that I love can be stuffed inside the same bowl so I can dub the entire thing health food. Bacon grease, cheese and brown butter breadcrumbs? Instantly because healthy with the added quarter cup of quinoa. Yessss.
I love how that works.
And I want to tell you that this is another one of my cop-out Thai recipes because it sort of is, but I just love that sauce soooooo much. It first appeared on my thai chicken wings and then later on this thai crunch chicken salad, and it’s not a stretch to say I whip it up nearly once a week just to see what else I can thai-afy. Thai nachos? Check. Thai burgers? Check. Thai noodles? Check. Thai sauce on a spoon? Check.
Don’t worry. Thai cookies are not next. You may have thought otherwise with how much I talk about this. I know. I’ll just shut up.
Thai Chicken Quinoa Bowl
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
- 1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded
- 1/3 cup chopped carrots
- 1/3 cup shelled edamame
- 1/3 cup chopped green onions
- 1/4 cup chopped peanuts
- 1/4 cup freshly chopped cilantro
sauce
- 2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon canned coconut milk
- 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon creamy peanut butter, it mixes in easier if it’s melted, FYI
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/2 lime, juice
- 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
Instructions
- Prepare quinoa according to directions, which will most likely call for 1 cup of liquid. I prefer to use low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock, so if you have that, use it!
- While quinoa is cooking, combine all of the sauce ingredients together in a bowl and whisk well to combine. Once quinoa has absorbed all of the liquid, stir in the sauce and toss well to coat. Add in chicken, carrots, edamame and green onions, stirring to combine. Taste and season with a little salt and pepper if needed. Toss in half of the peanuts and cilantro, then serve in a large bowl, topped with remaining peanuts and cilantro. I like to serve this with a salad, soup or even a little sandwich!
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I appreciate you so much!
So many veggies for me!
273 Comments on “Thai-Style Chicken Quinoa Bowl.”
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:-) I’m trying your thai burgers tomorrow night and just added this to my list of things to make. Thanks, Jessica.
If this doesn’t appear in my face in 2 minutes, SOMEONE WILL PAAAAAY.
Mmm! I love your Thai chicken enchiladas. You’re completely right about that sauce. I’ll bet this would be just as good with shrimp too!
Thai nachos? Did I miss this? I’m going to look for these because it sounds delicious. Oh yeah, and something is totally made healthier by adding quinoa.
Perfect – just said I have to find something to make that goes with the leftover chicken broth in the fridge. Gotta love finding something that fits perfectly!
This looks so wonderful.
I seriously just logged of on Pinterest after looking for a quinoa salad for dinner. This one looks better than the one I had chosen (plus I don’t need a trip to the grocery store–bonus). Looks delicious and will be one tonight’s dinner menu.
So how did you know I recently told the husband I wanted to try more quinoa dishes? This is on this weeks menu.. Thanks so much!
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I love quinoa– I am getting the grocery list and trying this soon.
You could do like peanut butter and sriracha cookies and call them thai….. Or just use coconut and mango. :)
I’ve made something similar and cooked the quinoa in light coconut milk. Mmmm
So doing this over “riced” celery root or cauliflower…to paleofy -low carb it a bit….The colors are gorgeous, and my husband will devour it !
This would be fabulous over Konjac noodles as well!!
Sounds delish! Totally making this for dinner tonight! :)
Dude Thai cookies sound good!! Go for it :-)
That looks so yummy and easy to make! I love the flavors of Thai food. How long do you think you can keep the sauce in the fridge???
yum- i’m craving this now!
This looks DELISH! What do you do with the left over can of coconut milk- ideas? Also how long would it last in the fridge.
Love your website, humor, and recipes!
This looks awesome and I will probably make it this week! I’m pregnant and have cravings for pretty much nothing, so this is a big improvement! Now my husband doesn’t have to eat salad and scrambled eggs all week for dinner :-/
Now we are talking! Thai is one my favorite flavors and to cook meals with.
Great recipe Jessica.
Flavor EXPLOSION! ;)
This looks fabulous! I love anything with coconut milk. I’ll be doing this with tofu soon!
I have tried so many of your Thai-ified recipes! LOL They are always amazing and that dipping sauce is a definite keeper.
Thai inspired anything is fine with me. This looks so easy and delicious – and hello, yeah, anything with quinoa is healthy. It’s a rule.
I made this last night, amazing flavor! I used by blender to chop the carrots, edamame, green onion, and cashews into super tiny pieces which mixed easily with the quinoa. I should have doubled the batch!
I love everything Thai and really love quinoa. A Thai-style quinoa sounds too good to be true! Can’t wait to try this!
Seriously AMAZING dish. Healthy, delicious and packed with amazing flavor. LOVE IT
Thai works for anything. Duh.
Seriously, this is so my kind of quina dish. Thai flavor are my favorite!
Love the Thai flavors in this recipe!! Need more quinoa in my life, though.
These look delicious! I’m wondering, did you use red quinoa or white? Or a mix? Couldn’t tell from the picture and I wasn’t sure if it mattered.
Thanks!
personally i don’t think it matters, whatever you like! however i used about 50/50 white quinoa and a tricolor trader joe’s quinoa. mainly because i ran out of the white!
This looks so good!
I am making this this week!!!
Holy mackerel, this was delicious. After adding a touch more chili sauce and a good splash of sriracha because, well, there’s no such thing as too much heat, I stuffed the quinoa chicken mixture into lettuce leaves to make wraps. Flavor explosion in the best possible way. Thanks!
It looks Thairiffic. Yeah it does. I could eat it now
I made this the other night for dinner and it was AWESOME!! I’m so glad that I ended up doubling it… leftovers were just as good. Thanks for yet another fabulous recipe.
Oh my word. Half-assed? How do you figured. I could eat this so happily. I wonder if eating it would halve my ass eventually? :-)
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This was truly delicious. My husband lived in Thailand for a few years so I am always hesitant to put anything Thai that is homemade in front of him. He LIKED it! I loved it! I could have thrown my face in the bowl but discretion dictated a more delicate approach. Thank you very much!
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I totally just made a cheater version of this. I didn’t have any carrots and I used a bottle of Thai peanut sauce I got from Target instead of making it from scratch. Like another commenter above, I’m pregnant and all traditional protein sources sound horrible, so I skipped the chicken. Even without making things from scratch, it’s still delicious. Although I think I’m going to love it even more once it’s been refrigerated for a while.
Eating this as I type! My fiancĂ© loves it! So delicious thanks for this awesome recipe! It’s the perfect, healthy meal after a long ski weeknd of beers and overeating
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i made this recipe OMG i love it!!! thanks a lot! <3
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Made tonight, my huaband and love thai food but cant afford going thete every week as we would like to. I saw this recipe and it sounded great so i had to try it.
I made it tonight and it was delicious!!the only difference was I didn’t have chili sauce, so I looked up a recipe and quickly made it.
I doubled the recipe hoping fo rgreat leftovers we both loved it. The husband had seconds!
Thank you!
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This was delicious! I just swapped in leftover white rice instead to save time. It literally took 5 minutes to make. Thanks!
This is fantastic! I kept the sauce the same, but I subbed almond butter for the peanut butter. I added chopped broccoli to the veggies and subbed cashews for the peanuts. I also left out the chicken, which we grilled and covered with peanut sauce. I served it on top of the salad. Yum. Thanks for a great side dish!
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