Some of the links in this post might be affiliate links.This means that if you click on the link and make a purchase, I’ll receive a small commission – at no extra cost for you, which helps me cover the costs for this blog.
Last updated on May 1st, 2023 at 02:14 pm
Meal prep and eat healthy the entire week with these simple easy and healthy no-chicken meal prep recipes! That’s right! If you’re sick and tired of eating chicken, broccoli and rice every day of the week – these meal prep ideas without chicken (or turkey) will provide the inspiration you need!
What Is Meal Prep?
Meal prep isn’t rocket science. You basically make a lot of food on Sunday or whenever you have one to two hours and then eat what you’ve made during the week. If you’re ambitious, you can meal prep recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. But this collection of meal prep ideas is for healthy lunches and dinners. I find these meals to be more challenging during the week…probably because making overnight oats for breakfast or a smoothie isn’t that time-consuming.
Why Meal Prep?
Does your cooking consist of putting some cheese on bread and toasting it for 2 minutes? Or heating up some food that was pre-packaged months ago by a machine, because you don’t have time or desire to cook during the week? Then maybe, it’s time to try making some healthy recipes ahead aka time to meal prep.
I myself wasn’t the biggest fan of meal prep and eating old food, but life’s gotten pretty busy lately and I kinda started adopting this habit of preparing some food twice a week (vs. daily!) and it’s definitely helping me eat healthier. And it saves some money as well.
Meal Prep Tips
Now, before we get into the no chicken meal prep ideas, let’s address some basics:
- Make a Meal Plan That You Enjoy. Pick out some recipes you feel like you’ll love and make a meal plan that you’re excited about. Don’t want to eat at home every evening? Want to go out for lunch with your coworkers? Plan it out and make a grocery list accordingly, so you can make your meals ahead and stick to your goals.
- Don’t Make Too Much Food. The one downside of meal prep for me is the thought that at some point I’ll be eating old food. So when making that meal plan, be very realistic and don’t plan for too much food, because you might not want to eat it by day 4. You need to know what you’re comfortable with.
- Keep Ingredients Separate. Either use different food containers or use containers with separate compartments. I like this way of making food, because I feel the food stays fresh longer and I can warm up whichever part of the meal I want. For example, if I have meatballs with salad, I’d keep the meatballs separate and heat them up when it’s time to eat.
- Keeping Ingredients Separate Allows Flexibility. You can use the same ingredients to make something different every day, so you don’t get bored and throw everything out (has happened to me!)
15 Healthy No Chicken Meal Prep Recipes
Now to help you out, this is a collection of fun, colorful, delicious, healthy meal prep recipes without chicken (yes, they do exist!)! These recipes don’t take a million hours to make – in case you’re worried about it – they’re pretty quick and easy to put together.
1. 5-Minute Mediterranean Bowl (Vegan & Gluten-Free). Probably one of my favorite meals, like ever, and something I make pretty much at least once a month. I’m not gonna lie to you – this is my recipe and it has a very special place in my heart and on this list of healthy meal prep ideas without chicken.
2. Quinoa Fried Rice. My sister shared this recipe on her blog and I can testify, it’s super tasty! It’s healthier than take out and the one time she made it for me, it was ready in about 15 minutes. Pretty good for a vegetarian meal prep recipe and SO worth it.
3. Mediterranean Salmon Bowl. There’s salmon in it, there’s hummus in it, what is it? A Mediterranean Salmon Bowl with greens on the side – and it’s pretty much the perfect dinner. Healthy, easy to make and absolutely delicious meal prep idea.
4. Black Bean Quinoa Bowl. This vegan recipe with cooked black beans, quinoa, guacamole and a simple tzatziki sauce is perfect for lunch or dinner.
5. Meal Prep Greek Couscous Salad. I found this beautiful salad recipe on Pinterest and it just screams eat me, eat me. Like it’s completely something I would make again and again and again.
6. Quinoa & Ground Beef Skillet. Meal prep dinner for the next 3 days in 30 minutes, by using the recipe for this healthy quinoa and ground beef skillet. And yes, there’s really the one pan that does all the work.
7. Meal Prep Shrimp Taco Bowls. Now, if my old food looks like this I would have it every single day of the week and never complain. This meal prep recipe is great if you want to have a delicious, balanced, gluten-free meal.
8. Lo Mein Meal Prep. Can you imagine this lo mein recipe is actually good for you? It’s meatless, loaded with veggies AND high-fiber (yes, those are whole wheat spaghetti).
9. Meal Prep Greek Meatball Bowls. These Greek meatballs are made with ground beef and served with a simple tomato cucumber salad, some olives, feta cheese and garlicky yogurt sauce. This one should definitely make it on your list of must-try no-chicken meal prep recipes!
10. Tempeh Taco Salad Meal Prep Bowls. I’ve never had tempeh, but I might just start with this recipe, because it looks so incredibly tasty. On top, it is vegan and gluten-free.
11. One Pan Baked Teriyaki Salmon and Vegetables. Okay, so you know how “they” say meal prep should take hours? If you make this easy salmon recipe you’ll need only 30 minutes and one pan.
12. Meal Prep Easy Vegan Red Lentil Dal…and if you thought: 30min? Who has 30min? Bam, here’s a 15-minute delicious vegan red lentil dal recipe you can meal prep to eat healthy for a long time.
13. Shrimp Fried Rice Meal Prep. Okay, so yes, this is shrimp fried rice. Is it the healthiest option when it comes to easy meal prep recipes without chicken? Maybe not. But is it healthy-ish? Yes. It’s got some vegetables in it, some brown rice in it, some shrimp, it’s good. Better than cookies for lunch, I’m telling you.
14. Meal Prep Italian Couscous Salad. Alright, when I first saw Chelsea’s Greek Couscous Salad Meal Prep Recipe I thought: “This is it, meal prep recipes can’t get any better than this”. Then I take a look again and there she is: this beautiful, majestic Italian couscous salad. I fell in love. Is this basil? You know how I feel about basil. Well if you don’t: I love it.
15. Lemon Roasted Salmon With Sweet Potatoes and Broccolini. Oh my, this meal prep recipe without chicken…it’s kinda perfect – simple, easy and pretty much everything a hungry girl could ever dream of.
More Easy Meal Prep Ideas To Try
Alright, I hope you love these no chicken meal prep recipes and ideas as much as I do! I also hope that if you, like moi, have been in a healthy eating/cooking slump lately – now crave fresh healthy food and actually make some of these recipes for the next week.
Honestly, I’m not a fan of meal prep, but I can see myself eating each one of these for 2-3 days in a row without crying my eyes out and hating the world. Now if you need more healthy meal prep ideas and meal plans, check these out:
- 7-Day Clean Eating Challenge And Meal Plan
- Mediterranean Meal Prep Recipes
- 7-Day Dairy-Free Gluten-Free Challenge
Yield: 3
15 Healthy Meal Prep Recipes Without Chicken
If you're sick and tired of eating chicken, broccoli and rice every day of the week - these meal prep ideas without chicken (or turkey) will provide the inspiration you need!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Ingredients
- 10 oz lean ground beef (300g)
- 1 cup quinoa, cooked
- 1 cup black beans, canned, rinsed & drained
- 2 roasted red peppers
- 1 carrot
- 1/3 cup mint leaves
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp dry mint
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 scallions, chopped
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Prepare by chopping all the vegetables, rinsing and draining the beans.
- In a large skillet crumble ground beef, cover with a lid and cook at medium heat until no longer pink. I added a little bit of water since I wasn't using a non-stick pan, but you might not need to do that. Once the meat is no longer pink, take the lid off and add olive oil, 1 garlic clove, cumin, dry mint, coriander and chili powder, add a few good pinches of salt. Stir and let the beef cook like this for 2-3 more minutes.
- Mix in the roasted bell peppers, scallions. Then add the quinoa, black beans and carrots and mix it all together.
- Stir in the tomato paste, add the fresh mint and garlic and let cook like this for 3-4 more minutes. Add salt if needed, turn off the heat, serve like this or with a little salad and enjoy!
- To make this dish even better you can also serve it with a salad and a garlic sauce.
Notes
Full recipe at Her Highness, Hungry Me.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
3 Serving Size:
1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 477Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 84mgSodium: 633mgCarbohydrates: 38gFiber: 10gSugar: 7gProtein: 36g
Originally published in October 2019, last updated in May 2023.
