A hearty, healthy salad recipe featuring nutrient-rich quinoa and red cabbage, tender chicken, and lots of zesty citrus flavor. Fresh, bright, protein-packed, and naturally gluten-free, this citrus chicken quinoa salad makes a perfect light dinner or make-ahead lunch.
I originally published this recipe in 2014, and I’ve since updated it to be better than ever, and added new photos and extra success tips.
I’m known for my baking recipes, but every now and then I prepare a meal that’s just too delicious not to share alongside all the desserts. And today’s flavorful, satisfying salad is one of them!
If you love hearty salads that actually fill you up, this citrus chicken quinoa salad deserves a spot on your regular rotation. It’s fresh, colorful, and full of texture: tender chicken, nutty quinoa, crunchy cabbage, creamy avocado, and juicy oranges. Pile it on a bed of greens and you’ve got a wholesome all-in-one meal that’s sure to satisfy.
This isn’t one of those “mostly lettuce” salads. Every bite is packed with satisfying ingredients, making it perfect for healthy lunches, light dinners, or meal prep for the week.
The flavor combination is simple but incredibly good: savory garlic-paprika chicken, sweet citrus, and a fresh honey-lime-cilantro dressing. Everything soaks into the quinoa, so the leftovers taste even better the next day.
If you enjoy grain bowls and protein-packed salads, this is a recipe you’ll come back to again and again.
Why You’ll Love This Citrus Chicken Quinoa Salad
- Fresh, healthy, vibrant flavors
- Nutrient-rich, protein-packed, and satisfying
- A texture lover’s dream salad
- Naturally gluten-free
- Great for meal prep
- Customizable
One reader, Annette, commented: “This was incredibly delicious. I was skeptical at first with the oranges in the salad, however—WOW—the flavors, textures, and taste were fantastic. I had it for my dinner tonight and it is filling, I can’t wait for lunch tomorrow to have it again (leftovers). ★★★★★”
Another reader, Alex, commented: “I discovered this recipe last summer and have been anxiously awaiting warmer weather so I could add it back to our dinner rotation! So delicious. Tastes even better cold the next day. Can easily sub grapefruit or clementines for the oranges/juice. ★★★★★”
A Few Key Ingredients
- Quinoa: The hearty base of the salad. Quinoa adds nutty flavor, plant protein, and a fluffy texture that absorbs the citrus dressing beautifully.
- Chicken: Quick-cooked on the stove with olive oil, smoked paprika, and garlic for savory depth. Grilled or blackened chicken would also be great in this salad!
- Oranges: Sweet citrus brightens the entire salad and adds a little juiciness.
- Avocado: Creamy avocado balances the citrus acidity and makes the salad extra satisfying.
- Cilantro: Ties the citrus dressing together!
- Honey Lime Dressing: A simple combination of lime juice, honey, dijon mustard (just a bit to emulsify), olive oil, and orange juice that lightly coats everything.
What Is Quinoa?
Nutrient-dense quinoa often gets labeled a “superfood,” and for good reason. It’s naturally gluten-free and considered a whole grain, though it’s technically a seed. It’s one of the few plant foods that contains all nine essential amino acids, making it a complete protein. It’s also packed with fiber, minerals, and antioxidants.
In other words, it’s a small ingredient with some big nutritional benefits!
Plus, its fluffy texture and mild, nutty flavor make it an easy addition to salads like this one.
I love quinoa because it’s incredibly versatile. Try it in these quinoa crunch bars next!
How to Make This Quinoa Salad
Cook the quinoa: Prepare quinoa according to package instructions. Be sure to rinse it first before cooking, to remove its natural coating, called saponin, which can taste bitter. Let it (mostly) cool before assembling the salad.
Cook the chicken: Cook the chicken in a skillet with seasonings until cooked through.
Assemble the salad: Combine the quinoa, chicken, cabbage, oranges, and avocado in a large bowl.
Make the dressing: Whisk together the dressing ingredients, pour over the salad, and toss to combine. Add feta and pepitas, if using.
Easy Variations
This quinoa salad recipe is very flexible! Try one of these variations:
- Add greens: Serve the salad over baby spinach, arugula, spring mix, or chopped kale.
- Make it vegetarian: Swap the chicken for chickpeas, tofu, or black beans.
- Make it pescatarian: Swap the chicken for salmon or shrimp.
- Swap the citrus: Use grapefruit, blood oranges, or mandarins.
