Traveling is always fun, but I’m always so ready to get back to a good eating routine as soon as I get back. So, as soon as I got back from my trip to China I set to work preparing some meal preps. Meal preps with a LOT of vegetables! For this Roasted Vegetable Couscous Meal Prep I combined a few of my favorite recipes to create a super filling veggie-packed meal that can be made either with chicken or as a vegetarian/vegan meal prep with chickpeas. And remember, these meal preps can also be served as a regular dinner combo instead of being packed away for later!
This Meal Prep Includes:
- Roasted Vegetable Couscous (made with less couscous and more parsley to increase vegetable to couscous ratio, and reduce the recipe size)
- Garlic Herb Baked Chicken Breast
- OR Garlic Herb Chickpeas (using my All-Purpose Garlic Herb Seasoning, instructions below)
- Ranch Dressing (Optional. I used store bought this time, Ken’s Steakhouse brand)
Make This Meal Prep Vegetarian or Vegan
In the recipe instructions below I show you how to make quick Garlic Herb Chickpeas to use in place of the Garlic Herb Roasted Chicken Breast for a vegetarian option. Not only are the Garlic Herb Chickpeas super fast, but they bring the cost of this recipe down to $2.20 per serving instead of $4.00. So it’s quite a savings!
Use vegan ranch dressing to make the whole meal vegan, or make a homemade vegan ranch dressing. There are a TON of recipes for vegan ranch dressing online from very reputable sites. Check out Easy Vegan Ranch Dressing from Karissa’s Kitchen, Easy Ranch Dressing from Minimalist Baker, or Vegan Ranch Dressing from Food with Feeling.
How to Store the Roasted Vegetable Couscous Meal Prep
Store the roasted vegetable couscous with the sliced chicken or garlic herb chickpeas in one container, but I suggest leaving the ranch dressing separate, in case you want to reheat the dish before eating. This dish can be eaten cold or reheated. The exact containers in the photos in this post are apparently not available anymore, but you can find a comparable set of glass containers here (affiliate link).
Roasted Vegetable Couscous Meal Prep
Servings 4Ingredients
Roasted Vegetable Couscous
- 4 Roma tomatoes ($1.35)
- 2 zucchini (about 20 oz.) ($1.69)
- 1 bell pepper ($1.00)
- 1 red onion ($0.42)
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled ($0.32)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 2 pinches salt and pepper ($0.05)
- 1 cup couscous ($0.79)
- 1.5 cups vegetable broth ($0.20)
- 1/2 bunch parsley (about 1 cup chopped) ($0.40)
Garlic Herb Baked Chicken Breast or Garlic Herb Chickpeas*
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1/2 lb. each) OR two 15 oz. cans chickpeas ($4.23)
- 2 Tbsp butter, room temperature ($0.36)
- 1 tsp dried parsley ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp dried basil ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.03)
- 1/4 tsp onion powder ($0.03)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- pepper ($0.02)
Optional Dressing
- 1/2 cup ranch dressing ($0.70)
Instructions
Roasted Vegetable Couscous
- Prepare the Roasted Vegetable Couscous first. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Chop the Roma tomatoes, zucchini, and bell pepper into 1-inch pieces. Slice the red onion into 1/2-inch thick strips. Place the tomatoes, zucchini, bell pepper, onion, and peeled garlic on a large baking sheet.
- Drizzle the olive oil over the chopped vegetables, toss to coat, then season with a couple pinches of salt and pepper. Roast the vegetables for about 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes or so.
- While the vegetables are roasting, begin the couscous. Bring the vegetable broth to a boil in a small sauce pot. Once boiling, stir in the couscous. Place a lid on top, remove the pot from the heat, and let the couscous sit for five minutes, or until all of the broth is absorbed. Fluff the couscous with a fork, then place in the refrigerator to begin cooling as you prepare the rest of the meal.
For Garlic Herb Baked Chicken
- While the couscous is chilling, begin the garlic herb baked chicken. Combine the room temperature butter with the parsley, oregano, basil, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Stir until it forms a paste.
