I have this friend who swears by quinoa. I on the other hand had not had much experience with it. But in the spirit of trying to get more grains in my diet, I decided to give it a shot. And you know what? It’s delicious. It’s nutty and it pairs very nicely in this dish with black beans, chicken, bell peppers and cumin.

I had considered making this a vegetarian side dish but I had some chicken the I needed to use so I decided to add that in at that last minute. It made a very hearty one pot meal. With that said this could very easily be made vegetarian. Simply leave out the chicken and substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth. Simple as that.

Quinoa with Chicken and Black Beans
10m
Prep
20m
Cook
30m
Total

Servings

4

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 onion (minced)
  • 3 cloves garlic (minced)
  • 1 orange or red bell pepper (seeded and diced)
  • 1 cup quinoa
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 1/4 teaspoon cumin
  • pinch of cayenne
  • 1 15.5 ounce can of black beans
  • 2 cup diced cooked chicken breast
  • kosher salt to taste

Instructions

  1. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and bell pepper. Cook 5 minutes or until softened and fragrant. Stir in quinoa, cook 3 minutes.
  2. Pour chicken broth over the top, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
  3. After broth is absorbed, stir in remaining ingredients. Season to taste with salt.
  4. Serve.
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Deseree

Whether it is cooking it, eating it, shopping for it or watching TV about it, food is one of my favorite things.

9 Reviews

  1. Deseree January 5, 2025

    Thanks for your feedback, Jennifer! Glad you found it filling!

  2. Jennifer L January 5, 2025

    Filling and easy to make, though it did feel a bit bland to me. It needed something more, though I’m not sure what. Something spice-wise. But still good for being easy and filling.

  3. Top 5 Quick and Easy Healthy Food RecipesStay Healthy Basics March 4, 2014

    […] with Chicken and Black Beans Recipe for Quinoa with Chicken and Black Beans […]

  4. Marty Amour February 2, 2013

    This is just amazing. I wish I could do the same.

  5. Beverly July 16, 2010

    I found your blog through a Google search for Walla Walla onion rings, and this chicken recipe was the first I tried. It is delicious! I baked bone-in breasts and put lime juice and garlic powder under the skins while they baked (then removed skins), and it was awesome. Yours is my new favorite food blog :)

  6. Shannon June 16, 2010

    Quinoa is the best!!!!!!!!! So glad you have joined the quinoa train:) This looks so good and I want to eat it now!

  7. przepisy April 22, 2010

    Great recipe!!! Thanks for sharing! Greet from Poland once again:)

  8. Anne April 20, 2010

    Oh yum! I am on WW (doing the old Core program) and this would be perfect for tonight’s dinner.

    I just bought quinoa last week and haven’t tried it. This is the recipe I will try it on.

  9. Rita April 19, 2010

    I am so glad you tried quinoa, it’s lovely, isn’t it? I just recently tried it with black beans, it makes an unsual combo for me, unexepected.

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