BBQ Chicken Quinoa Salad, the perfect hardy summer salad. This salad is great for potlucks, barbeques or summer get togethers, serve it as a side dish or a main dish. It also makes great meal prep for lunches and dinners!
Summer Salad
Every time summer rolls around in our house I’m all about the picnic plate life! Cold, make-ahead friendly foods that can be eaten in variety with very minimal cooking involved! This BBQ Chicken Quinoa Salad fits that bill!
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It’s just makes life simplier and easy for transport whether we’re taking it to the backyard or to eat at the park. This BBQ Chicken Quinoa Salad was intended as a great potluck side dish but is also so good as a main meal! Hardy, protein-packed and filling it can stand it’s ground to fuel you on the action packed days of summer.
I chose to make life easy with a pre-made BBQ sauce and was so happy to find The New Primal Classic BBQ Sauce which is also Whole30 Approved! The ingredients have integrity and it made whipping up this flavorful salad a breeze which is exactly what I want in summer (or everyday actually). Be sure to add this salad to your menu this week and then let me know how you liked it!
More Easy Summer Side Dishes
- Mexican Street Corn Salad
- Watermelon Balsamic Skewers
- Mozzarella Salami Summer Skewers
- Cherry Tomato Goat Cheese Crostini
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BBQ Chicken Quinoa Salad
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 cups 1x
- Category: Side Dishes
- Method: No Cook
- Cuisine: American
Description
BBQ Chicken Quinoa Salad, the perfect hardy summer salad. This salad is great for potlucks, barbeques or summer get togethers, serve it as a side dish or a main dish. It also makes great meal prep for lunches and dinners!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa = 1 1/4 cup cooked quinoa
- 1 cup fresh corn, cut off the cob (approximately 2–3 cobs needed)
- 1 cup cooked black beans
- 2 cups cooked and shredded BBQ chicken (*approximately 1lb)
- 1 avocado, cubed or sliced
- 1/2 cup finely grated cheddar cheese
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Cilantro for garnish and BBQ sauce for drizzling, if desired
Instructions
- Bake chicken in 1 cup of BBQ sauce until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. After chicken has finished cooking, simmer BBQ sauce for 5 minutes to reduce, shred chicken and pour sauce over the shredded chicken. Toss to combine. OR If you opted for precooked chicken then shred and toss in 1/2 cup to 1 cup BBQ sauce.
- Cook quinoa per package instructions, allow to cool and fluff.
- Cook black beans or if using canned, rinse thoroughly.
- Assemble all ingredients in a medium-sized bowl and top with cilantro and more BBQ sauce if desired.
- Make-ahead and store in the frig or eat right away. Enjoy!
Notes
*You can bake your own chicken in your favorite BBQ sauce (I used The New Primal Classic BBQ Sauce) or shred a pre-made rotisserie chicken and toss in BBQ sauce, both options work great!
*To maximize flavor, toss shredded chicken in BBQ sauce and let sit for a few hours or overnight before assembling the salad.
*Quinoa and black beans can also be made ahead and stored in the frig prior to salad assembly.
Keywords: BBQ Chicken Quinoa Salad, summer salad, bbq chicken salad,
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Lacey says
So easy and so yummy! This one is going into my staple recipes!
★★★★★
Nicole says
Thank you Lacey! I’m so glad you like it!