Hey guys! I’ve got a quick and simple meal prep for you this week, but I do have to mention that this one probably won’t be applicable to everyone because this week I used my pressure cooker. I’m not one of those people who uses their pressure cooker constantly. In fact, I only use it for a few specific things, including my Pressure Cooker Chicken and Rice, which is one of my all-time favorite easy dinners to make. Since I just wanted something easy and filling, pressure cooker chicken and rice it was! To make it a complete meal I paired the chicken and rice with the super flavorful Moroccan Spiced Sweet Potatoes and called it a day. It was a very satisfying day.
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.
Pressure Cooker Chicken and Rice Meal Prep
The cool thing about the Pressure Cooker Chicken and Rice is that you can use any seasoning blend you like for the chicken and rice combo. Since I was already working with a very heavily spiced Moroccan Sweet Potatoes, I went a little lighter for the chicken with this Za’atar blend that I bought from Kroger on a whim. The Za’atar didn’t have much salt (if any) so I made sure to add some to the chicken and then to the liquid when cooking the rice after the chicken. It was perfectly delicious, moist, and tender, as the pressure cooker chicken always is. Also, to make it perfect for portioning, I used four chicken thighs (bone-in, skin-on) instead of using a split chicken like in the original recipe.
This Meal Prep Includes:
Pressure Cooker Chicken and Rice*: $5.61
Moroccan Spiced Sweet Potatoes: $1.96
Total: $7.57
Cost per meal: $1.89
*I used four chicken thighs instead of the split chicken in the original recipe, as well as a different spice blend (Za’atar).
No leftovers this week! Wooo hoo!
And guys, these reheat so well in the microwave and the aroma is so intoxicating!
And that’s it, guys! This one is so easy, needs no special instructions for storage, or anything! Just cook, pack, and refrigerate and you’re good to go!
Unfortunately I haven’t found an alternate way to do this chicken and rice without the pressure cooker, but I’m working on it!
And the containers pictured in this week’s meal prep are these 3 cup rectangular Pyrex containers.
Until next week, guys!
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Do you have an alternative way to cook this for us poor people that don’t own a pressure cooker? I would really love to make this
Do you happen to have a slow cooker? If so, this version of the recipe has slow cooker instructions as well! https://www.budgetbytes.com/pressure-cooker-chicken-rice/ and these are the sweet potatoes it’s paired with in this meal prep. https://www.budgetbytes.com/moroccan-spiced-sweet-potatoes/
Love to sign up to learn more about your tasty recipes.
Do you cook the chicken for a shorter period than the original recipe, since it’s smaller pieces?
No, I just cooked it the same amount of time. It only gets more tender. :)
We just started weekend meal prep for my hubby but one of our challenges is he doesn’t like eating the same things multiple times a week. Can these be frozen so he could pull one or 2 out for part of his weekly menu? And this recipe makes 4 portions correct?
The only issue you might have is with freezing and reheating the bone-in chicken. I find that bone-in chicken is difficult to reheat because of the density, so the outside tends to overcook and dry out before the inside heats up.
You could take the meat off the bone before freezing.
That’s an excellent idea!
I just love middle Eastern flavors- my mouth is watering :)
Sorry Beth. I just reread the recipe and now realize that the whole chicken is split into pieces! LOL!
Hi Beth,
I would like to try your Chicken and Rice in the pressure cooker but I would be using chicken pieces as well. Is the time the same if using only about 4 pieces of chicken rather than a 3-4 lb roast chicken?
Thanks a lot,
Sue