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
Chicken quinoa salad with salsa hummus
Chicken quinoa salad with salsa hummus is a perfect light + healthy summer recipe!
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked, chopped chicken (leftover grilled, roasted or a rotisserie chicken all work well here)
- 2 cups cooked quinoa (from about ¾ cup uncooked)
- 1 cup diced zucchini
- 1 cup diced bell peppers or mini sweet peppers
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- ¾ cup hummus (homemade or store-bought)
- ¾ cup salsa
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Optional toppings: 1 medium avocado, cubed; chopped fresh parsley or basil
Instructions
- Chop all of your veggies and cook and slightly cool your quinoa, if needed.
- Combine the cooked chicken, cooked quinoa, zucchini, peppers and tomatoes in a bowl.
- In a separate small bowl, stir together the hummus and salsa until well combined.
- Pour the salsa hummus over your chicken and quinoa salad and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Mix in avocado, if using, and sprinkle with fresh parsley or basil, if desired.
- 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:
3Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 608Total Fat: 30gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 22gCholesterol: 85mgSodium: 874mgCarbohydrates: 53gFiber: 15gSugar: 8gProtein: 36g
Li[email protected]
this is brilliant!!! i totally forgot about that recipe. sounds so good!
Kathryn
Thanks Lindsay!! I thought it might be a blast from the past for you 😉
Dawn @ Girl Heart Food
Wow! So many delicious flavours going on here, Kathryn! I know you couldn't add avocado, but I would definitely add it 'cause I LOVES me so avocado 😉 Great idea making it vegetarian too with the beans if you wanna swap out the chicken. Love recipes like this 🙂 !!
Kathryn
I love being able to change up and switch around a recipe a little bit too - keeps it new every time 🙂
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine
Salsa, hummus, chicken....DINNER!
Kathryn
Right?! Couldn't make me happier 🙂
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary
Your recipe redux group sounds fun! Can't wait to see what you post every month! You sure started off with a bang with this!! You know I'm right there with you in the love of all things hummus, so this chicken quinoa salad with salsa hummus is calling my name!! Healthy and light yet packed with flavor! My idea of meal perfection! Gimme gimme! Cheers, dear! <3
Kathryn
Thanks Cheyanne! This is definitely going on the regular rotation 🙂
Charlene Asay
This looks super healthy and yummy. Thanks for sharing with us all.
Kathryn
Thank you Charlene! Hope you give it a try!
Rachel @ Delicious Balance
This sounds like the perfect make-ahead and take-to-a-picnic meal! Love the ingredient swap for quinoa!
Kathryn
Thanks Rachel! It's definitely perfect for a picnic!
Heather Seeley
We also Heart hummas and salsa in our family. This looks like an amazing combination. I am always trying to find more recipes to use quinoa so I can't wait to try this one!
Kathryn
Thanks Heather! You will love this salad! Super easy, healthy and loaded with flavor. I'm with you too - always up for trying quinoa in a new way. 🙂
lindsay Cotter
OMG i love! quinoa and salsa and hummus? my fav!
Kathryn
Me too! Such a fabulous combo!
Lisa
I really got excited reading this but the nutrition info..... what the heck does "as served" mean for serving size? This nutrition info is not helpful if not accurate. I can calculate calories if I have something to work from.
Kathryn
Hi Lisa - if you look in the recipe box you'll see it's listed as 3-4 servings for this entire recipe. You can use the "Adjust Servings" button to make it 3 or 4 or even 5, depending on how you plan to serve it and that will automatically adjust the nutrition box info. I hope that's helpful!