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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
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.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
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
OMG just made this and it was also my first quinoa attempt. Such amazing flavor! Thank you
Yes! So happy you loved this!! Thanks Hillary!
Hi, I made this tonight and subbed the oil with non fat greek yogurt to cut back on calories. It was amazing!!
Thanks so much for making this, Alyson!! So happy you loved it and I love your swaps!
So I was scrolling through my Pinterest food board tonight, wondering what to make for dinner, and I saw this! My dude and I went to the store to get all the goods (swapping blue cheese for feta, and adding in a chopped yellow bell pepper) and raced home to get it going. Wow! This dish was fantastic! We both loved it and we’re now totally quinoa converts 🙂 Thank you! Oh, and we had the broccoli on the side 🙂
LOL! I just made this tonight! It really is so good!
I am so happy you guys loved this and are now quinoa lovers! Yes!!
Thanks Jodie!
I found this recipe via Pinterest. I am a vegetarian, but this looked too good to pass up! I made it without the chicken and it was delicious. One other small tweak, I’ve always cooked quinoa in broth rather than water and had some homemade vegetable stock on hand so used that.
Thanks for sharing the recipe!
So glad you still made this! I make this all the time minus the chicken since my family is not all that big on chicken. We just really like buffalo sauce!!!
Thanks for trying it , Erin!!
I don’t know how this is the first time this recipe has come across my radar but it looks amazing! I’m a HUGE fan of any buffalo and can.not.wait to make it next week for dinner!
Oh yeah!! Hope you love this!!
Thanks Tara!
I made this tonight, and OMG YUM!!!! I love anything buffalo AND anything with blue cheese 🙂 I am counting calories however, and I wasn’t anticipating it being as many calories per serving it was (I did 4 servings, and I calculated it to be ~621 calories) I will definitely make this again, but next time I’m using less oil. Thanks so much for the awesome recipe!
Thank you so much, Liz!! I am so happy you liked this and thank for the calorie info! I will have to try reducing the oil myself and see how it turns out. Thanks again!
I made this dish about two months ago and we loved i! Tonight, I am making it again. I am going to use melted Smart Balance (cholesterol free) instead of olive oil and will shred the chicken a bit. This was unique and wonderful! Thank you, thank you!
Yes! So happy you love this dish. It is one of my families favorites as well. Thanks Wanda!
This recipe was OUTSTANDING!!! My husband and I both loved it. Definitely my favorite adventure with quinoa so far ha. Shared your deliciousness with my readers here: http://seektobemerry.blogspot.com/2013/07/hump-day-distractions_31.html Thanks for the inspiration!!!
YEAH!! SO happy you guys loved this!! Thanks for making it!
Thank you for this! I am on a journey to incorporate new foods in my diet and am obsessed with buffalo anything! I do have a question. Does this store well, and if so, how should I store it. I have been looking for something tasty to take to the beach and I am wondering if this would work. Thank you!
Oh, I see answers above me, thanks guys!
Haha! Thanks Jessica! Hope you love this!!
sorry guys – just saw the post above mine – haha – ignore mine 🙂
No problem! Hope you love this!
Hi
sounds delicious!!!! Do you think it could be made the day before and served cold for a picnic?
Hoping to make this for picnic tomorrow- it looks sooo good! Has anyone tried it cold/room temp?
Thanks for sharing!!
I prefer it hot, but I really like hot foods! Most people would really enjoy this at room temp and even cooled. Hope you have a fun picnic and enjoy this!
Ijust made this for dinner and it was a huge fit!! We’re all on diets, so I added more veggies, no blue cheese and less chicken and less oil. Thanks so much for the wonderful recipe!! I never would have gone buffalo with the quinoa. Brilliant!
Ya! So glad everyone liked it!! This is on of my families favorites!
This recipe is fantastic – we can’t get enough of it!
Thank you! I am so happy you love it!!
Thanks for this! You inspired me to make a lower carb version of this recipe. Obviously I gave you credit for the inspiration: http://foodologie.com/2013/06/05/buffalo-chicken-spaghetti-squash/
I made lots of tweeks, but super tasty! I’ll have to try it with quinoa some day!
Thats awesome!!
Hi, Quick question: for the step where you “Add 1/4 cup or so of the buffalo sauce and cook until the chicken absorbs the sauce” – is this 1/4 cup of the “dressing” recipe or is this an additional 1/4 of frank’s hot sauce in addition to the dressing that will be added to the whole dish later? Making it tonight and want to get it right.
Thanks!
It is apart of the dressing, hope I am not to late and I hope you love this!