Hot Honey Chicken Bowls
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Great for meal prep and easy dinners, these Hot Honey Chicken Bowls top a bed of quinoa with blackened chicken breasts, roasted sweet potatoes, sautéed vegetables, and a generous drizzle of sweet and spicy hot honey sauce.
Why you’ll love this recipe!
Sweet and spicy 🌶️ – I’m obsessed with hot honey and want to put it on everything. Its sweet heat pairs perfectly with the blackened chicken, roasted sweet potatoes, and veggies in these easy quinoa bowls.
Low-effort meal – Once those potatoes are in the oven, I finish up the rest of these bowls on the stove. Simple methods = an easy dinner for busy weeknights.
A meal prep favorite – The chicken, veggies, quinoa, and sauce can all be made a few days ahead of time, making this a fantastic make-ahead, high-protein meal.
Table of Contents
As much as I would love to eat my hot honey chicken wings for lunch every day, I usually like my lunches with a little more carbs, fiber, and protein. Luckily, these Hot Honey Chicken Bowls give me everything I’m looking for: finger-licking good hot honey chicken, sautéed vegetables, roasted sweet potatoes, and fluffy quinoa.
Great for meal prep, flavor-packed lunches, and quick dinners, these bowls are really something special. Those sweet and spicy flavors are something you’ll look forward to all day!
Chicken and Quinoa Bowl Ingredients
Sweet potatoes – Roasted sweet potatoes are the main veggie in these chicken bowls. If you don’t want to roast them in the oven, make my air fryer sweet potatoes instead.
Blackened chicken breasts – I seasoned two chicken breasts with smoked paprika, garlic powder, cumin, salt, and chipotle seasoning for a blackened, smoky flavor. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs also work, but they’ll take a little longer to cook.
Hot honey sauce – This sauce is easy to make from garlic, mayo, Dijon mustard, and hot honey.
Quinoa – A bed of quinoa boosts the protein, but you can also use white or brown rice.
Vegetables – To finish it off, I topped the bowls with a mix of sautéed carrots, kale, and onions. These veggies are super flexible, though! You can swap them for a handful of arugula, charred broccoli, or these crispy fried brussels sprouts.
This list is to provide further clarification on a few of the ingredients. See recipe card below for the full ingredient list.
Variations
- Vegetarian option – Make a batch of baked tofu, seasoned with the blackening seasonings, for a vegetarian version.
- Instead of chicken, try making these quinoa bowls with seared salmon bites or seasoned shrimp.
- Mild version – The hot honey chicken shouldn’t be overly spicy, but if you’d prefer a mild version, omit the chipotle seasoning from the blackening seasoning.
- More topping ideas – Top your bowls with avocado, crispy bacon, roasted broccoli, shredded brussels sprouts, roasted cauliflower, this easy homemade coleslaw, and anything else you like.
How to Make Hot Honey Chicken Bowls
Step 1: Roast the sweet potatoes. Season the sweet potatoes with olive oil and salt, then arrange them on a baking sheet. Roast the potatoes until they’re fork-tender and slightly charred around the edges.
Step 2: Cook the quinoa. Meanwhile, cook the quinoa according to the package instructions.
Step 3: Sear the chicken. Season the chicken breasts on both sides. Place them smooth side down in a skillet and sear on both sides until cooked through. Set them aside to rest.
Step 4: Make the sauce. Blend the sauce ingredients until smooth.
Step 5: Sauté the veggies. Next, sauté the kale and carrots in a skillet until soft. Lastly, add the onion to the pan and sauté until just browned.
Step 6: Assemble. Divide the quinoa between serving bowls and top it with the chicken, sweet potatoes, kale/carrot/onion mix, and avocado. Drizzle the sauce on top, then serve and enjoy!
Erin’s Tips and Tricks
- Frozen chicken breasts will work as long as you thaw them overnight in the fridge first.
- Before searing, pound the chicken breasts until they’re ½ inch thick. Or, if they’re especially large, slice them in half to create two thinner breasts. They’ll cook a lot faster this way.
- Let the chicken breasts rest for 10 minutes once they’re done cooking. This gives those meaty juices time to soak back into the meat, leaving you with juicy, tender chicken.
My Pro Tip
Time-Saving Tips
I know this chicken and quinoa bowl is a bit more hands-on than others, but I have a few tricks up my sleeve that can save you a little time:
- Swap the seared chicken breasts for pre-cooked shredded chicken warmed up and tossed in the blackening seasonings.
- Buy bags of pre-chopped kale, shredded carrots, or a coleslaw mix.
- Cook the quinoa 1 or 2 days in advance, or make my Instant Pot quinoa for a hands-off version.
- Blend the sauce and keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for 1 to 2 days.
Storage
Make-ahead: If you’re planning on making hot honey chicken bowls for meal prep, pack the cooked chicken, quinoa, and veggies into airtight containers and store the hot honey sauce separately. Store everything in the fridge before it’s time to reheat and serve.
Refrigerator: The leftovers will keep for 3 to 4 days in the fridge.
Reheating: Warm the leftover chicken, quinoa, and veggies in the microwave until warmed through. Top the bowls with the sauce and fresh avocado right before serving.
More Easy Meal Prep Recipes
If you made this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. Thanks!
Hot Honey Chicken Bowls
Ingredients
For the sweet potatoes:
- 1 large sweet potato, chopped into 1” pieces
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Pinch salt
For the blackened chicken:
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp chipotle seasoning
- 1 lb chicken breast, 2 breasts, pounded to ½” thickness
For the sauce:
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ¼ cup mayo
- ¼ cup dijon mustard
- ½ cup hot honey
For the rest:
- 3 cups quinoa, cooked – each bowl gets ¾ cup
- 5 kale leaves, stems removed and chopped into ribbons
- ½ cup shredded carrots
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 avocado, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Add the sweet potato to a bowl and drizzle it with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, then pour the sweet potato onto the prepared baking sheet. Roast for 12 minutes, then flip and roast for an additional 10-12 minutes.
- While the sweet potato is roasting, cook the quinoa: add 1 cup of dry quinoa plus 2.5 cups of water to a saucepan, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover with a lid and continue simmering until the water is absorbed and quinoa is cooked.
- Next, cook the chicken: In a small bowl, stir the smoked paprika, garlic powder, cumin, chipotle seasoning, and salt together.
- Put the chicken on a cutting board and place a piece of plastic wrap or wax paper over top, then pound it so that it’s ½ inch thick (NOTE: if your chicken breasts are especially large, you can also slice them in half to create 2 thinner breasts if that’s easier). Sprinkle the seasoning mix over top and use your hands to rub it in.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet, then place the chicken smooth side down and cook it for 4 minutes. Flip it over, place a lid on the skillet and continue cooking for 6-8 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and let it sit for 10 minutes before slicing.
- At this point, the chicken, quinoa and sweet potatoes should be done, so set them all aside.
- Next, make the sauce: add all sauce ingredients to a small blender and blend until smooth.
- Add kale and carrots to a skillet and sauté until soft, about 3 minutes.
- Last, add the olive oil and onion to a skillet and saute until browned but not burnt; the onion will crisp up as it cools.
- The final step is to assemble the bowls: divide the quinoa into 4 bowls, then top it with the chicken, sweet potatoes, kale/carrot mix, and onion, then drizzle with some of the dressing. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
