This Marry Me Chicken Quinoa Skillet recipe is flavorful, protein packed, and one that we turn to when we’re craving comfort food. We love it for its flavor and appreciate it for it’s hearty nutrition.
Easy Marry Me Chicken Quinoa Skillet
All you’ll need for this recipe is one cast iron skillet, a cutting board, and your trusty oven. Chop up pancetta, onion, chicken, and spinach in advance for an even quicker assembly and get ready to dig in!
Looking for More Recipes Like This?
Then you’ve gotta try out chicken enchilada quinoa bake. It’s another super easy one-skillet meal with the best flavors!
What You Will Need
- butter – Just a bit to help cook up the aromatics.
- yellow onion & garlic – Both add hearty, warm flavors.
- pancetta – Lends a mild ham flavor throughout vs. bacon which adds a slight smokey flavor.
- quinoa – Our favorite whole grain that adds fiber, protein, and nurtients.
- chicken broth and half & half – Adds flavor and creaminess to the quinoa.
- jar of sun-dried tomatoes & tomato paste – Provides just the right amount of acidity.
- ground black pepper, Italian seasoning, and kosher salt – The perfect blend of spices.
- parmesan cheese – For the cheesiest bites!
- fresh spinach – A mild green that provides pops of color and nutrients.
- optional toppings – crushed red pepper flakes, fresh basil, extra cheese
What Is Marry Me Chicken
Simply put, it’s a classic dish that’s known to be so delicious, that whoever tastes it will be moved to propose to the cook. In other words, it’s a super delicious chicken dish that people adore. We just put our fun spin on it to amp up the nutrients without skimping on flavor.
How To Make Marry Me Chicken Quinoa Skillet
Start by preheating your oven to 375 degrees F and prep your ingredients.
Next, bring a large cast-iron skillet to medium high heat and add the butter, letting it melt to coat the pan. Then add in the pancetta, diced onion, and minced garlic. Move them all around the pan until softened, which takes 1-2 minutes.
In the same skillet, add in the quinoa, chicken broth, sun-dried tomatoes, oil, tomato paste, creamer, chicken, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes (if using) and give it all a good mix. Carefully place your skillet in the pre-heated oven and let it all cook for 35 minutes.
Remove the skillet from the oven and give everything a good stir. Take note of the doneness of your quinoa. If the germ, the white curly tail in the middle of the grain, is still tightly curled, your quinoa probably needs to go back in the oven to cook for about 10 more minutes. If that tail looks more like a loose thread, your quinoa is close to being fully cooked, and you can move on to adding in a 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese and the fresh spinach. Stir it all together and add the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese on top and place it all back in the oven for a final 10 minutes to melt the cheese.
A Note About Quinoa Cooking Time
We used Ancient Harvest traditional quinoa for testing this recipe and it took a total of 45 minutes for it to get fully cooked. Quinoa brands and ovens vary, so just know that your variety might need more or less cooking time than ours. Fully cooked quinoa absorbs the liquid that it’s cooked in and therefore becomes light and fluffy looking. It also becomes slightly translucent and the circular germ that curls around the quinoa will become loose and more squiggly. Knowing this, use your best judgement when checking for doneness.
Carefully remove this easy dinner from the oven, let it cool slightly, garnish with more cheese and some fresh basil, and dig in!
What To Serve With Marry Me Chicken Quinoa Skillet
To us, this feels like a complete meal since the grain, protein, and veggies are all cooked together, but if you’re looking to add a bit more freshness to your table, add our easy grilled chicken caesar salad to the mix and maybe just leave out the chicken since it’s already part of your meal.
Recipe FAQs and Tips
- dairy-free: Use unsweetened and unflavored dairy-free nut-pods for the same creamy texture but without the dairy!
- Quinoa Cook Time: Ours took about 45 minutes of total cook time, but yours may vary depending on the brand. Adjust cook time as needed.
- Storage – Place leftovers in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Made this healthy weeknight meal and loved it?! We would love it if you would take a minute and leave a star rating and review – it is also helpful if you made any substitutions or changes to the recipe to share that as well. THANK YOU!
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Marry Me Chicken Quinoa Skillet
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner/Entree
- Method: Stovetop + Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
Our Marry Me Chicken Quinoa Skillet recipe is a one skillet dinner that is so simple to make – perfect for an easy weeknight dinner!
Ingredients
- 2–3 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 sweet yellow onion, minced
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup pancetta, chopped (optional)
- 1 cup quinoa, uncooked
- 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1/4 – 1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes, julienned
- 1 tablespoon oil from sun-dried tomato jar
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup unsweetened/unflavored dairy-free creamer or half-&-half*
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed
- 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1–2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated & divided
- 1/2 – 1 cup fresh spinach, roughly chopped
- optional: crushed red pepper flakes
- garnish: chopped fresh basil, extra grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Sauté: Bring a large cast iron skillet to a medium-high heat and melt butter. Add onion, garlic, and pancetta. Move around the pan to soften and reduce for 1-2 minutes.
- Quinoa + Broth + Seasonings: Add the quinoa, chicken broth, sun-dried tomatoes, oil, tomato paste, creamer, chicken, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes (if using). Mix it all together.
- Bake: Move the entire skillet to the preheated oven and bake for 35 minutes.
- Cheese + Spinach: Carefully remove the hot skillet from the oven and stir. If you feel your quinoa is almost fully cooked, add 1/2 cup parmesan cheese and fresh spinach. Stir again and add the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese on top. If you feel your quinoa isn’t close to being fully cooked – place back in the oven and let cook another 10 minutes. Then remove, stir again and add the cheese as directed above.
- Bake Again: Return skillet to the oven to bake for 10 more minutes.
- Serve: Let cool slightly and then enjoy with some fresh basil on top for garnish!
Notes
- *Creamer: to keep it dairy-free we highly recommend using NutPods Unsweetened/Unflavored Creamer and if dairy isn’t a concern you can use heavy cream or half-&-half.
- Quinoa + Cook Time: we used Ancient Harvest traditional quinoa for testing this recipe and it took approx. 45 minutes of total bake time to be fully cooked/soft. Quinoa brands and ovens vary, so just use your best judgment and if when you pull out your skillet in Step 5 and you feel like the quinoa is quite fully cooked, feel free to pop it back in for another 10 minutes or so before adding that parmesan cheese!
- Storage: leftovers can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6 oz
- Calories: 254
- Sugar: 1.8 g
- Sodium: 752.8 mg
- Fat: 11.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 17.4 g
- Protein: 20.9 g
- Cholesterol: 58.3 mg
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