- Add crunch: Toss in sliced almonds, pumpkin seeds (pepitas), or pistachios.
If you love the flavors of this citrus quinoa chicken salad, you might also enjoy this creamy cilantro lime chicken.
Yes! This is one of those rare salads that tastes even better after it sits. As the salad chills, the quinoa absorbs the citrus dressing and the flavors deepen. It’s an excellent meal-prep recipe and keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. For the best texture, you can add the avocado just before serving.
Absolutely! Quinoa provides protein, fiber, and minerals, while the chicken adds additional protein and the citrus dressing keeps the salad light.
Brown rice, farro, pearl barley, or couscous can work in place of quinoa.
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Print
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: serves 4
- Category: Salads
- Method: Cooking
- Cuisine: American
- 1 and 1/2 cups (260g) cooked quinoa
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) extra virgin olive oil
- 1.25 pounds (565g) boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups (140g) shredded red/purple cabbage
- 2 large oranges, peeled and segmented
- 1 avocado, sliced or cubed
- optional: 1/4 cup (40g) crumbled feta cheese
- optional: 2 Tablespoons (20g) pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
- optional: greens for serving, such as spinach or arugula
- 1/4 cup (60g/ml) fresh lime juice
- 1/4 cup (7g) chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 Tablespoon fresh orange juice
- 1 Tablespoon honey
- 1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- salt + pepper, to taste
- Cook the quinoa: Prepare quinoa according to package directions. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool slightly.
- Cook the chicken: Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken, smoked paprika, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic. Continue cooking until the chicken is cooked through and reaches an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C), about 2–3 more minutes.
- Assemble the salad: Add the cooked chicken, shredded cabbage, oranges, and avocado to the bowl of quinoa. Toss gently to combine.
- Make the dressing: Whisk all dressing ingredients together until combined. Taste, and add salt and pepper if desired. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat.
- Sprinkle with feta and pepitas, if using. Serve immediately as-is, or serve over fresh greens such as spinach or arugula.
- Cover and store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Make Ahead Instructions: This is a perfect recipe to make ahead of time because the flavors taste even better by day 2. Simply prepare the salad, cover tightly, and refrigerate overnight.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk
- Cilantro: If you don’t care for cilantro, leave it out or replace with chopped fresh basil or parsley.
- Update in 2026: I made a few small updates to boost the flavor, plus added a few optional extras. If you’d like to make the salad as originally written in 2014, simply skip the cabbage, feta, and pepitas, and omit the mustard in the dressing.
Citrus Chicken Quinoa Salad
Description
A hearty, healthy salad recipe with creamy avocado, nutty quinoa, chicken, fresh cilantro, and lots of bright citrus flavors. The perfect light dinner or make-ahead lunch!
Reader Comments and Reviews
This salad is so easy to make and absolutely delicious! It tastes like summer. I will definitely be making this again. I used mandarin oranges, basil instead of cilantro and I actually had some leftover chicken that was marinaded in mesquite by McCormick. It turned out great. Will try her chicken seasoning next week!
Looking forward to serving this for my gals’ luncheon!
Making ahead- do you serve fridge cold or heat up?
Thanks for yet another delicious recipe!
We usually serve it cold, but you can do it either way!
Great, recipe. I ended up having lemons on hand instead of limes for the juice. It was a good substitute. It’s probably even better with the lime.
Do you know the nutrition information for this recipe?
Hi Sarah, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
This was great! I added feta cheese and subbed roasted chickpeas in for the chicken. Delicious.
Love this recipe. My wife and I have made it several times and served it to company. Always a hit. We are having a vegan couple for lunch tomorrow and are planning to substitute cubed, extra firm tofu for the chicken and I thought I might add some black beans. Any reactions?
Hi John, we haven’t tried this recipe with tofu, but let us know if you do!
Doubled the recipe and made one half with chicken breast and one half with extra firm tofu. Since we love the recipe as originally published, I was a bit leery about making the tofu substitution. Surprisingly, the tofu version was even more to our liking than the chicken version. After letting the tofu sit in paper towels to absorb water for a while, I cubed it and cooked it just as directed for the chicken. Cooked it until the tofu was just getting a bit browned. The flavors from the garlic and smoked paprika were nicely absorbed by the tofu and the texture was excellent. Our guests and I preferred the tofu version to the chicken version.
By the way, I cooked some black beans and added a cup to the doubled recipe (1/2 cup of cooked beans for a single recipe) and that was a good addition/modification as well. Could have added more.
