Who’s ready for a new current salad obsession? Oh good, us too. In fact, we’re already here. Welcome!

Thinly sliced and ever so slightly sweet and tender-crisp fresh napa cabbage, juicy rotisserie chicken, a super easy homemade sesame dressing, and CRUNCHED UP TO THE MAX with handfuls of cashews, fried wonton strips, dried ramen noodles, crispy fried onions, or sesame sticks…really any delicious cruncher you can find. Or…dare we say…*every* delicious cruncher you can find? We won’t judge.

Live your best super crunchy, super fresh, napa chicken salad life. Super simple and so delicious.

In This Post: Everything You Need For Napa Chicken Salad

• Ingredients for This Napa Chicken Salad
• What is Napa Cabbage and Where to Find It
• How to Clean Napa Cabbage
• How to Cut Napa Cabbage
• How to Make This Napa Chicken Salad
• How to Make Fried Wonton Strips
• More Add-ins and Variations
• How to Store This Salad
• Napa Chicken Salad: Frequently Asked Questions

Ingredients For This Napa Chicken Salad

The ingredient list overall for this beauty is pretty darn simple, but each thing packs its own flavor and textural punch. The dressing is sweet but with a nice little tang and depth. The salad build is just a chomp-fest and we can’t get enough. Here’s what you’ll need!

All the salad fillers and crunchers:

• shredded napa cabbage
• green onions
• shredded rotisserie chicken
• cashews
• fried wonton strips (super easy and our fave, but there other options too!)
• sesame seeds

Homemade sesame dressing:

• neutral oil like vegetable (avocado oil is also great if you like that flavor!)
• a sweetener (granulated sugar, maple syrup, or coconut sugar)
• rice wine vinegar
• soy sauce
• sesame oil
• salt

You can play around with the dressing flavors to whatever you love best. Switch up the sweetener or scale/omit the sesame oil and rice vinegar, though they’re such a nice varied flavor boost that both are a must around here!

What Is Napa Cabbage and Where To Find It

If you’re not familiar with napa cabbage, it is oblong-shaped and thinner than regular green cabbage and has a more varied texture with tender leafiness as well as crisp parts. It is also slightly sweeter and milder. Napa cabbage is native to China (sometimes also sold as Chinese cabbage) and is a staple ingredient in East Asian cuisine. Super versatile and great for stir-frying, stewing, braising, grilling, and fermenting (yay kimchi!), but also is delicious straight-up raw and thinly sliced like in this salad!

It’s available at most grocery stores, so you shouldn’t have any trouble finding it, but if you get in a pinch, savoy cabbage or white cabbage would be a good substitute.

How To Clean Napa Cabbage

Because Napa cabbage is not as tightly balled-up as regular ol’ green cabbage, you really gotta get between those leaves to shake the dirt out. The preferred method over here is to pull the leaves from the stem, clean them well, and then stack ’em up and patiently slice super thin.

How To Cut Napa Cabbage

If you don’t want to stack the leaves up to slice them super thinly by hand, you could also go the mandoline route. Just slice the head on the cabbage first and then let the shreds soak in water for a bit so the dirt drops (kind of like how you clean leeks) but that one felt a little more awkward since napa cabbage isn’t as firm as regular cabbage.

We also like to mostly use the middle of the head, so you get some of the firmer crunchier white parts and some of the leafier more tender green parts, so we lopped off the bottom core and the floppier tops and went from there!

Let’s Get Cooking

Now that it’s cleaned and cut, get ready for a very pleasing texture party! There’s a little extra step to cut and fry up those wonton strips but you’ll be so thankful you did. And beyond that, thanks to rotisserie chicken and really only a couple items on the chop list, it comes together pretty quickly!

1. Chop. Use your preferred method to shred the cabbage and chop the green onions and then that little mixture will keep in an airtight container for several days, yay! Shred your rotisserie bird.
2. Shake. Toss all dressing ingredients in a jar, turn on your fave song, and shake-dance accordingly.
3. Serve. Toss the cabbage mixture with the chicken, cashews, wontons, and a generous dressing splash. Sprinkle some extra green onion and sesame seeds on top for fun and flavor!

How To Make Fried Wonton Strips

A word about those homemade wonton strips: just cut wonton wrappers into strips and fry them in a little bit of oil over low heat; drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt. That’s it! So quick and so worth it!

Fair warning that it is entirely possible you may get ready to toss and serve your salad only to find that you’ve eaten every last one of those crispy, salty, deliciously snackable little fried wonton strips, and whooooops. Luckily, they are very easy to make so you can hop right back on it.

Other Fun Crunchies and Add-Ins For Your Salad

Other add-in options for crunch and yum are crumbled-up dry ramen noodles (yes, those! from the package!), sesame sticks, crispy chow mein noodles, or even those crispy fried onions we know and love.

Want even more green in there? Edamame or avocado would not disappoint. You could also switch up the protein with a little shrimp maybe? Yum. Have at it.

How To Store This Salad

And, as if you needed even more to love about this salad, everything will keep really well for several days in separate containers so it is such a great meal prep option for you to toss up and chomp any day of the week. DREAMBOAT.

Napa Chicken Salad: Frequently Asked Questions

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Napa Chicken Salad with Sesame Dressing

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  Author: Lindsay
• 
  Total Time: 20 minutes
• 
  Yield: 8 generous servings

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This Napa Chicken Salad is crunched up to the MAX! Fresh napa cabbage, juicy rotisserie chicken, a super easy homemade sesame dressing, and crunchy handfuls of cashews, fried wonton strips, dried ramen noodles, crispy fried onions, or sesame sticks…the choice is yours! 

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Ingredients

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Napa Chicken Salad:

• 1 head of napa cabbage, cleaned, trimmed, and shredded (about 10 cups)
• 1 bunch of green onions, finely chopped
• shredded rotisserie chicken (as much as you want)
• 1 cup of cashews
• 1 cup of something crunchy – fried wonton strips, crispy fried onions, or crushed-up dry ramen noodles
• sesame seeds (optional)

Sesame Dressing:

• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or avocado oil (see FAQs)
• 1/2 cup maple syrup or granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil (to taste)
• salt to taste

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Instructions

1. Toss the shredded cabbage with the green onions (and you can keep this mixture in an airtight bowl in the fridge for several days)!
2. Shake all the dressing ingredients in a jar. 
3. When you’re ready to serve, toss the cabbage mixture with the chicken, cashews, wontons, and enough dressing to generously coat. Serve with extra green onions and sesame seeds on top!

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 0 minutes
• Category: Salad
• Method: Chop
• Cuisine: Asian-Inspired

Keywords: napa chicken salad, napa salad, napa cabbage salad

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More Cabbage Recipes We Love

• Chopped Thai-Inspired Chicken Salad (another delicious salad with BIG flavors)
• Detox Rainbow Roll-Ups with Peanut Sauce (a rainbow-filled lunch!)
• Buffalo Cauliflower Tacos with Avocado Crema (and a crunchy cabbage-filled slaw)

The post Napa Chicken Salad with Sesame Dressing appeared first on Pinch of Yum.

This recipe is sponsored by DeLallo

Listen, we are firm believers that winter doesn’t get to hog all the comfort food, let spring get in on this game! Especially when that food-hug comes in the form of fresh green asparagus bathed in garlic with big bright pops of sweet and springy green peas splashing around in coils of pasta all gently coated in a lush and light lemony garlic cream sauce.

Are there deliciously crunchy and outstandingly savory little golden crispies involved? Absolutely. Is this already wonderful springy win made even better with a fun pasta shape? Yes ma’am, bring on the bucatini!

Ingredients For This Vegetable Bucatini

If you’ve never had bucatini, it’s sort of like macaroni meets spaghetti. All the fun of a macaroni tube but with the long twirls and twists of spaghetti. It’s also got a little more heft to really hang onto your sauce, but it still feels kinda light and twirls with the best of them.

