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This 20-Minute Chicken Bruschetta Quinoa Salad is the perfect Summer meal!
Chicken Bruschetta Salad
If you’ve been following me for a while now, you probably already know how I feel about 20-minute meals. I LOVE THEM!
In fact, during the blissful Summer months, I think it’s almost criminal to spend too much time in the kitchen. And that’s coming from a girl who loves her kitchen. Time spent cooking = time not spent: swimming, hiking, drinking rose on the patio… I think you get my point!
Since I clearly feel strongly about this subject, I wanted to set us up with a solid rotation of 20-minute meals to get us through Summer. Starting with this 20-Minute Chicken Bruschetta Quinoa Salad! It’s light but hearty, healthy but flavorful, and perfect for picnics, parties, or packed lunch. It’s an all-star meal!
Bruschetta Salad Recipe
Tips and Tricks for Recipe Success:
- If you’re vegan or vegetarian, you can still make this recipe! Simply omit the chicken and enjoy.
- To keep this meal quick and easy, I used a store-bought rotisserie chicken. If you’d prefer to bake or grill chicken instead, it’ll work just fine! Just be aware it’ll no longer be a 20-minute meal.
- Choose the freshest tomatoes and basil you can find! These two ingredients add 99.9% of the flavor to this meal, so you want the best. I also suggest using quality olive oil. I love this one.
- Because chicken stock adds flavor, I like to boil my quinoa in it – but you can definitely just use water for that step.
- You can use white quinoa, red quinoa, or a combination of colors. Up to you!
- If you have time, I recommend letting this salad chill for a few hours before serving. This allows the flavors to mix and mingle.
- This salad will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge! After that I find the tomatoes and basil start to turn.
I hope this 20-Minute Bruschetta Chicken Salad makes its way into your Summer dinner rotation!
More 20-Minute Meals:
More Bruschetta Recipes:
If you try this recipe for 20-Minute Chicken Bruschetta Quinoa Salad, let me know what you think! Leave a comment below, and don’t forget to snap a pic and tag it #bakerbynature on instagram! Seeing your creations makes my day ♥
20-Minute Chicken Bruschetta Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
For the Quinoa:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup pre-washed quinoa
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups chicken broth (or water)
For the Bruschetta:
- 6 ripe vine tomatoes, diced
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- (1) 4 ounce package fresh basil, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 rotisserie chicken, shredded into bite-sized pieces
Instructions
For the Quinoa:
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Add the dry quinoa and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add broth and salt. Turn the heat up to high and bring to a boil. Cover pan tightly with lid, turn heat down to low and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until all of the liquid has been absorbed and the quinoa is cooked. Spoon the cooked quinoa to a heat safe mixing bowl and set in the fridge to cool for a few minutes while you prepare the Bruschetta.
For the Bruschetta:
- In a large bowl combine the diced tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, basil, salt, and pepper.
Assembly:
- In a large bowl combine the quinoa, Bruschetta, and chicken. Serve at once, or chill until needed.
`Made this for a quick and easy dinner last night. Instead of Rotisserie chicken, I had a large chicken breast that I marinated in Italian dressing all day and then baked it in the oven before shredding it. I halved the recipe and it was a perfect dinner for the 2 of us. We ate it warm instead of chilling it. Loved how easy it was!
yum yum yummy. So delicious
It made a very good diner. It was light, and the flavors came really well together. I enjoy and recommend this recipe ! Thanks !
Question…how do you wash
the quinoa? I tried using a very fine strainer but it still kept falling through the holes….any recommendations?…thank you
To wash the quinoa, I use a wire strainer and just rub it around under water. I think it tastes better if you wash it. Ive never seen already washed quinoa, but maybe there is such a thing. Can’t wait to try this recipe
I just made this to pack for lunch this week and it’s delicious!! So easy and super tasty. I used cherry tomatoes and a balsamic glaze (rather than straight balsamic) but otherwise followed as written. Loved it!! Thank you for another easy, tasty recipe! I’m actually looking forward to my work lunch now 🙂
This salad seems healthier too. Gonna definitely try this and will tel you the review soon.
this is really very tempting.
a very tempting salad
Love this. Just pinned it. Will be perfect for summer picnics rather than the typical heavy potato salads people are used to.