These Indian-Inspired Chicken Meal Prep Bowls are super easy to make and come together on one sheet pan – they’ve even got pakoras!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Olive oil – if you don't have olive oil, feel free to use canola, sunflower or avocado oil.
- Cauliflower – if you're not a fan of cauliflower, you can prepare this dish with just the potatoes.
- Russet potato – Yukon Gold potatoes are a good alternative.
- Red onion – red onions will compliment the flavour palette of the meal, but yellow onions will work just fine.
- Peas – feel free to leave the peas out of this recipe.
- Frozen pakoras – leave these out if you’re not a fan or can’t find any.
Chicken marinade
- Chicken breasts – chicken thighs are a great substitute.
- Plain yogurt – you can use plain Greek yogurt or low-fat yogurt instead.
- Lemon juice – if you're in a pinch, you can use lime juice.
- Garlic – fresh garlic is ideal but a garlic paste or jarred minced garlic will also do the trick.
- Turmeric – if you don't have any turmeric, curry powder would be the next best substitute.
- Garam Masala – substitute for cardamom or double the ground ginger.
- Cumin – coriander is the best substitute for cumin.
- Ground dried ginger – minced fresh ginger can also work.
- Salt – to taste.
Aloo Gobi spice
- Curry powder – if you don't have any curry powder, you can make your own using a mixture of cumin, coriander, turmeric, black pepper and chili powder/flakes.
- Coriander – add extra cumin to replace the coriander powder.
- Turmeric – see substitution notes above.
- Cumin – see substitution notes above.
- Ground dried ginger – see substitution notes above.
- Salt – to taste.
How to make this recipe
- Make the marinade.
- Marinate the chicken.
- Toss the veggies in the aloo gobi spice.
- Cook everything on a sheet pan.
- Serve and enjoy!
Where to find pakoras
You can usually find pakoras in the freezer aisle of your local grocery store's International Foods section. If you're having a hard time finding them in your local grocery store, you can also try a South Asian supermarket in your area or buy them fresh from a local Indian restaurant!
Frequently Asked Questions
Pakoras are fried vegetable fritters that are popular in Indian cuisine. They’re known as a snack served by street food vendors in various subcontinents in India. Pakoras are a side dish packed with flavour and can turn even the most boring meal into something to look forward to. When eaten alone, pakoras are often enjoyed with a special dipping sauce or chutney, made out of either creamy cilantro or tamarind sauce.
Aloo gobi is a dry Indian dish typically made using potatoes, cauliflower and spices. This recipe uses an aloo gobi-inspired spice mix with curry powder, coriander, turmeric, cumin, dried ginger and salt.
These meal prep bowls have 277 calories per serving, not including the pakoras. Depending on what brand of pakoras you use, you’re looking at an extra 40-80 calories per pakora.
Storing and reheating
These Indian-inspired bowls are perfect for meal prep and will last in the fridge for up to 5 days! When you’re ready to enjoy, just microwave for 1-2 minutes and you’re good to go.
Freezing the chicken
If you have any extra chicken on hand, feel free to freeze it for up to 3 months. You can freeze the chicken in the marinade or fully cooked. Once you're ready to enjoy your chicken, defrost the meat in the fridge overnight and then follow the cooking or reheating instructions as normal.
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More Indian-inspired recipes
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Glass meal prep bowls are great for reheating these bowls.
- These Bento box containers are perfect for packing snacks and lunches together (I usually place the pakoras in the compartments to separate them).
- Restock your freezer with free-range chicken from Butcher Box!
Indian-Inspired Chicken Meal Prep Bowls
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 head cauliflower, chopped
- 1 medium-sized russet potato, diced
- 1 small red onion, diced
- 1/2 cup peas
- 8 frozen pakoras I like the Spice it up Foods brand
Chicken marinade
- 1 lb chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 tbsp plain yogurt (Greek or low fat is fine!)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp garam masala (sub in cardamom or if you're really in a pinch, leave out altogether and double the ground ginger)
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground dried ginger
- 1/2 tsp salt
Aloo gobi spice
- 1 tsp curry
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground dried ginger
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F. Mix chicken together with marinade ingredients and let marinate for 10-15 minutes.
- Toss cauliflower, potatoes and red onion with the ingredients under the aloo gobi spice heading, along with olive oil on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, then remove from oven. Mix peas into cauliflower mixture.
- Add chicken and pakoras to the same baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, turning pakoras and tossing chicken halfway through.
- Remove from oven, and serve!
Comments & Reviews
Alana Kaplan says
Do you put the cauliflower back into the oven with the chicken ?
Taylor Stinson says
Yes! You add the chicken and pakoras to the baking sheet with the cauliflower then cook it altogether 🙂
Tomiko S Mosby says
Hi Taylor,
I am counting my macros so I wanted to know for accuracy purposes: did you count the pakora in your nutrition facts? I’m thinking I can do without them so I wanted to make sure.
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Tomiko – I believe I did yes! I don’t have the bag in front of me to give you the nutritional info on the pakoras unfortunately but you may be able to look it up on the brand’s website.
Ali says
Was the chicken supposed to be cut up before cooking? I didn’t see instructions about that and only realized afterwards that the pictures show it in small pieces.
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Ali = yes it is! Although it shouldn’t make too much of a difference if you do it whole – maybe just 5 minutes more cooking time.