These Quick & Easy Chicken Spring Roll Jars are the perfect grab-and-go lunch with ground chicken and sweet chili sauce for an added kick.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Sesame oil – or any neutral cooking oil like olive, avocado or canola oil.
- Ground chicken – you could also use ground turkey, pork or beef.
- Soy sauce – tamari or coconut aminos are both gluten-free alternatives.
- Garlic – fresh garlic is best but jarred minced garlic will work in a pinch.
- Ginger – if you don’t have any fresh garlic, try ground ginger.
- Coleslaw – use a combination of shredded cabbage, carrot and radish in place of the mixed bag.
- Sweet chili sauce – plum sauce, soy sauce or sriracha would also work here.
- Cucumber – leave this out altogether if you don’t have any cucumber.
- Red pepper – or any other colour bell pepper like yellow and orange.
- Rice stick vermicelli noodles – try using plain rice noodles or pre-cooked Cantonese noodles instead.
- Cilantro – parsley has a similar flavour or leave the cilantro out altogether.
- Sesame seeds – poppy or hemp seeds could also work.
How to make this recipe
- Cook the ground chicken in soy sauce.
- Add in the garlic and ginger.
- Sauté the coleslaw in soy sauce.
- Make the vermicelli noodles.
- Assemble the jars and serve.
How to serve meal prep jar recipes
Mason jars are the perfect container for storing salads and other types of meal prep recipes. They each have a lid, and they’re vertical so they fit better in the refrigerator and in your lunch bag. Plus, they are easy to wash, dishwasher safe, and you can reuse them without hassle. You can find them in any store, but you can also purchase some through Amazon. They're much cheaper than a lot of plastic containers out there.
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Despite all the benefits, mason jars can be very difficult to eat from, so you'll need to have a plate or bowl to pour these spring roll jars out onto. This way, it's easier to mix everything together to eat but you still get the benefits of separating your dressings from your fresh veggies to prevent them from getting soggy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Spring rolls normally contain minced meat, shredded carrot and other vegetables that are rolled up in a thin flour or rice wrapper and deep fried.
Regular spring rolls are generally not healthy since they’re deep fried. These spring roll jars are healthier than the traditional version with fresh veggies, ground chicken and rice vermicelli noodles instead of a deep-fried wrapper.
There are 480 calories in these spring roll jars. They're way more filling than the traditional deep-fried spring rolls and you're getting a bigger serving size for the calorie count.
Storing spring roll jars
These spring roll jars will last in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, which means they are perfect for meal prep! This recipe will make four servings, so you can have nearly a whole work week’s worth of lunches ready in about 30 minutes.
You can even throw the jars in the microwave for a hot meal – simply microwave the mason jar on high for 1-2 minutes and pour into a large bowl.
Freezing the ground chicken
You can't freeze these jars whole, but you can take the chicken out and freeze it for later if you know you're not going to eat all fouor jars in one week.
To defrost the chicken, simply let it thaw for 24 hours in the fridge then reheat in the microwave or on the stove. You can also just add your frozen chicken to the bottom of your jars and store them in the fridge – your chicken will defrost in the fridge.
More mason jar recipes
Meal prep tools
- I use these mason jars – they're so perfect for meal prep!
- This is my fave sweet chili sauce.
- These are the vermicelli noodles I buy.
- This is the brand of tamari I like, and I love this low-sodium soy sauce!
- And of course I get all my free range ground chicken from Butcher Box!
Quick & Easy Chicken Spring Roll Jars
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 lb Ground chicken or turkey
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp ginger, minced
- 1 bag coleslaw
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 1/2 cup sweet chili sauce
- 1 cup cucumber, cut into matchsticks
- 1 cup red pepper, sliced
- 200 g rice stick vermicelli noodles about half of a 400g package
- 1/3 cup cilantro, chopped (can also use/add in fresh mint and basil)
- Sesame seeds, soy sauce & sriracha to taste
Instructions
- Heat sesame oil over med-high heat in a large skillet. Add ground chicken and 2 tbsp soy sauce, cooking for 2-3 min. Add garlic and ginger, then sautee for 7-8 min until chicken is fully cooked.
- Remove chicken from pan and add coleslaw and 2 tsp soy sauce, sauteeing for 2-3 min until slaw is slightly wilted. Meanwhile, cook vermicelli noodles according to package directions (usually takes 2-3 min in boiling water).
- Divide sweet chili sauce among the bottom of 4 medium-sized mason jars (it ends up being about 2 tbsp sweet chili sauce added to each 16oz jar). Divide chicken among jars, then coleslaw, cucumber and red pepper. Top with vermicelli noodles, fresh herbs and sesame seeds. Add soy sauce and sriracha if desired. Jars keep in fridge up to 5 days.
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Marla says
Made these today for my lunches this week! They look so yummy & pretty! Looking forward to lunch tomorrow lol
Deborah says
Do you eat this salad cold or reheat it?
Taylor Stinson says
I tend to eat them cold (great if you don’t have a microwave at work!) but you can remove the cucumbers and then reheat from there!