This is an absolutely delightful recipe for summer! I didn’t have any cilantro and I subbed plain paprika for smoked paprika. Still turned out delightful. I went for seconds!! Thank you for releasing this recipe.
Yum! I was a little apprehensive about trying this one, since I’m not in the habit of eating quinoa, but I love it! I am eating it still slightly warm right now. I will put the leftovers in the fridge and eat them cold tomorrow! I’m sure this recipe will be a repeat one for me!
I discovered this recipe last summer and have been anxiously awaiting warmer weather so I could add it back to our dinner rotation! So delicious. Tastes even better cold the next day. Can easily sub grapefruit or clementines for the oranges/juice.
This was incredibly delicious. I was skeptical at first with the oranges in the salad, however -WOW- the flavors, textures and taste were fantastic. I had it for my dinner tonight and it is filling, I can’t wait for lunch tomorrow to have it again (leftovers).
Made this before for dinner once and loved it that night and the next day as leftovers. 3 years later, I just made it again for meal prep for a couple lunches. I don’t know if you have the answer to this but can this salad be frozen as is (maybe dressing separate). I’d leave out the avocado. I know I can freeze cooked quinoa and assemble the salad once defrosted but I was really looking to freeze as is. Any idea?
Hi Erin! We would keep the dressing, avocado and oranges separate (and add them fresh). You could prepare the chicken and quinoa ahead of time to freeze for later use. Let us know what you try!
What a great, light dinner! I can definitely see making this for lunches this summer too. We grilled our chicken and used boneless, skinless thighs. I also tossed some black beans in mine and thought it complemented the flavors nicely and added a little more protein. My husband added some red pepper flakes to give a little bite to his as well. The smoked paprika made it and shouldn’t be skipped if you can help it. I’ll be keeping this one in my rotation! Thanks Sally!
This looks and sounds delicious! I have two questions though…
1. Does the avocado turn brown by the next day or is the citrus juice enough to keep things ok as a left over lunch?
2. If the oranges arent looking great in the store would canned mandarin oranges (in water) be an ok substitute?
Hi Jenn, If there are large chunks of avocado sitting on top they might brown a bit, but give everything a good stir and they will be just fine the next day! Yes, you can use canned mandarin oranges if needed. Enjoy!
This is great! Made it tonight and it was excellent. Too many heavy meals lately with the holidays, so happy to have this refreshing dinner. 🙂
Have loved this recipe for years! Tomorrow I’m going to serve it as a side with roast chicken — so if I’m not adding chicken to the salad itself, do you think I should be adding in the salt, garlic and paprika to the salad mixture or dressing? Thanks!
Yes! I’d add each, to taste.
Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe! My husband loves cilantro and avocado as he is Colombian and these two ingredients are a staple in Colombia. After a very long winter, this summer salad was perfect for one of the first sunny days of March, we just had it for Sunday lunch. Really yummy and very easy to follow!
Sally, I am new looking for healthy meal into your webpage, I just did the Citrus Chicken Quinoa Salad for my wife and daughter (12 and 15) and we all four were very amazed for this recipe. I wanted to thank you so so much and I will be staying tune with your recommendations. !!!
I just found your blog, Sally, and love the recipes. I have the Orange Poppy Seed Bars cooling on the counter as I type!
I’m having ribeye steak tonight and know there will be plenty of leftovers. I’m wondering if I could substitute the chicken in this salad with sliced steak? I’m thinking so… what do you think?
I can’t see why not. If you love it, add it!
This is an excellent dish!! My family and friend loved it, and they thoroughly enjoyed the nutritious and boosting flavors.
This was delicious! I subbed the chicken for chicken sausage to save time. The dressing was so good, and I’m not usually a fan of cilantro. Thanks for the recipe! I’ll be making this again.
This was my lunch yesterday and today. And it was fabulous! The roasted garlic is really a great addition. LOVED it!
I don’t normally comment on blogs but I have to say that this recipe is delicious. I just made it for my husband and me for dinner and we were blown away by how good it is – amazing balance of sweet, salty, crunchy and creamy. Will definitely be apart of my normal recipe rotation!
Yum! I made this last night and it was delicious!! I had it for lunch today and it was just as good. The only sub I made was using a few tablespoons of Trader Joe’s reduced guilt guac instead of fresh avo, since none of them were ripe 🙂 Great recipe!