Sheet Pan Meal Prep 2 Ways (again!)- the easiest and most efficient way to prep multiple meal prep lunches at the same time is to use your sheet pans! These pesto chickpea pita pockets and Thai chicken lunch bowls are ready in under 45 minutes and give you two different lunch options to enjoy through the week.
Do these recipes sound familiar? Well that's because they are not exactly brand new recipes.
These Thai Chicken Lunch Bowls were one of my first ever meal prep recipes and have been pretty popular around here. And last January I posted these Pesto Chicken Pita Pockets, and have been obsessed with how easy and tasty they are ever since.
But today I'm showing you how you can prep both of these meal prep lunches at the same time, to get some variety in your meal prep lunches through the week.
If these sheet pan meal prep recipes look familiar, well, you may have participated in our January 2018 Lunch Prep Challenge. Want in on our next challenge? Sign up below!
Sheet pan multi-tasking
Using a sheet pan is one of my favorite ways to meal prep, because it's just SO hands off.
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Toss your veggies and chicken in some olive oil and toss them in the oven. You have your hands and mind free to prep a sauce, some grains, or whatever else you might need for your prep.
You can spice up your sheet pan meal preps using a variety of spice rubs (have you seen this post with 7 different spice rubs?) or a sauce.
Today we are making a Thai peanut sauce, and using store-bought pesto. You can also make your own pesto (how about some delicious Kale Pepita Sunflower Seed Pesto?)
I like to start by cooking my grains (rice in this case for the Thai lunch bowls).
Next I chop up all my veggies.
Then I get my sheet pans ready. I suggest keeping the two recipes on separate sheet pans. After roasting, allow everything to cool before portioning them out into meal prep containers (I use these ones
!).
You will drizzle your Thai lunch bowls with the peanut sauce, and you will toss your pesto chickpea pita pocket filling with a couple of tablespoons of pesto before portioning it out.
Voila! Two different meal prep lunch options in under 45 minutes. Not bad at all!
Tips for this meal prep recipe:
- To make these recipes vegan: swap the chicken for chickpeas in the Thai chicken lunch bowls, and use dairy-free pesto for the pesto chickpea pitas
- To make these recipes low carb: swap the rice and pita bread for cauliflower rice
- For a nut-free recipe, swap the peanut sauce for the tahini sauce in this recipe
- Looking for more sheet pan meal prep recipes? Check out these Chickpea Buddha Bowls and Greek Chicken Wraps, or these Meal Prep Chicken Fajitas
Did you make this? Tag me on social @sweetpeasandsaffron and be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe!
2-for-1 Meal Prep: Pesto Chickpea Pitas and Thai Chicken Lunch Bowls
Ingredients
Chickpea Pesto Pitas
- 1 bell pepper cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 small zucchini cut into 1 inch pieces
- ยฝ small red onion chopped into 1 inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt & pepper
- 1 cup of chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 2 tablespoons pesto
- 2 pita pockets
Thai Chicken Lunch Bowls
- โ cup rice uncooked
- 1 chicken breast 7 oz
- 1 ยฝ cups broccoli florets cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 cup carrots peeled & sliced
- ยฝ small red onion cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt & pepper
Peanut Lime Dressing
- 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- ยฝ teaspoon maple syrup or honey
- ยฝ teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- ยฝ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon of water or more to thin out
Instructions
- Cook rice according to package directions. Set aside to cool.
- Pre-heat oven to 425ยฐF.
- Pesto chickpea pitas:ย Toss the zucchini, bell pepper and onion in olive oil, salt and pepper. Arrange on baking sheet #1.ย
- Thai chicken lunch bowls:ย Toss the chicken breast, broccoli, carrot and onion in another tablespoon of olive oil with salt and pepper. Arrange on baking sheet #2.
- Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the pesto chickpea pita sheet pan and allow to cool. Stir up the Thai chicken lunch bowls veggies, flip the chicken and return to the oven for 10 more minutes.
- While everything is baking, shake or stir together the peanut sauce ingredients.
- Pesto Chickpea Pita Pockets:ย toss the veggies with 1 cup of chickpeasย in two tablespoons of pesto, then divide between two 2-cup capacity storage containers.
- Thai Chicken Lunch Bowls:ย Allow the chicken to rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Divide the quinoa, veggies and sliced chicken between two 2-cup capacity storage containers. Drizzle with peanut sauce.
STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS:
- Store in the fridge for up to 4 days.
TO SERVE:
- Pesto Chickpea Pitas: heat the filling gently, then spoon into pita pockets (don't cut the pitas until just before serving.
- Thai Chicken Lunch Bowls: heat in the microwave, then spoon into a tortilla or wrap.ย
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Tips:
Nutrition Information
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Caryl Neufeld says
What am I missing? I'm reading your "2-for-1 Meal Prep: Pesto Chickpea Pitas and Thai Chicken Lunch Bowls", and in this part of the recipe "Pesto chickpea pitas: Toss the zucchini, bell pepper and onion in olive oil, salt and pepper. Arrange on baking sheet #1" , I don't see any mention of chickpeas. Help me understand!
Jasmine @ Sweet Peas & Saffron says
Hi Caryl, the recipe is written in sequence for prepping both recipes at the same time. In step 7, you will see where the chickpeas come in: toss the veggies with 1 cup of chickpeas in two tablespoons of pesto, then divide between two 2-cup capacity storage containers. I hope that answers your question!