Moroccan couscous meal prep bowls with chicken thighs, roasted cauliflower, green beans and red onions. A delicious meal prep lunch recipe that also makes a great dinner!
Ever since I made these 7 Easy Dry Rubs, we’ve been using them on everything! Grilled fish, chicken, veggies, potatoes, sweet potatoes, in quinoa, in vinaigrettes…you name it.
One of my favorite things we’ve used the rubs on has got to be grilled cauliflower. I have this Easy Grilled Cauliflower With Jalapeno Lime Butter from waaay back in the day, but I think nothing could possibly beat today’s recipe, because Moroccan spice rub + roasted (or grilled) cauliflower is a match made in heaven.
Roasted (or grilled) cauliflower gets kind of sweet and toasty and alllll sorts of delicious…if you haven’t tried it, give it a chance!!
These Moroccan couscous meal prep bowls not only have roasted cauliflower, but also lemony couscous, Moroccan chicken thighs, and green beans. So many tasty things packed into one little meal prep bowl!
Don’t forget to pin this recipe to save it for later!
To go with the roasted cauliflower I finally got to use my pearl couscous that has been eyeing me from the pantry for months now. I love pearl couscous (which is larger than regular couscous)…it has the most amazing and kind of chewy texture.
The only downside to pearl couscous is that it doesn’t pack a huge nutritional punch, and has a higher glycemic index…it’s basically the equivalent of pasta. So if you’re looking for more whole grains and healthier, opt for farro, quinoa, bulgur, or brown rice.
But for me, I like to mix things up and pearl couscous isn’t something we eat regularly, so I was happy to include it in today’s recipe. Besides, without a sauce or vinaigrette, this recipe is pretty light at only 365 calories per bowl.
The first round of this recipe, something was missing and the Moroccan spices felt a little one dimensional. I added some lemon zest and lemon juice to the couscous and I found my answer…the perfect balance of flavors and Ben and I couldn’t get enough of these!
Now there is one thing I do need to warn you about with these Moroccan couscous lunch bowls…and that is that the roasted cauliflower won’t smell amazing on day 2, 3 or 4. But I promise promise promise you, it will absolutely taste amazing!!
Tips for your perfect Moroccan couscous meal prep bowls:
- I used this homemade Moroccan spice blend, it’s not terribly spicy but you could crank it up a notch with extra cayenne
- These are favorite meal prep containers
- this is my favorite zester and this is the best lemon juicer that I’ve ever used!
- swaps chicken breasts for the thighs if you’d prefer; chickpeas would be a great vegetarian option
that I’ve ever used!
Moroccan Couscous Meal Prep Bowls
Ingredients
Lemon Couscous
- 1 cup pearl couscous
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon zest
- juice of 1/2 a lemon
Moroccan Chicken
- 12 oz chicken thighs
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon moroccan spice blend
Moroccan Veggies
- 4 cups cauliflower florets
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon moroccan spice blend
- 6 oz green beans ends trimmed
- 1/2 red onion chopped
Instructions
- Cook pearl couscous according to package direction, seasoning with ¼ teaspoon salt.
- Stir in the lemon zest and juice and allow to cool.
- Heat oven to 425°F.
- Arrange chicken thighs on a baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and moroccan seasoning. Turn and repeat with other side. Bake for 20 minutes, flipping once half way, and allow to cool before slicing into strips.
- Toss cauliflower florets in olive oil with moroccan seasoning. Arrange on a baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven, flip, and add green beans and onions (toss quickly in the bowl from the cauliflower to lightly coat in oil & seasoning. Return to oven and cook for another 10 minutes.
- Allow all ingredients to cool, then portion out into four 2 cup capacity storage containers.
- Store in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Reheat in the microwave before serving.
Joanne Fincham
Can this be frozen
Denise
Great question! I have actually never frozen couscous before. Would you let me know how it goes if you give it a try?
Tracey
Could i use Barley instead of Couscous?
Denise
Hi Tracey, I think that would work just fine! Hope you enjoy 🙂
Serena
This meal was delicious. I followed the recipe exactly, and did not have any issues with the spices burning. The chicken came out perfectly moist and flavorful! Will definitely be adding this to our meal prep rotation.
Denise
I’m so happy you didn’t have issues with your spices burning, Serena. Thanks so much for your review!
lauren stead
I was using this recipe as a part of my meal prep this week, and once I logged all the ingredients into MyFitnessPal, it came out to more like 768 calories a serving! I went with the lowest calorie option at every turn. Where am I going wrong?!!
Denise
Hi Lauren, have you double checked each ingredient? Sometimes My Fitness Pal will put in a LOT of calories for something like garlic powder. I can double check when I’m on my other computer for you.
Greg
Ive noticed the Brown Sugar burn as well. What I did to rid the problem is add a little chicken brother to the bottom and I cooked my veggies on a sheet pan and did my chicken in a bit of chicken broth just to keep some moisture in the bottom which keeps the sugar from burning. Or you can just ad water after about 10 minutes.
BTW I LOVE YOUR RECIPES!!
Denise
That’s interesting! Sounds like I need to retest this spice rub again. Thanks for your input Greg!
Erin
This recipe is SO delicious. Thank you so much for sharing!!! I topped with a little Greek yogurt. So yummy 🙂
Denise
So glad you enjoyed it, Erin! Thanks so much for reporting back 🙂
cece
hi denise this recipe seems great 🙂 i will probably use brown rice instead of couscous but can i also use the indian spice rub instead of the moroccan spice rub for these?
Denise
Hi Cece! Sorry for my late response! I think that would be great! Hope you enjoyed 🙂
Natalie
Love this meal prep! Looks balanced and great for everyday of the week ♥
Szilvia
Hi Denise! Thank you for your reply. I set the oven to 425 F as directed. I also tried setting it to 400F the second time, but it did’t help. I will continue playing with it though, hopefully I get it right one day 🙂
Denise
Hmm…I’m really not sure why it’s happening to you. I’ve used it dozens of times and have never had the sugar burn. I wish I could be of more help :/
Szilvia
I love this recipe, but I have been having issues with the Moroccan rub. I’ve used it for the second time tonight, and by the time the food is done the brown sugar burns. Even just after 10 minutes in the oven my veggies are burnt really bad. Can’t leave the meat in there long enough to cook, the smoke alarm keeps going off…Any helpful tips regarding this, please?
Denise
Hi Szilvia! I’m sorry, I haven’t had this issue, and I’ve used the rub a lot. What temp are you using the oven at?
Sey
It looks like the recipe uses raw sugar which has larger crystals. If you’re using regular or dark brown sugar I wouldn’t be surprised if it burns.
Denise
I definitely didn’t use raw sugar as I don’t even have that in my kitchen. 100% it was brown sugar and it has never burned for me 🙁