Balsamic Chicken Berry Quinoa Salad
Flavorful Balsamic Chicken Berry Quinoa Salad with a sweet & tangy raspberry vinaigrette! This healthy meal prep salad is protein-packed with fresh berries, creamy goat cheese, and crunchy almonds in every bite. Add all of the ingredients to a mason jar or meal prep container, and toss it together in a bowl for the ultimate lunch!
Hello and welcome to the third salad of the #AKSaladChallenge! How’s it going? Have you been making the salads each week and enjoying fresh, healthy recipes to keep in your fridge? I hope so! I’m just getting back from two weeks of travel and cannot wait to make this salad this week.
This week is one of my absolute FAVORITE salads from the challenge. I love the sweet, ripe blueberries and strawberries paired with the flavor of juicy balsamic-marinated grilled chicken.
And hello, what else isn’t to love? There’s also earthy quinoa, tangy goat cheese, heart-healthy avocado, toasted almonds and peppery arugula. This salad will keep you full all afternoon long. And if you aren’t into chicken, you can always use chickpeas.
All you need to do is layer it up, throw it in the fridge, then get ready to enjoy healthy lunches through the week!
The ingredients are inexpensive too! Try shopping for berries at your farmer’s market.
By the way, this salad makes and EXCELLENT summertime picnic or potluck salad. It’s refreshing and bursting with variety and flavor. Simply toss everything together and then just before serving top it with avocado, goat cheese and almonds. Everyone will go crazy for the flavasss up in there.
Layer the salad up in large mason jars or throw it in meal prep containers for an on the go lunch or dinner. ENJOY! xo.
Want more salads like this one? Try these!
Southwest Chicken Salad with Chipotle Greek Yogurt Dressing
Thai Chicken Quinoa Salad with Peanut Dressing
Balsamic Chicken Berry Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
- For the chicken:
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- For the dressing:
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon raspberry jam
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- For the salad:
- 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
- 3/4 cup quartered strawberries
- ½ cup blueberries
- 1/2 cup goat cheese crumbles
- 1 avocado, diced
- ¼ cup toasted sliced almonds (or chopped roasted almonds)
- 2-4 cups arugula or baby spinach
Instructions
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Add chicken and marinade ingredients to a large ziploc bag. Marinate chicken for 20 minutes to 1 hour.
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While you are marinating your chicken, make your quinoa: Add 1 1/2 cup water to a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Then, stir in quinoa. Reduce heat to low, cover, and let simmer for exactly 15 minutes. Remove the saucepan from heat and let stand covered for another 5-10 minutes. Fluff the quinoa with a fork. Quinoa will pop upon cooking and expand. To help separate the grains, use a fork and fluff the quinoa. Set aside.
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While the quinoa is cooking, chop all your ingredients for your salad.
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Next, make your raspberry vinaigrette. Add all ingredients for the dressing to a small bowl and mix until well-combined. Set aside.
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Once ready to cook chicken, preheat grill to medium high heat. Lightly oil the grate. Grill chicken breasts for 6-8 minutes per side, or until juices run clear and chicken is no longer pink. Once chicken has cooked, transfer to a cutting board and dice into bite sized pieces.
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Make the mason jar salads by dividing ingredients evenly between 4 (32-ounce) large mason jars in the following order: dressing, strawberries, cooked quinoa, blueberries, chicken, goat cheese, avocado, arugula, almonds.
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When ready to serve, pour contents from the mason jar onto a plate or into a bowl and enjoy! Makes 4 large mason jars.
Recipe Notes
To make vegetarian: replace chicken with 1 (15oz) can chickpeas
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21 comments
What a yummy idea! This would be perfect to bring to work this summer!
Summer salads are the best!!
I am so excited about this salad I can’t decide what I’m most excited about! Oh wait, maybe I can, goat cheese yes! The rest of the ingredients together are just genius! I can’t wait to make it!!!
Definitely meal prepping these for my work lunches next week! So excited for spring and all the fresh berries!
I love a good salad jar! It’s such a nice meal to make ahead for your significant other too! Or to pack for a picnic. Definitely putting this one in my back pocket.
Absolutely! I love bringing these on-the-go.
Can I bake the chicken instead of grilling it?
Absolutely!
Love your website and recipes. You use fresh ingredients and love how you package your salads. My only suggestion is finding a reusable sealable dish to marinate your chicken. Promoting good food comes from also means promoting ways to take care of the earth that provides us with these good eats. You’ve got a great thing going. That’s just my two-cents! Peace.
Hi Judith! Absolutely – moving forward I’m working on ways to do so, and to show others how 🙂 thanks for your input!
This looks amazing! I’m not a huge fan of balsamic vinegar – is there any alternative to this in the dressing and marinade?
You could try a red wine or apple cider vinegar with a pinch of sugar? Or this lemon basil vinaigrette: https://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/healthy-lemon-basil-vinaigrette/ as-is or maybe with some mint and honey instead of the basil!
I’ve never made these before, but they look delicious. How long would they be good? Wouldn’t things like the avocados and stuff get yucky if you made them too far in advance?
These are usually good for up to 3-4 days in the fridge! Feel free to add avocado in later, or squeeze a little lime juice over it 🙂
I keep coming back to this salad every summer when I keep a lot of berries stocked. Today since I’m in Covid “use what I have” mode I subbed feta for goat cheese. I was also out of avocado so I added some red onion. It was fantastic and I’ll probably keep these mods in the future (especially the salty feta). The onion tamed down the sweetness and gave it a bit more savory bite! The recipe is fantastic as written but thought I’d chime in for anyone who’s also in “raid your fridge” mode.
Perfect! This one’s great for customizing 🙂 glad you enjoyed!
Can’t wait to try this recipe, it looks very yum.
Hope you love it!
Hello,
Who many time can i keep this salad in the fridge?
Thank you
Hi! This should stay good in the fridge for about 3-4 days 🙂
Delicious! I swapped chickpeas for chicken and tried to marinate them…that didn’t work too well 😅 next time I’ll just throw them in. I did find that I needed to increase the dressing for flavor, but I like a big flavor punch so that’s probably why. Overall very delicious and flavorful and filled with yummy nutrients! Thank you for the recipe!