Meal Prep Chicken – 3 Ways
Chicken meal prep for the entire week! Salsa verde, lemon pepper + orange chicken marinades included. SO GOOD, SO EASY!
Hello to the best kind of chicken meal prep for the entire week!
One recipe. Three marinades. Three epic marinades – salsa verde, lemon pepper and orange chicken.
You’ll need 1.5 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs (chicken breasts can easily be substituted) for each marinade. So if you’re prepping for yourself and for your family/boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife/best friend, you can make either two of the three marinades or all three – that way you can mix it up without having orange chicken every single day.
Yes, sometimes there’s such a thing as too much orange chicken.
All marinades are super easy to whip up with easy-to-find ingredients you already have on hand. Let them marinate for 2-8 hours and throw into a skillet (separate skillets for separate marinades) until tender and golden brown, letting them simmer in those fantastic juices.
Serve with desired veggies, grains, and/or protein for your favorite salad.
Meal Prep Chicken - 3 Ways
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 recipe of desired marinade
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the salsa verde marinade
- ¾ cup salsa verde
- 1 shallot, minced
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- 1 tablespoon lime zest
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the lemon pepper marinade
- ¼ cup chicken stock
- 1 ½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 shallot, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the orange chicken marinade
- 3 tablespoons teriyaki sauce
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a gallon size Ziploc bag or large bowl, combine chicken and desired marinade; marinate for at least 2 hours to overnight, turning the bag occasionally.
- Heat canola oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken and marinade, and cook, stirring often, until golden brown and marinade has reduced, about 13-15 minutes.
- Stir in 2 tablespoons water, scraping any brown bits from the bottom of the skillet; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately.
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Thank you for the marinade ideas! I buy a big pack of chicken thighs from Costco and put portions in individual freezer bags with a marinade and freeze until I need them. Takes a little while so you need to set aside some time but in the long run, saves you time. Will try your marinades soon!
What a great idea to put in freezer with the marinade until you need them. I am taking your idea!
me too!!!
Can you freeze the chicken and marinade together for later meals?
I made all three and kept them in the freezer for a future meal. They all tasted wonderful. My favorite is the Salsa Verde. We served over wild grain rice. Yummy!
Each one looks delicious. What suggestions would you have for sides with each chicken recipe?
How about freezing the chicken in the marinades and then cooking after you thaw them as needed? Also, do you have a teriyaki sauce brand that you prefer?
I was thinking the same thing.
Hi Cheryl; this is my thought as well. Freeze the raw cut up chicken thighs in the marinades, in containers or freezer bags. Seems like it would work fine; put a bag of frozen chicken/marinade in the refrigerator the night before one wishes to cook it; come home, cook as instructed, serve, eat!
Sounds perfect!
You have by far the best recipes I have tried so many from dumplings to full dinner rec nev been disappointed thanks so much. Love that pineapple chicken.
We love that! Thanks, Mike!
I am confused about the meal prep aspect, too. It says at the end of the recipe to serve immediately. So if this is being used as meal prep, should the be cooked first, then stored for the week?
Hi Karen! When it says “serve immediately” it simply means you can consume it right away. You can also store it (after cooking) for meal prep purposes.
Sounds amazing! Don’t understand how this is a prep for the entire week though. Can you make these all in one day and leave them marinading until the day you want to cook them?
Terrence, you can make these all in one day but I recommend marinating for 2-8 hours at most. 🙂