Meow Recipes: Basic + Awesome Chicken Quinoa Salad

Chicken quinoa salad in a bowl with a wooden spoon

Hello. Meet your new salad crush.

She’s a tasty one, full of happy little grape tomatoes and shredded bits of artichoke (!!) all snuggled in nicely between bites of tender chicken and fresh spinach, with quinoa and a yummy Greek-style vinaigrette clinging to all the little salady spaces in between.

What You’ll Need To Make This Salad Happen

The ingredient list is going to make all of us SOS-ers feel very good:

rotisserie chicken
grape tomatoes
artichokes (canned or jarred! easy)
spinach
pre-cooked quinoa
store-bought dressing

Now that I’ve got your salad wheels spinning, I would like to also tell you the other important thing which is that – surprise! – you can actually pick and choose whatever you like because, in addition to freshness and crunch and tang, versatility might be the very greatest thing about salads.

Ingredients for chicken quinoa salad in a bowl

Swap In Whatever You’d Like Here

Substitutions that might make you happy:

use chickpeas instead of chicken
use a different grain, or cook your own
use a different dressing – something lemony, herby, more or less sweet, whatever you like
add capers for extra briney-ness
add roasted vegetables of any sort – sweet potato, bell peppers, zucchini
add cheese
add nuts or seeds

Dressing being poured on chicken quinoa salad

The world is your salad!

Whether you go my direction with the quinoa / chicken / artichokes / Greek dressing, or go your own way with a spin-off of this combination, you will be eating well.

She is beautiful, colorful, flavorful, nutritious, family-friendly, and everything good that your SOS spring + summer heart could ever want.

Chicken quinoa salad in a bowl with a fork

Chicken Quinoa Salad: FAQs

Can this salad be made vegetarian?

It can! For a vegetarian version, just use white beans or chickpeas!

Can I meal prep this salad or make it ahead of time?

Yes! This can be made ahead and will last in the fridge for 1-3 days. The part that doesn’t last very well is the spinach, so I would suggest waiting to add the spinach to until just before serving, or make a big batch for the fridge and then just add spinach to individual servings.

I have a little bit of extra time to make my own dressing. Any recommendations?

The dressing from this pasta salad recipe or this LA Chop would be so, so good!

Source notes: I based this off of a salad I used to make a lot from an old Cooking Light cookbook called Fresh Food Fast. Three cheers for old favorites!

Basic + Awesome Chicken Quinoa Salad

Author: Lindsay
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes
Yield: 4-6 servings

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Description

Spin those salad wheels with this Basic + Awesome Chicken Quinoa Salad that’s easy to customize. Cherry tomatoes, shredded bits of artichoke, tender chicken, and fluffy quinoa all snuggled between pieces of fresh spinach.

Ingredients

2 cups cooked chicken, shredded or diced (I use pulled rotisserie chicken)
1 cup cooked quinoa (I buy this pre-packaged, usually comes in 8–10 ounce packages)
1–2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
one 14-ounce can chopped artichokes, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup vinaigrette of choice (I used the Panera at Home Greek dressing)
a handful of spinach or other fresh greens of choice
salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste