So, you want to have gourmet-level, healthy dinners prepped and waiting for you and your partner in the fridge, but you will not (repeat) WILL NOT eat the same thing day after day. And friends, nor should you. With my 4 Meals 1 Prep: Rotisserie Chicken Edition, you’ll spend some time meal prepping together one day, and then you’ll use what you’ve prepped to whip together four completely different, flavorful meals in ten minutes or less. Each recipe has unique, global flavors that taste delicious and also packs in the nutrients.

These recipes serve two and are SO good for you– like veggie-packed, optionally gluten-free and dairy-free, and loaded with added health benefits for your heart, weight, anxiety, and even your sex life. Add it all up, and you’ve got an extremely attainable way for you and your partner to eat healthy and feel great all week long AND have a cleaner kitchen since you’re only really cooking once.

Here’s what to get hungry for in this week’s meal plan:

• Crispy Chickpea & Chicken Paella⁣
• Chopped Chicken Salad with Sweet and Spicy Peanut Dressing⁣
• Crispy Cheese Tacos with Salsa-Tossed Chicken⁣
• Greek-Style Creamy Lemony Chicken and Rice Soup⁣

3 tips to make meal prep super easy

To pull off 4 meals in 1 prep session, you need strategy. If you follow me on Instagram (@LizMoody), you can screenshot the shopping list straight from this 4 Meals 1 Prep Rotisserie Chicken video. You can also see it outlined below! Here are my top three tips to make this meal prep super simple.

Tip #1. Invest in good quality storage containers. Glass, airtight food containers make prepped ingredients stay fresh longer and taste better. They also keep bacteria out and are better for the planet! You’ll need five containers for this meal prep.

Tip #2. Get microwave-safe bowls. If you’re only cooking for one, you’ll have a left-over serving with this meal prep plan. Luckily, 3 of the 4 recipes below can be warmed up by combining the ingredients into a microwave-safe dish and reheating.

Tip #3. Label your containers. If everything you prep is labeled, you won’t waste five minutes searching for the chopped onion and tub of salsa.

Grocery List for 4 Meals 1 Prep: Rotisserie Chicken Edition

(Serves 2)

PANTRY

• 3 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
• 1 teaspoon ginger powder
• 1/4 teaspoon saffron
• Fine grain sea salt
• Extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil, for cooking
• 2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons maple syrup
• 1 cup uncooked white rice
• 1 15-ounce container chickpeas
• 2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 4 taco-sized tortillas of choice
• 3 cups vegetable broth or stock
• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

PRODUCE

• 1 yellow onion
• 3 small romaine hearts
• 1 red pepper
• 1 small bunch chives
• 3 limes
• 1 organic lemon
• 1 carrot

FREEZER

• 1 10 ounce bag of frozen peas

OTHER

• 1 15 ounce container fresh, refrigerated red salsa (pico de gallo style)
• 1 rotisserie chicken
• 1 bag of shredded cheddar cheese (dairy or plant-based)
• 1 egg
• Parchment paper
• 5 air-tight food storage containers

How to make this meal prep in 1 hour or less:

1. Shred your rotisserie chicken. Store it in a tightly-sealed container in the fridge.
2. Rinse and drain the can of chickpeas. Pour them onto a parchment-lined pan and roast them at 350F for 20-30 minutes, until beginning to brown. Once browning, toss them with 1 tablespoon of oil, 2 teaspoons of maple syrup, 2 teaspoons garlic powder, 2 teaspoons onion powder, and 1 teaspoon of salt until evenly coated. Spread the chickpeas out on pan and return them to the oven for 2-3 minutes until just slightly darker brown. Store them in a tightly-sealed container at room temperature.⁣
3. Make the saffron rice. Crush the saffron between your fingers into a bowl, then add 1/4 cup hot water to bloom the saffron. In a medium pot, sauté the onion with a drizzle of oil and a pinch of salt. When it’s turning brown, add the rice. Toast it for 2-3 minutes, until the rice is turning golden. Then, add the saffron water plus 1 3/4 cups of water, 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer, cover the pot, and simmer for 20 minutes. Then, turn off the heat and leave the lid on for 10 more minutes.⁣ Store the rice in a container in the fridge.
4. Wash & chop the romaine hearts. Store them in a tightly-sealed, paper towel-lined container in the fridge.⁣
5. Chop the red pepper, chives, and carrot. Store them in a tightly-sealed container in the fridge. ⁣

What makes this meal prep so healthy? This exotic spice.

I’ll say it once, and I’ll say it again: spices are the ultimate superfoods, and saffron has MAJOR health benefits. If you’ve never used this exotic spice in cooking, fear not. It smells AMAZING when cooked and you really can’t mess it up. Here’s what science is saying saffron is amazing for:

• Weight loss and metabolism. Research shows that saffron boosts the metabolism and makes you feel full longer.
• Heart health. Research also shows that saffron promotes a healthy cardiovascular system.
• Anxiety and depression. Saffron is also being used in scientific studies to treat anxiety and depression.
• Increased sex drive! Saffron is studied as an aphrodisiac and natural remedy for impotence with positive benefits for sexual function.

Amazing, right? Now that you know all the fun stuff, let’s get into the recipes!

Recipe #1: Crispy Chickpea and Chicken Paella

You guys, this is a 10-outta-10-stars recipe that’s ALSO a 10-minute meal. If we learned anything from the easiest paella recipe on the planet, it’s that using salsa in lieu of dicing tomatoes and chopping garlic and onion is THE best meal prep hack. I wanted this paella to have some additional health benefits, so it features crispy chickpeas. Chickpeas are so good for our guts and can help with IBS and constipation!

