Welcome back! Okay, I thought last week’s meal prep was the last I was going to cook in my kitchen before moving, but I was wrong. Mid-week I decided to use up the last four chicken thighs in my freezer to make these Sticky Ginger Soy Glazed Chicken Meal Prep boxes to get us through the rest of the week before packing up and shipping out.
This week’s meal prep is super simple, but also my favorite type of meal prep. I love doing an easy base of rice or noodles, frozen broccoli florets for my greens, and some sort of protein. It’s such an easy and delicious formula and you can do so many variations on the rice or noodles and protein, that I never get tired of it. I love using frozen broccoli florets in meal prep boxes because they hold up well, and because they require no chopping or cooking (they’re already blanched), so they’re super convenient.
The highlight of this meal prep box is the Sticky Ginger Soy Glazed Chicken and rich Garlic Noodles. Both are extremely easy, so this week’s meal prep comes together very quickly. Everything in this meal prep holds up well in the fridge, but I wouldn’t freeze this one as the noodles will get quite dry. One more note about the chicken: the glaze will be nice and clear when you first cook it, but it may turn a bit cloudy as it refrigerates. No worries, though, the flavor wont’ be affected. :)
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.
Sticky Ginger Soy Glazed Chicken Meal Prep
This Sticky Ginger Soy Glazed Chicken Meal Prep Includes:
Sticky Ginger Soy Glazed Chicken (1/2 batch, 4 thighs): $4.04
Garlic Noodles: $2.54
3/4 lb. Frozen Broccoli Florets: $1.27
Pinch of Red Pepper Flakes: $0.05
Total Cost: $7.90
Cost Per Box: $1.98
No Leftovers this time, yay! I added a pinch of red pepper to each box just because I wanted a little heat, but that’s totally optional.
The single compartment glass meal prep containers seen in the photos are from Amazon. (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)
Tips:
- Make sure to read the label on frozen broccoli closely! There are several types of frozen broccoli and while the terminology can depend on the brand, they’re usually along the lines of florets, cuts, or stems and pieces. Make sure to get the bag labeled “florets” or you may end up with a lot of stems. While stems are great for casseroles, soups, and recipes where the broccoli will be puréed, they’re not quite as appetizing just for eating plain.
- Spoon all of the sauce from the Sticky Ginger Soy Glazed Chicken into your boxes so you have a little extra flavor to share with the broccoli. :)
- This box reheats in the microwave without any special considerations (but it’s always a good idea to stir often while reheating). You also shouldn’t have any issues with extra juices or things getting soggy or limp this week. That’s why I love this type of box!
- If you want to use fresh broccoli, I suggest steaming the florets until they just begin to turn tender and are bright green before adding them to the box. That will soften them just enough so that they will cook at an even rate with everything else when you reheat your meal.
- For frozen florets, you don’t need to even thaw them before adding them to the box (unless you’re going to eat one portion the same day). The florets will thaw in the fridge overnight.
And that’s all I’ve got for you this week! I may nor may not have a meal prep next week depending on when the movers deliver our belongings, but my fingers are crossed! :)
Absolutely delicious! Easy to make and a great lunch time option that is filling but not heavy. My office mates asked me what I had heated up and were so jealous of how great my meal box smelled. I shared the recipe so I won’t be surprised if I see a few of them with this in their lunches next week :)
Hahah, I always loved making my co-workers jealous in the lunch room as they ate their soggy, smashed Subway sandwiches. ;D
How many calories are in these?
Hi Beth,
Like others, I was looking for a quick way to print the recipe and get started. If you have enough material for a meal prep recipe book, I’d definitely pay for this convenience.
How many calories is this, and is there step by step instructions on how to cook this?
Each recipe individual recipe is linked. Just go to each recipe to find the step by step photos.
I am allergic to shellfish :-( Any recommended substitutions for the Oyster Sauce?
There are fish-free oyster sauces on the market, so I think that’s going to be your best bet. I don’t know of another sauce that has the same consistency and savory flavor. Some people have used hoisin, but I think that has a very different flavor. It might make a great marinade for this, but definitely different.
Hoisin Sauce can also be used. I’m in the same boat
For how long is this good for in the fridge?
About four days.
Am I missing something or do I have a click on different links to get all of the recioes for this dish? I see the grocery list link, but would be nice to have the recipe for the chicken and the noodles all on this one page rather than having to click different links.
Yes, unfortunately you’ll need to open the recipes individually in separate tabs. These meal prep posts are basically “round ups” of past recipes that make good combinations for a complete meal.
Another Budget Bytes home run! This is a delicious homemade cure for my salty-fatty-sweet takeout food cravings. Simple, healthy with whole wheat angelhair subbed in, and cost-effective. I’l definitely be making this again.
My roommate and I have made meal this 4 times now and it is in our top 3 favorite meals. So much flavor with so little effort! We often sub in 3 packs of cheap ramen for the angel hair(we discard the seasoning packet) – so good! I’ve even made this with leftover thin-cut pork chops we needed to use up and it was still amazing. 100% do recommend.
Hi folks, just want to chime in that this soy glazed chicken was INCREDIBLY delicious and so darned easy. I cut up the breasts and marinated them overnight. Super easy to make the sauce and very fast cooking since the chicken is in such small pieces. My family thought all breast meat was just fine; but trying it with 1/2 thigh meat I’m sure would also be yummy.
Next time I’ll be experimenting with using this sauce on tofu and veggies instead.
I’m sure this cooked chicken would be a great frozen for later idea, too.
This was really solid. Also made this for my fam with the hopes of leftovers and I think there is enough for one lean lunch tomorrow that my husband and I can fight over. I didn’t have oyster sauce for the noodles (they don’t sell it at Trader Joe’s), so I just used hoisin and it turned out wonderful. Thanks for a great website! I’ve really enjoyed several of your meals.
Cooked this meal last weekend with the intention of “meal prepping” it for my lunches this week. It smelled so good that my family and I ended up having it for dinner the same night. NO LEFTOVERS! This was excellent. I did double the sauce for the chicken and I didn’t have thighs so I cut 2 breast in half to make 4 pieces and it was just SO GOOD! No other edits. Followed the recipe exactly. Let the chicken marinate about 24 hours in the fridge. Will be making this again, and again, and again…
This sticky chicken and noodle meal prep was the absolute best!!! I love Asian-inspired meals and the sticky sauce on the chicken was DELICIOUS. Seriously, my boyfriend was practically licking his plate after dinner. SO GOOD!!! We’ve officially added this to our favorites and we will be making it pretty often. Next time, I think I’m going to make a little extra sticky sauce and add the softened broccoli in with the chicken along with some cut up red and green pepper strips. Love your recipes Beth and keep up the amazing work! You’re a true inspiration to us foodies! :)
This was really good, but next time I think I’m going to try cooking it all in one pan. It was more time, labor, and pan intensive than most of the other recipes on here!
But I think if I cook the chicken first, then add the cooked noodles and make a well in the center for the noodle sauce, it’ll work really well. The broccoli could even be added right at the end (I used fresh).
I agree – I just cooked it all in one pan because it seemed like a lot of extra time waiting. It worked fine!
Love the great meal prep ideas! Keeps lunches fun and exciting for sure..