- If the chicken breasts are thick, gently pound them with a mallet or rolling pin until they are an even thickness, no more than 3/4-inch thick (I cover the chicken with plastic to prevent splatter when pounding). Pat the chicken dry, then smear the butter herb mixture over the entire surface.
- Place the seasoned chicken in a baking dish and bake for 20 minutes at 400ºF, or until the internal temperature reaches 165ºF. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes, then slice into strips.
For Garlic Herb Chickpeas
- To make Garlic Herb Chickpeas instead, rinse and drain 2 15oz. cans of chickpeas. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium. Once hot, add the chickpeas, and sauté for about 5 minutes, or until the chickpeas are golden and the skins are blistered. Remove them from heat and then season with the same garlic herb spices used for the chicken (no butter). Stir until the chickpeas are coated in the herbs and spices.
Assemble the Meal Prep
- When the vegetables are finally finished roasting, pull out the whole garlic cloves from the baking sheet and mince them. Combine the partially cooled couscous, the roasted vegetables, garlic, and chopped parsley in a large bowl. Stir to combine.
- Divide the Roasted Vegetable Couscous between four containers and top with sliced chicken or 1/4 of the Garlic Herb Chickpeas. Serve each portion with 2 Tbsp ranch dressing.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Roasted Vegetable Couscous Meal Prep – Step by Step Photos
Start the roasted vegetables first, since they will take the longest to cook. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. I used 4 Roma tomatoes, 2 zucchini, 1 bell pepper, 1 red onion, and 4 cloves of garlic. Chop the zucchini, bell pepper, and tomatoes into 1-inch pieces. Slice the onion into 1/2-inch strips. Peel the garlic, but leave it whole.
Place the chopped vegetables on a large baking sheet, drizzle with 2 Tbsp olive oil, and toss to coat. Season with a pinch or two of salt and pepper.
Roast the vegetables for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes or so. The rest of the meal will be prepared while the vegetables are in the oven. They will likely be the last ingredient to finish cooking.
Begin the couscous next. Bring 1.5 cups vegetable broth to a boil in a small sauce pot. Once boiling, stir in 1 cup couscous, place a lid on top, remove it from the heat, and let it sit for 5 minutes, or until the broth is absorbed. Fluff with a fork, then transfer it to the refrigerator to begin cooling as you prepare the rest of the meal.
Next start the chicken. If your chicken is thick, pound it to an even thickness, no more than 3/4-inch thick, using a mallet or rolling pin (I cover it with plastic while pounding to prevent splatter). Pat the chicken dry with a paper towel. Combine 2 Tbsp room temperature butter with 1 tsp dried parsley, 1/2 tsp dried oregano, 1/2 tsp dried basil, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp onion powder, 1/4 tsp salt, and some pepper until it forms a paste. Spread the paste over the entire surface of the chicken.
Bake the chicken for 20 minutes at 400ºF, or until the internal temperature reaches 165ºF. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes, then slice into strips.
If you want to do Garlic Herb Chickpeas instead, simply rinse and drain two 15oz. cans of chickpeas. Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium. Once hot, add the chickpeas and sauté for about 5 minutes, or until the chickpeas are golden and the skins are blistered. Remove the chickpeas from the heat, then add the same garlic herb seasoning blend as used above (dried parsley, oregano, basil, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper). Stir to coat the chickpeas in the herbs and spices.
When the vegetables are finally finished roasting, remove the whole garlic cloves and mince them. Combine the cooked and cooled couscous, roasted vegetables, garlic, and about 1/2 bunch chopped parsley (about 1 cup chopped) in a large bowl. Stir to combine.
Divide the Roasted Vegetable Couscous between four containers.
Then top with either sliced Garlic Herb Baked Chicken or Garlic Herb Chickpeas.
Drizzle 2 Tbsp ranch dressing over top of each serving just before eating.
I made this last week and it was absolutely amazing! It didn’t last me the whole week as intended because I just kept eating it, lol!
