Key West Chicken Bowls with Lemon Quinoa

April 8, 2015

Key West Chicken Bowls with Lemon Quinoa




For a long time in my life, I was on the fence about one bowl meals (I know, it’s a strange thing to be on the fence about.)
I think I struggled with the semantics of it.
In my world a bowl is what you eat out of, it’s not the meal itself.
A strawberry breakfast bowl, is a strawberry smoothie served in a bowl.
Same goes for a veggie bowl. Why do you call it like that when it’s clearly a salad served in a bowl?
I love eating out of bowls, but that didn’t make the food I eat a “bowl”.

Key West Chicken Bowls with Lemon Quinoa




I thought this “bowl meal” thing was just some name trend on the way out...but instead it stayed.
And I got used to it, and I started using it, and soon you’ll be too — it's like the plague, it spreads.

Key West Chicken




Now? Now I can’t get enough of bowls.
I'm totally a bowl person. I’m pro-bowl and also a bit super-bowl.
Rice bowls, noodle bowls, meat bowls (no pun intended) — you name it, I probably love it.
It’s a simple equation: a hearty base, some protein, followed by a lot of vegetables, and a good dressing (or sauce).
One thing I love about bowls is the ability to change it up if you change your mind after mixing everything together. Not spicy enough? Add a bit of Sriracha. Want more tang? Squeeze a shot of lemon on it.

Key West Chicken Bowls with Lemon Quinoa




What about this particular bowl?
Let's start by saying that I always have quinoa cooked and stored in the fridge for use throughout the week; same goes with chicken and veggies. Which makes this meal super easy to throw together.
And I love me a good bowl meal packed with nutrition and flavor.

Key West Chicken Bowls with Lemon Quinoa




These Key West Chicken Bowls with Lemon Quinoa are exactly the kind of wholesome lunch that I'd look forward to all morning, then feel energized throughout the afternoon after polishing off.
A tasty combination of flavors you’ll never get bored of.
So what are you waiting for? Get on bowl! (pun intended!)

Key West Chicken Bowls with Lemon Quinoa


Key West Chicken Bowls with Lemon Quinoa                                                        Print this recipe!
Inspired by HowSweetEats

Ingredients
Serves 4

Key West Chicken

2 large chicken breasts, skinned
3 tablespoons soy sauce (or coconut aminos)
2 tablespoons raw organic honey
1 tablespoon olive oil
Juice and zest of one lemon
3 garlic cloves, peeled
1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
2 tablespoons Sriracha sauce (make your own Sriracha with this recipe)
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

Lemon Quinoa

1 cup quinoa
2 cups / 500 ml water
1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted (or olive oil)
Juice and zest of one lemon
¼ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

Salad

6 cups / 3.5 oz / 100 gr spring greens
1 cup / 5.3 oz / 150 gr cherry tomatoes, halved
2 handfuls torn fresh basil leaves
1 avocado, sliced
Lemon juice
Olive oil

Directions

Key West Chicken

In a blender, combine soy sauce, honey, olive oil, lime zest, lime juice, garlic, ginger, Sriracha and salt. Blend until completely smooth.
In a shallow sealable container or in a large Ziploc bag, combine chicken breasts and marinade. Cover or seal and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (marinate overnight for fullest flavor).
Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C).
Arrange chicken breasts in a single layer in a baking pan or roasting pan.
Bake chicken breasts, uncovered, for 18 to 20 minutes or until no longer pink (or until the temperature registers 165°F on an instant-read thermometer.)
Once cooked, transfer to a rack and let cool completely. Slice and set aside

Lemon Quinoa

Place quinoa into a fine-mesh strainer. Rinse thoroughly with cool water for about 2 minutes. Rub and swish the quinoa with your hand while rinsing. Drain.
Heat a splash of olive oil in the saucepan over medium-high heat, and add the drained quinoa. Cook, stirring, for about 1 minute, letting the water evaporate.
Add 2 cups of water and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Bring to a rolling boil, lower to a simmer (turn heat down to the lowest setting), cover, and cook for 15 minutes.
Remove from the heat and let stand for 5 more minutes, covered.
Fluff the quinoa gently with a fork (you should see tiny spirals separating from and curling around the quinoa seeds.)
Stir in the coconut oil (or olive oil), lemon juice, zest, salt, and pepper.

