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WW Recipe of the Day: Chicken + Quinoa Salad with Dried Fruit
A light and colorful tasty twist on chicken salad—grilled chicken, quinoa, green peas, apricots, and raisins tossed with orange juice, rice wine vinegar, and olive oil and sprinkled with toasted pine nuts.
Perfect for warmer weather, this healthy and delicious WW Chicken and Quinoa Salad is packed with protein, so it will keep you satisfied for hours without weighing you down.
Back in 2012, I was part of a little group of bloggers that cooked and blogged their way through Martha Stewart’s Power Foods: 150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients (affiliate link).
It was a wonderful exercise for opening my food horizons, getting my to experiment with lots of different foods I might not have otherwise.
And as a Weight Watcher, it was perfect too since focusing on eating power foods is one of the keys to lasting weight management success.
This week our little group of bloggers continues it exploration of grains and legumes with quinoa (pronounced keen-wah), which technically isn’t a grain at all, but rather the seeds of a plant related to spinach, Swiss chard, and beets.
Though relatively new on the food scene here, according to researchers, it’s popularity in the Andes regions of South America dates back to approximately 3000 BC.
When I first tried quinoa, I wasn’t a fan. It’s taken my taste buds a while to adjust, but the more I experiment, the better I like it.
An important food rule I learned from the enlightening book, French Kids Eating Everything. It may take several tastes of a food before you learn to like it!
What Gives Quinoa It’s Power Food Status?
Because quinoa has all nine essential amino acids, it’s considered a complete protein. It’s also rich in vitamin B2 (riboflavin) and magnesium, two nutrients that may help reduce the occurrence of migraines, and a good source of vitamins B6 and E, as well as iron, zinc and fiber.
And because it’s not a grain, quinoa has no gluten, making it a great alternative for those with Celiac disease or gluten sensitivities.
Learn more about quinoa in this brief video Quinoa 101—Everything You Need To Know
How Do You Prepare Quinoa?
You basically cook quinoa the same way you do rice, using one part quinoa and two parts liquid and cooking it for about 15 minutes.
Definitely quick and easy.
But be sure to rinse it well before cooking because all quinoa has a bitter-tasting coating called saponin that protects it from being eaten by birds in the field.
Today most commercially available quinoa has already had the saponin removed, but it’s better give it a quick wash to be safe.
Recipe Notes
This chicken and quinoa salad with dried fruit is slightly adapted from the WW I Love Leftovers: 175+ Delicious Recipes to Serve Now or Later (affiliate link) cookbook, a fun little paperback book brimming with easy, healthy Weight Watchers recipes.
Instead of using the grilled chicken called for, I substituted leftover cooked chicken breast.
I also skipped the ground fennel and pine nuts because I didn’t have them. Seriously, does anyone have ground fennel in their cupboard? I think any chopped nut could be substituted for the pine nuts, but I just opted to leave them out.
I really liked this salad with it’s pleasing contrast of colors, flavors and textures.
The more I experiment with adding fruit to savory dishes, the more I like it.
If you don’t like, or have, golden raisins or dried apricots, use what you do have. I think Craisins or dried cherries would be good.
Both Rod and Mom enjoyed it too, which is always a good sign since our tastes and preferences can be quite different.
How Many Calories and WW Points in this Chicken and Quinoa Salad with Dried Fruit?
According to my calculations, each generous serving has 342 calories.
To see your WW Points for this recipe, track it in the WW App!
(You must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.)
10 SmartPoints (Green plan)
6 SmartPoints (Blue plan)
4 SmartPoints (Purple plan)
9 PointsPlus (Old plan)
If you like this chicken and quinoa salad with dried fruit, be sure to check out my other Weight Watchers friendly recipes including: Camilla’s Lemony Lentil Quinoa Salad, Cumin-Scented Black Beans and Quinoa, Southwest Stoplight Quinoa Salad, WW Hoppin’ John Salad with Quinoa and Crock Pot Vegetable Quinoa
If you’ve made this gluten-free Quinoa Salad with Chicken and Dried Fruit, please give the recipe a star rating below and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. And stay in touch on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates.
Chicken + Quinoa Salad with Dried Fruit
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup red or white quinoa, rinsed well
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup thawed frozen green peas
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (5-ounces each) (I used 16 ounces leftover rotisserie chicken instead)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground fennel seeds (I left them out)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup dried apricots, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup golden raisins
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
- 1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon toasted pine nuts, optional
Instructions
- Place the quinoa in a fine strainer (affiliate link) and give it a rinse under running water.
- Then place it in a small saucepan along with the water. Bring the mixture to a boil and then lower the heat, cover the pan and let it simmer until the liquid is absorbed and the quinoa is tender, about 12 minutes. Add the peas during the last 2 minutes of cooking time.
- Drain the quinoa and peas in a fine mesh strainer (affiliate link), rinse under cold water and then drain it again, before transferring the mixture to a large bowl.
- Meanwhile cook the chicken. First sprinkle the breasts with the ground fennel seeds (if using) and salt.
- Spray a large nonstick skillet (affiliate link) or grill pan (affiliate link) with nonstick spray and set it over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook, turning occasionally, until well browned and cooked through, about 8 minutes.
- Transfer the chicken to a cutting board (affiliate link) and let rest for 5 minutes and then cut it into thin slices.
- Add the apricots, raisins, scallions, orange juice, vinegar, and oil to the bowl of quinoa and peas. Add the chicken and toss everything gently to combine.
- Just before serving, sprinkle with the pine nuts if desired.
Notes
(Must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.) 10 SmartPoints (Green plan) 6 SmartPoints (Blue plan) 4 SmartPoints (Purple plan) 9 PointsPlus (Old plan) You can make this chicken and quinoa salad up to 2 days ahead. Just omit the pine nuts (if using), place in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Then sprinkle with the pine nuts just before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Source: slightly adapted from the Weight Watchers I Love Leftovers: 175+ Delicious Recipes to Serve Now or Later (affiliate link) cookbook
Article Sources:
- Power Foods: 150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients (affiliate link)
- The World’s Healthiest Foods
- Weight Watchers I Love Leftovers: 175+ Delicious Recipes to Serve Now or Later
Watch how to make 3 easy, healthy quinoa salad recipes – with just 5 ingredients each:
More Weight Watchers Recipes Using Quinoa:
- Quinoa & Spinach Patties (SkinnyTaste)
- Vegetarian Quinoa Enchilada Casserole (SkinnyKitchen)
- Strawberry Quinoa Salad (EmilyBites)
- Spicy Chickpea & Quinoa Bowl (EatYourselfSKinny)
- Mediterranean Quinoa Salad (SkinnyTaste)
My husband and I loved this recipe and will make it part of our weekly menu. It is packed full of protein 34g and tasted great. I will no longer use rice and will replace it with quinoa.
Amazing! This blog looks just like my old one!
It’s on a totally different subject but it has pretty much the same page layout and design. Excellent choice of colors!
What a nice combination of flavors – I like how you used dried fruit.
If all of you liked it, it’s probably yummy!
Martha, it also took me awhile to learn to like quinoa. Beyond pilaf and a few salads, I’m still working with it. I do love it now though. This salad sounds good with all the dried fruit.