Got some leftover quinoa, chicken and vegetables? Dinner’s ready: make this 15-minute quinoa fried rice with chicken and the vegetables you have at home. This easy healthy dinner recipe is gluten-free and super satiating.
Quinoa Fried Rice
Am I the only one who calls quinoa chia? I somehow always get the two confused. Both are healthy foods I had never eaten growing up, both foods my daughter tells me to eat to be healthy now. One of them needs to cook, the other one doesn’t.
Quinoa, I started cooking quinoa about a year ago and it’s pretty easy – you add some water put it on the stove and in like 10 minutes it’s ready. You can use it like rice, in salads or as I like to eat it sometimes – for breakfast with some dried fruit and nuts.
This time when I had some leftover quinoa in my fridge I also had some leftover chicken, so at dinner time I decided to do something a little different and to turn my healthy fried rice recipe into quinoa fried rice. And guess what? It’s even better. It’s crunchier and the quinoa didn’t even have to stay overnight in the fridge (I got some from my breakfast). More nutritious and so quick!
I added some spinach, carrot, garlic, scallions and eggs and in 15 minutes this delicious dinner was ready.
Quinoa Fried Rice Options
This recipe is quite versatile. You can make it with or without the chicken, you can use peas or add green beans too and you can use whatever vegetables you have at home. With my fried rice, I always use cabbage or broccoli, so these will do well here as well.
If you don’t have leftover chicken you can cook chop some chicken breast, cook it in the pan and then use the same pan for the recipe. Another option will be to make this recipe with shrimp or if you want to go meatless, or even vegan cook some tofu before adding the rest of the ingredients.
Whichever way you go – I hope you enjoy this recipe! It is what I’m craving today and luckily, I also have some cabbage now. Here’s the recipe.
15-Minute Quinoa Fried Rice With Chicken
Ingredients
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 scallions, thinly chopped
- 1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 1 cup spinach, chopped
- 2 Tbsp tamari sauce
- 3 eggs
- 2 Tbsp sesame oil
- 1 cup chicken, cooked & chopped
- 1 tbsp coconut or olive oil
Instructions
- At medium-high, saute the garlic in olive oil until fragrant, then scramble the eggs.
- Add the spinach or cabbage and carrots and saute for a minute.
- Stir in the tamari sauce.
- Add 1 tbsp sesame oil, the chicken, the scallions and quinoa and stir it all together.
- Stir for 2-3 more minutes, then add another tsp of sesame oil and serve.
- Additionally you can add your favorite sauces - I added a bit of chili olive oil to make it a bit spicy.
Notes
Instead of spinach you can also use 1/2 cup cabbage, broccoli or cauliflower.
Nutrition Information
Yield 3 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 443Total Fat 27gSaturated Fat 6gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 19gCholesterol 228mgSodium 838mgCarbohydrates 27gFiber 5gSugar 3gProtein 25g