And of course, when we are in the mood for a fun pasta shape, we usually turn to our faves from DeLallo! All of their products are just so high quality and truly elevate all your fave carby dishes. Their pastas are handcrafted in Italy and they are all bronze-cut making the texture just a very A+ partner to your favorite sauces. (But, like, also DeLallo has amazing jarred sauces!) And though you could play around with the pastas in this dish, their bronze-cut bucatini is SUCH A WIN.

So other than your favorite noodle pick, here’s what you’ll need to bring this springtime pasta together:

• asparagus
• fresh garlic, grated
• frozen peas
• chicken or vegetable broth
• butter
• heavy cream
• lemon
• some golden crispies (the best toasty breadcrumbs there ever were!)

Are you going to sprinkle some grated parm or maybe some fresh herbs on top just to be a little bit extra? We certainly hope so. Shower it with green, friends. Spring is here.

Springtime Pasta, Here We Come

No need to spend too much time in the kitchen with this one, we want you to be able to get outside for those brief but increasingly warm temps and get some sunshine on your face, so let’s keep things pretty simple here.

1. Cook the pasta. Like you do. Oh my, oh my, we hope it’s some bucatini because funnn!
2. Build your sauce. Melt the butter and toss your asparagus in for a bit, until soft and bright green. Get that garlic in there until fragrant and then in goes the broth and heavy cream.
3. Simmer and season. Once the sauce thickens a bit, add in the peas for the last few minutes of cooking. Then spring it up with lemon juice + zest, salt, and pepp.
4. Toss and top! Let everything really thicken up and cling on to that beautiful pasta. Then get your golden crispies raining all over that gem!

The creamy, the crunch, the bright green, the pasta…oof, a lot of wonderful happening here.

There’s Just So Much To Love About This Veg Pasta

Though it is an absolutely lovely little vegetarian queen as is, if you wanna switch things up, you would not be mad about throwing some rotisserie chicken on there or maybe a little sautéed shrimp? Yes, yes yaaaaahm! We’ve tried it and loved it and you will too!

You can also totally play around with your vegetable choices in there. We really loved the sweet green springy combo of the peas and asparagus, but you could for sure empty your fresh produce haul into this for a real pasta primavera sensation.

The sauce is also that perfect balance between rich and light so it really does feel like comfort food with a fresh shine. And if you know us, you know we would cover just about everything in to-die-for golden crispies if we could. If you don’t already have a container of them made and waiting (or if you did but you already ate them like cereal….been known to happen), then you can find out how here or see the recipe notes for a quick cheat version. Yays all around!

If you’re craving spring pasta, and honestly, who isn’t? Please kindly make your way to the kitchen and hop on this one.

Garlic Cream Bucatini with Peas and Asparagus: Frequently Asked Questions

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Garlic Cream Bucatini with Peas and Asparagus

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  Author: Lindsay
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  Total Time: 45 minutes
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  Yield: 6 generous servings

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This truly is a wonderful springy gem! Bucatini noodles in a garlic-infused creamy sauce and twirled around buttery bits of asparagus and peas. SO GOOD! 

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Ingredients

Units
USM

• 1/2 pound of DeLallo Bucatini Pasta
• 2 tablespoons butter
• half a bunch of asparagus, ends trimmed and sliced diagonally (about 1 1/2 cups once cut)
• 4 cloves garlic, grated
• 3/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 cup heavy cream
• half of a bag of frozen peas (about a heaping cup)
• zest of one lemon
• lemon juice to taste
• salt and pepper to taste
• some golden crispies aka breadcrumbs for topping (see notes for a shortcut)

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Instructions

1. Cook pasta to al dente according to package directions.
2. Melt butter over medium heat. Add asparagus and cook for 5 minutes, until soft and bright green. (You’ll simmer the asparagus a bit longer in the sauce, so it’s okay if it’s still a little firm.)
3. Add garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant. 
4. Add broth and heavy cream; bring to a low simmer. Once it thickens into more of a sauce, add in the frozen peas for the final few minutes of cooking. Season with the lemon juice, lemon zest, salt, and pepper. 
5. Toss the sauce with the pasta; keep it all over low heat for a few minutes so the pasta and the sauce really come together. Let stand for a few minutes if necessary for everything to thicken and the sauce to really cling on to the pasta. Top with lots and lots of breadcrumbs, and some rotisserie chicken or sautéed shrimp if you want! So yum!

Notes

Shortcut version of the golden crispies / breadcrumbs: Toast the panko in a skillet with a few tablespoons of olive oil until golden brown. Season with dried Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Toss the toasted seasoned panko with crushed store-bought crunchy onions and try not to eat the whole bowl.

Nutrition information does not include golden crispies or any additional protein options suggested, like chicken or shrimp. 

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Category: Pasta
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: Italian-Inspired

Keywords: spring pasta, vegetable pasta, bucatini recipe

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Thank you to DeLallo for sponsoring this recipe!

More Pastas Swimming In Luscious Cream Sauces

• Creamy Shrimp Pasta with Corn and Tomatoes (fresh and perfect for warmer weather)
• 5 Ingredient Vegan Vodka Pasta (a creamy creamless pasta dream!)
• Creamy Garlic Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta (with a heavy dusting of Parm cheese)

The post Garlic Cream Bucatini with Peas and Asparagus appeared first on Pinch of Yum.

Please make way in your tums and hearts for this terribly addicting, incredibly delicious chicken tikka bowl. Crispy chicken tenders brushed with your favorite tikka masala sauce and roasted to a perfect crisp, fresh cucumber crunch alongside a creamy slaw and some quick pickled onions, all piled on a bed of light, nutty quinoa with a fresh-made drinkable mint sauce that might make you CRY REAL HUMAN TEARS.

It’s here. It’s a go-to lunch/dinner/bedtime snack. It couldn’t be easier and we simply cannot stop eating it. It’s also absolutely flexible and super easy to throw together, so it is very ready to be your new best friend.

This isn’t chicken tikka in the traditional Indian cuisine sense where pieces of marinated chicken are grilled or baked on skewers in a tandoor oven. And it isn’t even full chicken tikka masala, which is a curried version where that chicken tikka then gets simmered in a creamy spiced tomato sauce and served over rice. Instead, we’re borrowing that delicious deeply spiced flavor using our favorite jarred version of masala sauce and giving some easy crispy chicken tenders a little brush and bake. It’s definitely a bit outside the norm, but we are absolutely here for it.

Ingredients You’ll Need To Make These Bowls Happen

The ingredient list is plentiful here, but it’s all bits to add to the flavor parade! And though we’re definitely mixing up that drool-worthy mint sauce from scratch, we’re relying on a lot of pre-made and store-bought for the rest and whoo-boy, you can too!

For the bowl-build:

• crispy breaded chicken (store-bought)
• tikka masala sauce (also store-bought)
• cooked quinoa
• sliced or diced cucumbers
• pickled red onion
• slaw (hi, you guessed it…store-bought mix!)

For the mint sauce:

• fresh mint & cilantro
• mayo or plain Greek yogurt
• salt
• juice of a lime
• garlic
• jalapeño

There are definitely some homemade options for you on the crispy chicken front, the tikka masala sauce, or the slaw, but if you’re want to get at your lunch/dinner all fast and furious? Well then, grab those chicken tendies from the freezer, crack that sauce jar, rip open that bag of slaw mix, and let’s get to it, ya?

You could even buy a packet of pre-made quinoa and we wouldn’t be mad!

Let’s Make Chicken Tikka Bowls

We’re gonna keep this version, our favorite version, reeeeeaaaaaal easy. Some slicing and dicing to maximize your bowl chompiness, a quick sauce zip in the blender, but other than that, this is all pretty much a breeze.

