I went down the rabbit hole of looking at diet or macro-friendly meal delivery services online the other day. It’s a booming business these days and I was really curious about what kind of food these services offered. What I found were incredibly simple meals offered at a super high price (IMHO) for the convenience of not having to prepare them yourself. So, I wanted to offer a DIY option for those that can’t afford $9-$12 per meal to have them delivered. These Salsa Chicken Meal Prep Bowls area really easy to make, super satisfying, and customizable to fit your tastes (or macros). ;)
And hopefully I’ll have a few more options like this in the coming weeks!
The Simple Meal Prep Formula
Meal prep is super easy. Just pick a protein, pick a vegetable, pick a carb (or a second vegetable), and add a fat or sauce if desired. For this southwest inspired meal prep I combined shredded chicken cooked in salsa, roasted bell peppers, brown rice, and a dollop of sour cream. You can adjust the quantities of any of these four components to make the meal fit your preferred macro ratio.
Make Your Salsa Chicken Meal Prep Fancy
I kept this meal simple to mimic the type of meals that you’d get with the meal delivery services, but you could always make this more fancy, if you prefer. Try adding more toppings like fresh jalapeño, pickled red onions, or even some tortilla crisps. I added a dollop of sour cream to the top of mine, but you could also do a little cheese.
Salsa Chicken Meal Prep Bowls
Servings 4Ingredients
Brown Rice
- 1 cup brown rice ($0.60*)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1.75 cup water ($0.00)
Salsa Chicken
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1.3 lbs. total) ($5.62)
- 16 oz. salsa ($1.99)
- 1/2 cup chicken broth ($0.07)
- 1 tsp chili powder** ($0.10)
Roasted Bell Peppers
- 3 bell peppers ($2.99)
- 1 Tbsp oil ($0.04)
- pinch salt ($0.02)
Toppings
- 2 green onions, sliced ($0.22)
- 4 Tbsp sour cream ($0.11)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Cook the brown rice according to the package directions. (Add rice, salt, and water to a pot, cover, bring to a boil over high heat, then turn the heat down to low and simmer for 35 minutes.)
- While the rice is cooking, begin the chicken. Add the chicken breasts to a medium sauce pot along with the salsa, chicken broth, and chili powder. Give everything a brief stir.
- Place a lid on the pot and bring it to a boil over high heat. Once the liquid starts boiling, turn the heat down to low and let the chicken simmer over low for 30 minutes. Make sure it’s simmering the whole time, adjusting the heat slightly if needed.
- While the rice and chicken are cooking, prepare the bell peppers. Slice the bell peppers into 1/2-wide strips. Place them on a baking sheet and drizzle with cooking oil. Toss the peppers to coat them in oil, then sprinkle with a pinch of salt.
- Roast the peppers in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until they are browned on the edges, stirring once half way through.
- After the chicken has simmered for 30 minutes, remove it from the salsa mixture and use two forks to shred the meat. Return the shredded chicken to the pot of salsa and stir to combine.
- Once the rice has rested, the chicken has been shredded, and the peppers have finished roasting, it’s time to build the bowls.
- Add about 3/4 cup rice to each container, followed by 1/4 of the roasted peppers, and 1/4 of the shredded chicken. Spoon the salsa mixture from the pot over the shredded chicken in the containers. This will act as a sauce to help moisten the entire dish. Top with sliced green onions and a dollop of sour cream and serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 4 days.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Salsa Chicken Meal Prep – Step by Step Photos
Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Begin cooking 1 cup brown rice according to the package directions (the rice I am using specified 1 cup rice, 1.75 cups water, 1/2 tsp salt, simmer for 35 minutes).
Once the rice has cooked, turn the heat off and leave it on the stove with the lid in place until the chicken and peppers are finished cooking (they should finish soon after the rice finishes).
While the rice is cooking, begin the chicken. Place two boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1.3 lbs. total) to a medium sauce pot and add a 16 oz. jar of salsa (I’m using cilantro lime salsa from Aldi).
Also add 1/2 cup chicken broth and 1 tsp chili powder to the pot with the chicken and salsa. Give everything a brief stir, place a lid on the pot, and bring it up to a boil over high heat. As soon as it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer over low for 30 minutes. Make sure it’s simmering the entire time, adjusting the heat slightly if needed.
