The first time I made these I was so pleasantly surprised! They are SO. DANG. GOOD! And I you don’t have to chop the sweet potatoes which is a big win in my book. They look fancy, are healthful, but require minimal work. A repeat for sure.
Start by putting the diced onion and peppers in the bottom of the crock pot.
Mix BBQ sauce with apple cider vinegar.
Pour this mixture over chicken breasts with S&P and leave it in the crock pot on LOW for 4-6 hours.
Cook 1 cup of quinoa according to directions (this will yield 2-3 cups cooked quinoa which is more than you need for this recipe, but just save it for another meal). You could also cook the quinoa directly in the crockpot with the chicken to simplify the process and dirty one fewer dish. To do this, add 1/3 cup dry quinoa + added 1/2 cup water.
Wash and dry 4 sweet potatoes** (chicken will work for 4-6 sweet potatoes), stab them a few times each with a fork, roast in a 400 degree oven on a foil lined baking sheet for 50 minutes to an hour
Mix 1 c of cooked quinoa into the BBQ chicken to bulk it up. This is optional by the way! You can totally leave the quinoa out
Once the sweet potatoes are cooked, bring them out and cut them open longways. Scoop approx. 1 cup the BBQ quinoa mix into the sweet potato. Top with S,P, red pepper flakes, and some ranch dressing if you’ve got it!
I know it seems like a lot, but it really wasn’t too bad. Only the crock pot and quinoa pot to clean! And it felt super fancy. Goes great with a side salad.
2 chicken breasts
1/2 c BBQ sauce of choice (I prefer Trader Joe’s Carolina Gold but any will do)
1/3-1/4 c (depending how “vinegary” you like it) apple cider vinegar
1/2 a white onion (can sub any onion if you like), diced
1 pepper (optional, and any color will do), diced
1 tsp salt
S&P and red pepper flakes for garnish
1 cup quinoa
4 sweet potatoes, washed and patted dry
1/2 c ranch dressing (for drizzling over the top)
fresh cilantro, for color and added flavor, as a garnish on top!
Mom to four wonderful little people. While they sleep, I cook.