1. Crispy Chicken. Cook according to package directions and then brush with the tikka masala sauce and return to oven for an additional 5 minutes.
2. Mint Sauce. Throw all the sauce ingredients in the blender/food processor and zip until smooth-ish.
3. Bowl Assembly. Layer your quinoa, crispy chicken, slaw, cucumbers, pickled red onions, and then don’t be shy with that mint sauce over the top!

It’s all going to be so beautiful and colorful when you get it together that for just a teeny tiny second you might want to just admire it for a bit but please, we urge you, do not waste any time staring. GET. AT. IT.

Just Can’t Stop Swooning Over These

Like we said, these bowls are super flexible, so if you don’t want to get on the crispy chicken tender train, that’s totally fine! But we can’t be friends. (Just kidding! Maybe.) Regular skillet-seared chicken breasts totally work, too! We’ve also made it with tofu and sweet potato which were also delicious, so you can swap what you love best. Those crispy little frozen chicken fingies tho…cannot recommend enough.

It’s also so wonderful how easy they can be. Lots of pre-made and store-bought options if you’re short on time and patience (us, always), and everything still feels so fresh and flavorful. But there are also ways to really take your time with it and make it your own. Bread and crisp your own chicken? Get at it. Wanna make your own tikka masala sauce? We’ve got a great one here. If you don’t already have some pickled red onions in your fridge, don’t worry. You can super quick toss them in a jar and get them pickling in no time. Then they’re just ready for the other hundred times you’ll inevitably make these bowls this week.

It’s just all our favorite food adjectives in one! It’s crispy, salty, spicy, briny, cool, and creamy. How could you go wrong?! You truly can’t.

Chicken Tikka Bowls: Frequently Asked Questions

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Crispy Chicken Tikka Bowls with Mint Sauce

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  Author: Lindsay
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  Total Time: 30 minutes
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  Yield: 4 bowls

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Bringing you these addicting Chicken Tikka Bowls! Crispy bits of chicken tenders, crispy cucumbers, and briny pickled onions, all on a bed of fluffy quinoa with a swoop of cool mint sauce on top. You absolutely cannot go wrong with these bowls. 

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Ingredients

Units
USM

Crispy Chicken Tikka Bowls

• a few pieces of crispy breaded chicken (homemade option, or store-bought)
• 1/2 cup tikka masala sauce (homemade option, or store-bought)
• cooked quinoa
• sliced or diced cucumbers
• pickled red onion
• slaw (toss a few cups of shredded cabbage and carrots tossed with mayo, vinegar, and salt, or use a store-bought slaw mix)

Mint Sauce

• 1/4 cup mint leaves
• 1/4 cup cilantro leaves
• 1/2 cup mayo or plain Greek yogurt
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• juice of a lime
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 hunk of jalapeño
• water to thin the sauce as needed

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Instructions

1. Cook the chicken according to package directions. Brush with sauce and return to oven for an additional 5 minutes.
2. While the chicken is cooking, prep all your other elements.
3. For the mint sauce, blend or pulse the ingredients through a food processor to make a smooth-ish sauce.
4. Serve bowls with quinoa, slaw, cucumbers, pickled red onions, and sauce over the top. It’s crispy, salty, spicy, briney, cool, and creamy. DROOL.

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Category: Bowl
• Method: Bake
• Cuisine: Indian-Inspired

Keywords: chicken tikka bowls, chicken tikka, easy chicken tikka recipe

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Looking For More Foods with Big Flavors?

• Chicken Tikka Masala (so delicious and made with a homemade masala sauce)
• Thai Yellow Chicken with Potatoes (over 160 glowing reviews, so you know it’s a good one!)
• Chopped Thai-Inspired Chicken Salad (healthy, fresh, and full of crunchiness)

The post Crispy Chicken Tikka Bowls with Mint Sauce appeared first on Pinch of Yum.

Hello, hi. Do you spend your mornings staring at your cup of coffee or tea or water (if you are better than all of us) and wonder, “What if there was a perfect little slice of tender, sweet-but-not-too-sweet pistachio loaf just laying there in the palm of my hand?” Well, yes, obviously us too.

Pistachios are already just so special and to sweeten them up and get them ready for your breakfast or brunch or afternoon snack feels like such a treat. Beautifully golden nuttiness and just the right amount of chew. This loaf also somehow feels springy and light, but that could just be our winter-weary hope talking.

Maybe you didn’t know that you needed pistachio loaf…or cake…or something in between in your life until this very moment, but we’re here to tell you that you do! And that once you have it, it will take up residence in a tiny little nook of your heart and you will not charge it rent because you will just be so happy it’s there.

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Ingredients You’ll Need For This Pistachio Loaf

Working from a truly wonderful gluten-free recipe of Amanda’s at Heartbeet Kitchen, this version swaps a few things like coconut flour instead of teff, and cornstarch instead of tapioca. Amanda paints hers with a light swath of pillowy cream cheese frosting and though we didn’t do that here due to using more sugar in the cake itself, we absolutely would not stop you should you make that excellent choice as well.

Is it a sweet bread? Dessert bar? Snack cake? Jury’s still out. But what it IS, is a deliciously dense, sweet, nutty, gluten-free little treat for your morning and here’s what you need to make it happen:

• roasted salted pistachios
• sugar
• sea salt
• butter
• eggs
• milk (oat milk, whole milk, whatever)
• vanilla
• baking powder
• coconut flour
• all-purpose flour
• cornstarch

Let’s Make a Pistachio Loaf

Really once you have your food processor on hand, it’s just a bunch of add-pulse-add-pulse steps and you’re done. Voila! Then you get to pop that beauty in the oven and enjoy the warm house-smells and shoulder bop in anticipation.

1. Pistachios. Pulse the pistachios and sugar in a food processor until it makes a fine powder.
2. Pulse. First add the butter in chunks to the food processor and get that incorporated. Then add the eggs, milk, and vanilla. Once those are in, pulse in the baking powder, coconut flour and cornstarch. 
3. Bake. Transfer to a loaf pan lined with parchment paper and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes until the top is firm and golden brown.

Then see if you can resist eating the whole nutty, surprising, exquisitely textured dream. If you manage to not eat it all at once, you can pop it in the fridge for extra clean slices. You know, if that’s what you’re into.

Why This Pistachio Loaf Is Extra Delicious

If we were to just fill this section with little crying emojis…would you understand what we mean? Would it make sense that your eyes *might* well with tiny hot tears when you bite into this bread/dessert/tiny rectangular pillow of hope?

It’s not overly sweet even though it IS sweet and definitely feels like a treat. We love that it’s denser than a typical sweet bread or cake, an almost blondie-like feel, especially in those middle slices. The subtle crisp on the outside is so deeply pleasing, you might actually fight for the end pieces and really, when does that ever happen?

It keeps so well in the fridge and stays delicious to the very last slice. When you close your eyes and bite into it, you’ll be able to taste the ever so slight hint of coconut from the flour and that feels somehow springy, too, with promises of warm sunshine ahead.

So yeah, in short: here for it. And we hope that you are too.

Pistachio Loaf: Frequently Asked Questions

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Pistachio Loaf

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4.9 from 42 reviews

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  Author: Lindsay
• 
  Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
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  Yield: 8-10 thick slices

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It’s nearly springtime and we’re making this beautiful Pistachio Loaf! Grab your baking essentials – like butter, eggs, and sugar – plus a few extras, like pistachios and coconut flour, and get baking! 

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Ingredients

Units
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Links below are affiliate links.

