My herby Chicken and Quinoa recipe made with Garlic and Spinach is a dish that combines New England practicality with lots of flavor! With fluffy quinoa and oven-baked chicken breasts, it's a healthy, from-scratch chicken recipe that can be made as a delicious family or as a home-cooked, make-ahead lunch.
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"What's for dinner?" Lately, when I get that question, my answer is, "Chicken something or other." And the best part is, no one ever pushes me to get any more specific than that.
Many, many dinner nights are indeed chicken-something-or-other nights. Chicken recipes are generally easy to prepare, and there are so many flavors and variations to choose from. Like my recipe for Chicken and Quinoa, made with Garlic and Spinach. It's a very flavorful chicken-something-or-other!
Chicken breasts are baked with plenty of fresh herbs, then served with fluffy quinoa, spinach, and sliced cherry tomatoes.
In a nutshell... 🐿️
- What this is: Tender, garlic and herb-baked chicken served over a bed of fluffy quinoa and spinach. Use veggies and herbs from your New England garden or farmstand to create a cozy family dinner.
- You'll love this part: Chicken quinoa is a fantastic dish to make on busy evenings when you want wholesome flavors without a lot of fuss. Plus, it doubles as a make-ahead lunch dish, for a filling and homecooked work or school lunch.
- How it's made: Roast chicken in a garlic and herb marinade while the quinoa cooks up on the stovetop. Fold in fresh spinach, then serve the chicken and quinoa with sliced tomatoes and grated cheese.
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Why you'll love this Chicken and Quinoa recipe
The ingredients in this baked chicken and quinoa recipe are those that are found in classic Italian dishes: fresh parsley, garlic, tomato, and olive oil.
Both components of this dish, the chicken breasts and the fluffy quinoa, are loaded with flavor, so that every bite is delicious. While chicken breasts bake in the oven, you can prepare the quinoa on the stovetop.
If all that wasn't enough to convince you try this recipe, how about its versatility? Not only is it a tasty dinner idea, baked chicken with quinoa and spinach is a great choice for a week's worth of make-ahead lunches. Prepare the recipe on a Sunday, divide the finished chicken and quinoa into single-serving dishes, and have ready-made lunches in the fridge to take to work for the week.
The next time you need a chicken-something-or-other dinner, Baked Garlic Chicken with Quinoa and Spinach is a perfect one to try. Tender, oven-cooked chicken breasts loaded with garlic and herbs are served over fluffy (and healthy!) quinoa.
This herbed, baked chicken dish includes baby spinach, a few cherry tomatoes for color and fresh flavor, and grated Parmesan cheese. And on the side, pour a glass of wine for the grown-ups in the room.
Another chicken dinner!
Chimichurri Roast Chicken
My chimichurri sauce is loaded with fresh parsley and lemon juice, and it's a ridiculously flavorful marinade for this roast chicken dinner!
🔪 How to make Chicken and Quinoa with Garlic and Spinach
Ingredients:
- Boneless chicken breast: To help them cook through quickly, slice these into thinner pieces—or, pick up chicken cutlets instead.
- Quinoa: I use a tricolor quinoa that's very pretty, but regular quinoa works, too!
- Garlic: Mince your own garlic for the best flavor, with a ribbon grater or a good kitchen knife.
- Spinach: I like to use fresh, baby spinach because it wilts down quickly when added to the cooked quinoa.
- Parsley: One of the many, flavor-packed ingredients in this dish. Pick up a good-looking, fresh bunch of parsley at the store.
- Cherry tomatoes: Grape tomatoes work here, too. It's a great summertime tomato recipe to help use up your garden bounty.
- Parmesan cheese: Pick up a block of good quality Parmesan and grate it yourself. It melts quickly and has such good flavor.
- Chicken stock: The key to giving to building flavor in the cooked quinoa begins by cooking it in chicken stock. (Homemade or store-bought.)
- Olive oil: I use extra virgin olive oil to bake the chicken and also to flavor the cooked quinoa.
- Vinegar: The herb coating for the garlicky chicken is like a vinaigrette, which is why it's made with a little white vinegar.
- Lemon juice: Another acidic ingredient to flavor the baked chicken breast, lemon juice adds brightness to the dish.
- Spices: Along with the fresh ingredients there are a few dried spices to round out the flavors: oregano, basil, salt, and pepper.
Bake the chicken
Whisk together olive oil, vinegar, minced garlic and herbs. Slice chicken breasts in half horizontally and lay them out in a baking dish. Cover the chicken with the herb sauce, then bake for about 20 minutes.
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Prepare the spinach
Cut away any long stems from the baby spinach and slice the leaves once or twice to cut them up a little.
Make the quinoa
Rinse the quinoa, then add it to boiling chicken stock or water. Cook the quinoa until it's almost done, then add in the spinach and cook for 5 minutes more.
Assemble the meal
Fluff up the quinoa with a fork and add in chopped parsley. Slice the baked chicken into thin strips. Spoon the cooked quinoa and spinach onto plates and top it with sliced chicken. Toss some tomatoes on top and add a sprinkle of grated Parmesan.
Want more, easy chicken breast dinner ideas?
Try my Mexican Baked Chicken with Rice, or Sesame Noodles with Garlic Roasted Chicken. Like the Chicken and Quinoa, these recipes can also be turned into make-ahead lunches!
Chicken and Quinoa FAQs
Quinoa does not double when cooked—it triples! One cup of dry quinoa cooked with two cups of water will yield three cups of fluffy, cooked quinoa.
