Chicken Stew with Butternut Squash & Quinoa is packed with protein and healthy vegetables. The mouthwatering flavors will bring you back for more.
Quinoa is as filling as it is versatile, and lately I’ve been having fun putting it in everything from salads, to mini breakfast bites, to mac & cheese – and now soup. Er, rather – stew.
Chicken Stew with Butternut Squash & Quinoa, to be exact!
Chicken Stew with Butternut Squash & Quinoa is one of the most unique dishes to ever come out of my kitchen. Sweet butternut squash is paired with salty kalamata olives, shredded chicken, and fluffy quinoa, all swirled in a savory chicken broth. It is hearty, full-flavored and so satisfying.
It is a perfect cold-weather dish too, and makes plenty for leftovers.
Start the stew by peeling, seeding and chopping a butternut squash.
I use a vegetable peeler to get the outer peel off, then a big, sharp knife to cut the top, straight half off the bottom half.
Chop the squash into 1/2″ pieces then place it in a microwave safe bowl with a splash of water. Put a lid on top then microwave for 5-6 minutes or until the squash is just barely tender. Remove half, set it aside, and continue microwaving the other half until it’s very soft, about 3-4 additional minutes.
Drain, then mash the squash that was microwaved the longest with a fork or potato masher.
Squash = done! Set aside for the moment.
Next, place two frozen or thawed chicken breasts in a large soup pot or Dutch oven on the stove over high heat.
Add in rich chicken broth to cover, then bring it to a boil and place a lid on top.
Let the chicken breasts poach in the broth for 10-15 minutes, or until cooked all the way through. Remove the chicken to a plate and shred when it’s cool. Pour the broth into a separate bowl and set aside.
Return the pot to the stove and add in olive oil and minced onion. Saute the onion until it’s soft, then add in fragrant garlic and earthy dried oregano, and cook for another minute.
Next add in a can of petite diced tomatoes (I’m a freak about chunks, so I zipped mine through my mini food processor first) as well as the cubed and mashed butternut squash.
Pour the reserved chicken broth back in, plus rinsed uncooked quinoa, and let the whole thing simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the quinoa is cooked and puffed.
Finally, add the shredded chicken, pitted & quartered kalamata olives,
and fresh parsley into the mix, then stir to combine.
Season with additional salt & pepper, if necessary, and off you go!
Like I said – this stew is so incredibly unique. I love how the cubed butternut squash is creamy, the mashed squash is silky, and that the quinoa lends a little poppy bite to each spoonful.
Don’t even get me started on the flavor contrast between the salty olives and sweet squash. It is sooo good!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 lbs butternut squash, peeled, seeded & chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
- 3-1/2 cups chicken broth
- 2 chicken breasts, ~1lb
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 14 oz can petite diced tomatoes
- 2/3 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
- 3/4 cup pitted & quartered kalamata olives
- 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
Directions
- Place the butternut squash and a splash of water in a large bowl with a lid in the microwave, and cook until barely tender, about 6-7 minutes. Remove half of the squash and set it aside. Cook the remaining squash an additional 3-4 minutes or until it is very tender. Drain, then mash this squash with the back of a fork and also set aside.
- Add the chicken broth and chicken breasts to a large soup pot on the stove, and bring to a boil. Place a lid on top, lower the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked all the way through. Remove chicken to a plate to cool, and pour chicken broth into a separate bowl.
- Return the pot to the stove over medium-low heat, and add in the olive oil. Add onion, salt, and pepper and saute until the onion is soft and brown, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and oregano. Cook, stirring constantly, for another minute.
- Add tomatoes and all the butternut squash to the pot. Stir to combine. Pour in reserved chicken broth and quinoa, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil then place a lid on top, lower the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 15 minutes or until quinoa is tender and cooked.
- Meanwhile, shred the chicken. When quinoa is cooked, stir in chicken, olives and parsley. Cook until chicken is hot, season with additional salt & pepper if necessary, then ladle into bowls.
Notes
- Keep extra chicken broth on hand for reheating as the quinoa will soak up some of the broth.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
Fake Nature Valley wrapper –
LOL, love it, I smoosh these up into my Chobani yogurt all the time. :-)
eek – never mind – you are leaving some of it in cubes. ;)
for the butternut squash, next time you can just slice it in half, de-seed, and throw in the oven for 30-45 minutes….then scoop out with a spoon. Then you’d get the yummy roasted flavor AND not have to peel the dang thing! The only reason to peel & cube is if you’re leaving the cubes whole.
Recipe sounds AWESOME! The butternut squash addict in me cannot wait to try it.
I made Heidi’s Baked Quinoa Cakes the other weekend and loved them! Also, great to put in the freezer and cook up later!
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/baked-quinoa-patties-recipe.html
Just spotted this recipe on Shelby’s blog you may like it.
http://www.grumpyshoneybunch.com/2012/02/apricot-cashew-quinoa-breakfast-cookies.html
Thank you for ALL your Quinoa posts…I make every one of them and can’t come up with enough words of gratitude for all these tasty and wonderful recipes! This soup/stew looks to be the BEST yet!
This looks amazing! I just saw a soup on a menu recently that had olives in it and thought how creative that sounded.
Thank you for another delish looking recipe! Any suggestions for non-olive lovers? I just can’t think of something good.
Thank you!
I think diced ham would work really well instead of the olives – would give a similar salty flavor.
i absolutely love the sound of this! i used quinoa in chili for the first time recently (http://www.thesweetslife.com/2012/01/turkey-quinoa-chili.html) and was a big fan! the butternut squash version sounds even more amazing, esp since I love kalamata olives!
as for other great uses for quinoa, did you know you can use them in cookies? i highly recommend eating them straight from the freezer! http://www.thesweetslife.com/2012/01/dark-chocolate-almond-cranberry-quinoa.html
and i’m sorry for yet another think (I just get really excited about quinoa!) but you have to try quinoa fried rice! my all time fave way to eat quinoa! http://www.thesweetslife.com/2012/01/quinoa-fried-rice.html
I just bought that same 78lb bag at costco. I’m currently obsessed with quinoa, roasted veggies and goat cheese all mixed up together. AMAZING.
I can’t get my boyfriend to eat quinoa… it freaks him out. This one might work though! Any suggestions for what I could use instead of olives… they freak ME out ;-)
Diced ham would work really well instead of the olives – it would give a similar salty flavor.
I love your blog and recipes and know that using fresh ingredients is the way to go, but for us who are single and don’t like to spend time in the kitchen cooking for just one, maybe you could do substitutions (like frozen squash, already cooked chicken, etc.)?
You can definitely use frozen or pre-cut squash from the grocery store, or rotisserie chicken!
I’m really hooked on any whole grains lately, but since I too need to get through the ’78lb’ bag of quinoa from Costco, it’s been a lot of that. I’ve been making a great Asian flavored quinoa salad someone brought to the Super bowl party we went to. It’s cooked red quinoa, broccoli, asparagus, green onions, sesame oil, soy sauce, toasted sesame seeds, and red pepper flakes. YUM!!!