Thank you for this recipe! We’ve been meal prepping for a few years and this was one meal that I actually looked forward to eating everyday that week. We made it with chickpeas and appreciated the tasty ranch dressing and the textures with the couscous. Outstanding!
Sounds great! Do you think it would also work with rice? I love couscous but I’ve actually eaten way to much of it lately.
Yep, you can definitely do this with rice instead. :)
Love this recipe. Side question, what kind of roasting pan is that?
It’s an enamelware pan made by a brand called Crow Canyon. You can get them on Amazon, as well as other online retailers. :)
Is this a freezer-friendly meal?
It probably freezes fairly well, although I haven’t actually tested freezing this one.
Can you use Israeli couscous or would it be too much?
Sure, I think that would work fine.
Sososososossooooo freaking good. Everytime I got home to warm up my dinner I was excited to do so, thank you for making me look like I can cook!
You can cook! Pat yourself on the back!
OMG! OMG! OMG! This is so freaking delicious! I love chickpeas (I frequently make Beth’s Pesto Chickpea Salad), so I knew I would make this with chickpeas when I saw it. I can’t believe how good all the flavors are when they all come together. Yeah Baby! Can’t wait for lunch again.
This is a such a flavorful recipe and so easy. Thank you for posting. Delicious!
I HATE when others do this, so I can’t believe I am sharing a reply when I changed the recipe. However, I really like the resulting dish, so I want to share it. I included both the chicken and the chickpeas, omitted the couscous, and added a handful of baby spinach to each serving. I cooked the chicken and chickpeas without any seasoning, shredded the cooked chicken, and then tossed both chicken and chickpeas with the suggested seasoning (no butter or oil.) I roasted the vegetables as described, and their cooking liquid is what I have in the resulting salads. Really good!
I LOVE it when people share how they changed a recipe! It gives others ideas for getting creative in the kitchen. :) What’s not cool is when they change everything in a recipe and then give it a poor rating, because the recipe they are rating is not the one they made. Haha!
Made it last night with Israeli couscous. It was delicious. Definitely a keeper.
This was great! Chickpeas and couscous are a staple lunch combo for me, and this was a much more elevated way to do that than the rushed
“just throw some raw spinach and tomatoes in there!” method I usually do.
I really appreciate all of the vegan/vegetarian friendly recipes you’ve been posting lately!
I had a funny time making this last night…. the whole time it felt like I had done everything wrong. The vegetables seemed watery and more steaming than roasting in the oven. While I was waiting on the chickpeas to look “blistered”, they instead started popping like popcorn and scared me silly. The grains I used in place of the couscous didn’t seem like they cooked right.
And yet, I mixed it all together at the end and it was delicious :D Like magic! I can’t wait to eat the rest of it for my lunches this week.
I’m glad it turned out well in the end! Yes, I meant to mention the “popping” in the blog post because it is so funny, but I forgot!! As for the vegetables, if they are too crowded on the sheet pan, they will indeed steam instead of roast. :)
This looks great! I actually make something similar, but I just roast the chickpeas along with the vegetables. I usually serve it with pasta, but couscous sounds great!
This is definitely going in my meal prep list! I think instead of ranch, I might try making some “shawarma” sauce
What do you mean by “shawarma” sauce? I lived for some years in the middle east where shawarmas were a favorite street food and continue to enjoy them here stateside. There are lots of different sauces used, some regional, and all delicious. I kind of prefer a tahini/lemon/garlic sauce, but usually enjoy any of them. A restaurant about 40 miles away–since closed–used to make a mayo/sour cream based garlic sauce that was quite wonderful, particularly on their traditional pork souvlaki, although tzatziki is the more usual sauce for that. A yogurt sauce with a bit of tahini and either dill or mint seems common online. I’ve also had chicken shawarma served with hummus thinned down with more lemon and oil, a bit of cumin and tahini. Even baba ganoush is sometimes used in shwarmas–I had them that way in Egypt. The Turkish version, doner kebab, is served with a yogurt dill sauce. I think any of these sauces would be wonderful with Beth’s recipe, but I’m eager to learn of yours.