This easy Thai Chicken Meal Prep is the perfect make-ahead lunch. But you can also make it for a crowd-pleasing dinner that everyone will love. Serve it as a low-carb option or add freshly steamed rice to make a fuller meal. It’s gluten-free, dairy-free, and packed with protein and veggies.
This recipe started as a quick & easy dinner recipe. But we loved it so much that we made it 3x in the first week. From there it quickly evolved into a meal prep option for lunch. So today I’m going to share with you how to make this for dinner, and as a meal prep option too.
We also have a new variation we’ve started making since I first tested this recipe out. It’s not great for meal prepping, but I’ve included it as an add-on in the recipe below. So the secret to making this into a seriously tasty dinner is to add cubed fresh mango to the cucumber salad.
The combination of the sweetness added in with just a touch of spice is beyond delicious. But I don’t want to take away from how good this is if you don’t have mango on hand. I also don’t recommend using it if you’re meal-prepping this for lunch because mango cubes go brown quickly.
Ways to Serve this Thai Chicken Meal Prep
- Add some steamed rice to make this both filling and extra tasty.
- Cubed mango is pretty much everything as a variation to the cucumber salad.
- Finally… make this for dinner by just making each component of the recipe and serving it immediately instead of meal prepping.
- Add chopped roasted peanuts or drizzle them with my Peanut Sauce in my Thai Chicken Lettuce Wrap recipe. It’s made with creamy peanut butter, but cashew butter and sunflower butter work too.
- Add pickled ginger on the side if you serve this with rice, it’s like a sushi bowl!
Whichever way you choose to make this, I know you’re going to love it! It’s been such a hit for me as something I know will go over well every time I make it. I guess it has to be that sweet/spicy combination that makes it so popular.
Tips & Tricks
- Use boneless skinless chicken breasts or chicken tenders in place of the chicken thighs in this recipe.
- For juicy chicken cook until you reach an internal temperature of 165ºF with an instant-read thermometer.
- Try this with long grain rice or brown rice instead of sushi rice.
More Meal Prep Inspiration
- Homemade Healthy Lunchables
- Greek Chicken Meal Prep
- Meal Prep Chia Pudding
- Healthy Meatloaf Meal Prep
- Easy Sriracha Tuna Salad
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we have. I always love a recipe with easy options, and this one is a 2-for-1 wonder! If you do make this, I hope you’ll leave me a comment/rating below. I always love hearing from you here.
Thai Chicken Meal Prep
INGREDIENTS
Marinated Chicken:
- 1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs - 4-5 thighs
- 1/4 cup coconut aminos - or gluten free soy sauce of choice
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
Asian Cucumber Salad:
- 2 small cucumbers - halved and thinly sliced, 1 1/2 pounds
- 1/2 cup red onion - finely diced
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice - or rice vinegar
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp sea salt - or to your taste
- 1 tbsp maple syrup - omit for Whole30
Optional Add-ons:
- 1 large mango - diced to add to the cucumber salad
- 1 1/2 cups sushi or jasmine rice - cooked, as a side dish
INSTRUCTIONS
- Add the marinade ingredients to the chicken thighs, stir to combine, and refrigerate overnight, or at least 1 hour.
- Prep all the ingredients for the Asian cucumber salad. Stir the salad together in a large bowl, and set it aside while you cook.
- Preheat the grill over high heat until you reach 450º-500ºF. Place the chicken thighs on the grill, immediately lower the heat to medium, and maintain a temperature of around 400ºF
- Grill for 6-8 minutes per side, or until the chicken thighs are done. Remove them from the grill to cool before assembling your meal prep.
- If you're making this as a dinner, serve the chicken straight off the grill with the cucumber salad and side dish of your choice.
- If you're making this into meal prep, cool the chicken for 10-15 minutes. Then cut it into slices or bite-sized pieces. Portion it out into 4 meal prep containers of choice.
- Then portion out the cucumber salad. If you're using the rice, I like to pile the cucumber salad over the cooked and cooled rice. The dressing from the salad moistens the rice and helps it stay fresh for days to come.
- After everything is portioned, seal the containers with the lids, and refrigerate to serve within 2-3 days.
This looks so delicious! I’m trying to get better about meal prepping and this recipe looks perfect for busy remote learning lunches!
If I needed to bake this, could I just bake it in the oven at 400 degrees? I don’t have access to a grill right now.
That sounds like a good temperature to try to me, just bake until done, and I hope you’ll let me know how it goes!