By: Denise Bustard93 Comments
Posted: 4/13/20Updated: 1/4/21
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Thai chicken lunch bowls have roasted vegetables and chicken served over rice with a tangy homemade peanut sauce. Easy to prep and keeps well for four days!
If your mornings are anything similar to mine, it is a rush to get out the door most weekdays. And busy days are exactly when you need a quick grab-and-go lunch, like these Honey Sesame Chicken Lunch Bowls or Chicken Fajita Lunch Bowls. Another tasty and satisfying meal prep recipe are these Thai Chicken Lunch Bowls.
If you like peanut sauce, you are going to LOVE this recipe!
Made by hundreds Lunch Prep Challenge participants, this was one of our most popular recipes in the challenge because it was easy to prepare and packed full of flavor.
Reasons you'll ♡ this recipe
- easy to meal prep and flexible for ingredient swaps
- can be adapted to your diet with low carb, gluten-free and even nut-free swaps available
- healthy, filling, and so much better than buying lunch
Recipe video
Wondering how this recipe comes together? Watch this 1-minute video to see how easy it is to prep! You can find more recipe videos on myYouTube channel.
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Let's talk ingredients!
These lunch bowls are excellent for making with whatever fresh vegetables are available; I used broccoli and carrots, but think the chicken and peanut sauce would also be great with cauliflower, sweet potatoes, and/or bell peppers.
To change things up a bit from just using plain white rice, for this recipe I used brown basmati rice with some salt and chicken stock to add a touch more flavor to the rice.
- rice - use your favorite rice: brown or white basmati are great choices. I also love serving this over quinoa or even cauliflower rice
- chicken - I've used boneless skinless chicken breasts, but you could swap for boneless skinless chicken thighs. Try chickpeas to make a vegan lunch bowl.
- vegetables - broccoli is pictured, but feel free to swap with what you have on hand: carrots, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, and/or bell peppers all sound good to me!
- peanut sauce: creamy peanut butter, rice vinegar, brown sugar, sesame oil, and lime juice come together for a tangy, slightly sweet and savory sauce that is just perfect for drizzling over the chicken + vegetables
Meal prep tips
This recipe works great for meal prep! Here are some tips to get the most our of your prep:
- multitask - get the brown rice cooking on the stove first, and then work on baking the chicken and veggies. While everything is cooking, make the peanut sauce.
- containers- I recommend using condiment containers if you have them for keeping the peanut sauce separate from the other ingredients until you're ready to enjoy
- storage - these can be kept in the fridge for up to 4 days; if freezing, you'll definitely want to keep the peanut sauce separate
Find my favorite meal prep containers, sheet pans and condiment containers in my shop!
Try these ingredient swaps:
- vegan - use chickpeas instead of chicken, and vegetable broth as a substitute for chicken broth
- extra protein - cook with quinoa instead of rice
- low carb - try cauliflower rice as a swap for rice, use monk fruit sweetener in place of maple syrup (try ¼ of the volume, and increase to taste)
- nut-free - swap the peanut butter for tahini or make this maple tahini dressing
Looking for more meal prep lunch bowls?
- Satay Chicken Lunch Bowls
- Slow Cooker Chipotle Honey Chicken Taco Salad
- Jerk Chicken Lunch Bowls
- Turkey Taco Lunch Bowls
Did you make this? Tag me on social @sweetpeasandsaffron and be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe!
Thai Chicken Lunch Bowls (Meal Prep)
4.73 from 80 votesPrep Time: 15 minutes mins
Cook Time: 25 minutes mins
Total Time: 30 minutes mins
Print Rate
Thai chicken lunch bowls have roasted vegetables and chicken served over rice with a tangy homemade peanut sauce. Easy to prep and keeps well for four days!
4
Ingredients
- ¾ cup uncooked rice
Chicken
- 2 chicken breasts 12-16 oz total
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
Vegetables
- 6 cups vegetables cut into bite-sized pieces I used broccoli and carrots
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Peanut Lime Sauce
- ¼ cup all natural peanut butter
- 1.5 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup (honey or brown sugar may be subbed)
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ tablespoon lime juice
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 tablespoons of water (or more as needed to thin it out)
Additional:
- ¼ cup peanuts (optional- 1 tablespoon per bowl)
Instructions
Cook rice according to package directions. Set aside to cool slightly before dividing between four meal prep containers.
