These Peanut Chicken Meal Prep Bowls come together with sautéed chicken, a rainbow of veggies and a delicious peanut sauce for a healthy make ahead, low carb lunch idea!
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Ingredients in peanut chicken
It's easy to make this peanut chicken meal prep! Full ingredient amounts can be found in the recipe card, but here's an overview of what you need to make this recipe:
- chicken breasts seasoned with soy sauce & Sriracha
- red cabbage, sliced
- red peppers, sliced
- carrot matchsticks, sliced
- romaine lettuce, sliced
- Chopped peanuts, for topping
- Sesame seeds, for topping
And here's what you need to make the peanut dressing:
- peanut butter
- soy sauce
- lime juice
- honey
- dried ginger
Ingredient substitutions
As usual, if you need to sub in any other veggies for the veggies included in these meal prep bowls, feel free to go on ahead. Most substitutes work so don't be afraid to cheat and sub in a bag of coleslaw or broccoli slaw for the lettuce if you don't feel like doing any chopping. The matchstick carrots come pre-chopped so from there it's just a matter of adding in another extra veggies or two and then you're set!
You can also add rice, quinoa or pasta if you'd like some extra carbs as well, but I honestly find the peanut-chicken combo filling enough – tons of protein!
You could even do a vegetarian option of these bowls too if you do decide to add some quinoa or brown rice. That's the beauty of peanuts: they're a super cost-effective way to include protein in your diet and the saltiness usually satisfies any cravings for savoury foods.
How to make peanut chicken
It's super easy to make this peanut chicken. Here's how:
- Saute chicken until browned, then add soy sauce and sriracha and saute another few minutes until fully cooked.
- Meanwhile, mix ingredients for peanut sauce together and prepare veggies.
- Add veggies and chicken to bowls, then top with peanuts, sesame seeds and peanut dressing. Serve and enjoy!
Is peanut sauce healthy?
Yes it is! And the best part is that it's made with ingredients you can find in your pantry so you don't need to run to the store to buy anything special.
Peanuts and peanut butter are filled with protein and are considered a healthy fat – this sauce is both delicious and nutritious, and since the rest of the meal is low carb, it's the highest calorie edition to this meal prep without making it unhealthy or fatty.
Making this recipe a stir fry
You can also turn these meal prep bowls into a stir fry if you prepare a hot meal. Get rid of the lettuce, then saute the cabbage, red pepper and carrots together. You can add in any other veggie you have on hand as well, so this is a clear out your pantry sort of meal.
Saute the veggies with the chicken for about 10-12 minutes and then top with the peanut sauce after everything is done cooking. Super easy right?!
Storing and reheating
Now, there are some things you should note about these Peanut Chicken Meal Prep Bowls.
The first of which being that you may want to bag the lettuce separately because if it sits in the bowls for too many days it goes soggy. I also pack the peanut dressing separately to ensure that all the veggies stay fresh and then I drizzle the peanut sauce overtop when ready to serve.
I also typically eat these Peanut Chicken Meal Prep Bowls cold but you could always reheat the chicken separately if you'd like, although there's enough flavour there that I don't think you need the chicken heated up!
Freezing the chicken
You can also freeze the cooked chicken to save for another meal – store in freezer safe bowls up to 3 months then defrost in the fridge overnight before reheating and serving.
More chicken meal prep recipes
Meal prep tools
- Get your square glass meal prep bowls here
- And of course I get all my free-range chicken breasts from Butcher Box
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Thai Chicken Meal Prep Bowls with Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb chicken breasts, diced into 1-inch cubes
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp Sriracha
- 1 cup red cabbage, sliced
- 1 cup red peppers, sliced
- 1 cup carrot matchsticks, sliced
- 1 cup romaine lettuce, sliced
- Chopped peanuts, for topping (optional)
- Sesame seeds, for topping (optional)
Peanut dressing
- 1/3 cup peanut butter
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp dried ginger
- 1/4 cup water
Instructions
- Preheat olive oil over med-high heat. Add chicken and saute for 7-8 minutes until browned. Add soy sauce and sriracha and cook another 3-4 minutes until chicken is fulled cooked.
- Meanwhile, mix ingredients for peanut sauce together with a whisk, saving water for the end. Add water bit by bit, whisking as you go to combine. Prepare veggies and divide them among 4 meal prep bowls.
- Remove chicken from heat and add to bowls. Top with peanuts, sesame seeds and peanut dressing. Bowls will keep in fridge up to 5 days.
Video
Nutrition
Charlene says
Eating one of these thai peanut chicken bowls right now. It’s excellent. That peanut dressing is amazing!
Jen says
When you say dried ginger, do you mean ginger powder or chopped dried ginger?
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Jen! I mean ginger powder 🙂
Cait says
What kind of peanut butter do you use?? Natural?
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Cait! Any kind will work 🙂
Ivana says
in the recipe how it asks dried ginger, would regular ginger work (grated)?
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Ivana, of course! I would sub in about 1-2 tsp fresh ginger!
Lauren says
Just made this for my weekly meal prep. The peanut sauce tastes amazing. Thanks for sharing a great recipe and giving my husband and I a lunch to look forward to!<3
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy you liked it Lauren! Thanks for sharing with me 🙂
Brianne says
Sorry about the stupid question but what is siracha? Is it a sauce or a powder that you use?
Taylor Stinson says
It’s hot sauce 🙂 Like a chili garlic Asian-style hot sauce you can find in the section of the grocery store where the soy sauce is kept!
Steph says
So simple and delicious. Thanks!
Karchiri Clack says
This is so amazing! The peanut sauce is to die for. Thanks for sharing!
Holly says
I’m curious, do you eat these bowls cold or do you heat them up?
Taylor Stinson says
I usually eat them cold but you could remove the chicken and heat it then add it back to the salad 🙂
Courtney says
I’m making this for the third or fourth time tonight for lunch meal prep, and I’m so excited! I like to use (prepared) powdered peanut butter (PB2) for the dressing to cut down on calories a bit and I just use coleslaw mix instead of the romaine etc. and omg is it good!
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy you enjoy these bowls so much Courtney 🙂