• 1 cup roasted salted shelled pistachios (I buy these ones)
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk (oat milk, whole milk, whatever)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 cup coconut flour (I use this)
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
2. Pulse the pistachios and sugar in a food processor until it makes a fine powder.
3. Add the butter; pulse until incorporated. 
4. Add the eggs, milk, and vanilla; pulse until incorporated.
5. Add the baking powder, coconut flour, all-purpose flour, salt, and cornstarch; pulse until incorporated. 
6. Transfer to a standard size loaf pan lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 1 hour, although sometimes it needs 1 hour and 10 minutes – you’ll know it’s done when the top / center no longer feels jiggly when you touch it.
7. Remove from the oven, gently remove from the pan, and allow to cool. The loaf will rise but it will be flat on top, looking a lot like a big brick – that’s exactly how it should be. Eat it warm (so good) or, for clean slices, pop it in the fridge! (I usually store mine in the fridge for 3-4 days, if it lasts that long.)

Notes

And if it’s been sitting in the fridge overnight, let it come back to room temp for about 30 minutes for best texture.

The texture will be dense, nutty, and moist, almost like a cross between a quick bread and a dessert bar.

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Bake
• Cuisine: American

Keywords: pistachio bread, pistachio cake, pistachio dessert

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More Springy Desserts

• Springy Blueberry Lemon Bread (loaded with juicy lemon and blueberries)
• Raw Vegan Carrot Cake Bites (easy to prep a bunch and toss in the freezer)
• Blender Lemon Pie (that’s right! a whole pie right in the blender)

The post Pistachio Loaf appeared first on Pinch of Yum.

It’s been a little bit since we’ve written a love letter to tacos, though they are truly always on our minds. We really will take them in almost any variation but when they’re coming at us in warm, lightly pan-fried yellow corn tortillas bursting with a tender chicken and pinto bean red chile saucy sensation, piles of a quick creamy corn salsa…ish (can we call it salsa when mayo is involved? probably not), and tangy-crisp homemade pickled red onions rounding it out?

Well my oh my, there’s a new crush in town.

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SOS-Level, Made Fancy

There are so many delicious flavors going on with these chicken tacos, but the real highlight is that you don’t have to do very much work to accomplish any of them. The taco filling especially is so easy and pretty darn quick because all you’re doing is cooking up some chicken thighs, tossing in a can of pinto beans, and then opening up a packet of Frontera red chile enchilada sauce (total fave and namesake!) and letting that do all the work.

Boom. Bam. Lightly spiced, smoky, tomatoey, saucy goodness ready to stuff your tortillas so full they spill over onto your hands.

Then you get to just kind of fancify things. You’ll mix up a little corn situation with some major elote vibes that is also so easy but will be VERY DIFFICULT to hold off on eating until taco assembly. Just a taste to adjust the lime juice? Okay. Twenty more bites and oops it’s gone? It happens. Luckily, it’s easy to remake.

You’re going to make some quick pickled red onions because really you’re just throwing some things in a jar, giving it a shake, and then, look at you, all set with the most delicious little taco topper ever! Next thing you know, you have one gem of a taco happening.

How To Make These Red Chile Chicken Tacos

Again, pretty quick and easy, which is how we like it. Let’s get each of the elements together.

1. The pickled onions: Let’s pickle, bb! Jam your red onion slices into a jar and add your vinegar, water, salt, and sugar. Shake, fridge, donezo.
2. The saucy filling: Cook up the chicken thighs in a skillet until cooked through. Then, shred/cut it up and add that packet of red chile enchilada sauce and pinto beans. Simmer, thicken, donezo.
3. The creamy corn: Mix all the delicious bits together in a small bowl. Taste, adjust, donezo.
4. The perfect taco: We like to lightly pan fry the tortillas for added deliciousness and have your chopped fresh cilantro at the ready. Stuff, top, donezo!

That’s it! See?! Now you’re in taco business, which is the best business there is.

What Makes These SO GOOD

The red chile chicken side of this taco business is particularly successful. It’s just all so good. Smoky, creamy, fresh, briney-bitey-crunch. What an absolute dream.

You could probably play around with the filling a little since that enchilada sauce is bringing all the major flavors, but we love the juiciness of chicken thighs and the creaminess of pinto beans. But play around if something suits you better. Flour tortillas work too, of course, but we love the added flavor of the corn ones to complement the smokiness of the filling and the richness of the topping.

That creamy corn topping is such a treat since you’re getting the fresh sweet crunch texture of like a roasted corn salsa but with your cheese/sour cream-type dairy needs all mixed in. And you just can’t go wrong with pickled red onions. Ever. Truly a taco’s best friend.

And the general ease of it all carries this one all the way to the top of our Weeknight Yums list. Checking every ding dang box.

We just kinda want to eat them all the time, you know? Taco Tuesday rolls into Taco Wednesday and also Taco Thursday and whoooops, how did we get to Taco Friday, well here we are at the weekend, so let’s just keep on going.

Red Chile Chicken Tacos: Frequently Asked Questions

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Red Chile Chicken Tacos with Creamy Corn

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5 from 18 reviews

• 
  Author: Lindsay
• 
  Total Time: 45 minutes
• 
  Yield: 6-8 tacos

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These Red Chile Chicken Tacos are always on our minds! Lightly pan-fried corn tortillas stuffed with tender chicken and a pinto bean red chile saucy filling, piles of creamy corn salsa, and tangy homemade pickled red onions. YUM! 

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Ingredients

Units
USM

Red Chile Chicken Tacos

• 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs
• olive oil, salt, and pepper
• 1 pouch of Frontera red chile enchilada sauce (or similar)
• one 14–ounce can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

Creamy Corn

• 1/4 cup mayo
• 2 tablespoons cream cheese
• 2 cups frozen or fresh sweet corn
• 1 clove garlic, grated
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• lime juice to taste

Pickled Onions

• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar

Extras

• corn tortillas (I like to quickly pan-fry mine in a shallow skillet of hot oil to make them extra soft)
• cilantro

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Instructions

1. For the pickled onions: Transfer red onion slices to a jar. Fill the jar half to three-fourths of the way with red wine vinegar and the rest of the way with water. Add your salt and sugar. Shake a few times and set in the fridge while you make everything else.
2. For the chicken: Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil. Add the chicken and season with salt and pepper. Sauté for 7-10 minutes, or until cooked through. Remove from the heat and shred or cut into smaller pieces. Add chicken pieces back to the pan with the sauce and the beans. Simmer gently until sauce has thickened and it looks ready to be taco filling.
3. For the corn: Mix all ingredients in a small bowl. Taste and adjust.
4. For the tacos: Fill tortillas with the chicken mixture. Top with the creamy corn and pickled red onions. Finish with cilantro. Mwah.

Notes

Instant Pot Instructions: Add the chicken thighs, salt, pepper, and enchilada sauce directly to the Instant Pot. Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. Release the pressure, shred the chicken directly in the pot, and stir in the canned pinto beans. Prepare the other pickled onions and creamy corn according to recipe instructions. 

Slow Cooker Instructions: Add the chicken thighs, salt, pepper, and enchilada sauce directly to the slow cooker. Cook on high for 2-3 hours or cook on low for 4-5 hours. Shred the chicken directly in the slow cooker and stir in the canned pinto beans and cook until warmed through. Prepare the pickled onions and creamy corn according to recipe instructions. 

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Category: Tacos
• Method: Saute
• Cuisine: Mexican-Inspired

Keywords: chicken tacos, red chile chicken tacos, red chile recipe

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More Incredible Taco Recipes

• Caramelized Pork Tacos with Pineapple Salsa (topped with sriracha mayo, obvi!)
• Best Easy Fish Tacos (easy to make and packed with flavor)
• Instant Pot Hawaiian Chicken Tacos with Jalapeño Ranch Slaw (these tacos are out of this WORLD)

The post Red Chile Chicken Tacos with Creamy Corn appeared first on Pinch of Yum.

Did you know we have a pretty stellar team of folks that help run Pinch of Yum each and every day? We have an entire team of geniuses that help with a little bit of everything – from helping customers adjust baking temps at different altitudes, to coordinating details with our partners, to shooting viral videos, and beyond.

