Marry Me Chicken Quinoa Skillet
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.
Did you make this recipe?Tag @thewoodenskillet on Instagram!
