A thirty minute or less meal, chicken and quinoa skillet with peanut sauce has a flavor profile reminiscent of Thai cuisine. This skillet meal is jam-packed with vegetables from red bell pepper, to shredded carrots and cabbage, and flavored with fresh herbs. Protein-packed with lean ground chicken breast and bulked up with quinoa, this skillet makes for the ideal healthy lunch or dinner. The finishing touch is a thick and creamy peanut sauce to tie all the flavors together. The generous serving size of this meal is guaranteed to keep you full and satisfied.
All about this chicken and quinoa skillet with peanut sauce
This dish is jam-packed with flavor and texture. It features fresh vegetables like red bell pepper, shredded carrots, and shredded cabbage. The dish starts out with ginger, garlic and scallions sauteed in sesame oil as the base; flavor is built upon that foundation, as ground chicken is sauteed with spices. Next, the fresh vegetables are added to the skillet along with flavorful cilantro and scallions, finally finished off with a creamy peanut sauce. The sauce is slightly sweet, slightly savory, and rounds out the other flavors of this dish. The chicken and quinoa skillet makes for a quick and easy meal; ready in 30 minutes and family-approved. This meal also makes for a great meal prep, since it is easy to portion out, and even easier to store and reheat. To reheat, simply microwave until heated through.
What you will need to make this dish
- sesame oil
- scallions
- garlic
- ginger
- You can use either ginger root or squeeze ginger.
- shredded carrots
- shredded cabbage
- red bell pepper
- cilantro
- quinoa
- reduced sodium chicken broth
- less sodium soy sauce
- powdered peanut butter
- honey
- rice wine vinegar
- lime zest and juice
- kosher salt
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- ground ginger
How to make this one-pot skillet meal
This meal is quick and easy to prepare, and the best part is, it’s all done in one pot. Start out by sauteeing the ginger, garlic, and the whites of the scallions in the sesame oil and non-stick cooking spray. These will serve as the aromatics for the dish (similar to how carrots, celery and onion are typically used to start out a soup). Next, add the ground chicken breast to the dish, along with the garlic powder, onion powder, and ground ginger. Cook the chicken for about 10 minutes or until it is fully cooked through and no longer pink. Remove the chicken from the skillet and set it aside. In the same skillet, add more cooking spray, along with the chopped bell pepper and shredded carrots, and the green parts of the scallions. Cook the vegetables for about 10 minutes, or until tender. Then, add the shredded cabbage. Add 1/4 cup of the chicken broth, and cook the cabbage until wilted and tender.
In the meantime, combine the sauce ingredients. Add the cooked chicken back to the pan and add the sauce. Simmer for a couple of minutes for the flavors to combine, and then stir in the fresh herbs.

Chicken and Quinoa Skillet with Peanut Sauce
Equipment
- large skillet or wok
Ingredients
- 4 scallions, chopped, white and green parts separated
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp ginger, ginger root or squeeze ginger
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- non-stick cooking spray
- 1 lb 98% fat free ground chicken breast
- 2 cups red bell pepper, chopped, 2 medium peppers
- 3 cups shredded carrots, one 10-oz bag
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 4 cups shredded cabbage, one 8-oz bag
- 2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
- .75 cup quinoa, raw, uncooked
- 1/2 lime, zested and juiced
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
Peanut Sauce
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 1/2 cup powdered peanut butter
- 1 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1/2 lime, zested and juiced
Instructions
- Preheat a skillet over medium high heat.
- Chop the scallions and separate the green and white parts.
- Mince the garlic.
- Add 1 tsp of sesame oil to the pan and non-stick cooking spray.
- Add the white parts of the scallions, the garlic, and the ginger to the sesame oil.
- Saute for 2-3 minutes on medium high heat.
- Add the ground chicken breast and cook until no longer pink.
- Remove the cooked chicken from the pan and set aside.
- Chop the red bell pepper.
- Add cooking spray to the pan, and add the pepper and shredded carrots.
- Add the salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and ground ginger.
- Cook the vegetables for 10 minutes or until tender.
- Add the shredded cabbage and 1/4 cup of the chicken broth.
- Saute until wilted and tender.
Quinoa
- While the skillet chicken and vegetables are cooking, prepare the quinoa.
