Quinoa Power Salad combines quinoa, chicken, bacon, dates, and brussels sprouts to power you through the day. A craveable combination of flavors and textures!
Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to throw out whatever dinner plans you had for tonight and make Quinoa Power Salad instead.
(Sorry, my oldest and I are on a MI kick…)
Say goodbye to the spaghetti you had planned, and hello to the can’t miss combination of cooked quinoa, bacon, dates (a la Bacon-Wrapped Almond-Stuffed Dates!) chicken, brussels sprouts and a few other goodies that combine to create a flavor and texture-packed meal placed firmly in “POWER SALAD” territory.
What’s Inside
Part stir fry, part salad, this dish was inspired by the Kale and Brussels Sprouts Cobb Salad I had at Ophelia’s in Denver though, as much as I liked that salad, I’m loving this one 100 times more.
As I said, cooked quinoa and mixed greens are combined with hearty toppings including chicken, dates, bacon, sauted brussels sprouts, avocado, goat cheese, and fried shallots, then tossed with a spoon-drink worthy Maple-Dijon Vinaigrette.
Not only do all these ingredients pair together perfectly, but they make each serving incredibly filling. They put the POWER in Power Salad.
Start by cooking quinoa in chicken broth until tender then fluff with a fork and set aside to cool slightly.
Quinoa is great for making ahead of time since it doesn’t harden after being refrigerated. That said, feel free to prepare it up to 3 days ahead of time.
Next add 4 strips bacon to a very large, 12″+ skillet then place it over medium heat and cook until the bacon is crisp. Remove the bacon to a paper towel lined plate to drain then chop or crumble once cool enough to handle.
Pour out (but don’t throw away!) enough bacon grease to leave a light coating in the bottom of the skillet, then turn the heat up to medium-high and add chicken breasts that have been pounded thin and seasoned with garlic salt and pepper.
Saute the chicken until cooked through, 3-4 minutes a side, then transfer to the plate with the bacon. Chop the chicken once it’s cool enough to handle.
Next heat some of the reserved bacon grease into the skillet then add shredded brussels sprouts. You could of course hand-shred/slice whole brussels sprouts, but the bagged, pre-shredded sprouts saves so much time.
Season with garlic salt and pepper then saute until the brussels sprouts are tender and golden brown, 7-9 minutes. Transfer the brussels sprouts to a plate then set aside.
Last step is to add the last of the bacon fat plus enough extra virgin olive oil to equal 1/4 cup fat in the skillet. Add jumbo shallots that have been sliced into rings then fry until golden brown, 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently, before transferring to a paper towel-lined plate with a slotted spoon and sprinkling with salt.
If you’ve never tried fried shallots, you are in for a TREAT! They taste like onion rings but don’t require any batter or coating. So delicious.
Last stop: assembly!
To a very large mixing bowl add mixed greens, the cooled bacon, chicken, brussels sprouts, and quinoa, plus chopped dates and avocado.
Drizzle over enough Maple-Dijon Vinaigrette (extra virgin olive oil, maple syrup, Dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, salt, and pepper) to coat then toss to combine.
Scoop the salad onto plates then top with chevre and a quarter of the fried shallots and dig in.
I hope you love this incredible, protien-packed salad that will power you through your day!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup quinoa
- 3/4 cup chicken broth
- 4 slices bacon
- 2 chicken breasts, ~1lb, pounded to an even thickness
- garlic salt and pepper
- 9 oz shredded brussels sprouts
- extra virgin olive oil
- 3 jumbo shallots, sliced into thin rings then separated
- 6 oz mixed greens
- 1 avocado, diced
- 5 pitted Medjool dates, chopped
- 3 oz chèvre
For the Maple-Dijon Vinaigrette:
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Tablespoons pure maple syrup, not pancake syrup
- 2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- salt and pepper
Directions
- Add quinoa and chicken broth to a small saucepan then bring to a boil over high heat. Turn the heat down to low then place a lid on top and simmer the quinoa until tender, 13-15 minutes. Fluff with a fork then set aside to cool slightly. Can be made several days ahead of time.
- Add bacon to a large, nonstick skillet then place over medium heat. Cook until crisp then transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain and chop or crumble once cool enough to handle. Pour out all but a thin layer of bacon grease, reserving the remaining bacon grease.