All of us that you see here are part of Team Pinch of Yum, but we’re also part of TinyBit – the parent company to our family of businesses. Here are some of the other amazing people that we get to work with during the week, Creepy Gnome Santa included.

Today we want to give you a chance to meet the Pinch of Yum team (7 of us!) so here’s a very big virtual hello to you! 👋

Lindsay

What do you do at POY? I started Pinch of Yum in 2011 because I loved sharing recipes with people. Over the years, our team has grown! I’m not the only one here anymore, which is so great. Currently, my role is Content Director – so I ideate, create, and approve all of the content that we share with the world. I write some blog posts, develop most of the recipes, and just generally set the direction for where things go and what kind of content we share. ❤️

Where do you live? Twin Cities suburbs

What’s your emoji aesthetic (five most recently used emojis, not including faces)? ❤️💄🌮🤡🎥

What’s one thing that makes you excited? I love planning (and going on) trips! It’s been almost two and a half years since we went anywhere – combination of Covid and having a baby – so I’m excited to start getting back out into the world.

What’s your favorite POY recipe? Too hard to answer, but some of my most-made recipes are the baked chicken meatballs, soft chocolate chip cookies, and yellow chicken curry. More recently (and as I’ve discussed at length), I am LOVING the pistachio loaf.

What’s your most controversial food opinion? Zero interest in sugar cookies.

What’s your current favorite outfit? Hoodie and jeans. Always my favorite.

What is your happiest food memory? When I was in high school, my family used to go to a cabin in Wisconsin for summer vacations. I have so many happy memories of sitting outside in the mornings on the comfy green deck chairs eating mom’s granola and drinking coffee and watching the sunrise over the lake.

Jenna

What do you do at POY? As the General Manager, I manage the POY team, work on growth projects related to SEO and traffic, and make sure projects and processes at POY are moving along smoothly.

Where do you live? St. Paul, Minnesota

What’s your emoji aesthetic (five most recently used emojis, not including faces)? 🍸❤️🤷🏻‍♀️🤌🕺🏻

What’s one thing that makes you excited? Basically anything my one-year-old does these days – so many new, exciting things!

What’s your favorite POY recipe? Date Night Rigatoni

What’s your most controversial food opinion? I cannot stand butter on my pancakes.

What’s your current favorite outfit? Comfy leggings and a big oversized sweater – my winter-in-Minnesota uniform.

What is your happiest food memory? When my husband and I lived across the river in Minneapolis, we made last-minute reservations down the road at The Bachelor Farmer (RIP 😭) on a Sunday night, during a snowstorm. We had Swedish meatballs and smoked fish, ordered old fashioneds, and ate and drank it all while watching the snow – the coziest. To this day, it’s still our most memorable meal.

Eman

What do you do at POY? I’m the Content and Growth Specialist for POY. I work closely with the brands we partner with, help plan new content for the site, optimize our existing site content, and ensure readers have a great experience when making recipes and bopping around on the blog.

Where do you live? In the great suburbs of Minneapolis, Minnesota

What’s your emoji aesthetic (five most recently used emojis, not including faces)? ❤️✨💪🌻🍣

What’s one thing that makes you excited? Walking through a plant or flower shop!

What’s your favorite POY recipe? So many favorites, but we frequently make the Basic + Awesome Veg Lasagna, Sheet Pan Shrimp and Cauli Rice, and Chipotle Chicken Cobb Salad.

What’s your most controversial food opinion? Drinking a plain glass of milk is a big no from me.

What is your happiest food memory? So many of my favorite memories surround food. One of my happiest ones though is almost immediately after my daughter was born, I turned to my husband and said, “Okay, after 9 months, I’m ready for sushi now.” 😂 We had sushi delivered to the hospital and happily ate out of to-go boxes as a new family of three.

Emily

What do you do at POY? I am the video specialist at Pinch of Yum. I do all things recipe videos including shooting and editing videos for recipe blog posts, step-by-step instructions, and social media.

Where do you live? Toledo, Ohio

What’s your emoji aesthetic (five most recently used emojis, not including faces)? 💕😑☕🎉🍕

What’s one thing that makes you excited? Family vacations!

What’s your favorite POY recipe? Tough choice! Maybe a tie between Instant Pot Red Curry Lentils, Blueberry Pancakes, and Chicken Pot Pie with Biscuits, but there are quite a few we make on a regular basis.

What’s your most controversial food opinion? I love peanut butter and pickle sandwiches (bread and butter pickles).

What’s your current favorite outfit? Comfy, distressed jeans, cozy sweater or hoodie, & converse. This is what I wear about 9 months out of the year!

What is your happiest food memory? I love exploring and trying new foods on vacation. Probably my favorite place to eat my way through is Walt Disney World. I often make extensive notes on my phone with a list of all the snacks and food we want to try while we’re in the parks.

Krista

What do you do at POY? I’m the Shoot Assistant for Pinch of Yum and you can find me supporting Lindsay in the kitchen on shoot days, responding to reader questions and comments on the blog, and testing recipes to ensure a great reader experience.

Where do you live? Shoreview, Minnesota

What’s one thing that makes you excited? 90s and 2000s hip-hop and R&B music

What’s your favorite POY recipe? Instant Pot Hawaiian Chicken Tacos

What’s your most controversial food opinion? Feta > blue cheese 😬

What’s your current favorite outfit? Half-zip pullover and black joggers

What is your happiest food memory? It’s a tie! As a little girl, I loved making broccoli and cauliflower English muffin pizzas with my dad on Friday nights. I also have many happy memories of eating at my favorite Korean restaurant. Feasting on kimchi pancakes, a big bowl of bibimbap, a side of japchae, and unlimited banhan (side dishes) is my ultimate happy place!

Rita

What do you do at POY? I’m a writer here on the team. These days you’ll mostly find me in the blog posts and newsletters, but I am also probably over-using all caps and being just a bit too excited about things for our videos and any other copywriting that comes up as well! THIS IS WHO I AM.

Where do you live? Minneapolis, Minnesota

What’s your emoji aesthetic (five most recently used emojis, not including faces)? 👀🏆👏🏻☠️🎉 (but if I’m really honest, it’s probably just 👀👀👀👀👀)

What’s one thing that makes you excited? I get excited to think about who my kid is gonna be in this world. She’s wildly creative, disarmingly smart and already a better negotiator at 8 years old than any human I have ever known. Like, I don’t know how we got a tiny little roller rink in our basement but I’m certain she does.

What’s your favorite POY recipe? Crunchy Roll Bowls…we eat these almost weekly. Without fail. But also, every time I ask my child what she wants for dinner, she says Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies so…tie, I guess.

What’s your most controversial food opinion? I would be fine if watermelon didn’t exist and also, I love butter, but I do not butter my pancakes and you can’t make me.

What’s your current favorite outfit? I love to live in jumpsuits because then I really only have to think of one thing to wear lol.

What is your happiest food memory? Growing up, my grandparents had a pretty big garden in their backyard and I used to love going through and picking the tomatoes with my grandpa. He was so careful and particular and refused to pick them until they were “just right.” And then when we found the first perfect ones, before gathering them for my grandma who was always always always canning, we’d pluck them from the plants and eat them like apples and I can still remember the taste and the smell and the sunshine.

Kailey

What do you do at POY? I am a Communications Assistant at POY. You’ll mostly find me in our inbox chatting with readers about their “family secret for the best mashed potatoes” or “how to find that crumble recipe with the berry jam in it.” Midday, you can find me designing Instagram stories, gathering analytics for social and SEO, and other various behind-the-scenes projects.

