Chicken Salad With Corn, Quinoa and Yogurt Dressing

By Ali Slagle

Published Aug. 23, 2022

Chicken Salad With Corn, Quinoa and Yogurt Dressing
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich.
Total Time
45 minutes
Rating
4(133)
Comments
Read comments

While traditional chicken salad is rich with tender meat and mayonnaise, this one embraces pops of texture and color. Combining quinoa and corn, two staples in Inca, Aymara and Quechua cooking, is a great balancing act of earthy and sweet. For this salad’s dressing, mashing onion and chile together with salt (like in guacamole) releases their assertive juices into a tangy blend of Greek yogurt and lime. Since this is a room temperature salad, you can make the chicken and quinoa and reserve them up to a few days ahead, or let the whole salad meld for up to 3 days in the fridge. Eat the dish on its own, over romaine or Little Gem leaves, or with more pops, such as pepitas, mint, radishes, jicama, Cotija or Parmesan. 

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: Give recipes to anyone

    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.

    Subscribe

  • Share this recipe

  • Print this recipe

Advertisement

Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings (8 cups)
  • 1½ to 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 4ears of corn, kernels removed, cobs reserved
  • 1large red or white onion, halved
  • 1jalapeño, halved
  • Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
  • 1lime, zested and juiced
  • 1cup quinoa (preferably tricolor)
  • ¼cup full-fat Greek yogurt
  • Romaine or Little Gem lettuce (optional), for serving
  • Any combination of pepitas, mint, radishes, jicama, Cotija or Parmesan to garnish (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

277 calories; 5 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 31 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 28 grams protein; 531 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Powered by

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a large pot, combine the chicken breasts, corn cobs, ½ onion and ½ jalapeño. Cover with about 1 inch of water and season generously with salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-high, then reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until the chicken is just cooked through (do not overcook!), 7 to 10 minutes. Skim most of the foam off the water; transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside to cool. Discard the corn cobs, onion and jalapeño; leave the water in the pot.

  2. Step 2

    While the chicken cooks, coarsely chop the remaining ½ onion and ½ jalapeño together. Sprinkle with salt, then chop and smash using the side of your knife until a juicy, coarse paste forms. (You can also do this with a mortar and pestle.) Transfer to a large bowl, along with the lime zest and juice.

  3. Step 3

    Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, use two forks to shred it.

  4. Step 4

    To the reserved water in the pot, add the quinoa, bring to a boil, and cook according to package instructions until the quinoa grows white tails and is tender but not mushy. Drain the quinoa, run it under cold water until cool to the touch, then shake it very dry.

  5. Step 5

    Add the quinoa, corn kernels, chicken and yogurt to the large bowl and stir to combine; season to taste with salt. Serve over lettuce leaves, if desired, and top with any garnishes, if using. The chicken-quinoa mixture keeps refrigerated for up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature and adjust seasonings with salt and lime juice as needed, as flavors will shift from the chill of the fridge.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

Ratings

4 out of 5
133 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Comments

Christina K

It is in step 5, "Add the quinoa, corn kernels, chicken and yogurt to the large bowl and stir to combine". The large bowl contains the paste plus lime.

Margaret

Are the corn kernels cooked?

Chris

Recipe states to add it to the large bowl.

Tsultrim

Way too much work for a bland result. Will double jalapeño and why not make the paste in a blender? I believe cumin would also help.

Tsultrim

@Tsultrim Next time, I’ll reduce the amount of corn by maybe a quarter to a third. I did use it uncooked and it adds the crunch celery usually provides. I’d increase the lime a little, and double the yogurt, and double the jalapeño. I’d put the onion, jalapeño in the blender rather than using the flat of the knife. I did not get much of a sense of flavor by cooking the chicken in water with corn cobs, 1/2 onion, and 1/2 jalapeño, so think using cooked, shredded or chopped chicken will work. And if I make this again I’ll add cumin to the dressing as recommended by several here. This salad needs salt. I think serving it with avocado, radish would be nice.

Lynn

Sigh.... maybe if you doubled the dressing? Seriously underwhelming, and makes a veritable shee-ton. I might've had to throw it out were it not for liberal use of Tajin seasoning afterward.

Cait

This was very disappointing. It’s a healthier alternative to traditional chicken salad, but way too much work, especially given how bland it is. Cooking the chicken with the corn cob, onion and jalapeño yields no noticeable flavor. Also the onion and jalapeño paste is a pain without much payoff. I’ll try again, but I’ll add toasted cumin seeds like someone else mentioned, and I’ll cut out a lot of the fussier steps.

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

or to save this recipe.