Healthy Chicken Quinoa Salad Recipe Is Jennifer Aniston Approved (25 Minutes) Salads Side Dishes Lunch Chicken Recipes Dinner Grains Low Sodium Recipes Gluten-free

"Well, friends, I wish I could honestly say that Jennifer shared this recipe with me personally but I certainly cannot," says Rachel Maser, mom of four and founder/creator of the clean eating blog, Clean Food Crush®. "You may have noticed this salad recipe infiltrating many foodie TikTok videos and reels throughout this past summer. I definitely noticed! Each time I saw this recipe come up in my feed I thought, 'WOW that looks amazingly delicious! Lots of colorful and nutritious ingredients ... gosh ... I want to eat that for lunch, too! Thanks, Jennifer!”

To make this healthy chicken quinoa salad recipe you will need quinoa, water or broth, chickpeas, cucumber, parsley, fresh mint, red onion, cooked chicken breasts, pistachios, lemons for juicing and zesting, apple cider vinegar, olive oil and optional, but recommended, feta cheese. (Did you know feta may be the healthiest cheese in the world?)

Serve this healthy, clean-eating salad recipe for lunch or as a side dish with dinner. Store the leftover salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups quinoa, uncooked, rinsed well
• 3 cups water or broth
• 15 ounces (1 can) chickpeas, drained and rinsed well
• 1 large English cucumber, diced
• 1 large bunch of fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 large bunch of fresh mint leaves, chopped
• 1 medium red onion, diced
• 2 - 3 leftover grilled chicken breasts, diced
• 1/2 cup pistachios, coarsely chopped
• 1 large lemon, juice and zest
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• crumbled feta cheese, optional

Recipe Notes

• Feel free to use any grain in this salad.

• You could use a rotisserie chicken.

• The salad stays good for three to four days in the refrigerator in a tightly sealed container.

Here's how to make it: 

1. Place the rinsed quinoa into a medium saucepan and add the water. Simmer for 15 minutes, then remove from heat and fluff with a fork. Allow it to cool while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
2. In a large bowl, add the chickpeas, chopped cucumber, parsley, mint, onion, grilled chicken and pistachios. Add in the cooked quinoa, lemon zest, lemon juice, vinegar and olive oil, then season to taste. Stir well to combine. Serve with crumbled feta cheese, if desired. 

Recipe and photo courtesy of Clean Food Crush®.

Recipe cooking times, nutritional information and servings are approximate and provided for your convenience. However, 30Seconds is not responsible for the outcome of any recipe, nor may you have the same results because of variations in ingredients, temperatures, altitude, errors, omissions or cooking/baking abilities. Any nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and it is up to the individual to ascertain accuracy. To ensure image quality, we may occasionally use stock photography.

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