Ingredients:
- 1 cup quinoa, rinsed in a fine-mesh colander
- 2 cups roughly chopped fresh spinach
- Salt, to taste
- ⅓ cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
- 4 cups of grilled and diced chicken
Dairy-Free Pesto Sauce Ingredients*:
- 2/3 cup pine nuts
- 4 cups fresh basil leaves
- ¼ cup Extra virgin olive oil
- 4 cloves roasted garlic (or 2 cloves unroasted)
- 1/2 tsp salt (you can add more for taste)
- 1/2 fresh lemon, juiced
**I recommend making the pesto sauce first so that’s ready while you put together the rest of the meal.
Pesto: roast pine nuts over medium heat in a skillet until golden brown. Mix together in food processor or blender; the toasted pine nuts and basil leaves. Add the remaining ingredients, and blend everything together until the mixture is like a smooth sauce. Add more olive oil to make the texture thinner. Set pesto sauce aside.
Qunioa: Next, get your quinoa going while you prep everything else. Mix 2 cups of water and rinsed quinoa in a medium saucepan bring to a boil. Once it’s boiling, reduce heat to a simmer and let it cook until the water is absorbed. This usually takes around 15 minutes. Once the water is absorbed, fluff the quinoa with a fork and it’s ready to go.
**Tip: Do not stir the quinoa while it’s cooking; just fluff it at the very end.
Chicken: In the meantime, grill your chicken using extra virgin olive oil, and season with light salt and pepper. Slice or cube the grilled chicken.
Once everything is ready, mix the chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, and pesto in a large mixing bowl. Wait until everything cools just a little before adding the spinach so that the spinach doesn’t wilt. You can serve immediately.
Since this is such an easy recipe, make extra then before you put the leftovers away, make a delicious lunch for the next day!
Pesto Chicken Wrap:
- 6oz Leftover Pesto Chicken
1 Whole wheat, or Ezekiel wrap
1/2 Roma Tomato
1 Cup Fresh Spinach
Layer spinach, tomato, and pesto chicken on the wrap, roll into a wrap, and place in aluminum foil. Throw that in your lunch along with some veggie sticks and fresh fruit…ENJOY!
