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Delicious! Seriously, all 4 of my kids had seconds. That literally NEVER HAPPENS. Thank you for a new dinner recipe that I can count on!
Allison
Happy happy green green!
How wonderful is spring produce? Tender-crisp asparagus, peas, and pesto are making an appearance in this super easy recipe that resembles a quinoa chicken casserole but can be made with minimal prep in a cozy little crockpot. Win!
Apparently the green things are just all up in my life lately – Coconut Green Smoothie earlier this week and now a green Crockpot Quinoa Chicken Primavera – lots of good things, guys. Lots of good things. I’m feeling the healthy glow just in time for our adventures through California.
That’s right! ROOOOAD TRIPPPP! But more on that later.
So let’s have a quick word about this casserole-esque recipe – and I’m going to keep it short because pre-vacation requires these things, and also because maybe you don’t like all my words all over the page all the time every day. Gah.
This casserole – I mean Crockpot Quinoa Chicken Primavera – cooks real fast. That quinoa and chicken can be ready to go in three or four hours with the crockpot on LOW. So this might not be the one to leave on all day at work (although I do love those ones, too) – this might be the one that you start when you get home from work, take yourself out for a nice spring walk, put your feet up and Instagram for a while, and then return to the kitchen to find dinner virtually made.
Once the quinoa and chicken are cooked, you’re basically just sautéing the asparagus and tossing it in! I couldn’t get behind the idea of fresh asparagus in the crockpot, so in order to keep it super tender-crisp and fresh feeling, into the pan it goes. It won’t take more than a few minutes – just enough time to toss the peas into the crockpot with the pesto and let everything become delicious.
And then you eat, because you’re hungry and this is why we make things like extremely easy Crockpot Quinoa Chicken Primavera in large quantities on a random weeknight.
A word about the texture, for those who are texturally particular: the quinoa will get a little mushy in the crockpot. It’s really hard to avoid this. You’ll panic – but fear not!
When you add that last cup of broth and the green peas and the pesto galore plus those tender-crisp sautéed asparagus pieces and give it a good stir, you’re going to transform quinoa mush into creamy deliciousness loaded with yummy green veggies.
It’s super simple, it’s filling, it’s dinnerrrrr.
FILL ER UP.
Crockpot Quinoa Chicken Primavera
- Total Time: 4 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
Crockpot Quinoa Chicken Primavera – easy, healthy, and totally delicious! made with peas, asparagus, quinoa, chicken, pesto, and Parmesan cheese.
Ingredients
In the crockpot:
- 1 1/2 cups quinoa, uncooked
- 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 4 cups + 3 cups chicken broth (SEE NOTES)
- 4–6 cloves garlic, minced
- salt and pepper, other dried herbs you like (I tossed in 1/2 teaspoon each dried parsley, thyme, and basil)
Before serving:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 bunch asparagus, cut into bite sized pieces
- 6 ounces pesto (SEE NOTES)
- 2 1/2 cups frozen peas
- squeeze of lemon juice
- watercress, fresh parsley, chives, or any other herbs for topping
- Parmesan or Asiago cheese for topping
Instructions
- Rinse the quinoa. Cut the chicken if you want – you can either cut it into small pieces (it will cook faster) or leave it whole and shred it after cooking.
- Place the quinoa, chicken, 4 cups broth, garlic, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper and seasonings in the crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours.
- When the quinoa and chicken are done, the mixture should be very thick and sticky. Add the remaining 3 cups broth or water and stir to combine (see notes) – now the mixture should resemble a creamy risotto or casserole. Stir in the pesto, peas, and lemon juice and cover to heat through. While the peas are heating in the crockpot, heat the oil in a skillet – add the asparagus and sauté for 5-10 minutes, until the asparagus is lightly browned and tender-crisp. Add the asparagus back to the crockpot and stir to combine.
- Top each serving with fresh herbs, shredded cheese, watercress, olive oil, or anything else you want.
Notes
ALSO DELICIOUS WITH BACON. Just saying.
Also – don’t add all the additional liquid in step three unless you think it needs it. For whatever reason, both times i made this it was SUPER sticky and it did need all three cups. But some readers who have tried the recipe said that they have not needed that much liquid. So just play it by ear – add a little liquid, stir it up, and then stop adding liquid when it seems about right in terms of consistency.
For the pesto, I used DeLallo pesto – one jar = 6.3 ounces. Every pesto is different, so I’d suggest adding a few heaping spoonfuls to start, then taste and add more if needed.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 4 hours
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: chicken primavera, crockpot chicken primavera, quinoa chicken primavera
Can this recipe be frozen?
For the quinoa chicken primavera recipe, do you put the garlic cloves in whole?
Has anyone done this vegetarian style? Just cut back on liquid and cook time maybe?
An absolute favorite of ours!
We make it a couple times a month. Satisfying, and filling yet light. I love having a warm, summery meal that won’t heat the house. Pinch of Yum is the BEST, and this recipe is one of the greatest we’ve tried so far!
This was absolutely terrible! Why would you wait until way after the recipe was finished to say I might not need 3 cups of broth at the end??? It ended up complete slop. My husband is making Matrix goo jokes at dinner.
We’re so sorry the recipe didn’t work out, Emily. We appreciate the feedback!
This was so delicious I couldn’t stop eating it..!! To be honest, I did not go the crockpot route. It seemed unnecessary but sounded so yummy that I winged it..made the quinoa, sautéed the asparagus with peas, lemon, tons of garlic, and added shiitake mushrooms and subbed shrimp for chicken, sprinkled with parm and green onion and voilà…!! 👌👏 I will definitely be making this again!!!!