- Turn the heat up to medium high then season both sides of the chicken breasts with garlic salt and pepper. Add to the skillet then saute until cooked through, 3-4 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to the bacon plate then chop once cool enough to handle.
- Add 2 Tablespoons reserved bacon grease (add extra virgin olive oil if needed to equal 2 Tablespoons fat) then add the brussels sprouts. Season with garlic salt and pepper then saute until golden brown and tender, 7-9 minutes. Scoop onto a plate then set aside.
- Add the remaining bacon grease plus enough extra virgin olive oil to equal 1/4 cup fat in the skillet. When fat is hot but not smoking, add half the shallot rings then pan fry until light golden brown (dark brown will taste bitter,) 1-2 minutes, stirring often and turning the heat down if necessary to prevent burning. Transfer shallots with a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined plate to drain then sprinkle lightly with salt. Repeat with second half of shallots then set aside.
- Add lettuce to a very large bowl then add cooled quinoa, bacon, chicken, brussels sprouts, avocado, and dates then drizzle with vinaigrette to taste and toss well to combine. Transfer salads to plates then top with chevre and fried shallots, and serve.
For the Maple-Dijon Vinaigrette:
- Add all ingredients to a jar with a tight fitting lid or a bowl then shake or whisk to combine. Can be done several days ahead of time.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
This was sooooo good! It was the first meal I made after an indulgent 2 week vacation and was exactly what I was looking for. Also, buying pre-shredded brussels sprout just changed my life. Can’t wait to make this again!
Right?! They are the best – super good tossed with extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper then roasted at 400 degrees for 10-20 mins, too!
This salad is amazing! So many flavors and so much texture. I made it for lunch and it will go on repeat!
I’m so glad to hear it, Briana!!
In the dressing, it’s 2 tablespoons of salt and pepper mixed together, right? Not 2 T each?
Hi Whitney! Are you looking at the recipe you printed out yesterday? Last night I updated the recipe to show salt and pepper minus the 2 Tablespoons, which was a (big!) mistake. Or are you still seeing the 2T measurement? Thanks so much!
Made this tonight for dinner – OMG – so good! Both my husband and I loved it!
So glad to hear it, Jillian! Thanks so much for letting me know!
This looks so yummy. I love brussels sprouts. I think Austin is a cute name for a boy. But also George would be cute with Lincoln
Love George too – if we didn’t watch so much Curious George it would definitely be in the running!
Is it supposed to say “2 Tablespoons Salt and Pepper” in the vinaigrette directions? Just curious because that didn’t seem right to me :) Love your recipes…your blog is always the first place I look for dinner ideas. Can’t wait to try this one!
OH MY WORD, no it’s not! Thank you so much for the heads up – that would be quite the dressing! ?
Marshal? Just heard that one today!
Omg, this looks amazing. I never realized how much I loved brussel sprouts. I own a wine bar and want something like this on the menu! P.S. My family loves everything we make from your site.
You are officially my hero! Love that you own a wine bar!
If we would have had a second boy, we probably would have gone with Graham. Not super common, but still fairly traditional. I’d suggest Carter to keep with the prez theme, but that’s uber popular. Our son always has at least one other Carter in his class or sports team.
I’m really excited to try this salad! I’m hoping to prep the ingredients a day ahead and mix it up right before serving. Do you think the shallots and brussels sprouts could be cooked ahead of time?
This salad is perfect to make ahead – the ONLY thing I’d cook fresh is the shallots!
My son’s name is Brayden and I love it so much STILL (and if you think it is trendy, I had it first because mine will be 19 in November….lol). If I had a boy TODAY, I would consider Gideon and Everett. Good luck! Can’t wait to hear what you end up with!
HA – so ahead of the trend! Yes, definitely love Brayden. :)
NEED. NOW. Except the dates. I’m not sure if I like dates??
Happy Birthday to Lincoln!!
And I totally get you on the boy names. They are so tough! We were set on one boy name and one girl name, but luckily agreed on Nolan about two hours before they were born because even though I was convinced Theo was a girl the entire time in utero, I was wrong!
Ahh, the only thing harder than deciding on one boy name at a time is TWO! ? And if you like sweet foods, you will love dates.
Your recipes are awesome and so is your food photography.
Thank you, Mary-Lane! Very nice of you to say. :)