Healthy Chicken Caprese Quinoa Meal Prep Bowls are a delicious meal for lunch or dinner. Naturally gluten free, hearty and easy to make! This post is sponsored by my friends at Bob’s Red Mill.
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Questions for you:
- Do you like really delicious food?
- Do you feel like you barely have any time to cook?
- Are you sick of Sad Desk Lunches?
- Are you looking for an easy and healthy snack to take on the go?
If you answered yes to any of those questions than these Chicken Caprese Quinoa Meal Prep Bowls are for YOU.
These Chicken Caprese Quinoa Meal Prep Bowls require under an hour to make, are loaded with flavor, and are so perfect for planning out your meals for the week ahead.
These bowls are jam packed with balsamic chicken, spinach, hearty quinoa, creamy mozzarella and ripe cherry tomatoes. It’s pretty much the ultimate flavor combo!
The thing I love most about these Chicken Caprese Quinoa Meal Prep Bowls is that they’re made in such a short amount of time with minimal ingredients (including my favorite Bob’s Red Mill Quinoa!)
We love quinoa because it’s such a powerhouse in terms of nutrition. It has far more protein than many other grains, and it’s loaded with iron and fiber! I also love it because it’s super versatile and takes on the flavor of anything you pair it with (like the yummy balsamic dressing we use in this recipe!)
Quinoa isn’t the only thing we love from Bob’s Red Mill! They came out with an awesome healthy snack that pairs PERFECTLY with these bowls… more info on that below 🙂
How to make Chicken Caprese Quinoa Meal Prep Bowls:
These meal prep bowls really are SO simple to make.
Step 1: get all your ingredients ready + cook your quinoa per the directions on the back of the package.
Step 2: While the quinoa cooks, marinate your chicken + put it in the oven
Step 3: While chicken cooks, prep remaining ingredients for quinoa salad. Once quinoa has cooked, allow it to cool slightly.
Step 4: Toss the quinoa salad together + slice the chicken
Step 5: Assemble bowls + enjoy!
If you want to take your meal prep a step further.. why not plan your breakfast and snack ahead of time too?! Bob’s Red Mill recently came out with their Bob’s Better Bars and they are perfect for snacking or for a grab and go breakfast.
This one is seriously SO GOOD. The chocolate peanut butter is my second fav! We love that these bars aren’t loaded with sugar, and instead are packed with whole grains and wholesome ingredients meant to fill you up.
Thanks to these bars you can have breakfast and lunch, or lunch and an afternoon snack all planned out in basically no time! Throw some veggies or fruit in a bag + you’re set up for a full day of healthy meals!
Substitutions for Chicken Caprese Quinoa Meal Prep Bowls
- Cheese– You can sub mozzarella for feta or goat cheese. I would sub with 3/4 cup instead of 8 oz.
- Greens– I like these meal prep bowls with spinach but arugula, spring mix, or any greens will work well!
- Protein – I haven’t tried it, but I’m sure these bowls would be great with fish instead of chicken. You’d just need to adjust the cook time depending on what you swap.
- Dairy free– To make these dairy free, simply omit cheese.
- WW Freestyle Note: Calculated using part skim milk mozzarella, and 1/2 the amount of olive oil.
How to store Chicken Caprese Quinoa Meal Prep Bowls
These meal prep containers are my favorite. We use them every week and they go right in the dishwasher with no problems. You can store these chicken caprese quinoa meal prep bowls for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
Other meal prep recipes:
- 5 Healthy Chicken Marinades
- Healthy Crockpot Pulled Pork
- Paleo Turkey Chili
- Sheet Pan Lemon Rosemary Chicken Thigh Dinner
- 5 Healthy Yogurt Parfaits
Chicken Caprese Quinoa Meal Prep Bowls
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 2 lbs chicken breasts pounded until tender
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil chopped
For the quinoa:
- 1 cup Bob's Red Mill Quinoa dry
- 8 oz baby mozzarella balls or regular mozzarella, cut in small pieces
- 8 oz cherry tomatoes halved
- ¼ cup Basil chopped
- 2 tablespoons Olive oil
- 2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 4 cups spinach
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 + prepare a parchment lined baking sheet.
- To cook quinoa, bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add in 1 cup of dry quinoa into the pot, stir, and return to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to medium, simmering until all water has absorbed (about 10-12 minutes).
- While quinoa is cooking, prepare chicken marinade. Coat chicken evenly in marinade, and place on parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake chicken at 450 for 20 minutes.
- While chicken is baking and quinoa is finishing cooking, prep all remaining ingredients for the quinoa and add to a bowl.
- Allow quinoa to cool completely. When quinoa is completely cooled, toss all ingredients for quinoa salad together gently + serve cold!
- Assemble bowls with quinoa salad, a generous serving of spinach, and sliced chicken on top.
- Optional: drizzle with balsamic reduction
Notes
- Cheese- You can sub mozzarella for feta or goat cheese. I would sub with 3/4 cup instead of 8 oz.
- Greens- I like these meal prep bowls with spinach but arugula, spring mix, or any greens will work well!
- Protein - I haven't tried it, but I'm sure these bowls would be great with fish instead of chicken. You'd just need to adjust the cook time depending on what you swap.
- Dairy free- To make these dairy free, simply omit cheese.
Jessica
February 26, 2019 at 8:27 pmFound this recipe on pinterest and everyone in my family loved including my 15 year y daughter
The Clean Eating Couple
February 26, 2019 at 8:53 pmSo happy to hear this, Jessica! It’s one of my favorites to meal prep!
Shane
March 25, 2019 at 10:22 pmWould these be good cold?? I work construction and their is no microwave available
The Clean Eating Couple
March 26, 2019 at 5:13 pmHi Shane – yes, these are good hot or cold! I actually prefer them cold.