This Meal Prep Thai Basil Chicken is a healthy stir fry idea that doubles as an easy 30-minute dinner or make-ahead lunch!
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How to make Thai basil chicken
- Mix all sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.
- Meanwhile, get rice, water and butter cooking in a rice cooker while making the rest of the recipe.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet, then add chicken, shallots, chili pepper and a pinch of salt, sauteeing for 4-5 minutes until chicken is lightly browned.
- Add red pepper and cook another 2 minutes until peppers are tender.
- Add sauce and saute for 2 minutes until chicken is completely heated through. Turn off heat and stir in basil leaves.
- Serve by spooning chicken mixture and sauce over cooked rice, then garnish with sesame seeds and lime wedges if desired. Serve and enjoy!
What does Thai basil taste like?
Thai basil is used in a lot of Asian dishes, especially in Southeast Asia.
The flavour of fresh Thai basil is a bit peppery; a lot like black licorice or anise, but the longer it cooks, the sweeter the taste becomes.
But don't worry – if you can't find Thai basil then feel free to sub in regular basil or another fresh herb such as cilantro. It will taste just as good!
Ingredients and substitutions
- white rice – Feel free to use jasmine, basmati or brown rice with this recipe. Cooking times may vary so be sure to read the packaging carefully.
- olive oil – You can use any neutral cooking oil here such as avocado, peanut, sunflower, canola or coconut oil.
- boneless skinless chicken thighs – Chicken breasts work just as well in this recipe.
- shallots – Onions will also work here.
- red chili pepper – If you don't like spice, feel free to leave this out. You can also mince up some jalapeno pepper if you can't find red chilies. Do NOT use bird's eye chilis as those will be too spicy for this recipe.
- Thai basil – Regular basil will work here as well, though the flavour will be slightly different.
- low sodium soy sauce – Coconut aminos or tamari will work as a gluten free soy sauce option.
- garlic – You really do need the fresh garlic here. Feel free to sub in jarred minced garlic but garlic powder will not work as a substitute.
- oyster sauce – Feel free to use hoisin sauce, or 1 tbsp soy sauce and 1 tbsp honey mixed together.
- brown sugar – Honey or coconut sugar will work in place of the brown sugar.
How many calories are in Thai basil chicken?
This version only contains about 386 calories, making it a filling, low calorie meal prep idea that you'll want to make over and over again!
Can you use regular basil instead of Thai basil?
If you aren't able to find fresh Thai basil at the grocery store, check your local Asian market for it. Using regular sweet basil as a substitute is possible, but the flavor will be less intense, and much sweeter than with Thai basil. You may want to add some more sweet basil to enhance the flavours of the Thai basil chicken.
Storing and reheating
You can store the leftovers for up to 4 or 5 days in the fridge. I suggest packing individual portion sizes into glass meal prep bowls and then you can reheat right in the container for 1-2 minutes in the microwave. Sprinkle some water overtop of it first so the chicken doesn't dry out.
Unfortunately, this meal does not freeze very well, though you can freeze the cooked rice to use another time. You can freeze the cooked rice and then defrost in the fridge overnight before reheating in the microwave for a couple minutes.
More meal prep bowls
Meal prep tools
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on packing this Thai Basil Chicken up for lunch
- And of course, I get all my free-range chicken from Butcher Box!
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Meal Prep Thai Basil Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked white rice
- 2 cups water
- 1 tsp butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs, diced into 1-inch pieces (about 1.5 lbs)
- 3 shallots or 1 medium-sized onion, diced
- 1 red chili pepper, de-seeded and finely diced
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 2 cups Thai or regular basil
- Sesame seeds & lime wedges for garnish (optional)
Sauce
- 4 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
Instructions
- Mix all sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside. Meanwhile, get rice, water and butter cooking in a rice cooker while making the rest of the recipe.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken, shallots (or onion), chili pepper and a pinch of salt, sauteeing for 4-5 minutes until chicken is lightly browned. Add red pepper and cook another 2 minutes until peppers are tender.
- Add sauce and saute for 2 minutes until chicken is completely heated through. Turn off heat and stir in basil leaves.
- Serve by spooning chicken mixture and sauce over cooked rice, then garnish with sesame seeds and lime wedges if desired. Serve and enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Angela says
Hi, I love this recipe! On your site there used to be a version with cabbage, carrots, & ground chicken. Is that recipe still available?
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Angela – I’m so sorry but that recipe was deleted a while ago and is unretrievable. I will keep your request in mind though as I develop future recipes and will hopefully put a similar recipe back up on the site!