Easy Italian Chicken Meal Prep Bowls
Brown rice, zucchini, broccoli, tomatoes, and red onion, as well as deliciously seasoned chicken all cooked on a sheet pan for low mess, big flavor, meal prep!
When it comes to meal prep, this one is a total winner, use whatever veggies you have or want, a simple seasoning, and a few minutes prep. Pair with Easy Rice Pilaf or Herbed Rice Pilaf for a complete meal.
Italian Chicken Meal Prep Bowls
©Eazy Peazy Mealz by EazyPeazyMealz.com
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Introduction
About a month ago I shared a recipe for Greek Chicken Meal Prep Bowls, and apparently it struck a chord with a few of you, so I decided to share some of my other favorite easy to make recipes that work well for meal prep. This Italian Chicken Meal Prep Bowl is the result.
This dish is packed with delicious veggies, and seasoned with all the classic Italian spices: basil, rosemary, thyme, marjoram. It has some paprika for color and flavor, and some garlic because, well, garlic!
But the amazing thing about this Italian Chicken Meal Prep Bowls recipe is, that it is not only delicious, it is SO EASY TO MAKE!
You literally throw everything together on a sheet pan, and bake it.
Then stir it up and portion it out.
The recipe creates 4 servings. I suggest making this and the greek chicken meal prep bowls, or the Salsa Verde Taco Meal Prep Bowls, with a friend, and swapping half so you get a little variety.
Meal Prep Suggestions And Things To Note:
This Italian Chicken Meal Prep Bowl does not have to be used for meal prep. It is delicious as an easy mid week family meal. Instead of packaging it up, just serve to your family or friends over brown rice.
It is also easy to customize. Here are some suggestions for switching things up:
- Add whatever veggies you like best. Use what you have. I like this flavor combination, but feel free to substitute your favorites.
- There are a lot of seasonings on this, just cut the recipe measurements in half if you are worried it will be too much, adjust to taste!
- Add flavor by Broiling: I like to broil for a couple minutes at the end to get a little color on the chicken (not pictured). Skip if you don’t like your veggies to have a tiny bit of char.
- Salt and pepper are great for adjusting to your personal flavor preference.
How Long Will This Italian Chicken Last in the Fridge?
One of the biggest questions I get asked about meal prep is how long it stays good for. According to the USDA, cooked chicken, when properly stored, stays good for 3-4 days. So how do you properly store chicken?
- Properly Handle: If you are cooking Italian Chicken Meal Prep recipe for meal prep, not to eat immediately, it is best to let it cool on the counter for a few minutes before refrigerating it. But don’t let it sit too long, or bacteria growth could be a real problem.
- Refrigerate: Keeps 3-4 days in the fridge.
- Store in Airtight Containers: I used Glad Containers, they are reusable, affordable, and I love them. But if you want to use glass containers or something else, feel free.
How to Know If the Chicken is Spoiled:
Color: Good chicken is usually white and brown, where chicken that has spoiled will be gray or greenish tinted.
Smell: Bad chicken gives off an odor, usually a little sour and off-putting. So give it a whiff.
Texture: When chicken goes bad it can get slimy. So when in doubt, touch it!
Shortcuts
When I am doing meal prep, I try to make things as low mess and quick as possible.
So for the rice for these Italian Chicken Meal Prep Bowls, I used Uncle Ben’s Ready Rice. It is quick and easy, and takes only 90 seconds in the microwave.
I love any easy shortcut I can use to make meal prep easier. And these Italian Chicken Meal Prep Bowls have been a life saver on busy nights when my daughter has gymnastics, or on crazy days when I don’t have time to slow down for lunch.
My husband particularly likes when I make them because it means he has food to take on his trips! Hope you love them as much as we do.
Note: Estimated calories are included in the notes, but please double check on your favorite calorie calculator, such as MyFitnessPal.com
Meal Prep is such a great way to ensure I stay on top of my dietary goals, but also just makes life easier on those hectic days. You don’t have to be working to lose weight or make muscle gains to meal prep.
Meal prepping for your family can help you to eat together more often, have more nutritious meals, and more. So I want to share some of my favorite meal prep recipes with you.
Other meal prep options:
- Greek Chicken Bowls
- Salsa Verde Taco Bowls
- Ginger Orange Chicken Meal Prep
- Chicken Enchilada Meal Prep Bowls
- Easy Pork Carnitas Meal Prep Bowls
- Low Carb Satay Beef Meal Prep (Keto)
- Sheet pan Teriyaki Salmon (Meal Prep)
Italian Chicken Meal Prep Bowls
Ingredients
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 2 tsp basil
- 2 tsp marjoram
- 2 tsp rosemary
- 2 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp. paprika
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 1/2 cup broccoli florets
- 1 small red onion chopped
- 1 cup plum tomatoes
- 1 medium zucchini chopped
- 2 tsp garlic minced
- 2 Tbs olive oil
- 2-4 cups cooked rice of choice optional
- Meal Prep Containers
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 450F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix salt, pepper, basil, marjoram, rosemary, thyme, and paprika
- Place the chicken and veggies in the baking dish. Sprinkle all the spices and garlic evenly over the chicken and veggies. Drizzle with the olive oil.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until chicken is cooked, and veggies are slightly charred.
- Broil 1-2 minutes to brown chicken
- Place ½ or 1 cup of cooked rice of choice into 4 individual meal prep containers.
- Divide chicken and veggies evenly on top of the rice.
- Cover and store in the fridge for 3- 5 days or serve for dinner!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Our recipe card software calculates these nutrition facts based on averages for the above ingredients, different brands, and quality of produce/meats may have different nutritional information, always calculate your own based on the specific products you use in order to achieve accurate macros for this recipe.
