These Baked Barbecue Chicken & Quinoa Bowls are a healthy, easy to make, and delicious meal that is great for on-the-go dinners.

photo of  Baked Barbecue Chicken and Quinoa Bowl close up

Let’s be real, finding snacks and meals that have all the nutrients your family needs while tasting delicious can be hard. Spring is a time of year when all 5 of my kids are participating in basketball, baseball, football, dance and Science Olympiad. That means less time at the table eating together as a family and more time eating dinners on the go.

Complicated? Yes. Stressful? Can be. Fun? Completely. We love doing all of these things together as a family. Whether cheering at a football game or science fair event, we love supporting each other. It’s something special watching our 8-year-old daughter insanely screaming her head off at any of our other kids’ events. But all those activities make for expensive and sometimes unhealthy eating choices.

close up of a bite on a fork over white bowl of Baked Barbecue Chicken and Quinoa

So I decided to try something new, and make some meal prep bowls. That way, when we need to eat on the go, we still have a delicious homemade meal that gives us everything we need to keep us going. These Baked Barbecue Chicken & Quinoa Bowls combine the things my kid’s love, barbecue chicken, and corn while throwing in something for myself: quinoa. Everyone is pleased, especially this mom.

photo of  Baked Barbecue Chicken and Quinoa bowl in a tupperware container with a fork

You’d think dinner time would be the hardest meal time to figure out. But honestly, it’s the snacks that always kill me. It always seems that those are the one things I forget to pack. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve run into the store to grab a snack on the way to somewhere – more times than I’d like to admit.

Convenience stores are the worst because they “conveniently” leave the worst, sugary products in the easiest places for my kids to grab. Where are the healthier choices? In the back of course. So when they run into grab something, they aren’t even going to see the good stuff. I’ll be honest, sometimes I feel in such a hurry, I won’t even take the time to go and look for the healthier, more nutritious items. As a mom, this can be frustrating. Not only did I forget the snack, but now my kids are loading up on sugar, and you know we’ll all pay for that later.

photo of  Baked Barbecue Chicken and Quinoa Bowl, white bowl, garnished with cilantro

So I love this entire recipe. One because it is easy, two because it is delicious and lastly, it is something our whole family loves.

So from this crazy, busy mom of 5 – not only is dinner-on-the-go taken care of this week with these Baked Barbecue Chicken & Quinoa Bowls but if I forget to pack a snack, I know that there are delicious wholesome options available. XOXO San

Love Baked Barbecue Chicken & Quinoa Bowls? Check out these recipes for other Barbecue Chicken ideas: Slow Cooker Chipotle Barbecue Chicken, Maple Barbecue Chicken Kabobs, and Best Ever Sweet Barbecue Chicken.

Don’t forget to pin Baked Barbecue Chicken & Quinoa Bowls to your favorite Pinterest board for later.

Baked Barbecue Chicken & Quinoa Bowls collage

Baked Barbecue Chicken & Quinoa Bowls

Prep: 30 minutes
Cook: 35 minutes
Total: 3 hours
Servings: 6
Calories: 479 kcal
These Baked Barbecue Chicken and Quinoa Bowls are a healthy, easy to make, and delicious meal that are great for on-the-go dinners.

Ingredients
 

  • 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
  • 2 cups uncooked quinoa
  • 3 large chicken breasts
  • 1 bunch of cilantro
  • 2 1/2 cups sweet corn cooked (I used frozen sweet corn)
  • Shredded Monterrey Jack cheese

Maple Barbecue Sauce

  • 1 packed cup brown Sugar
  • 1 cup ketchup
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup water
  • ¼ heaping cup pure maple syrup meaning a little over ¼ cup
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 teaspoons ground mustard
  • 2 teaspoons Paprika
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions
 

  • In a large mixing bowl prepare Sweet Maple Barbecue Sauce by following directions in the above link.
  • Filet each chicken breast in half, so now you have 6 pieces of chicken. And place in the large mixing bowl with the Sweet Maple Barbecue Sauce.
  • Cover the bowl of chicken with foil or plastic wrap and set in the refrigerator, marinate the chicken for 1-2 hours.
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a rimed baking sheet with tin foil and aside.
  • Arrange the chicken on the baking sheet in a single layer.
  • Bake in the oven for 25-35 minutes or until chicken is cooked all the way through.
  • While chicken is baking, prepare quinoa.
  • In a medium sauce pan bring the 4 cups of chicken broth to a boil.
  • Stir in quinoa and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat to a medium and cover with a lid. And cook covered over reduced heat for 12 minutes.
  • Once quinoa is cooked, remove from heat and fluff. Put quinoa into a medium bowl and allow it to cool.
  • Once chicken is completely cooked, dice into 1 inch cubes.
  • Cook corn.
  • You can use frozen, canned or fresh, it is a personal choice. I used frozen corn and heated according to package directions.
  • Chop up cilantro and shred cheese.
  • Prepare quinoa bowls - add 1/2 -1 cup cooked quinoa, 1/2 -1 cup diced chicken, 1/3 - 2/3 cup cooked corn, garnish with cheese and cilantro. Serve immediately.
  • If you are packing these for lunches, adjust serving size according to who is eating these. I have a small, medium and large containers - one for my younger kids, my older kids and the hubby and I.
  • Place the lids on each of the containers and store for 2-3 days in the refrigerator. These Baked Barbecue Chicken & Quinoa Bowls can be reheated to serve warm or be devoured cold. Either way enjoy!

Notes

Total time includes: marinating, cooking and prepping bowls.
Calories: 479kcalCarbohydrates: 63gProtein: 38gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 72mgSodium: 768mgPotassium: 1176mgFiber: 6gSugar: 12gVitamin A: 760IUVitamin C: 6.9mgCalcium: 52mgIron: 4.2mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know what you think!

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27 Comments

  1. I am adding this to my meal plan for next week. These will be perfect for me to take along to work for lunches.

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