One of the easiest ways to flavor quinoa is to cook the grains in stock. That can be chicken, beef, or vegetable stock, store-bought or homemade. Quinoa will soak up the flavorful liquid as it cooks. After quinoa is cooked, you can add flavor with dried spice blends, fresh herbs, dressings, and good butter.
When baking boneless, skinless chicken breasts, it's best to bake them covered. That's because you're not trying to brown and crisp the skin (like you are when roasting a whole chicken.) There is no skin! The goal with baked chicken breasts is to cook them through while keeping them moist—tightly covering the pan is the best way to achieve this.
There's no real trick to cooking quinoa—just approach it the same way you would when cooking rice. For one cup of dry quinoa, add two cups of water or stock. Bring the liquid to a simmer, cover the saucepan, and cook the quinoa until all of the liquid is absorbed. Fluff the grains with a fork, then serve.
Tips:
- This quinoa with chicken and vegetables recipe makes a wonderful dinner, and it also works great as a make-ahead lunch, giving 4 or 5 lunches ready to go for the week! In the recipe below there are directions for how to assemble the lunches.
- The quinoa can be cooked in water or in chicken stock for extra flavor. I used tricolor quinoa in my chicken and quinoa recipe, but regular quinoa works fine, too.
- Quinoa has a naturally occurring coating called saponin which for some people gives the grains an earthier, sometimes bitter flavor. There is a wide range of opinions out there on whether or not it's necessary to rinse quinoa to remove this coating. I choose to rinse: it's not a complicated or lengthy step, and the quinoa I get at the end of cooking is light, fluffy, and tasty.
Find the Chicken and Quinoa recipe below! Here are more dinner ideas, too:
💬 Did you make and devour this recipe? Leave a comment below.
📖 Recipe
Chicken and Quinoa, with Garlic and Spinach
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Ingredients
- 3½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1½ teaspoons salt, divided
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1½ pounds boneless chicken breast
- 2½ cups low-sodium chicken stock (or use water instead)
- 1 cup baby spinach, washed
- 1¼ cups tri color or regular quinoa
- 1 tablespoon chopped, fresh parsley
- 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes (you can keep them whole or slice them in half)
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese (or more if you'd like a more generous sprinkling on your dish)
Instructions
Make the chicken
- Preheat the oven to 425° F. Have ready a 13x9-inch baking dish.
- Whisk together 2½ tablespoons of the extra virgin olive oil, the 1 tablespoon white vinegar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 clove garlic, minced, 1 teaspoon dried oregano and 1 teaspoon dried basil in a medium bowl. Add in 1 teaspoon of the salt and the ¼ teaspoon black pepper.
- Prepare the 1½ pounds boneless chicken breast: slice through the breasts horizontally to make two thinner halves. Place the chicken in the baking dish, spaced evenly. Pour the sauce over all of the chicken, and turn the pieces to coat them all on both sides.
- Bake the chicken for 20-25 minutes until the breasts are cooked through with no pink remaining. Remove the pan from the oven and cover the chicken with foil. Let it rest for 10 minutes.
In the meantime make the quinoa
- Bring the 2½ cups low-sodium chicken stock (or use water instead) to a boil in a large saucepan.
- Place the 1 cup baby spinach, washed on cutting board and slice off any long stems. Run your knife through the leaves once or twice to cut them up just a little. Hold the spinach aside.
- Rinse the 1¼ cups tri color or regular quinoa under cold water in a mesh strainer. (This rinses away its natural, bitter-tasting coating.) When the stock or water comes to a boil add in the rinsed quinoa.
- Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan and cook the quinoa for 10 minutes. Add in the spinach leaves, cover the pan and cook everything for 5 minutes more until the quinoa is cooked through. (Most or all of the liquid should be absorbed. If there's a lot of liquid left drain it off.) Remove the pan from the heat and let it sit covered until the chicken is done.
Assemble the meal
- Fluff the quinoa with a fork. Add in the 1 tablespoon chopped, fresh parsley, the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt. Gently stir these through the quinoa.
- Slice the baked chicken into thin strips.
- Scoop the quinoa onto dinner plates. Lay slices of chicken over the quinoa and spoon a little of the pan juices over the top if you would like. Divide the 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes (you can keep them whole or slice them in half) and the ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese over each plate. Enjoy!
OPTION: Make-Ahead Lunches
- Have ready 4 or 5 large, reheatable, covered containers that you can take to work. Let the chicken and quinoa-spinach mixture cool a bit.
- Divide the quinoa between the containers. Add sliced chicken to each container, laying it over the quinoa. Add in (or pack separately) the tomatoes and grated Parmesan. Cover the containers tightly and store them in the refrigerator.
- The meals can be warmed in a microwave.
- Store leftovers or the make-ahead portions in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Makes 4 to 5 servings.
Notes
- This recipe makes a wonderful dinner, and it also works great as a make-ahead lunch, giving 4 or 5 lunches ready to go for the week! In the recipe above there are directions for how to assemble the lunches.
- The quinoa can be cooked in water or in chicken stock for extra flavor. I used tricolor quinoa in my recipe, but regular quinoa works fine, too.
Nutrition
Christine says
I love it! I accidentally added too much salt to the chicken sauce mixture but it still turned out great. Chicken is super flavorful!
Nancy Mock says
Hi Christine, this is great to hear! I'm so happy you enjoyed this dish, thank you for trying it!