Prep a week’s worth of healthy lunches in just 40 minutes. This fresh combo of Greek-inspired charred chicken breast with tzatziki sauce, Mediterranean cucumber salad with cherry tomatoes, and wholesome brown rice is tasty, filling, and never gets old.
Love Greek cuisine? Don’t spend your pennies at the deli — with a little extra effort (emphasis on “little” because these bowls are super easy to put together), you can pack a Greek-inspired lunch from home that you’ll actually look forward to eating.
First, marinate the lemon garlic chicken breast with plenty of Greek seasoning. While it’s marinating, prepare a Greek salad with crunchy cucumbers and whip up a luscious, tangy yogurt sauce using our foolproof tzatziki recipe.
Then sauté the chicken until it’s golden and crispy, with just the right amount of char — it tastes just like chicken souvlaki (except we swapped the pita wrap for a bed of healthy brown rice).
Don’t be put off by the long list of ingredients — you’re making an entire week’s worth of lunches here! You’ll love seeing your fridge full of meal prep containers and knowing that you thinking about what to bring for lunch is one thing you can cross off your weekly to-do list. Speaking of time-savers, this recipe uses one of our favorite hacks to cut a bunch of cherry tomatoes in half all at once:
Greek Chicken Meal Prep
Makes 6 servings
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
Marinated Greek Chicken
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 5 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
- zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 3 garlic cloves, minced or grated
- 1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 Tablespoon dried oregano
- kosher salt, to taste
- ground black pepper, to taste
Cucumber Salad
- 2 small (or 1 large) English cucumbers, diced
- 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano (or 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh oregano)
- zest and juice of ½ lemon
Tzatziki Sauce
- 1 large cucumber, grated and drained well
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 3 cloves garlic, minced or grated
- zest and juice of ½ lemon
- 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh mint (optional)
- kosher salt, to taste
- ground black pepper, to taste
To Serve
- 1½ pounds cherry tomatoes, halved
- 3 cups cooked brown rice
- 1 red onion, sliced
Directions
- Prepare the marinated chicken: place all of the marinated chicken ingredients into a large plastic bag and make sure the chicken is fully coated. Marinate it for at least 20 minutes (or up to overnight), then drain and discard the marinade.
- While the chicken is marinating, prepare the other components. Make the cucumber salad: toss the diced cucumbers in a bowl with the rest of the cucumber salad ingredients, then set it aside. In another bowl, prepare the tzatziki sauce: in a small bowl, mix all of the tzatziki sauce ingredients. Slice the red onions thinly and set them aside. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half by securing them between two of the lids of your airtight containers and running a sharp knife in between the two lids.
- In a large, oven safe pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the marinated chicken breasts and cook them for about 3 to 5 minutes per side, or until golden brown. (If the chicken has browned but not cooked through, place the pan in the oven at 400°F/200°C and cook it until chicken is cooked through. The cooking time will depend on the thickness and size of your chicken.) Remove the cooked chicken from the pan, and let it cool. Once it’s cool, cut it into bite-sized pieces. Refrigerate the chicken while assembling your bowls.
- Assemble the Greek chicken bowls: add ½ cup of cooked brown rice to each airtight container, and top it with the cooked chicken, tzatziki sauce, sliced red onion, cucumber salad, and cherry tomatoes.
- Keep your bowls refrigerated for 3 to 5 days in their airtight containers, and serve them cold.
Recipe adapted from Eazy Peazy Mealz.