Where do you live? Los Angeles, California

What’s your emoji aesthetic? ❤️👍🤌🔥🌞

What’s one thing that makes you excited? Beach picnics

What’s your favorite POY recipe? Liz’s Roasted Broccoli Salad (sub carrot bacon, no cheese)

What’s your most controversial food opinion? Snails can be delicious *gasp*

What’s your current favorite outfit? Blue jeans, white t-shirt, sweater vest, cozy socks, and sneakers

What is your happiest food memory? Meeting my monthly reading goal so I could get a free pizza from Pizza Hut! 😂

And that’s our Pinch of Yum team! We have the best team and the very best readers.

Thanks for joining us for today’s meet and greet and allowing us the chance to introduce ourselves!

Cheers to you and whatever delicious things you’re cooking this week. ❤️

The post Team Meet and Greet appeared first on Pinch of Yum.

This post is sponsored by ButcherBox

We’re no strangers to sheet pan meatballs around here. We love to love them! Easy clean-up, no frying mess, but still oven-crisp goodness, and they’re always the easiest option for straight-off-the-pan sneaks.

Super juicy and deeply flavored thanks to some delicious briney green sauce – made with parsley, cilantro, walnuts, capers, garlic, and more – that will go not only inside but also on top of these little beauties. Serve them alongside some juicy marinated tomatoes, swoop them through tzatziki, douse them in that green sauce, grab yourself a buttery hunk of crusty bread, and let’s have the best meatball party in town, shall we?

Salty, Zesty, Briney Goodness

This isn’t just any old meatball. Not only is the quality of beef A+ (we’re using ButcherBox Grass-Fed Grass-Finished – more on that later), but that little green sauce magic concoction in the mixture brings a whole explosion of flavor with salty brininess from the capers, a little zest from the lemon, and our favorite punch of all punches, the garlic punch. It all just sort of swims together to bring maximum flavor to this little guy. It’s like a whole meal of tastes in one bite!

And you better believe you save some of that green sauce to put on top of your meatballs, and bread, and any kind of veggies. We’re nothing if not sauce hogs.

A Word About This ButcherBox Beef

Okay, if you’re not on the ButcherBox train yet, we highly recommend you climb aboard! The quality of their meat and seafood is top-notch.

This is why we love them:

• They are a certified B Corp company, which means they are mission-driven to do some environmental good in this world and that is always something we can get behind.
• They source from family farms and are committed to humane practices, and have a focus on sustainability for their seafood offerings which we also feel really good about!
• Plus, sustainable and recyclable insulation and packaging whenever possible? Yes, please.

There is so much care put behind their product and it really shows. And, ultimately, this grass-fed, grass-finished ground beef is SO flavorful and cooks up beautifully.

ButcherBox has a deal going right now where you get two pounds of free (yes, FREE) grass-fed grass-finished ground beef in every single box for the life of your membership. WHAT.

Click here to learn more about the boxes (or add this deal to your existing membership)!

For burgers, for spaghetti, for meatballs, and everything else in between, this ground beef is such good quality and it is a total freezer essential. And it’s free in every box right now. Do not miss this deal!

How To Make These Meatballs (Sheet Pan FTW!)

Get your sheet pans and your food processor at the ready and let’s get down to business.

1. Green Sauce. Pulse everything up in a food processor until chopped very finely (but not a paste). This is your flavor base! Transfer half of the flavor base to a large bowl for the meatballs and then use the rest make your sauce.
2. Meatballs. Mix the egg, paprika, salt, panko, ground beef, and reserved flavor base green sauce in a bowl until evenly distributed. Roll into balls. Place the rolled meatballs on sheet pan, brush with olive oil, and bake!

Then serve those meatballs over creamy tzatziki, heavily dolloped with your green sauce, along with a pile of tzatziki and simple tomato salad, add a big torn-off hunk of rustic bread, and oof, what a satisfying flavor extravaganza you’re in for!

Will these juicy delicious little sheet pan meatballs absolutely steal your hearts? Yes. Does green sauce, just in general, make the world better? Also yes. Let’s get to it, pals.

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Sheet Pan Meatballs with Tomato Salad and Green Sauce

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5 from 5 reviews

• 
  Author: Lindsay
• 
  Total Time: 45 minutes
• 
  Yield: 4 servings

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Juicy little sheet pan meatballs that are salty, zesty, briney, and so so delicious. Pile them on tzatziki, spoon some punchy green sauce over top, and serve with a simple salad and crusty bread.

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Ingredients

Units
USM

Green Sauce:

• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 cup parsley
• 1 cup cilantro
• 1/4 cup capers or pitted castelvetrano olives
• 1/2 cup walnuts
• juice and zest of a lemon
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• salt to taste

Sheet Pan Meatballs:

• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup panko
• 1 lb. ground beef (the ButcherBox grass-fed grass-finished ground beef is top-notch)

Extras:

• rustic hunks of bread for serving (I used a baguette)
• tzatziki (I used store-bought)
• tomato salad for serving (I made this one and threw some cucumbers into it)

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. 
2. Pulse the garlic, parsley, cilantro, capers, and walnuts in a food processor until chopped very finely (but not creamy / not a paste – you just want a fine chop! and you could do this by hand as well). This is your flavor base!
3. Transfer half of the flavor base to a large bowl for the meatballs. Add all other meatball ingredients and mix thoroughly with your hands to combine. Roll into balls and bake for 10-12 minutes.
4. Add the other half of the flavor base to a smaller bowl; add lemon zest and lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste to make your sauce. Add red pepper flakes for heat if you want. It should look similar to a loose pesto or chimichurri.
5. Serve meatballs over a swipe of tzatziki, with a hunk of rustic bread and a scoop of tomato salad. And drizzle, dip, and swish all of it through that punchy green sauce! BIG, BIG FLAVORS! So good!

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Bake
• Cuisine: Mediterranean-Inspired

Keywords: sheet pan meatballs, meatball bowls, green sauce

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Thank you to ButcherBox for sponsoring this recipe!

More Meatball Recipes We Can’t Stop Talking About

• Harissa Meatballs with Whipped Feta (the perfect SOS dinner)
• Chicken Meatballs with Peppers and Orzo (one of our fave combos!)
• The Best Swedish Meatballs (perfectly tender, perfectly spiced)

The post Sheet Pan Meatballs with Tomato Salad and Green Sauce appeared first on Pinch of Yum.

This dish is for everybody, but especially those of us who have been living in the hideous splotchy grey of winter’s end because it’s like, “Oh heeeeey! Remember color?! Look how beautiful and bright and warm! I am a gorgeous food painting for your eyes!”

The bright inexplicable pink of the tender flaky salmon, with golden olive oil-crisped edges. The deep green of the roasted asparagus calling us towards springtime. The pale yellow of the creamy leek drenched potatoes, speckled with bright pops of chives, an almost neon slice of lemon.

It’s like technicolor. It’s delicious. It’s bold and light and it’s serving up sunshine for dinner.

