Salsa Chicken Bowls
Two of my favorite things are salsa and chicken, so this recipe has quickly become one of my favorites. Marinating meat can get complicated really quickly. I find that a lot of recipes that call for marinating can have a BUNCH of ingredients, that realistically, I will only buy and use with the one recipe. In this recipe, I tried to keep the marination SIMPLE with ingredients that you probably already have in your kitchen. If you don’t have all (or most) of these ingredients in your spice cabinet, then you can just marinate the chicken with your favorite salsa.
Salsa selection is a super personal choice. I have a VERY low spice tolerance so I like to use a mild salsa. However, if you have more of a heat tolerance, feel free to use a medium or spicy salsa. Also, every salsa has a different flavor, so use a salsa where you really enjoy the flavor pallet to help make this the ultimate meal prep recipe for you.
In this recipe, I keep it super simple with only having the salsa chicken, fajita veggies, and rice. However, feel free to spice things up! This is great when you add guacamole or cheese to the recipe. If you prefer even more spice, add hot sauce to this!
Not only is this a fabulous recipe for meal prep, it is also a great weeknight meal. The marination time may seem intimidating, but if you only have an hour to make dinner, marinate for 30 minutes and then cook!
When cooking, it is important to transfer all of the salsa / marination to the chicken. Once you transfer the chicken from the marinating container to the baking pan, transfer any remaining salsa/marinate to the top of the chicken to make sure that it packs a lot of flavor. Once the chicken is cooked and shredded, place it back in the container that you cooked it in to help absorb any of the flavor that is left over in the pan.
Happy Cooking!
RECIPE CARD
MAKES: 4 meals
INGREDIENTS: CHICKEN
1lb chicken breasts
1 cup chunky salsa
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp chili powder
¼ tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp tomato paste
INGREDIENTS: OTHER
2 cups cooked jasmine rice
4 bell peppers
1 red onion
INSTRUCTIONS: CHICKEN
In an airtight container, combine the chicken breasts, salsa, paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, and tomato paste. Thoroughly mix all the ingredients together and place in the refrigerator. Allow to marinate for 1-3 hours.
When the chicken has about 15 minutes left to marinate, preheat the oven to 425F.
Once the oven is preheated, place chicken on a cooking sheet and place in the oven for 20 minutes, or until thoroughly cooked (internal temperature of 165F or more).
Once chicken is cooked, remove from oven. Allow to rest for 5-10 minutes. Then using two forks, shred the chicken.
Transfer the chicken back to the container it was cooked in.
INSTRUCTIONS: RICE
Cook rice according to directions.
INSTRUCTIONS: PEPPERS & ONION
Clean and cut the peppers into slices.
Cut the red onion into slices (make sure to remove the outside).
In a medium saute pan, add ½ tbsp olive oil and the veggies (peppers & onion) on medium heat. Saute the veggies until they start to soften and are your desired texture/color (some people like them softer, others don’t!).
INSTRUCTIONS: BOWL ASSEMBLY
Once the chicken, veggies and rice are all done… it is time to assemble!
In a meal prep container, add ½ cup of rice
Add ¾ cup veggies.
Add ¾ cup chicken.
Place in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
INSTRUCTIONS: REHEAT
You can reheat on the stove or in the microwave.
If you microwave, start with 30 seconds and stir in between each 30 second interval. Make sure that your meal prep containers are microwave safe (I’ve melted a few over the years… oops).
If you want to reheat on the stove, I recommend using low heat.
