Quinoa Power Bowl with Lemony Hummus Dressing
Need a quick and healthy meal prep recipe for lunch or dinner? This easy quinoa power bowl features simple ingredients with a Mediterranean flair to make your next meal prep Sunday a total breeze. As a little bonus, I’ll walk you through my formula for building your own power bowl and show you the steps in a video!
Why I Love this Quinoa Power Bowl Recipe
Have you ever thrown random things together and had them magically transform into a great recipe? I’ll admit, this doesn’t happen to me often, but it’s exciting when it does. That’s why I just had to share this lovely and easy power bowl recipe with you.
It uses THE best dressing
One day I made this awesome salad and I was desperately in need of a rich and delicious dressing. To my horror, I couldn’t find a single container of dressing in my sad little fridge. No Greek dressing, no ranch dressing, no balsamic dressing. Nothing! I could have just used vinegar and oil, but let’s face it, sometimes that just doesn’t cut it.
I peered into my fridge again and saw that I had hummus and a huge bag of lemons. “Hmm…” I thought, “This could be interesting.” I juiced a lemon, added a heaping scoop of hummus and a splash of olive oil, sprinkled some spices in, shook the container, and boom! Deliciousness.
Knowing how to make an awesome dressing from scratch is an important skill to have. If you know how to make a delicious dressing, you can take just about any veggies from blah to beautiful. All you need is a little bit of acidity, a little bit of oil, and a dash of your favorite flavors. (Extra credit for adding some rich goodness like hummus.)
What is a Power Bowl?
This magical lemon hummus dressing is the perfect accompaniment to a power bowl at lunch. If you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, power bowls are basically the new salad. All you need is a bed of whole grains, mixed vegetables, your favorite protein, and some yummy dressing. Think of it as a filling salad with fewer greens in your way. Don’t get me wrong, I love salads as much as the next bunny food-eating person, but on some days, you need something a little more hearty.
This recipe was my contribution to the #letsberealmeals challenge with my fellow dietitian friends over on Instagram. We’ve teamed up to make weekly recipe videos to show you that healthy eating doesn’t have to be fancy or complicated. I chose this meal because it’s a quick meal I can throw together in less than 30 minutes with whatever I have around the house. It’s totally customizable with whatever foods you enjoy!
How do you make a power bowl?
Just follow this simple power bowl formula:
- whole-grain base (brown rice, farro, quinoa)
- chopped veggies (raw or cooked)
- your favorite protein (chicken, steak, chickpeas, tofu)
- dressing (can be a standard salad dressing or a homemade one)
Want to see how I made mine? Check out the video here: Lemon Hummus Power Bowl
Recipe Modifications
- Make it vegan – substitute with tofu, tempeh, beans, chickpeas, lentils, or falafel
- Make it a salad – add 2 cups of leafy greens and/or reduce the quinoa by half
- Make it last longer in the fridge – don’t cut your tomatoes in half or refrigerate them. Just keep them whole and add to your power bowl before eating
- Make it with a different grain – rice, farro, barley, buckwheat – go nuts! Any grain will work
- Make it with different veggies – this recipe would work great with any type of veggie – cooked or raw (roasted red peppers, pickled onions, carrots, cabbage, and broccoli are just a few that come to mind)SaveSave
Quinoa Power Bowl with Lemony Hummus Dressing
Equipment
- saute pan with lid
- jar or small container with lid
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup dry quinoa rinsed
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp lemon-pepper seasoning
- 16 oz chicken breast pounded thin
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup cucumber
- 1 cup radishes
Lemony Hummus Dressing
- 1 lemon juiced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup hummus
- 2 tsp dried dill
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Cook quinoa according to package instructions. (Or combine with 1 cup of water, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, then cover and cook for 15 minutes.)
- While the quinoa is cooking, heat a pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tbsp olive oil. Season chicken on both sides with lemon pepper seasoning. Add chicken to the pan and sear 2 minutes on both sides or until golden brown. After chicken has seared, turn off the heat, cover the pan with a tight lid, and let cook for 10 minutes.
- While chicken is cooking, make the dressing. Add lemon juice, olive oil, hummus, and spices to a small container with a tight-fitting lid. Shake until smooth.
- Chop the veggies. Slice cherry tomatoes in half lengthwise. Slice and cut cucumber into quarters. Thinly slice radishes by hand or with a mandoline. (You can also buy radish 'chips' to make this easier!)
- Once chicken is cooked thoroughly (to 165 degrees), slice into strips or chunks
- Add cooked quinoa, cooked chicken, tomatoes, cucumber, and radish to bowl. Top with dressing and enjoy!
Notes
- For leftovers, keep dressing and raw veggies separate from quinoa and chicken.Â
- This recipe can be eaten hot or cold. For hot leftovers – warm the quinoa and chicken when ready, then top with veggies and dressing.
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