Chipotle Sweet Potato & Quinoa Lunch Bowls are the perfect meal prep, filled with veggies & chicken, then drizzled with chipotle sauce!
How to make kale quinoa bowls
- Heat olive oil over med-high heat and sautee sweet potato until browned and softened. Then add chicken, chili powder and salt, and cook until browned.
- Meanwhile, cook quinoa and make chipotle sauce.
- Add corn and bell peppers to skillet, and sautee for a few minutes.
- Add quinoa and fresh salsa, then stir in kale and remove from heat. Serve with chipotle sauce and cilantro, and enjoy!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Sweet potato – Butternut squash or pumpkin would also work.
- Chicken breast – Feel free to replace with turkey for a leaner dish, or tofu if you're looking for a plant-based alternative.
- Quinoa – Couscous is a great alternative, or even just brown rice.
- Corn – You can use riced broccoli in place of corn, or any other veggie of choice. You can also just leave it out.
- Peppers – Use any coloured peppers you'd like, or use carrots for that extra crunch.
- Fresh salsa – Dice tomatoes and onions if that's all you have on hand.
- Kale – Kale is the best choice since it's known for being a “power food”, but you can use spinach or Swiss chard.
- Cilantro – Some people aren't crazy about cilantro, so if that's the case you can use basil or parsley instead.
- Chipotle peppers – Chipotle powder also works.
Storing and reheating
These quinoa bowls can be refrigerated in air-tight containers for up to 5 days. Just make sure to store the chipotle dressing separately to avoid a soggy mess – I recommend serving with the dressing on the side or only applying the dressing directly to the serving you'll be eating.
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I typically eat the leftovers cold since it's not recommended to reheat the salsas, and you don't want the chicken to become overcooked. That said, if you're really hankering for a hot meal, you can microwave for 1-2 minutes making sure to check and stir halfway through.
Freezing different components of the bowl
Now while I wouldn't recommend freezing these bowls as is, you can definitely freeze components of the bowl.
The main thing to keep in mind is that the kale will develop a slimy texture after it defrosts, and so I wouldn't recommend putting it in the freezer.
The chicken, quinoa, and sweet potato, however, will each keep for up to 3 months in the freezer, so just be sure to remove the bits of kale first. You can also set aside some of the chicken, quinoa and sweet potato while cooking up these bowls, then freeze them.
To defrost, you'll want to let the ingredients defrost in the fridge, then toss with the remaining ingredients fresh.
More quinoa bowl recipes
- 30 Minute Steak and Quinoa Burrito Bowl
- Chicken Ranch Kale & Quinoa Bowls
- Warm Tahini Kale and Quinoa Bowl + Roasted Chickpeas
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Here's some of the quinoa I like to use
- I get all my free-range chicken from Butcher Box, conveniently delivered to me frozen
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on packing these bowls up for lunch!
Chipotle Sweet Potato & Quinoa Lunch Bowls
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 sweet potato, diced
- 1 lb chicken breasts, diced
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 cup dry quinoa
- 2 cups water
- 1/2 cup frozen corn
- 1/2 each red and green pepper, diced
- 1/2 cup fresh salsa
- 1 bunch kale, chopped
- 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
Chipotle dressing
- 1 tbsp chipotle peppers, minced
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- In a large pan, heat olive oil over med-high heat. Add sweet potato, sauteeing for 8-10 min until browned and softened. Add chicken, chili powder and salt and cook for 8 min until cooked through.
- Meanwhile, cook 1 cup quinoa in 2 cups of water on the stove or in a rice cooker, and make chipotle sauce by mixing all ingredients together under the chipotle dressing heading.
- Add corn and bell peppers to skillet, sauteeing for a couple min. Add quinoa and fresh salsa. Stir in kale and remove from heat. Serve immediately or pack into reusable containers. Serve with chipotle sauce on the side and cilantro on top.
Nutrition
London says
Hi, can you advise what is in the “fresh salsa”?
Taylor Stinson says
Hey London – this is the exact salsa I use, though you can use jarred salsa too in a pinch! https://www.gardenfreshgourmet.com/products/10/jack%27s-special-medium-salsa
Taylor says
Can I freeze this?
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Taylor! I have never frozen it before so I wouldn’t recommend it. You could try though – I’m just not sure how well it would thaw and what the textures would be like after!
Sydney says
I just finishing making these for the week!! I follow your blog and meal prep every week, so I love seeing everything you post and I’ve tried a bunch of things!
I switched my bowls up a little from yours, no reason really just used what I had! I added squash and jalapeno to the quinoa, and then I cooked the chicken in the oven and added it to my meal prep bowls at the end. I only did this because I might not need all of that chicken one day so I can add it when I’m feeling like I need a little more protein. For the sauce, I went with plain Greek yogurt instead and it tasted amazing! Keep the recipes coming because I LOVE them…PS, I just followed you on Insta on my food account…@squidroskitchen. I’m just starting, not quite up to your status yet but hopefully someday!!
Taylor Stinson says
OMG just saw the pic on Instagram Sydney, LOVE IT!!!! Thanks so much for sharing your process with me and the kind words <3 I love these bowls because they are so versatile. I'm in a huge squash mood myself lately so good sub in on your end! Love the idea of leaving the chicken on the side too, there's already protein with the quinoa and these bowls are so filling. So happy you've had the chance to try some of my recipes, you've seriously just made my day!!!
taylor says
Taylor, I just wanted to inform you that there were no instructions for the sweet potato in the recipe. I also noticed corn in the picture, and there was no mention of corn. I ended up cooking the sweet potato in a skillet with some cumin and chili pepper and adding some frozen corn I found in my freezer.
I too <3 quinoa bowls, and wanted to pass along my thoughts to make the recipe more clear for everyone else. Ended up tasting great though.
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Taylor – thank you SO much for letting me know, I’m so sorry about this!!! Believe it or not I had trouble updating an earlier draft of this post and thought the recipe had been updated after a couple tries. It looks like that didn’t happen 🙁 You are right, the corn is missing and there are no instructions for the sweet potatoes, but you actually did the right thing! I used 1/2 cup frozen corn and sauteed the sweet potatoes before adding the chicken. I am updating this recipe again and ensuring there are no more issues – thank you so much for your feedback and for trying the recipe! I’m glad it turned out for you 🙂