Pre-heat oven to 425°F.
Place the chicken in a small baking pan and drizzle in olive oil and soy sauce. Turn to coat.
Toss the vegetables in olive oil and arrange on a large baking sheet.
Place chicken and vegetables in the oven together.
Bake the chicken for 25 minutes total or until an internal temperature of 165°F is reached, turning once halfway through the cook time.
Bake the vegetables for 15-20 minutes, until softened and cooked through.
While chicken + veggies are baking, shake together peanut sauce ingredients. Portion out into condiment containers if you have them (if not you can drizzle over everything)
Divide chicken + veggies between the meal prep containers, and place a serving of peanut sauce on or with the container.
Storage
Store in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat until steaming hot, drizzle with peanut sauce and enjoy.
Tips:
Reheat in the microwave and then sprinkle with peanuts just before serving.
These bowls will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Video
Nutrition Information
Serving: 1bowl, Calories: 495kcal, Carbohydrates: 49g, Protein: 36g, Fat: 19g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 70mg, Sodium: 596mg, Fiber: 6g, Sugar: 10g
Author: Denise Bustard
Course: Lunch
Cuisine: Thai
© Sweet Peas & Saffron - Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
Meet Denise Bustard
Denise Bustard is the creator of Sweet Peas and Saffron, a meal prep-focussed food blog. With a PhD in biochemistry, Denise takes a scientific approach to perfecting her recipes. You can find Denise's work featured on Huffington Post, MSN, Self and more.
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Reader Interactions
4.73 from 80 votes (66 ratings without comment)
Leave a Comment
Jessicca says
So good. Thought it was going to be boring but the peanut sauce really adds so much flavor. I also added some sriracha to the meal for some heat. Will definitely make again!Reply
Ben | Sweet Peas & Saffron says
Hi Jessica, some extra spicy goes well with this recipe, so adding the sriracha was a good idea. Thank you for taking the time to share🌶🌶
Reply
Reilly says
Turned out good! I subbed white wine vinegar for rice vinegar (bad choice, I know) and the sauce ended up a bit vinegary for my taste (big surprise!) Still a good sauce and I am happy that my meals are prepped.Reply
Jasmine @ Sweet Peas & Saffron says
Hi Reilly, thanks for sharing your feedback - hopefully it's better next time with rice vinegar 🙂 Thank you so much for taking the time to come back to leave a rating and review!
Reply
Casey says
can it be stored in the freezer?
If I made to different lunches I would use two and freeze two.
Reply
Jasmine @ Sweet Peas & Saffron says
Hi Casey, great question! The base of the bowls will freeze/thaw well, but the peanut sauce should not be added as it will dry out. It should freeze on its own though, maybe in small condiment containers? I hope this helps!
Reply
Lauren says
I tried this sauce using powdered peanut butter and it was soooo good!Reply
Jasmine @ Sweet Peas & Saffron says
Hi Lauren! So good to know that this recipe worked out well with powdered peanut butter! Thank you so much, Lauren, for taking the time to come back to leave a rating and review. 🙂
Reply
LAUREN says
Can I use powdered peanut butter for the sauce?
Reply
Jasmine @ Sweet Peas & Saffron says
Hi Lauren, we haven't tested powdered peanut butter for this recipe so we can't speak to whether it would work. If you do try it, could you report back and let us know how it turns out?
Reply
Jennefer Maldonado says
Very good. Thank you, How much calories would you say the peanut sauce alone is ?
Reply
Joy C Nicholson says
The peanut sauce is so good! Thank you!
Reply
Denise Bustard says
Hi Joy! I'm so happy you enjoyed. Thanks for reporting back!
Reply
Anh says
Denise, THANK YOU SO MUCH for these recipes. I found you on Youtube and I'm so glad I did! I have gestational diabetes and looking for healthier choices and being able to save some time doing it. Thank you again for blessing us with these recipes! So grateful for you.Reply
Denise Bustard says
Hi Anh! I'm so happy the recipes have been helpful! And I am sorry to hear about GD, I failed my orange drink test a few times and was so glad to finally pass that third test.
Reply
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