This Chicken Risoni Salad is light, refreshing, tangy and filling. High in Fibre and protein and low in calories. It has crunch from the toasted walnuts, softness from the silky pasta, creaminess from the feta and avocado and zestiness from the Dijon dressing.
If you’ve never used Risoni before, it is a fine size pasta inspired by the shape of rice grains and is made from Durum Wheat Semolina.
You can have this salad on the table in under 20 minutes. With your favourite glass of wine. Or beer if that’s your thing.
If it’s a couples dinner night in, this is perfectly portioned for two. Actually you could also double it up so you could both have healthy work lunch leftovers the next day.
I always think its so nice to know that you have a good healthy lunch taken care of as you work through the morning. Not having to deal with sandwiches that have gone hard from being in the office fridge, or wondering what you can buy for lunch and then being disappointed when it didn’t meet your expectations….and then you realise you’ve just wasted your money on something that was less than ordinary. Bummer.
Looking for other quick salad ideas? Try this better than KFC Popcorn Chicken Salad or my seriously good Crunchy Thai Beef Salad. Or maybe whip up a garden salad to have with this Salami and Pineapple Pocket Bread Pizza.
This Chicken Risoni Salad won’t disappoint.
Easy to make. Easy to transport. And it tastes just as good as it did the night before…if you’re having it for lunch the next day.
You could even try mixing it up.
Instead of chicken, try beef strips instead.
Instead of chickpeas, try lentils.
Instead of toasted walnuts, try toasting pine nuts, hazelnuts or almonds.
I make many different versions of this salad. It’s just too easy not to.
Sometimes I have it cold, the next day, sometimes I have it warmed up in the microwave.
It’s good either way.
It’s one of those quick and easy weeknight dinners where you can come home after a big day and know that even if you don’t have the exact ingredients on hand, with a few substitutions, you can still pull together a super delicious tasty, wholesome and fulfilling meal.
The other thing with this dish is because it is so high in fibre and protein, it is going to leave you feeling full for a while after dinner.
So less chance of those annoying cravings coming out to play. Win Win.
And even if by chance they do, one of my little tricks is to take my time and brew up a pot of herbal tea in my favourite glass diffuser teapot. At the moment I’m really into Oolong and the Oolong Chocolate Chai is my current fave. It has just a slight hint of chocolate that is warming and soothing and makes me forget all about sweet cravings! Really.
This Chicken Risoni Salad is light, refreshing, tangy and filling. High in Fibre and protein and low in calories. It has crunch from the toasted walnuts, softness from the silky pasta, creaminess from the feta and avocado and zestiness from the Dijon dressing.
- 150 grams/6 oz. Chicken breast, thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon Garlic, crushed
- 1 teaspoon Light soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon Onion salt
- ½ cup Risoni Pasta, or other pasta
- ½ cup Chickpeas
- 8 medium Green Beans, sliced thinly
- 4 medium Button mushrooms, diced
- 1 medium Carrot, diced
- 8 small Cherry tomatoes, quartered
- ¼ cup Shallot/spring onion finely sliced
- 2 tablespoons Danish fetta crumbled
- ½ medium Avocado diced
- ¼ cup Walnuts lightly toasted
- ½ teaspoon onion salt
- ¼ cup Dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
- Prepare the chicken. Place the thinly sliced chicken in a bowl along with the garlic, soy and onion salt. Let marinate f0r 10 minutes at room temperature.
- Fill a pot with water and bring the pasta to the boil (usually around 8 to 10 minutes). Once cooked, remove from heat and drain water. Put to one side.
- Cook the chicken. Heat up a non stick wok on high and add the marinated chicken. Cook until lightly browned, and remove from heat.
- Prepare the salad. In a big salad bowl add the cooked pasta, drained and rinsed chickpeas, beans, mushrooms, carrot, cherry tomatoes and spring onion. Stir to combine together
- Add chicken, walnuts, onion salt and stir again. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.
- Make the dressing. Use a jar with lid, or jug and whisk – add all the dressing ingredients and shake/whisk until combined. Drizzle over the salad and use a couple of forks to toss together.
- Plate Up. Plate up the salad in a nice bowl and add the chopped avocado on top, along with the crumbled feta
I. I used Barilla Risoni pasta for this recipe, but you could also use pasta shells, or spirals, or even brown rice.
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