Chicken Meal Prep Ideas
Cooking chicken to have on hand to easily make quick and healthy meals during a busy work week is a great meal prep idea. Chicken is one of the healthier animal proteins, as it’s low fat, has no carbs, and is high in protein, phosphorus, niacin, vitamin B6 and B12, plus contains selenium, zinc, and potassium. In addition, chicken is very versatile and can be used in so many different ways, it’s unlikely you’ll get bored of eating it! Here are a few chicken meal prep ideas to try this week.
Healthiest Ways to Cook Chicken
Try one of these cooking methods to ensure your chicken is prepared in a healthy way:
- Bake
- Grill
- Poach
- Stir-fry
While it’s convenient to buy a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken at the grocery store, they aren’t always the healthiest option — check the ingredients for the use of sugar and preservatives before purchasing.
Easy Chicken Meal Prep Ideas:
So you’ve cooked chicken to use in meals over the next few days — now what do you do with it? Here are some ideas:
- Salads – cut up a few ounces of cooked chicken and toss with your favorite salad ingredients
- Tacos – fill a corn tortilla with chopped or shredded chicken and top with lettuce, tomatoes, and salsa
- Pasta – boil some high-protein chickpea or lentil pasta and toss with tomato sauce, then serve with chicken breasts
- Wraps – slice your chicken and add to a wrap with hummus, greens, tomatoes, and any other vegetables you have on hand
- As an Entree – enjoy your chicken as the main part of a balanced meal paired with vegetables and a grain
Healthy Chicken Recipes
This recipe from Delish walks you through the best way to make a classic roast chicken. In just 90 minutes you can have approximately 6 servings of chicken to use in your meals for the week. It’s not only easy, but you can roast your vegetables at the same time!
This easy lemon chicken dish pairs deliciously with asparagus, roasted vegetables, and rice. Lemon juice and dry white wine combine to make juicy, tender pieces of chicken.
Alton Brown’s 40 Cloves and a Chicken recipe is popular for a reason — it’s very simple to make, using only chicken, olive oil, thyme, salt, pepper, and a whole lot of garlic. It’s also extremely flavorful and pairs well with a side of pasta or quinoa and veggies.
If you’re craving fried chicken, this recipe is the next best thing. Cereal used as breading gives the chicken a hearty crunch, while yogurt in the wet better helps keep it moist. It only takes 15 minutes to prepare, then it bakes for 45 minutes while you take care of other tasks — or put your feet up and relax while you wait!
No need for high-calorie takeout when this delicious dish is so easy to make. You’ll need broccoli, orange juice and zest, chicken broth, toasted sesame oil, coconut aminos, honey, garlic powder, and ginger to make this tangy meal. Serve over rice and you won’t miss the fast food version at all
This meal can be ready in less than 30 minutes, and you’ll get your protein and greens all in one pan. Serve with potatoes, rice, or cauliflower rice for a meal that’s Whole30 compliant!
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