This dish is a reenactment of a wonderful lunch I enjoyed at a local Milwaukee, Wisconsin, favorite eatery. Both my spouse and my teenagers adored it. Serve with a balsamic vinaigrette warm or cold.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 30 mins |
| Total Time: | 45 mins |
| Servings: | 6 |
| Yield: | 6 cups |
Ingredients
- 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- water to cover
- 1 ½ cups quinoa
- 1 tablespoon chicken bouillon granules
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- 1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
- 1 cup sweetened dried cranberries (such as Craisins®)
- 1 (5.5 ounce) package crumbled goat cheese
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, or more to taste
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place chicken breasts in a saucepan; add water and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium and simmer just until chicken breasts are no longer pink in the middle, 5 to 8 minutes. Remove chicken breasts and set aside to cool, reserving water.
- Measure 3 cups from reserved water and discard any remaining. Pour the 3 cups water back into saucepan. Add quinoa and bouillon; return to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until water is absorbed and quinoa is tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pecans and toss until fragrant and one shade darker, about 5 minutes. Remove pecans and set aside. Add butternut squash and 2 tablespoons water to the same skillet; cook and stir until just tender, adding more water if needed, 4 to 5 minutes.
- Chop chicken breasts into 1/2-inch pieces.
- Combine cooked quinoa, chicken, squash, and pecans in a bowl. Stir in cranberries, goat cheese, and parsley; season with salt and pepper.
- All quantities can be adjusted to taste. Substitute other dried fruit for cranberries if not available. The key is to ensure the chicken and squash are chopped to approximately the same size. Omit chicken for a high-protein vegetarian main dish.
- Three cups fresh water can be substituted for water reserved from chicken, if desired.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 631 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 67 g |
| Cholesterol | 70 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 9 g |
| Protein | 30 g |
| Saturated Fat | 10 g |
| Sodium | 420 mg |
| Sugars | 21 g |
| Fat | 29 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
One of my most requested items! Thanks!
So YUMMY!! I added avocado and used a citrus basil vinaigrette. The PERFECT recipe for butternut squash.
I originally gave this recipe a 3 star rating, as right after I made it, I ate some and thought it was “fair” but nothing exciting. I put the leftovers in the refrigerator. Two days later I put a bowl of it into the microwave. Wow! What a difference it made. Amazingly good once the flavors were allowed to meld together. I also added a handful of flax seeds on top, which was a nice crunchy accompaniment to this dish.
Very tasty! Next time will use roasted chicken for a bit more chicken flavor.
The flavour is super considering the only seasoning is butter, bouillon and then salt and pepper.
This was good, though I substituted chickpea cutlets for chicken and added a lot more seasoning – thyme, sage, garlic powder, etc. Also, the squash took much longer than 5 min. to get tender – more like 20 min.
I like versatile recipes, and chose this recipe as a way to use up some leftover roast chicken and a different way to prepare Winter squash besides roasting or boiling. I also wanted a make ahead meal. I modified it by leaving the quinoa and goat cheese separate from the squash/nut/chicken mixture so that we could make up our own bowl to our taste. I found this warm recipe ticked all the boxes for sweet,savory, crunchy, soft and comfort-food-like all -in -one-one-bowl goodness. Next time I’ll add a green veggie on the side or a salad. Looking forward to trying it as a cold salad with balsamic as suggested.
Great combo of ingredients for flavor and texture. We loved it!
I’m rating this based on flavor combination rather than cooking method, because I prepared it differently than directed. I substituted leftover turkey, so did not need to prepare chicken. Also, I oven roasted my butternut squash and pecans. I added a chopped sweet onion to the mix when I roasted the squash. I really enjoyed the flavors together and will use this again after Thanksgiving.
Great recipe! Can be made with couscous, also. I had to sub in 1/2 c dried mixed berries& 1/2c frozen cranberries which was terrific. Very tasty dish& easy.
This was delicious – thanks for sharing. Out of necessity, I substituted walnuts for pecans and feta for the goat cheese. Really nice interplay of sweet and salty, crunchy and soft textures. Very high protein salad which we, as avid runners, appreciated. Well done!