Salads

To make the salads, add the greens in a large bowl and toss them with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Add the chicken on top along with the quinoa, tomatoes, basil, and avocado.
Drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil and serve!

Nutrition facts

One serving yields 507 calories, 20 grams of fat, 49 grams of carbs, and 35 grams of protein.

32 comments:

  1. Looks delicious as always. Made a meatloaf last night that was to die for. Will try and get it posted later today.

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  2. Glad you came over to bowl land where everything is better in bowl form - specially when the chicken and the quinoa have lemon in them! Oooh! Hope you had a good Easter weekend Mike!

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    1. Is there really a place called "bowl land"? Like for real? ;)

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  3. This sounds like the perfect lunch! Can't wait to try it :)

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    1. It's kinda the perfect lunch Lauren, it really is

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  4. Oh my, this looks perfect! Something about the word 'bowl' has always appealed to me when it comes to making meals. It makes the recipe less intimidating maybe? Thanks for the recipe Mike, I'm definitely going to try it soon! :-)

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  5. So beautiful, a mouth watering bowl of YUM. I need to try this marinade, stat!

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    1. The marinade is killa Kev, definitely worth trying!

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  6. Food really does sound better as a "bowl" and this one looks super delicious and has ingredients I already keep on hand regularly!

    Thanks!

    MB

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  7. Love power bowls like this! You can just tell how healthy, fresh and delicious this key west chicken bowl is just by looking at the images.

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  8. That's so true! Bowls are like power houses of health! Live it! :)

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  9. I'm not at all on the fence about one bowl meals. This one looks particularly enticing :)

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  10. I love healthy, savory bowls like this. So easy to make, great combo and flavors from the veggies, and that chicken seems to be so good, definitely something I would create and eat this spring/summer.

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  11. I am all for bowls, except for bowl haircuts.....Those can burn.

    I'm like you- Always have a carb (usually couscous), protein and veg on hand to throw together although on a plate...now I'm going bowl(ing).

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    1. Bowl haircuts are like the worst, the worst of the worst...

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  12. This definitely sounds like something I need to make. I've made a few bowls before and really like the concept.

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    1. It's a good concept indeed Susan, especially now that I got used to it! :)

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  13. Great post, Mike. I typically dislike reading commentary before recipes on food bloggers' posts and scroll right to the bottom, because they're too lengthy and hard to read. Your posts have never fallen into that category! Thanks for being awesome. And lemon quinoa...YUM.

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  14. I totally snorted my coffee at the whole "vegetables in a bowl is just a salad" thing. Thanks for that one, Mike. But I totally agree! This flavor combo sounds incredible. I'm also thinking that you should start watching more college football. You know, the whole bowl thing. They even have an Idaho Potato Bowl. Seriously. Look it up. Then there's the Peach Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl, Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl...maybe we need to start the #WolfpackBowl

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  15. REALLY excited to try this dish out. I've been looking for a way to change up my chicken and this marinade sounds delicious!

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    1. I'm sure you're going to love this marinade, it's one of my fave!

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  16. Oh my, I made this tonight and it was DELICIOUS! The chicken marinade is lovely!

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  17. In the ingredients list it says "Juice and zest of one lemon" but then in the directions it says to add the zest and juice of a lime? Am I missing something?!

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  18. Your posts always make me laugh! I'm personally crazy about all 'bowl food' but I get your quandary about them!

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  19. Listen, Alpha... "Get on bowl!".... we have to work on your puns. But this recipe looks pretty freaking legit. Loving that chicken marinade!

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  20. Mike! Mine is in the fridge marinating as we speak! Just reviewing the next step, and noticed it said LIME juice in the directions, but in the ingredients list, called for LEMON juice and LEMON zest.
    I did in fact follow the ingredients, not direction list, and too late to notice the typo. Lucky for me, I won't know what it COULD have tasted like, but hope the lemon typo doesn't mess with the flavor much. :) (Its also titled with "lemon-quinoa" in the search topic as well) Just an FYI for future readers. :)
    Thanks for another great recipe!!!! (your biggest cauliflower fan!)

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