Hi! Guys, I’m seriously so excited to be back in the kitchen. It feels sooooo good. I’m still trying to find the “good light” in my new house for food photos, but we’ll figure it out. That won’t stop me from cooking! If you saw my Instagram stories the past few days then you know I made a batch of naan for my Curried Chickpeas Meal Prep this week. Curried Chickpeas with Spinach is one of my favorite fast and delicious budget meals because it has so few ingredients but is so very yummy. Like, lick the spoon yummy. I paired the curried chick peas with some Curry Roasted Cauliflower, and a little bit of Homemade Naan for sopping up the delicious curry tomato sauce.
You might be thinking, “wow, that’s a lot of curry…” and yeah, I did use the same curry powder in both the chickpea dish and the roasted cauliflower, but some how they still taste different enough to provide variety for the meal. Also, I made one dish mild (the curried chickpeas) and one spicy (curry roasted cauliflower), so that also helped provide more variety. I included only 1/2 piece of naan for each meal prep box because I was trying to not be carb-heavy, but if you feel like that wouldn’t be filling enough, you’ll have plenty of naan to use a whole piece for each box.
This Curried Chickpeas Meal Prep is vegetarian, but not vegan because of the yogurt and egg in the naan. While I’ve made the naan without egg (by accident) in the past and it was still pretty good, I think it would be lacking flavor without the yogurt. If you want to make this meal prep vegan I suggest substituting the naan for rice, preferably either jasmine or basmati.
For more information about meal prepping, how it works, and why I do it, check out Meal Prep 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Prepping and Portioning Meals, or check out my entire Budget-Friendly Meal Prep Archive.
Curried Chickpeas Meal Prep
The Curried Chickpeas Meal Prep Includes:
Curried Chickpeas with Spinach: $4.68
Curry Roasted Cauliflower: $3.77
2 Pieces Homemade Naan (1/2 piece each box): $0.43
Alternate to Naan: 4 cups cooked rice (jasmine or basmati)
Total Cost: $8.88
Cost Per Meal: $2.22
You’ll have about two servings leftover Curry Roasted Cauliflower, but you could always make each of the four servings in the boxes slightly larger to make sure it all gets eaten, as the roasted cauliflower will not freeze well.
The recipe for Homemade Naan makes eight pieces, but the bread freezes really well. Make sure it’s fully cooled before transferring it to a gallon-sized freezer bag and stashing it in the freezer.
The containers in the photos this week are a set that I bought on Amazon in order to have a divided container option. They came in a huge pack of ten and are BPA free, which is great, but I like my glass containers and even my blue top Ziploc containers much better. These don’t feel as durable and I don’t quite trust the seal for liquids.
Tips:
If you don’t have a divided container, make sure to wrap your naan in some sort of plastic sandwich bag or zip top bag to keep it from getting stale.
And I think that’s the only tip I have for you this week! This meal is pretty easy-peasy and doesn’t need any special instructions. If you have any questions, leave them below and I’ll try to answer! :)
Oh, and because everyone always asks, this is the type of curry powder I use. Curry powders can vary a LOT from brand to brand, so it can be worth experimenting to find on you really like. I like to buy the mild version these days and I just add cayenne if I want a curry dish spicy. Two birds with one stone!
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I made this meal prep for lunch this week and it was so filling and yummy! I highly recommend.
This was surprisingly super satisfying without any meat! My husband and I are trying to eat a couple vegetarian meals a week as to not rely on meat every day and this was great! I did not add peas and couldn’t find naan so I used pita, brushed olive oil on it with garlic salt and toasted it in a pan and it was delicious.
How many days dose this last in the fridge for? Also how do you heat this up/ how long for?
I keep this for about four days in the fridge and I just reheat using the microwave. The exact times for reheating will depend on the microwave and containers you’re using. I usually start with one minute, stir, and add more time if needed.
Your divided black containers (with lids?) look just like the ones that come with store-bought pre-made meals. Can the store-bought ones be cleaned and re-used or are they just for one-time use only? It seems a shame and expensive to toss them and then buy new ones.
I’m not sure, unfortunately I’ve never seen those pre-made meal containers.
That’s awesome that you’ve never had to see them!!
Though the answer is No!
I believe the plastic starts to break down. Every one I’ve seen says to not reuse the container.
O.M.G.
I just made the curried chick peas for dinner tonight, along with the curry roasted cauliflower. Didn’t have time for the naan, darn it (next time!), but I made some couscous real quick…
YUM YUM YUM.
So easy, and everyone LOVED it, including my daughter.
Thank you X 1,000!!
My boyfriend and I made this last night. He doesn’t really like spinach, but this was a great way to incorporate it into a meal without him complaining! It was SO good and filling. Appears as thought it will freeze well too.
Do you know what the calories are for your meal prep? Just wondering! I’m trying to lose weight and loving your meal prep ideas! Thanks!
No, I’m sorry I don’t have the nutrition info.
Made this for my lunches at school for the next week. My apartment smells amazing. Instead of the Naan, I made some fresh pita to go with it (Chef John’s recipe). This is a hit! Thanks a lot!
Looks amazin! I love ur blog just to let you know. You do such a wonderful job!
Weird question, but could you maybe do a post on your pantry and fridge, and what your regular shopping trips are like?
I try to follow your recipes but i never seem to have on hand what i need to follow a certain one, and than by the time i’m at the “shops” i can never remember what to get from a recipe ive glanced at. Im already overwhelmed there anyways, so normally i dont pull out my phone and search your database (although maybe i should start?)
Do u think you’ll ever have “follow along with me” week where you sort of lead us through some of the week? I guess sort of like those meal delivery things, only with your list and better recipes (yours, of course.)
I think I already have you covered. :)
Check out my Kitchen Staples post to see what kind of pantry/fridge staples I keep on hand.
Check out my Weekly Recaps and SNAP Challenge posts from when I was working on a restricted weekly/monthly budget to see what my grocery shopping and recipe planning looks like.
Hi Jenny
If I see a recipe I like (always on Budget Bytes – seriously never bother with other websites) I scroll to the recipe ingredients in advance, take a snapshot of the screen and store it in a recipe album on my phone. So at the supermarket I just look through my pics and I can see everything I need for that particular recipe. No effort – hope that’s helpful?
How long will this meal last in the fridge? Helpful for meal planning. :) Thanks!
About 4-5 days. There’s no hard line, unfortunately, it’s more of a slow degredation of quality, so it depends a lot on your personal tolerance and other factors like your refrigerator temp, packaging, and things like that.
Love this combo, particularly the dry curried cauliflower dish, similar to the classic gobi aloo which combines cauliflower and half diced potato. i do prefer to use garam masala instead of the American style curry powders which are mostly tumeric–and can actually find that in my local supermarket, even though I live in a predominately rural area. It’s not at all hot, so I usually add a little tumeric and crushed red pepper flakes to taste. Another great meal idea! Thanks so much for making life a little more tasty, economical, and varied
I was just thinking about the curry chickpeas the other day! You must’ve read by mind! I made chickpeas from dried once and it was amazing!!
Another great week!
Where can I get those meal prep containers?
There is a link to the containers in the post, but here it is again. :)
Looks delicious, and great tip on how to make a mild curry powder spicier!
My mouth is watering right now!!! I’m so glad that you’ve settled in comfortably in your new home, Beth!!! :-)
This is freaky, but I made almost this exact meal prep today! I also made a batch of your herb tomato soup that I plan on serving with pesto. I had about three or four budget bytes recipes open in multiple tabs :)
Great minds think alike! :D