(Serves 2)

Ingredients:

• 2.5 cups saffron rice
• 1/2 cup refrigerated salsa
• 1 cup shredded chicken
• 1/2 of the red pepper
• 1 1/4 cup frozen peas
• 1/2 of the crispy chickpeas
• Olive oil or avocado oil, for cooking
• Fine grain sea salt
• Chives
• Juice of 1 lime

Instructions:

1. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the saffron rice, salsa, and shredded chicken.
2. Warm oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the red pepper and a shake of salt. Cook until it’s beginning to brown.
3. Next, add the rice mixture from the bowl into the skillet and spread it out in an even layer, cooking until brown and crispy. Then, use a wooden spoon to scrape up the crispy bits and spread the rice out again.
4. When warmed through, add frozen peas and cook for 2 more minutes. Add salt to taste. Add crispy chickpeas and garnish with a generous sprinkle of chives and lime juice.

Recipe #2: Chopped Chicken Salad with Sweet and Spicy Peanut Dressing

If this recipe were a Friends episode, it would be called “The One Where Liz Learns to Like Salads”. Finally, a bowl of uncooked greens has me licking the bowl clean. It’s the scratch-made dressing that does it for me. It’s basically a bastardized take on satay sauce that has the perfect balance of sweet, savory, and umami. You drizzle that GENEROUSLY on veggies, the shredded rotisserie chicken, and top it all with crispy chickpeas for a crunch. The result is a super healthy salad that’s flavorful, texturally satisfying, and actually filling. ⁣

(Serves 2)

Ingredients

For the satay sauce:

• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter (or nut/seed butter of choice)
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon ginger powder
• 2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 2 tablespoon maple syrup

For the salad:

• 3/4 of your total chopped romaine hearts
• 1 shredded carrot
• Remaining 1/2 of red pepper
• 1 cup shredded rotisserie chicken
• Remaining crispy chickpeas

Instructions:

1. Make the sweet and spicy peanut dressing. In a medium-sized bowl, stir together the peanut butter, lime juice, garlic powder, ginger powder, tamari, toasted sesame oil, and maple syrup until combined.
2. ⁣In a large bowl, toss together the romaine hearts, carrot, red pepper, and rotisserie chicken. Pour all the dressing on top and toss to combine. Garnish with the crispy chickpeas. Enjoy!

Recipe #3: Crispy Cheese Tacos with Salsa-Tossed Chicken

(Serves 2)

Ingredients:

• 4 tortillas of choice
• 4 big pinches of shredded cheddar cheese
• A drop of olive oil or avocado oil
• 1.5 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
• Remaining salsa
• Remaining chopped romaine lettuce
• 1 lime, cut into 4 wedges

Instructions:

1. Warm a small drop of oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-heat.
2. Add one tortilla and cook until just golden. Flip it and immediately and add cheese. As soon as the cheese melts, flip it again so the tortilla is cheese-side-down in the skillet. Wait 30 seconds, then gently work your spatula around the outside of the tortilla to loosen the cheese. Flip the tortilla onto a plate and immediately fold it loosely in half to make crispy taco shells.
3. Repeat this with the 3 other tortillas.⁣
4. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the chicken with the salsa.
5. Divide the salsa chicken between the four taco shells. Top them with romaine and serve each taco with a lime wedge. Enjoy!

Recipe #4: Greek-Style Creamy Lemony Chicken and Rice Soup

Dairy-free friends, this is THE recipe for when you’re craving a super creamy, cozy soup, but your gut can’t tolerate animal milk. ⁣Avgolemono soup is a popular Greek dish. It’s the lemony one with chicken and ric! It’s incredibly fresh from the lemon, which is full of antioxidants shown to boost immunity and help skin glow. We achieve the velvety consistency of the soup sans cream by tempering an egg (it’s super simple, I promise). Think of it like how carbonara is creamy and custardy, versus scrambled-eggy. ⁣The trick to tempering an egg perfectly is so easy: just add a little bit of hot broth at a time and whisk constantly. Seriously, don’t sweat it. This soup comes together in minutes and is really fun to make.

(Serves 2)

Ingredients:

• 1 lemon
• 1 egg
• 3 cups of vegetable broth
• Remaining saffron rice
• Remaining frozen peas
• Remaining shredded rotisserie chicken
• Salt and pepper
• Remaining chives, to garnish

Instructions:

1. Zest lemon into a small bowl and set the lemon aside.
2. In a large bowl, crack open the egg and begin to beat it with a whisk. Add the lemon juice and keep whisking.
3. In a medium pot, warm the vegetable broth over medium-high heat. When it’s hot but not boiling, remove a cup of it and add a splash at a time to the lemon-egg mixture, whisking constantly.
4. Once the full cup of broth is incorporated into the lemon mixture, pour it back into the pot with the rest of the broth.
5. Stir in the lemon zest, saffron rice, frozen peas, and chicken. Warm it until it’sheated through.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste, and then garnish it with chives!

More healthy meal prep recipes

• 4 Meals 1 Prep: Vegan Sheet Pan Edition
• Curry-Spiced Cauliflower Chickpea Freezer Burritos
• Sweet Potato and Black Bean Burritos
• Sheet Pan Salad with Clementine Rosemary Vinaigrette
• The Tastiest Falafel-Spiced Vegan Freezer Burritos

I hope you enjoyed 4 Meals 1 Prep: Rotisserie Chicken Edition!

I can’t wait to see you and your partner’s creations. Tag me on Instagram (@lizmoody) when you share your food pics! If you liked this 4 Meals 1 Prep, you’re going to love my latest New Years Jump Start Edition!