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Courtenay says
Do these freeze well?
Rachael Yerkes says
They do. However, tomatoes are always iffy when frozen, so I would suggest leaving them tomatoes out if you are freezing them.
Sharon says
Thanks for sharing this simple but delicious sounding recipe. As a diabetic I’m always looking for carb friendly recipes and this fits the bill. I might not even need rice with it. I’ve been experimenting with substituting spaghetti squash for pasta and this might be another way to serve it. I’ll probably leave the tomatoes out since I’ll be portioning this and freezing individual servings.
lori says
YOu could always try cauliflower rice for a lower carb option!:)
Shawn says
Oh you’re the best!
Rachael says
Thanks Lori, that is a great suggestion.
Tammy says
What a great alternative…
Pam says
I’m wondering where all the cholesterol comes from in this recipe. Is it the chicken?
Rachael says
Great ideas! I concur with leaving the tomato out if you are planning to freeze. Thanks for sharing a more carb friendly alternative.
Robin says
Soo tired of chicken! I traded-out the chicken for pork (used chops, deboned, removed fat and diced). Didn’t have any marjoram and used smoked paprika. i did not use tomatoes although I’d intended to I used butternut squash, red onion and broccoli, Smells heavenly cooking. Can’t wait to tasted it!
OMG, Yummy!
TY!
Rachael says
Robin, oh what an awesome idea. Thanks for sharing.
cheryl says
We are going to try riced cauliflower under it.
Rachael says
Oh that sounds awesome.
Janet says
Cooking for one here, so I adjusted accordingly. I used frozen Fajita chicken and Normandy veggies. The seasoning combination is fabulous! Made perfect meals to take to work a couple of days a week.. Of course, everything is better with shredded cheese on top – that’s just me. Thank you, this is definitely an outstanding keeper!
Rachael says
Thank you Janet, and thanks for taking time to comment! So glad you liked the final results. We certainly enjoyed it here.
Lori says
Thanks for sharing! I love this idea and can’t wait to get started! Could substitute shrimp would also be good right?
Rachael says
Shrimp would be delicious!
Shawn says
These look fantastic! Can’t wait to make these next week!
Barb says
What is the actual size of your glad containers?
Ira says
Do you microwave it for lunch or eat it cold? I find that chicken gets a rubbery return when I microwave leftovers.
Ira says
*texture
echo says
Ira- try sprinkling the food, especially the meat, with water. I always do that with leftovers, especially if pasta or rice is in there. It just keeps everything from turning into a ‘brick’.
Rachael says
Great advice. Thank you!
Rachael says
I usually heat it up. The texture doesn’t bother me. But I have had it cold too.
Katie says
I don’t have many of the listed spices could I just substitute the Italian Seasoning that’s already mixed? Say 6tsp of Italian Seasoning for the 2 tsp marjoram, 2 tsp rosemary, 2 tsp thyme since I have the other spices?
Rachael says
You could definitely do that Katie!
Candis H. says
This is delicious! I’m starting a Biggest Loser Contest at work…these meal prep recipes will help with my portion control!
Rachael says
Good luck with your contest! I hope you love the meal prep bowls.
Dc says
Can I cook this in a slow cooker?
Emily says
You linked to the seasoning recipe but you didn’t give credit to where you got the original recipe! I saw this recipe on gimmedelicious.com and it was delicious! Next time please give credit where it’s due.
Rachael says
Emily, believe it or not, I have never seen gimmedelicious.com’s recipe for this. There are millions of bloggers and recipes, and sometimes they are similar. I saw the seasoning mix (which I linked and attributed), and had those vegetables in my fridge and thought it would be an awesome meal. I am very conscious of giving credit where credit is due, but in this case it is simply that there are similar recipes out there. I have a greek chicken meal prep bowl recipe that does well, and thought maybe a different variation on a chicken bowl would too. So I appreciate you looking out for other bloggers, but accusing me of stealing recipes without attribution is unfair.
David says
Interesting given she just posted a recipe just like Diethood’s super popular southwestern chicken/rice foil bake with no credit given at all to that blogger. You sound like you’re just starting drama which seems absurd since Rachael did actually credit her sources.
Athena says
How much rice do you usually make for a 4 day meal prep?
Rachael says
2 cups finished. I typically buy the packets you cook in 90 seconds because when I meal prep I like to save time.
Katey says
I hate that this page will not let me look at the recipe and constantly skips to the bottom of the page!!! How am i supposed to follow the recipe?
Rachael says
I am not sure what you mean. I just went on the page, and was able to scroll to the recipe no problem. I would love to trouble shoot the issue you are having, so if you could give more information that would be great.
Janet says
I am making this now it’s actually in the oven now, I forgot to get tomatoes so I used red and oranges peppers that I had on hand. Looks and smells delicious. I doubled it so I have enough for hubby and I for the wee I will be freezing 2 portions sine I need it for next weekend.
Rachael says
Those sound like great substitutions. I hope you love it.
Sara Glover says
I’m obsessed with your meal prep recipes! They are not only brilliant for making my week smoother, but delicious too! Especially this one!
Rachael says
Thanks Sara! We love this one.
Christy says
How do you hear the meal ip the following day? I really dislike microwaving chicken or an meat in the microwave because the taste changes. -‘Any advice
Susan says
Thanks. Just starting out!
Sarah says
I will try this, I am planning to add potatoes on it.
Thanks for sharing your recipe. Expecting for more!
Melanie says
Please define “meal prep bowls.” Is this different than just making ahead?