How to Meal Prep Chicken with my Mix and Match Method
“Meal prepping” is an overwhelming concept to many, but it doesn’t have to be that way! Today I’m walking you through how to meal prep chicken with my mix and match meal prep method. You can apply this to any protein as well, as you will see in my 20-Minute Mix and Match Meal Prep Guide!
What do you think of when you hear the term “meal prep?”
If you’re like most of my clients I speak to about meal planning and prep, you’re probably imagining a Sunday tied to the kitchen slicing and dicing, preparing 1 or 2 dishes that you’ll then eat for the following seven days.
You’re thinking of hours lost to prepare healthy food that you will be bored of come Wednesday.
You’re thinking of boring meals that make healthy eating sound awful.
We’ll, I’m here to tell you… meal prep shouldn’t be boring!
As a registered dietitian and coach, I want to help you save time, save money, and save a bit of your sanity while still preparing healthy, nourishing, delicious meals for you (and possibly your family too).
I’m here to tell you that you WILL NOT EAT THE SAME THING EVERYDAY if you spend some time meal prepping.
You don’t have to batch prep one meal and divide it into portions for the rest of the week. Although if that’s your thing, my Turkey Chili is perfect for that!
What is meal prep?
Meal prep is doing some prep work in advance to help make healthy eating easy.
Meal prep helps you save time, save money, and put a little foresight into your meals to make meal time less hectic.
Meal prep is a solution to help you feel good from the food you eat.
Meal prep helps you prepare balanced meals within minutes every night.
And today I’m going to share how to meal prep chicken with my mix and match meal prep method!
My mix and match meal prep method will help you “meal prep” chicken once so you can “mix and match” to create new, exciting, flavorful, delicious, and healthy meals in under 20 minutes each night.
Yes, you can create a well-balanced meal in just 20 minutes by doing SOME of the prep work in advance!
(Pssst – Learn more about how to build a well-balanced meal here!)
My food prep guidebook walks you through how to do this with 5 different proteins:
- Lentils
- Black beans
- Salmon
- Ground meat/chicken/turkey
- Chicken breasts
For each of these proteins, you’ll be able to make 3 tasty, nutritious, QUICK, and easy meals in just 20 minutes, with MAXIMUM 7 additional ingredients.
Whether you’re vegan, vegetarian, or a carnivore, there’s something for everyone throughout this guide. You can even develop your own meal prep plan by using the *free template* at the back of the guidebook.
Click here to get your FREE 20-Minute Mix & Match Meal Prep Guidebook!
How to meal prep chicken
To get started, you must cook your chicken. You can bake, broil, grill, or saute your chicken.
My original recipes call for chicken breasts because that’s my favorite part of the chicken, but you can honestly use any boneless part of the chicken. If boneless thighs are on sale, grab those!
Here is your basic meal prep chicken recipe:
Remember, once you prepare this chicken, I’m going to show you 3 ways to mix and match this basic chicken into delicious recipes…
PrintBasic Meal Prep Chicken Starter Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken breast
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1⁄2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- Heaping 1⁄4 tsp salt
- 1⁄4 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°F.
- Toss chicken in oil with smoked paprika, salt, and pepper.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, until internal temperature reaches 165°F.
The possibilities of what to do with cooked chicken are endless… I’m talking burrito bowls, nachos, quesadillas, salads, pasta dishes, stir frys, I could go on and on and on…
But here’s how to mix and match this chicken into 3 new, exciting, and healthy recipes…
STEP 1 – Cook your chicken
You’ve already done this if you followed the recipe above. But let’s say you just don’t want to cook chicken yourself, there are a few possibilities…
- Buy pre-made grilled chicken strips
- Add a rotisserie chicken to your shopping cart
STEP 2 – Set aside (less than) 20 minutes each night to prepare these recipes
With your cooked chicken, we’re going to make:
- Grilled Chicken Caesar Wraps
- Grilled Chicken Parmesan
- Spinach & Chicken Quesadillas
These recipes could not be any easier to make! Click here to get all 3 recipes!
PrintBaked Chicken Parmesan From Meal Prep Chicken
Make grilled chicken parmesan from your meal prep chicken!
Ingredients
For every 1 chicken breast you’ll need:
- 1⁄2 cup marinara sauce
- 1⁄4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- Dried oregano
Instructions
- Preheat oven to broil.
- In an 8×8 baking dish, layer sauce on top of chicken breast. Then sprinkle cheese on top. Repeat for multiple servings.
- Broil for 5 minutes, until cheese melts. Enjoy!
Don’t forget to get the other 2 recipes, plus 12 other mix and match meal prep recipes HERE!
Looking for more meal prep tips? Check out these blog posts:
Happy meal prepping!
XO