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Grilled Chicken Quinoa Corn Salad Recipe – juicy seasoned chicken thighs, grilled and chopped, mixed with cooked quinoa, grilled corn, avocado, chopped tomatoes and onions. The perfect salad (grain bowl) for a busy weekday lunch. Easy to make, nutritious and customizable.
Ask me what I had for lunch and I’ll often say – a salad or a grain bowl. This Grilled Chicken Quinoa Corn Salad Recipe represents one of my favorite meals this summer.
It is bursting with flavors, made with a few simple ingredients. You can even prepare it in advance, and add the tomatoes and avocado right before ready to consume. The perfect meal prep salad.
This Grilled Chicken Quinoa Corn Salad Recipe is rich in proteins, juicy, lightly crunchy, creamy, crisp and has a wonderful flavor.
Here is an example of how I do my meal prep. I pretty much do it every week, but I haven’t been sharing the recipes, because they are either on the blog already, like this Shrimp Grain Bowl, Easy Barbacoa Recipe or Oven Baked Zucchini And Feta Cakes (Fritters) or I try some recipes from other bloggers.
I usually prepare the chicken (or other protein) on a Sunday, usually grilled or slow cooked, then keep it in the fridge.
I also grill vegetables and cook grains, rice, quinoa, farro, millet, etc.
Grilled vegetables like zucchini, peppers or corn could also be prepared in advance. You can use canned corn, but I never do it during summer. I love to cook my own, even though it takes some extra time.
Vegetables that could get soggy or can change color like avocado are added right before serving.
Dressings (if it happens to be a salad) are also added at the time of serving.
I’m not a huge fan of eating the same lunch for 5 days in a row, but you can always add more stuff, different dressing or sauce and if you are constantly busy during the day, working, testing recipes, entertaining your child, running errants and much more, you probably have stopped caring that you are eating the same stuff all week for lunch. Dinner will be different and hey, the weekend is coming, so we can always eat out !
Here is what I used in this chicken quinoa corn salad recipe:
- I used boneless skinless chicken thighs that I marinated for 10 minutes in a simple marinade with soy sauce, lime juice and olive oil. You can also add some black pepper and a tsp of Sriracha or another hot sauce of your choice (both optional). Or you can use your favorite chicken seasoning. Then grill the chicken for about 5 minutes per side, until fully cooked. A thermometer inserted in the middle should read 165 F.
- Chicken thighs are a lot more flavorful than chicken breast meat, so they can be cooked on the grill for a little bit longer, without risking to dry them out and overcook them. I’ve been cooking a lot more dishes using chicken thighs lately.
- I used three color quinoa in this recipe, but you can use whatever you have. Feel free to cook the quinoa in chicken stock, instead of water. I personally prefer to cook it in water, so I can use it in various dishes. Make sure you follow the instructions on the package.
- For the grilled corn, I used one of my most popular and favorite grilling recipes – Grilled Corn On The Cob In Foil With Garlic Butter.
- There really isn’t a dressing in this Grilled Chicken Quinoa Corn Salad Recipe. The reason why? The grilled chicken is extra juicy and releases some juice to the salad. There is a lot of flavor from the grilled corn, onions, tomatoes (flavor + juiciness) and creaminess from the avocado. I also added some parsley on top (you can use cilantro). All I did to season the salad was to squeeze some lime juice on top and add salt and some olive oil.
This Grilled Chicken Quinoa Corn Salad Recipe makes the perfect summer meal. It includes some simple grilling essentials, protein rich seeds (quinoa) and fresh vegetables.
Chicken Quinoa Corn Salad Recipe
Ingredients
For the grilled chicken thighs:
- 10 oz boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 limes, juiced
- 1 tsp hot sauce (optional)
- 1/4 tsp black pepper (optional), (green onion could be substituted)
For the grilled corn on the cob:
- 2 ears grilled corn on the cob (recipe linked, recipe for 4 ears, we need 2)
For the quinoa:
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
Other:
- 1 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
- 1 avocado, chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley for garnishing
- 2 tbsp chopped red onion
For the dressing:
- 2 limes juiced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- salt + pepper to taste
Instructions
For the grilled chicken thighs:
- Preheat a gas grill to medium-high heat (400-450F).
- Combine all ingredients for the marinade in a bowl or pour into a large zip lock bag. Add chicken, make sure it is coated in the marinade. Marinate for 10 minutes.
- Place chicken on the grill and grill for 5-6 minutes per side, until golden and fully cooked (165F internal temperature).Remove from the grill and transfer to a cutting board. Let it cool for 5 minutes. Chop chicken into 1/2-inch cubes.
For the quinoa:
- Cook quinoa following the instructions on the package.Follow this recipe (Quinoa Fried Rice) to find out how I cook quinoa.
For the grilled corn on the cob:
- Follow the recipe here. We need 1/2 of the recipe for the salad.Using a knife, cut conn off the cob and reserve kernels.
To Assemble:
- Place quinoa in a large bowl. Add chicken, tomatoes, corn and avocado. Top with parsley and onion. Squeeze lime juice, add olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
More Chicken Recipes:
- Top 10 Boneless Skinless Chicken Thigh Recipes
- Easy Oven Baked Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs
- Sheet Pan Harissa Chicken With Potatoes
We can all use a new salad suggestion for summer and this looks great! Â I will be making this soon…
This sounds like the most perfect lunch, Mira! I love eating salads or grain bowls too, so this gorgeousness looks SO good! I love the quinoa and corn combo in here. So perfect for summer!
This recipe is perfect for lunch! I am gonna try to make it for lunch! Wish me best of luck!
Wow, this is a power lunch, Mira!
I adore the freshness and colours, and actually could easily eat this every day for a week! 😉
This is a perfect grain bowl! I recently purchased an enormous bag of quinoa at Costco and I’m continually looking for new ideas to scoop into it for… Thank you for this! Delicious! Pinned!
sounds like the perfect lunch!