While the rice and chicken are cooking, begin working on the bell peppers. Slice three bell peppers into 1/2-inch wide strips.
Place the sliced bell peppers on a baking sheet, drizzle with 1 Tbsp oil, and toss until the peppers are well coated in oil. Add a pinch of salt, then transfer the peppers to the oven.
Roast the bell peppers for 20-25 minutes, or until they’re browned on the edges, stirring once half way through.
After the chicken has simmered for 30 minutes, remove the chicken to a cutting board and use two forks to shred the meat.
Return the shredded chicken to the salsa in the pot and stir to combine.
To build the Salsa Chicken Meal Prep Bowls, place about 3/4 cup cooked rice in each container, followed by 1/4 of the roasted bell peppers, and 1/4 of the shredded chicken. Spoon the salsa liquid from the sauce pot over the chicken in each container.
Finish the Salsa Chicken Meal Prep Bowls by topping with sliced green onion and a dollop of sour cream (or the toppings of your choice).
Absolutely delicious and easy. I used trader Joe’s chunky salsa -highly recommend!
It’s good, but I recommend starting the chicken an hour ahead and letting it simmer at least twice as long. 45 minutes to an hour on low was enough to cook the chicken, but not nearly long enough to get it to a “shreddable” state.
Other than that, it tastes great, and is quite a versatile recipe given the wide variety of salsas out there.
I made riced carrots to swap with the regular rice. Awesome!!
So I’m from the Netherlands, and I am loving your recipes, but some times i have a hard time finding the correct ingredients! Like for instance “chicken salsa” I have no idea what kind of thing I should get. Is it suposed to be sweet? I think the Salsa can make or break the dish!
I’m not sure if you’re using an automatic translator, but there is no ingredient called “chicken salsa”. Just use a regular salsa, not a sweet salsa. :)
Hahaha, nope, no translators. There were so many kinds of Salsa at my local supermarket haha, but I went for one with some asian flavous and a lot of stuff I had no idea about, and it turned out to be absolutely delishious! Thanks so much for the awesome recipe. :)
Haha, okay good! I’m glad it still turned out well for you! :)
This was so good! More meal prep ideas that have meat protein please!!!! Great for following macros!
This is such an easy and delicious meal! I can’t wait to think of more ways to use the salsa chicken.
I think next time I make it I’ll substitute the rice (which was just a little blah) with some black beans and roasted sweet potatoes.
I used chicken thighs as that was what I had in. It made a terrific, tasty and simple meal which was even tastier as leftovers. Thanks.
This looks awesome, thank you! And I appreciate the link for the Pyrex. I’ve been looking to buy some glass containers that I could use to take lunches to work and be able to microwave in the container.
Can you use homemade fresh salsa or does it need to be store bought?
This was SO SO good. OMG. Even my husband who is usually somewhat wary of healthy foods (lol) couldn’t get enough of this! I’m having the leftovers right now for lunch and they taste just as good as they did when we made it. This has definitely made it into my regular meal prep rotation! Thanks Beth!
Simply delicious. I was low on salsa so I added chili sauce and taco sauce and it still turned out great. We really enjoyed the roasted peppers that accompanied the meal. We topped our chicken with grated cheddar cheese instead of sour cream. We are definitely making this again. YUMMY!
Love your website and emails. But…. would you please consider supplying the metric measurements in your recipes ? US customary measurements only suit the US not your wider or younger audience. Thanks
Google can convert for you! :)
Beth, I love all of your meal prep ideas. Keep ’em coming! :)
Made this tonight; it was delicious! However, the chicken didn’t shred very well. I was curious if the chicken could be made in the instant pot. What would the pressure cook time be? Is there an easy conversion?
Yes, you can definitely do the chicken in an IP. I don’t know the cooking time off hand, so I suggest checking the manual that comes with it for suggested times and settings for boneless breasts. :)
Hi Bri:
I make chicken in the IP a lot (it shreds like a dream). 8-10 minutes on manual and 10 minutes natural pressure release has worked for me.
This looks great. Looking forward to more meal prep recipes!
This does dound great but if people wanted to devote this much time to prepar this meal then they would have zero interest in meal delivery. If sour cream is ommited vould the meals be frozen for quick after work meal?
Yes, this would probably be fine for the freezer. :)