Bright, Fresh, and Happy Ingredients For This Spring Salmon

This one is such a stunner because ingredients like lemon and asparagus and bright fresh salmon sing like spring birds, but the star here is the roasted potatoes with those creamed leeks. They’re creamy, rich, and decadent but with zips of fresh lemon zest. You may want to eat just a whole pan of those, but we promise the whole plate is a song. Here’s what you’ll need to make it happen:

For the leeks:

• leeks
• butter
• garlic
• fresh thyme
• heavy cream
• chicken/veg broth
• lemon zest
• salt and pepper

For your sheet pan:

• potatoes
• asparagus
• salmon (or you can cook separate in a skillet for extra golden crispiness, yum!)
• olive oil, salt, and lemon juice

Let’s Make Springy Salmon and Potatoes

All things told, this is pretty easy to throw together. The leeks are the only diva here because it takes a few soaks to get them grit-free, and then you have to get them all creamy buttery soft, but again, this star is worth every darn step. So here we go:

1. Prep your leeks. Leeks are really dirty! After thinly slicing, put them in a bowl of water and gently break them apart so that any dirt trapped between the layers releases to the bottom. Once the dirt settles, pull the leeks out from the top, discard water, and repeat as necessary until clean. (Don’t just strain or the dirt falls right back on them!)
2. Cream your leeks. Melt some butter in a skillet and cook until the leeks are soft and yummy.  Add the garlic and thyme in with the leeks, then the broth and heavy cream. Let it simmer until it thickens a bit into a nice creamy sauce. Then remove from heat and add the lemon zest and season to taste. 
3. Ready your sheet pan. Get your potatoes drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepp and start those first. After about ten minutes, add the asparagus to the pan with the same treatment and finish roasting.
4. Cook your salmon. This is our preferred method here – heat a bit of oil in a skillet and add the salmon, skin side down. Cook for a few minutes until it release easily and then flip and cook for a bit more until you have a golden crispy exterior and it’s done to your preference. (Could also bake salmon on the sheet pan for ease, but you lose that golden-crisp which IS a real treat here.)
5. Make potato & leek magic. Pour that creamy leek mixture over the roasted potatoes and bake until bubbly and browned at the edges.

How To Cook Perfect Salmon

You have a couple of options for making the salmon here. We often gravitate toward baking salmon because it is our best no-fuss, no-brainer way to get a perfect cook on it. And you could definitely do that here by tossing it on the pan with your potatoes and asparagus! BUT, if you are willing to take one extra step and have one extra thing to clean, we really recommend crisping these fillets up in a skillet with olive oil.

The golden brown crispy edges that you get all over are a whole other level in terms of texture and taste in this dish. The salmon does cook pretty quickly, so you have to baby it a bit so it doesn’t dry out. Again though, that golden crisp…oof, worth the extra pampering.

This bright, colorful, super delicious, and deeply satisfying spring dinner is waiting for you. Please do answer its call, won’t you?

Spring Salmon with Potatoes: Frequently Asked Questions

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Spring Salmon with Creamed Leeks, Potatoes, and Asparagus

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4.3 from 3 reviews

• 
  Author: Lindsay
• 
  Total Time: 50 minutes
• 
  Yield: 4 servings

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We’re bringing you a plate of sunshine for dinner! Perfectly golden-crisp salmon partnered next to oven-roasted asparagus and a buttery, rich, creamy leek sauce piled on crispy potatoes. 

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Ingredients

Units
USM

Creamed Leeks:

• 3 leeks, white and light green parts sliced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
• a few sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves removed
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 – 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
• a couple pinches of lemon zest
• salt and pepper to taste

Other Stuff:

• 1 pound potatoes, rinsed and halved
• 1 pound asparagus, tough bottom stems trimmed
• 1 pound salmon (1 small filet per serving)
• olive oil, salt, and lemon juice

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Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the sliced leeks in a bowl of water. Gently massage and break them apart so that any dirt trapped between the layers gets released. Let the dirt settle and then pull the leeks out of the bowl, discarding the water. Repeat as many times as necessary to get them clean. (My 3 year old daughter loves to help with this! Great kid activity.)
2. Place your potatoes on a sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Roast for 10 minutes.
3. After ten minutes, add the asparagus to the pan, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Return the pan to the oven for another 10-15 minutes.
4. While everything is roasting, melt the butter in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the leeks; cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the leeks are soft and yummy. 
5. Add the garlic and thyme in with the leeks; cook for a few minutes until it’s very fragrant. Add the broth and the cream; let the whole thing come to a low simmer until it’s comes together like a nice creamy sauce, about 10-15 minutes (I just leave it on the heat slowly bubbling while the other veggies are roasting). Remove from heat and add the lemon zest to the mixture. Taste and season. 
6. Heat a bit of oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the salmon, skin side down, and cook for a few minutes until you can gently release and flip the salmon. Cook for a few minutes on the other side until the exterior is golden brown and the salmon is cooked to your desired level of doneness.
7. Pour the creamy leek mixture over the roasted potatoes. Bake for 10 minutes or until the salmon is done and the creamed leeks and potato mixture is bubbly and browned at the edges. Serve straight off the pan with lemon wedges and extra herbs. YUMO!

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 35 minutes
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Roast
• Cuisine: American

Keywords: salmon, salmon with potatoes, leek recipe

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More Salmon Recipes To Make ASAP

• Coconut Curry Salmon (broiled salmon with the best spicy-sweet rub on top)
• The Oliver’s Salad (the garlic and peppers confit though! still drooling.)
• Spicy Salmon Burgers (comes together in just 15 minutes)

The post Spring Salmon with Creamed Leeks, Potatoes, and Asparagus appeared first on Pinch of Yum.

This post is sponsored by ALDI

This beautiful and perfectly springy shrimp and rice combo has us feeling that sunshine on our faces. The slightly sweet crunch of the coconut shrimp (with a nice & simple bake method, so a lot of the crisp with none of the fry-smells), the bright, sweet, green peas popping up here there and everywhere in the light, lemony, herby rice. And then there’s the honey butter sauce for sweet dips and drizzles that taste like vacation. Plus everything you’ll need for this spring crush is from ALDI, so you know you’re getting quality, affordable ingredients. BIG thumbs up from us!

For those of you who also experience a change of seasons, maybe you are also so ready for spring that you get all teary-eyed just thinking about it. Here in Minnesota, we’re in infamous “fake spring” where the weather is like, “Oh man, would you like a 50 degree day today? Okay, here you go. You deserve it!” And then turns right around and is like, “LOL, JUST KIDDING GET READY FOR SUBZERO TEMPS AND A SNOW EMERGENCY TOMORROW.” Right to our faces, like we’re not even friends.

Our hearts collectively break and we ache for the warm and the bright and the green.

And this springy coconut shrimp piled high on a mountain of steamy pea-speckled, lemony rice with drizzles on drizzles of honey butter sauce? Yeah, that’s what we’re here for and it won’t turn on us. It keeps being A+ over and over again.

Ingredients For This Delicious Springy Coconut Shrimp

When we want a little spring in our step and also in our grocery bags, we always round up our favorites from our favorite, ALDI! A definite go-to for affordable and high quality seafood options (the Fremont Fish Market Jumbo EZ Peel Raw Shrimp is a top-notch choice for this), beautiful fresh and frozen veggies, and lots of other seasonal delights. But we also – like always – are hitting up the pantry items too, like the panko, coconut flakes, and rice. ALDI always has so many options to brighten up our days.

Here are the major hitters that you’ll need for this spring fling:

For the golden crunchy shrimp:

• Fremont Fish Market Jumbo EZ Peel Raw Shrimp
• Chef’s Cupboard Panko Breadcrumbs
• Baker’s Corner Coconut Flakes (sweetened or unsweetened, but sweetened sure ups the yum factor! )

For the springy rice:

• Specially Selected Jasmine Rice
• peas (we used frozen Simply Nature Organic Sweet Peas, but you could use fresh or any other green veg favorite)
• lemon juice and zest
• herbs or greens
• garlic

For the delicious honey butter drizzles and dips:

• butter
• honey
• Dijon mustard

How To Make Baked Coconut Shrimp

In addition to the fresh and ready ingredients comin’ atcha ALDI-style, it’s also relatively simple to bring it all together. Like we said, we love this baking method for the shrimp in order to minimize clean up but maximize perfect shrimp cooks and crunch factors.

1. Panko & Coconut. You’ll give the panko & coconut flakes a little pre-toast in the oven first to guarantee that golden brown goodness. Yum!
2. Shrimp. Coat the shrimp in flour, then egg, then panko/coconut mixture and spread out on pan. Give them a little drizzle of oil before heading into the oven to bake.
3. Rice. Whatever rice cook method you prefer (we used our pressure cooker!) and then toss in the butter, lemon zest and juice, and stir in the frozen peas.
4. Sauce. Whisk all your sauce ingredients together and try not to drink it right then and there.

