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This healthy Mexican chicken meal prep is so easy! With tender, flavorful chicken, an avocado cilantro ranch dressing, protein-rich eggs, and lots of veggies that need no prep or chopping, it’s paleo, Whole30, and keto, too.
Me on a day with meal prep in the fridge:
Wow! Lunch is already ready! I’m going to eat that, because it’s so convenient.
Me on a day with no meal prep in the fridge:
Sno-cones for lunch then, Christina?
And Christina, being my loyal assistant and food blog virtual assistant business partner (Inceptiony? Whoa.)? Well, she always obliges the sno-cones. So I’ve learned one thing to be very important:
Healthy meal prep is a must if I’m going to stay on track during the week.
I was inspired by the grown-up Lunchables-style protein packs from Starbucks (and the refrigerated section of basically every grocery store ever these days) and decided to create a super easy healthy Mexican chicken meal prep recipe focused on flavor, healthy fats, protein, and fiber. You can’t say no to that, right?
Why This Recipe Works
- The fresh avocado cilantro ranch dressing is easy but so full of flavor, making the rest of the Mexican chicken meal prep taste amazing.
- Using mini peppers means no prep or chopping but still lots of good fiber and gorgeous colors.
- Generously seasoning the chicken and searing it creates a delish crust and tender texture.
How To Make It
It seriously couldn’t be easier! Here’s how it goes:
- Mix up the Southwestern seasoning and season the chicken well.
- Heat a bit of oil in a pan, sear your chicken on both sides, cover and cook for a few minutes. Sprinkle the lime juice over, and the chicken is done!
- Blend up all the avocado cilantro ranch dressing ingredients in the food processor.
- Boil your eggs however you like!
- Arrange it all in your meal prep containers (<<< What I use).
Variations
- Use sliced or snacking cucumbers to dip in the dressing instead of mini peppers.
- Include regular ol‘ ranch dressing (My Whole30 dump ranch is so good) instead of the avocado cilantro ranch dressing.
- Swap a small pork tenderloin for the chicken breasts. Cook through and slice into rounds.
How to make it
My method for boiling eggs is life-changing… Seriously! They’re insanely easy to peel and the yolks are consistent every time. Here’s how to do it:
- Boil a saucepan of water. Gently lower eggs into the boiling water.
- Boil:
- 6 minutes for soft-boiled
- 7 1/2 minutes for medium-boiled
- 9 minutes for hard-boiled
- Immediately remove from the heat and pour hot water out. You can drain into a strainer if you like. Return eggs to pan and just cover with cold water. Add several handfuls of ice to the pan and let sit for a few minutes.
- Pour out water and swirl eggs around pretty violently. You want to crack the shells! Then easily peel under running water (The running water isn’t necessary but makes it even easier to clear out tiny pieces of shell).
How To Achieve Perfectly Cooked Chicken Breasts
To ensure perfectly cooked chicken breasts, make sure you use uniformly sized chicken breasts. For this recipe they should be fairly small, about 12 ounces total. Three four-ounce chicken breasts is fine, as is two six-ounce chicken breasts. Steer clear of the massive breasts, though.
If you do have gigundo chicken breasts, no worries! Carefully and evenly slice the breast in half, across the middle (Not down the middle). You’ll end up with two smaller chicken breasts that should be much more even.
An internal thermometer is amazing for cooking chicken and other meat perfectly. I highly recommend one! You can take these chicken breasts off the heat when they’re about 161-162º F. After resting a few minutes, they will rise in temperature to come up to 165º.
Meal Prep Containers
Scrounging around for pairs of food storage containers that might work for your meal prep is no fun; been there, sister. I ordered this set of glass meal prep containers and absolutely love them.
Did you make and love this recipe? Give it your review below! ? And make sure to share your creations by tagging me on Instagram!
Healthy Mexican Chicken Meal Prep (Whole30, Paleo, Keto)
Ingredients
Southwestern Chicken
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 12 ounces boneless skinless chicken breasts 2 or 3 chicken breasts, see note
- 2 teaspoons avocado oil
- 2 teaspoons lime juice
For the Sauce
- 1-2 cloves garlic peeled and smashed
- 1 avocado peeled and pitted
- 1 tbsp Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or lime juice
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar or apple cider vinegar plus more to taste
- ¼ cup fresh parsley
- ⅓ cup fresh cilantro
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ¾ cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
To Serve
- 10 eggs boiled to preference (see blog for recommendations)
- 12-15 snacking snacking peppers
- 2 ½ cups mixed greens
Instructions
Cook Southwestern chicken
- In a small bowl, stir together garlic powder, chili powder, salt, and paprika. Reserve 2 teaspoons of seasoning and set aside. Evenly sprinkle seasoning over both sides of chicken breasts.
- Heat avocado oil in a skillet over medium heat. When hot, gently add chicken breasts to skillet and sear on first side, about 5-6 minutes, or until it lifts easily. Flip and cook another 5-6 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches about 161-162º F. Drizzle with lime juice. Transfer to a plate and let rest at least 5 minutes.
Make avocado cilantro ranch dressing
- Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Process until very smooth. Taste and add more vinegar, citrus juice, or salt to taste. Divide evenly among condiment cups or small reusable containers.
Assemble meal prep containers
- Slice rested chicken breasts against the grain.
- Evenly divide mixed greens among 5 meal prep containers. Evenly divide sliced chicken among containers and place on top of greens.
- Evenly divide peppers among containers and place to the side of chicken and greens. Place 2 eggs in each container and sprinkle with reserved Southwestern seasoning. Serve with avocado cilantro ranch dressing.
Approximate Information for One Serving
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
Did You Make This Recipe?
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Where is the cutoff point in the recipe for the dressing? instructions say to combine all ingredients, but some are listed 2x.
Thanks!
For the sauce:
1-2 cloves garlic peeled and smashed
1 avocado peeled and pitted
1 tbsp Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or lime juice
1 tablespoon white vinegar or apple cider vinegar plus more to taste
1/4 cup fresh parsley
1/3 cup fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 teaspoon salt
Recipe looks great, tasty. I am wondering about the serving size, though. For 5 serving you designated 12 ounces of raw chicken (2.4 ounces/serving), which by the time it is cooked, would yield less than 2 ounces, more likely 1.5-1.75 ounces. Is that not a bit extreme? I am just curious about why so low?
I personally dislike eating LOTS of chicken breast day after day, so I included a lower portion of muscle meat since there are eggs in each meal prep. You can absolutely increase the poundage, just make sure your chicken breasts are evenly sized and on the smaller size. They cook so much better this way!