Yep, I’m getting all healthy on you today.
And honestly – I kind of feel like a fraud. Because I spent yesterday eating blondies and grilled cheese sandwiches. And a red velvet muffin. But truth be told – I really need to do something about this baby weight. And Quinoa Crusted Chicken? Well, it’s a start!
When I saw this recipe in Every Day with Rachael Ray, I just knew I had to give it a try. I had never seen this done before, and it intrigued me. I like quinoa, but I don’t eat it nearly enough. And this gave me an excuse to make some.
Knowing me, though, I knew that I had to have some sort of a sauce to dip the chicken in. As much as I liked the chicken on it’s own, I think it definitely needed a sauce or a dip. My immediate thoughts went to honey mustard, probably because of Dijon on the chicken. But to make a traditional honey mustard would cancel out that I was actually making something healthy. So I decided to try to health-ify it a bit.
And guess what? I actually really liked this version of honey mustard. A simple change of replacing mayonnaise with Greek yogurt made this easy and a whole lot better for you. This is a healthy meal that I could totally eat on a regular basis!
A healthy dinner option - boneless, skinless chicken breasts are coated with quinoa and baked and served with a lighter version of honey mustard.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup cooked quinoa
- 4 (6 oz) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
- 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and spread the quinoa on top. Bake until it is lightly toasted, 25-30 minutes, stirring once or twice. Let cool completely, then transfer to a bowl, breaking up any large clumps. Set aside.
- Increase the oven temperature to 425F. Place the chicken, mustard and thyme in a large bowl and toss to coat. Place a cooling rack on the baking sheet and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Take each of the chicken breasts and dip in the quinoa. Use a spatula or your hands to adhere the quinoa to the chicken. Place on the rack and spray the chicken with nonstick cooking spray.
- Bake until the chicken is cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the yogurt, honey and Dijon mustard. Serve the chicken with the honey mustard.
- -------------------
- Adapted from Every Day with Rachael Ray January/February 2013
An interesting recipe. This quino crust is great.
Cheers,
Rosa
Ooooh, great idea! We love quinoa and eat it often, but I’m kind of getting “quinoa’d out,” as I feel like I prepare it the same ol’ ways all the time… Love this new idea!
I saw this in that issue, but was skeptical, I may have to give it a try now!
Ooh i would have never thought to coat chicken in quinoa. Great idea!
Oh now I dig this!
Coating chicken with quinoa is a fabulous idea. This looks so good!
This is such a fun idea! We’ve been eating a lot of quinoa lately but never like this.
I saw the picture before the title. I love quinoa right now! This is a great way to use it!
What a great idea to use quinoa for the breading
Quinoa is one of those healthy foods I actually adore. I love to make it with a citrus dressing and load it with roasted veggies and (full admission) some chunks of parmesan. But coating chicken with it is genius! This looks so good!
I actually make a quinoa chicken for my kids but I didn’t cook it. I will definitely have to try that next time.
I love that magazine, I get it monthly but I do not use it enough. This recipe looks so yum!
Wow, this quinoa crust is just genius! Definitely need to give this a try!
The quinoa crust is a great idea! I love the sound of this whole recipe!
LOVE this out-of-the-box use of quinoa!
And we all have those grilled cheese/red velvet filled days. Don’t stress it!
Mmm, this looks really good! I love another use for Quinoa!
i’ve spent the majority of my day trying really hard to ignore the brownies in my kitchen, and losing. i need this chicken!
Love quinoa! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Fabulous. I love ALL of these ingredients
Great job! This looks delicious. We pinned it to our “Reader’s Photos” board on pinterest too! Check it out: http://pinterest.com/rachaelraymag/reader-photos/
this is so intriguing, i’ve never thought to use cooked quinoa as a breading!! i am so going to try this! cheers!
I can’t believe I have never tried quinoa before!! It’s so versatile! This looks like the perfect dish!