spicy chicken grain bowl
This is the perfect fall bowl. It's my go to because it works great as leftovers so you can spread it out and have it a couple times in one week...jackpot! The best part of this is if there's something you don’t like, you can switch it out for something different. It’s totally customizable!!
Ingredients
Spicy Chicken
- 4 chicken breasts boneless + skinless, I recommend
truLocal - 4 tsp paprika
- 3 tsp garlic powder
- 3 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp salt + pepper
- 1 tsp cayenne
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 tsp dried thyme
Sweet Potatoes
- 3 lrg sweet potatoes peeled + cut into 1" cubes
- 3 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp cayenne
- 1 tsp ginger
- olive oil
Quinoa
- 1 cup quinoa I use tri coloured quinoa
- 2 cans full fat coconut milk
- 2 tsp olive oil
- salt to taste
Candied Pecans
- 1 pkg pecans raw + unsalted
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- dash cayenne
- salt to taste
Balsamic Dressing
- 3 tbsp balsamic glaze I use nonna pia's balsamic glaze
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp grainy dijon mustard
- 1 garlic clove minced
- dash onion powder
- salted to taste
Additional
- 1 pkg field greens
- 1 pkg blackberries
- 1 pkg blueberries
- ½ cup cherry tomatos cut in half
- ½ cup cucumber cut into thin slices
- ½ cup feta cheese
Instructions
Sweet Potatoes
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Peel sweet potatoes and cut into 1” cubes. Spray a 11x14” glass pan and place sweet potatoes into it. Drizzle olive oil on them and toss to coat. Add cayenne, cinnamon + ginger and toss to coat. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes - 1 hour or until soft, stirring occasionally.
Candied Pecans
- Lay raw pecans on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle brown sugar, cinnamon, cayenne and salt, toss to combine. Place butter around the baking sheet. Bake in the same oven as the sweet potatoes at 400 degrees F, for 10-20 minutes or until browned and candied. Stir them occasionally to allow butter to coat the pecans.
Spicy Chicken
- Clean and prepare chicken. Lay flat on a baking sheet or plate, drizzle olive oil on both sides of chicken. Sprinkle salt on either side. Mix all of your dry ingredients in a small bowl sprinkle it on either side. Massage seasoning into chicken and set aside for 20 minutes or longer to marinate.
- Preheat the grill to 375 degree F. Cook chicken for 7 minutes on either side or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.
Coconut Quinoa
- In a small pot over medium heat, add 2 tsp of olive oil, let heat up for a minute then add in your dry quinoa and salt. Cook over medium/medium low heat for about 5 minutes or until the quinoa has a toasted, nutty smell to them, stirring regularly, if you leave it too long it will burn easily. Once toasted, pour in coconut milk and stir, it will come to a simmer. Cook for about 20 minutes at a simmer or until fluffy, stirring regularly - this keeps it creamier. If quinoa is not cooking through, add a bit of water to pot.
Balsamic Dressing
- For balsamic dressing, add all ingredients to a small bowl and whisk until well combined.
Assembly
- Place field greens into a large bowl and toss with some of the balsamic dressing. Divide into 4 separate bowls. Top each bowl with quinoa, sweet potatoes, sliced chicken, blackberries, blueberries, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, feta and candied pecans. Finish with a drizzle of your favourite balsamic glaze.
Notes
This recipe may look difficult due to the long ingredient list, but I promise you it is so easy to make!
If you do not want to make your own balsamic dressing or candied pecans, you can just purchase premade ones from the store!