BBQ Chicken, Kale and Quinoa Bowl

BBQ Chicken, Kale and Quinoa Bowl – this healthy recipe comes together quickly and easily, a family favorite!

bowl of quinoa topped with shredded bbq chicken and kale

I haven’t been great at meal planning and prepping last couple of weeks and boy do I feel it. On the weeks that I take the time to look at our schedule, plan a few meals and then shop for them…well it’s obvious those weeks run more smoothly. What I really find helpful is when I can make a few recipes ahead of time, like this All Purpose Barbecue Shredded Chicken and use it for 2 meals (or 1 meal and a lot of lunches!) during the week. I love having a batch of that chicken on hand for meals just like this last minute throw together BBQ Chicken, Kale and Quinoa Bowl recipe. It’s like stir fry meets BBQ meets health food. Good stuff.

(I’d be happy adding that shredded BBQ chicken to this BBQ Chicken Salad, these BBQ Chicken Grilled Cheese Sandwiches or this BBQ Chicken Avocado Quesadillas – all look delicious!)

bowl of quinoa topped with shredded bbq chicken and kale

This recipe is very straight forward and came together at lunch one day when I was throwing together a few leftovers in a skillet. (The key is to keeping this super quick is to have precooked quinoa and chicken ready for you in the fridge.) It was so delicious I made it again for dinner and again for lunch.  BBQ wins me over every time. My husband too…I’m still working on my kids with this one, though I will say they ate it – just not as excited as I was about it. 🙂

If kale isn’t your thing, you can easily substitute fresh spinach for the kale. Leftovers are great for lunch the next day too! If you are into meal prepping for yourself, these would be great to turn into to grab & go bowls to take to work or school. Just heat up for a nourishing home-cooked meal at lunch or dinner!

Have a great week!

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BBQ Chicken, Kale and Quinoa Bowl

  • Author: Aggie's Kitchen
  • Yield: 2 servings 1x
  • Category: Chicken
  • Method: Stovetop

BBQ Chicken, Kale and Quinoa Bowl – this healthy recipe comes together quickly and easily, a family favorite!


Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 sweet onion, chopped
  • 23 big handfuls chopped kale (I used lacinato kale, but use whatever kale you have)
  • 1 cup cooked quinoa
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 cup shredded chicken (use rotisserie or any leftover chicken you have)
  • 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce (plus extra for serving)

Instructions

  1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add kale to skillet and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 4-5 minutes until kale starts to wilt.
  2. Add quinoa to skillet and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add shredded chicken and barbecue sauce to kale and quinoa and stir fry for another 2 minutes until everything is combined and heated through.
  3. Serve with additional barbecue sauce if you wish.

Need some new light and easy dinner ideas? Check out these 20 Healthy Recipes Using Shredded Chicken!

There are plenty of recipe ideas using quinoa to choose from on my Quinoa Love Pinterest board:

More recipes using cooked quinoa:

Greek Grilled Cauliflower and Vidalia Onion Quinoa Salad

Corn and Black Bean Quinoa Salad

Salmon Quinoa Cakes

Quinoa Fried Rice | Gimme Some Oven

Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Quinoa | Cookin’ Canuck