Blackened Chicken & Cilantro Lime Quinoa

Sometimes I like to have a lighter but filling meal for dinner, & this is just that. It is packed with protein so it keeps you full & it’s full of flavor!

The avocado cream is a great touch & is so cool & refreshing paired with the spicy chicken! I gobbled my dinner up pretty fast & I am not a huge fan of quinoa, but I like it fixed this way. Yum! Plus this was a quick meal to put together as well, so that is always great!

4.50 from 2 ratings

Blackened Chicken & Cilantro Lime Quinoa

Created by Amber Brady

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YieldsYields4 Servings

Ingredients

• ▢ 2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
• ▢ ½ tsp Paprika
• ▢ ¼ tsp Salt
• ▢ ¼ tsp Pepper
• ▢ ¼ tsp Cayenne Pepper
• ▢ ¼ tsp Onion Powder
• ▢ ¼ tsp ground cumin
• ▢ 1 tsp Olive Oil
• ▢ 2 Cups Low Sodium Chicken Stock
• ▢ 1 Cup Quinoa
• ▢ Juice and Zest from One Lime, (reserve 1 tsp of lime juice to use separately)
• ▢ Salt and Pepper
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons Cilantro, chopped
• ▢ Flesh of 1 avocado
• ▢ 2 Tbsp sour cream

Instructions

 

• Combine all the dry seasonings in a small bowl. Mix them together and then season both sides of each chicken breast. (I cut my chicken breasts in half width wise [like you are butterflying it] and made four servings.)
• Add the teaspoon of olive oil to a large pan or skillet. Heat the olive oil for a minute over medium/high heat. Add the chicken breasts to the pan. Cook for seven minutes on each side with the lid on.
• Add the chicken stock and quinoa to a medium sauce pan. Bring to a simmer over medium/low heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for ten to fifteen minutes with the lid on, until all the stock has been absorbed.
• After the chicken breasts have cooked all the way through, remove them from the pan and let them rest for several minutes before slicing them.
• To the quinoa: Toss in the lime zest, lime juice, salt and pepper to taste, and chopped cilantro. Mix to combine. (I would add the lime juice/zest mixture a little at a time & taste it because 1 whole lime was too much citrus for my liking.)
• To make an avocado cream sauce: Just place the flesh from an avocado along with two tablespoons of sour cream (or greek yogurt) & 1 tsp of reserved lime juice in a food processor and puree until smooth. Season with salt & pepper & thin with water, if needed/desired.
• Serve the sliced chicken breast on top of the quinoa & add a dollop of avocado cream sauce. Enjoy!

Notes

Nutrition Info.

Disclaimer: Nutritional values were calculated using a third-party tool and are provided as an estimation only.

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Recipe lightly altered from Sarcastic Cooking