Serve those crisp beachy shrimp on a pile of bright sunny rice, drizzled with that sweet, zippy honey butter sauce and, yep yep yep, it already feels warmer here.

Our Love Keeps Going and Going and Going For This One

The tender juiciness of the shrimp under the solid crunch of the coconut coating, plus a pile of steamy green-flecked garlicky lemon rice and a drizzle of honey butter sauce… all of it is just freshness and brightness and color hard at work. It’s one of those meals you can look forward to all day. And again the next day. And maybe we’ll just make it every night this week.

So, basically, we’ve laid out a big ol’ welcome mat for spring in the form of this coconut shrimp and rice and we really, really, really hope it pays us a visit ASAP.

Baked Coconut Shrimp: Frequently Asked Questions

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Baked Coconut Shrimp with Springy Rice and Honey Butter Sauce

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4.3 from 3 reviews

• 
  Author: Lindsay
• 
  Total Time: 45 minutes
• 
  Yield: 3-4 servings

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Description

Perfectly springy baked coconut shrimp piled high on a mountain of steamy pea-speckled and lemony rice and drizzles upon drizzles of a beautiful honey butter sauce. This is exactly the spring vacay you need! 

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Ingredients

Units
USM

Coconut Shrimp

• 3/4 cup Chef’s Cupboard Panko Breadcrumbs
• 3/4 cup Baker’s Corner Coconut Flakes (sweetened or unsweetened, but I prefer sweetened)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 pound Fremont Fish Market Jumbo EZ Peel Raw Shrimp, thawed, tails removed (see notes)

Springy Rice

• 1 cup Specially Selected Jasmine Rice, uncooked
• 10-ounce bag of Simply Nature Sweet Peas
• lemon juice and zest
• herbs or greens
• 1 clove grated garlic
• 2 tablespoons butter

Honey Butter Sauce

• 4 tablespoons melted butter
• 2–3 tablespoons honey
• 1–2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

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Instructions

1. Prep: Cook the rice according to package directions. (I do this in a pressure cooker)
2. Toast the Coconut: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place panko and coconut on a baking sheet; toast for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until nice and golden brown.
3. Coat the Coconut Shrimp: Make three bowls: one for the flour, paprika, and salt; one for the egg, and one for the toasted coconut. Coat individual shrimp in flour / spice mix, then egg, then press into the panko until the mixture sticks to the shrimp. (I usually do all the shrimp in the flour / spice mix first, and then do the egg / panko dip so it’s a bit cleaner). Place coated shrimp back on the baking sheet. Spritz or drizzle with oil.
4. Bake the Coconut Shrimp: Bake shrimp at 425 for 10 minutes.
5. Finish the Rice: Add peas, lemon zest, herbs, garlic, and butter into the hot rice and gently fluff with a fork to combine. The peas just need to get heated through.
6. Make the Sauce: Whisk the melted butter with the honey and Dijon mustard. (And add whatever else you like – red pepper flakes, chili paste, lemon, etc.)
7. Serve: Serve shrimp with a pile of rice and generously drizzle with the sauce. HELLO! So yummy.

Notes

I prefer to make these with the tails removed because I like to pile them on a plate and eat them with the rice, and honestly, pulling the tails off with every bite is kind of annoying. But if you want it to look a little fancier or if you want this to be more of a finger-food situation, then you can also leave the tails on.

This amount as written feeds my family of 4 (mom, dad, toddler, baby) perfectly, with little to no leftovers. If you are serving a larger group, or people with bigger appetites than little kiddos, I would double the amounts! 

• Prep Time: 25 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Bake
• Cuisine: American

Keywords: coconut shrimp, baked shrimp, spring shrimp

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Thank you to ALDI for sponsoring this recipe!

More Springy Shrimp Favorites

• Sheet Pan Shrimp and Cauli Rice (an incredibly easy sheet pan dinner)
• Chipotle Orange Shrimp with Cilantro Rice (with a sweet-meets-smoky cream sauce)
• Spicy Shrimp Tacos with Garlic Cilantro Lime Slaw (these are our FAVORITE shrimp tacos!)

The post Baked Coconut Shrimp with Springy Rice and Honey Butter Sauce appeared first on Pinch of Yum.

Hello, hi. Do you spend your mornings staring at your cup of coffee or tea or water (if you are better than all of us) and wonder, “What if there was a perfect little slice of tender, sweet-but-not-too-sweet pistachio loaf just laying there in the palm of my hand?” Well, yes, obviously us too.

Pistachios are already just so special and to sweeten them up and get them ready for your breakfast or brunch or afternoon snack feels like such a treat. Beautifully golden nuttiness and just the right amount of chew. This loaf also somehow feels springy and light, but that could just be our winter-weary hope talking.

Maybe you didn’t know that you needed pistachio loaf…or cake…or something in between in your life until this very moment, but we’re here to tell you that you do! And that once you have it, it will take up residence in a tiny little nook of your heart and you will not charge it rent because you will just be so happy it’s there.

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Ingredients You’ll Need For This Pistachio Loaf

Working from a truly wonderful gluten-free recipe of Amanda’s at Heartbeet Kitchen, this version swaps a few things like coconut flour instead of teff, and cornstarch instead of tapioca. Amanda paints hers with a light swath of pillowy cream cheese frosting and though we didn’t do that here due to using more sugar in the cake itself, we absolutely would not stop you should you make that excellent choice as well.

Is it a sweet bread? Dessert bar? Snack cake? Jury’s still out. But what it IS, is a deliciously dense, sweet, nutty, gluten-free little treat for your morning and here’s what you need to make it happen:

roasted salted pistachios
sugar
sea salt
butter
eggs
milk (oat milk, whole milk, whatever)
vanilla
baking powder
coconut flour
all-purpose flour
cornstarch

Let’s Make a Pistachio Loaf

Really once you have your food processor on hand, it’s just a bunch of add-pulse-add-pulse steps and you’re done. Voila! Then you get to pop that beauty in the oven and enjoy the warm house-smells and shoulder bop in anticipation.

Pistachios. Pulse the pistachios and sugar in a food processor until it makes a fine powder.

Pulse. First add the butter in chunks to the food processor and get that incorporated. Then add the eggs, milk, and vanilla. Once those are in, pulse in the baking powder, coconut flour and cornstarch. 

Bake. Transfer to a loaf pan lined with parchment paper and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes until the top is firm and golden brown.

Then see if you can resist eating the whole nutty, surprising, exquisitely textured dream. If you manage to not eat it all at once, you can pop it in the fridge for extra clean slices. You know, if that’s what you’re into.

Why This Pistachio Loaf Is Extra Delicious

If we were to just fill this section with little crying emojis…would you understand what we mean? Would it make sense that your eyes *might* well with tiny hot tears when you bite into this bread/dessert/tiny rectangular pillow of hope?

It’s not overly sweet even though it IS sweet and definitely feels like a treat. We love that it’s denser than a typical sweet bread or cake, an almost blondie-like feel, especially in those middle slices. The subtle crisp on the outside is so deeply pleasing, you might actually fight for the end pieces and really, when does that ever happen?

It keeps so well in the fridge and stays delicious to the very last slice. When you close your eyes and bite into it, you’ll be able to taste the ever so slight hint of coconut from the flour and that feels somehow springy, too, with promises of warm sunshine ahead.

So yeah, in short: here for it. And we hope that you are too.

Pistachio Loaf: Frequently Asked Questions

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More Springy Desserts

Springy Blueberry Lemon Bread (loaded with juicy lemon and blueberries)

Raw Vegan Carrot Cake Bites (easy to prep a bunch and toss in the freezer)

Blender Lemon Pie (that’s right! a whole pie right in the blender)

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