Oh my goodness, this was scrumptious! Used green beans instead of asparagus because the asparagus at the store looked terrible. Otherwise followed your recipe. The watercress was such a fresh addition and offset the creaminess of the quinoa. Wondering if this will freeze well because I doubled the recipe, and I have a ton of leftovers!
Hi! My Boyfriend and are meal prepping today and came across your recipe (Crockpot Quinoa Chicken Primavera), super excited to make it but have a question, the pictures you have posted appear to have spinach it, but you don’t mention it in your recipe, is that something you recommend? Also my boyfriend said it could be fresh basil? And about how much lemon juice do you suggest?
Thanks for your help!
Kris & Chrissy
Hi Kris and Chrissy! Yes, spinach is great in this recipe to add some additional greens and nutrients to the dish. We’d recommend adding a squeeze of lemon juice at the end as a finishing touch to enhance the flavor of the dish. Enjoy!
How would I convert this to an instant pot?
We haven’t tried cooking this recipe in the Instant Pot, but we’d guess it’d work to cook it for 8-10 mins on manual high pressure with a manual release. If you give it a try, let us know how it goes!
Hm. I’m not sure what happened. After 3.5 hours it’s like soup. Not thick or sticky at all. I measured the ingredients right and I’m sure they’re right, but something’s off.
Hello!
Love this recipe! I have made it several times and it always comes out amazing! I am currently on weight watchers, so I was wondering how much is 1 serving? A cup? 1.5 cups? Thanks!!!
So good. Lick your plate clean and have seconds good. Would love to make this for a vego friend, would you recommend mushrooms or young jackfruit instead of chicken? Or just leave the chicken out?
Mushrooms would be lovely!
Hi, Can you make this in a Dutch Oven instead of a Crock Pot?
We haven’t tested that out to know how it’d work, but we’d love to hear if you give it a try!
There is spinach in the picture but not in the recipe. When does it go in?
There’s actually no spinach in this recipe – those are just fresh herbs pictured. 😉
This was an easy and delicious recipe. I have never cooked quinoa before but have become a real fan! There is enough to feed a large family or group of friends. I will definitely make this again!
Glad you enjoyed this, Valerie!
I love cheese and I love pesto, that being said, I love this dish without both! And it’s healthier, I’ll take it. This is an amazing dinner. This is my second time making it.
Glad you enjoyed this, Kayla!
I cannot STAND peas or asparagus. I’m thinking of trying this with broccoli and/or green beans…
Sounds yummy! Enjoy!
This was DELICIOUS!! I did 2 cups of quinoa and 3 1/2 cups of broth to start as I wasn’t sure how much water would come out of the chicken. I added a bit more at the end but I like mine thicker so it was just about right. I also added a tsp each of thyme, parsley, basil and oregano. I did add the pesto at the end but I think this would be equally delicious with just the initial seasonings. I threw in some zucchini as well since I had some waiting to be used. Hubby loved it! This will definitely be going into the rotation!
Glad to hear you enjoyed this, Karin! 🙂
Hi! This meal was delicious! Can you freeze after cooking?
We think it would freeze just fine! The only modification we’d make is to wait to add the asparagus until it’s served to keep it fresh. 🙂
This looks delicious! Do you have to adjust the cooking time if you are putting the chicken breasts in without cutting them into smaller pieces? Also, what is the best way to reheat this if you make it ahead? Thank you!
Hi, Tracey! The cooking time for whole chicken breasts might just be on the longer side of what’s listed. To reheat, we’d suggest just rewarming in the microwave.
How much is a serving? One cup??
It’s hard for us to say exactly what the serving size is here. We’d guess it to be about 1 cup though. If you portion it out into 8 servings though, you can have a better idea of exactly what a serving size would be here. Enjoy!
What can I substitute instead of quinoa? My husband isn’t a fan..
Hi there, Dasha! We haven’t tried substituting out the quinoa yet, but rice might work here. We’d suggest brown rice to prevent overcooking white rice. Let us know how this goes for you!
So I made this dish today. I have no idea what I did incorrectly but it all went downhill once I added in the 1 cup of chicken broth once the meal had initially cooked (chicken and the orig 4 cups of broth & quoina). It was extremely sticky then added a cup of broth stirred it and then…that’s when the meal turned into what looked like chicken porridge /tuna casserole. Takes good but looks not very appealing.
No idea what I did incorrectly. 😔 any suggestions for next time I attempt this? Lol 😂
Hi, Lauren! We’re sorry to hear this didn’t turn out for you. It’s hard to say why without seeing your meal. If the mixture was extra sticky, it might’ve needed all 3 cups of liquid. Sometimes it’s different each time with how much liquid to add – the consistency should resemble a creamy risotto or a casserole, so your consistency might’ve been right if was like a tuna casserole to you. Thanks for sharing this feedback with us though – we really appreciate it!
I see alot of these comments are years old but I just made this today and wow one of the best slow cooker meals I have ever made! Been on the quinoa kick for a couple of months to help dieting and this is the best I have had it. The only thing I changed was adding a bit more chicken and adding sauteed onion. Great recipe!
Glad you enjoyed this, Corey! 🙂
Delicious! Seriously, all 4 of my kids had seconds. That literally NEVER HAPPENS. Thank you for a new dinner recipe that I can count on!
Yay! So happy to hear this, Allison! 🙂