A quick and easy chicken quinoa salad with veggies and salsa hummus – a perfect light and healthy summer recipe!

Happy hump day friends!

I’m excited to share today’s post as my first with the RecipeRedux group. It’s a monthly recipe challenge with an awesome group of health-focused food bloggers to showcase delicious, healthy food and recipes. Pretty great, huh? Check out more about the group here.

This month’s challenge is to recreate a recipe by a fellow member. It didn’t take long for me to decide where to head.

Lindsay of The Lean Green Bean blog is someone I’ve followed for years. She has tons of easy, real food recipes with the average home cook in mind – exactly what I aim for as well!

I had fun browsing through her recipe index, but as soon as I saw her chicken pasta salad with salsa hummus, I knew that would be the one.

Salsa hummus? Um, yes, I think so!

You know I’m a hummus addict with a hummus obsession who has some serious hummus love in her heart. I 💗 hummus. So do my kids. OK, I’ll stop.

(Last one – here’s my basic hummus recipe that I actually used for this salad.)

I made a few tweaks to make this into a chicken quinoa salad with salsa hummus. I swapped in quinoa for the pasta because we’re not huge pasta eaters around here. Plus I love the extra protein and nutrition boost that quinoa brings to this dish.

I also increased the amount of salsa and hummus because I knew I wanted that creamy deliciousness coating every.single.bite.

And I switched up the veggies a bit to get in some of my fresh summer favorites. (And I had to skip the avocado because my husband is allergic, but you certainly don’t have to!)

If you want this to be a vegetarian and vegan salad, you could substitute black beans for the chicken. I may do that next time!

My husband and I took this chicken quinoa salad to our symphony in the park picnic earlier in the month and took turns passing the bowl back and forth while listening to some great classical music. Love that summer tradition here in Charlotte!

I also ate this salad the next several days for lunch – it held up well. So save those leftovers!

I love that this chicken quinoa salad is light but hearty — it really has staying power to keep you full. And TONS of great textures. Crunchy, sweet peppers, soft, fluffy quinoa, tender, juicy chunks of chicken and a burst of bright tomato every time you bite into one.

And the salsa hummus (which just requires mixing those two ingredients together) is a fabulous way to coat this salad and bind everything together.

I know I’ll be making this throughout the summer to have for lunches and light dinners on nights where we want to linger at the pool and pack something simple to eat.

Cheers to summer salads and easy, practically no-cook meals!

(Speaking of, you might also like this chicken and hummus pasta for an easy dinner.)

Enjoy!

XO,

Kathryn

Yield: 3-4 servings

Chicken quinoa salad with salsa hummus

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Chicken quinoa salad with salsa hummus is a perfect light + healthy summer recipe!

Prep Time 20 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups cooked, chopped chicken (leftover grilled, roasted or a rotisserie chicken all work well here)
• 2 cups cooked quinoa (from about 3/4 cup uncooked)
• 1 cup diced zucchini
• 1 cup diced bell peppers or mini sweet peppers
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 3/4 cup hummus (homemade or store-bought)
• 3/4 cup salsa
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• Optional toppings: 1 medium avocado, cubed; chopped fresh parsley or basil

Instructions

1. Chop all of your veggies and cook and slightly cool your quinoa, if needed.
   
2. Combine the cooked chicken, cooked quinoa, zucchini, peppers and tomatoes in a bowl.
   
3. In a separate small bowl, stir together the hummus and salsa until well combined.
   
4. Pour the salsa hummus over your chicken and quinoa salad and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
   
5. Mix in avocado, if using, and sprinkle with fresh parsley or basil, if desired.
   
6. Serve cold or at room temperature. Store leftovers, covered, in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Notes

You can substitute black beans if you want a vegan/vegetarian salad.

You can also use a flavored hummus or salsa - I may try this next time!

Inspired by The Lean Green Bean.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

3

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 608Total Fat: 30gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 22gCholesterol: 85mgSodium: 874mgCarbohydrates: 53gFiber: 15gSugar: 8gProtein: 36g