- Add 1 3/4 cup of the chicken broth to a small saucepan, along with the zest and juice of a lime.
- Bring the liquid to a boil, and then add the quinoa.
- Stir together, and then cover and reduce the heat to medium low.
- Simmer for 15 minutes or until cooked through. Fluff with a fork.
- Set aside until later.
Peanut Sauce and Assembly
- Combine the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Add the cooked chicken and quinoa to the pan with the vegetables, and add the peanut sauce.
- Stir and simmer for minutes until the flavors combine.
- Add the cilantro and the green parts of the scallions.
Weight Watchers
Notes
Nutrition
You might also enjoy these skillet meals: Southwestern Chicken and Rice Skillet Italian Chicken, Farro and Vegetable Skillet Greek Chicken and Rice Skillet Lighter Buffalo Chicken and Rice Skillet
Absolutely amazing! The flavor profile is full of depth! Made it on Sunday for the week ahead!,,
This dish had so much flavor. My whole family loved it and went for seconds. It is great knowing how healthy it is too!!
Powdered peanut butter? Where the heck can I find that, and couldn’t ya use regular peanut butter or would that change the integrity of the meal?
Most grocery stores now carry it. Regular peanut butter is very calorie dense hence the powdered peanut butter, same flavour way less calories.
Peanut powder is at Walmart, Target — virtually any major supermarket. It’s usually on the top shelf above the peanut butter.
Would this dish work with brown rice instead of quinoa?
BOMB! I made this for my lunch meal prep this week. SO good! Has the flavors of pad thai but so much healthier. Making my way through every single one of your recipes.
I am having this right now! Amazing!
Incredible, healthy and a large serving size! Will be making this repeatedly.
Delicious. I used cauliflower rice instead of quinoa. Loved it!
This was so good! I didn’t have quinoa so I used brown rice instead. My husband and 3 kids loved it too.
Is that nutritional info correct? 1171mg Sodium per serving !!?!
This is amazing! One of my fav recipes for you!
This is amazing! One of my fav recipes from you!
So good and filling! Perfect for lunch meal prep.
I’ve made this 4 times. Might need an intervention. It’s so good!!
Delicious, so flavorful!
So yummy!! I used ground pork, just preference for my body and diet. But holy moly! Make this guys. It’s worth it.
Family loved this! The servings are huge😃
Absolutely filling and full of flavour. Loved it so much I signed up for the newsletter. Can’t wait to discover other recipes. Thank you!
This is so good! I love this recipe. I’ve made it several times and love it! It’s a large quantity and goes a long way.
Delicious!!!
Absolutely delicious! I just made this for my weekly meal prep! I have been looking for a recipe with quinoa and this hit the spot! That sauce!!!! 💕😍💕😍
AMAZING! so flavorful with large portion! I only had chicken tenders so I used 1 pound diced up in bite-size pieces it came out fine. Also I use miso broth from Trader Joe’s that I had opened in the fridge. I haven’t made a recipe from Steph I haven’t liked. Thank you!
Back to the office today after 26 months and the only thing I am looking forward to is this for lunch! Cannot wait to eat it. So delicious and the sauce is amazing. Taking this opportunity to start meal prepping and this is definitely a great start. Thanks, Steph!
Delicious! Made this today for the week’s dinners! Yum!
This is delicious! I omitted the quinoa and am having over noodles or rice this week for lunches. I also doubled the sauce to keep some to drizzle on top each day. I could drink that peanut sauce!
I really enjoyed this! By itself, I thought the peanut sauce tasted a little off, but when mixed into the dish near the end, it was perfect. After dividing out good-sized portions for two adults, there was still enough leftover for lunch the next day. I would highly recommend this and I will definitely make again!.
This was AMAZING! I was skeptical at first, but this may be my new favorite meal of hers. Even the kids liked it!
Even my teenager loved this meal!
Delicious and flavorful!
Absolutely delicious! This recipe will be in my regular rotation. My husband loved it, too! Going to have leftovers for lunches this week.
Steph, have you considered publishing a cookbook? 😊
Super tasty! I didn’t have honey but honestly, I liked that it wasn’t sweet. I also only used about half of the carrots. Will definitely make again!
I made it for meal prep. My coworker tried it and said it taste like pad thai. 🙂