Got a whole chicken? Today I have for you a whole chicken meal prep that makes 3 freezer friendly meals!
easy and delicious whole chicken meal prep
It is so easy to turn a whole chicken into a meal prep! This whole 4lb chicken netted me 3 freezer meals where each ziplock bag is two servings and took me under an hour and a half to make. That’s 3 meals for both myself and my partner in under 2 hours! You can even make double this is you roast two chickens at the same time.
I personally love roasting whole chickens so I can use the bones to make broth but I can’t always eat it all by myself before it goes bad – this is why I started to freeze portions of the meals. I’m usually pretty simple when it comes to roasting chicken – toss some root veggies underneath a chicken then pop it into the oven but I didn’t want to freeze three portions of that. So I shredded up some chicken and essentially made a little quinoa bowl. See down below to see how easy it all is!
Tip: While I love roasting my own chicken in the oven but if you don’t have the time, an alternative is to purchase a rotisserie chicken to breakdown to meal prep
what do I need to make this whole chicken meal prep?
For the chicken, I went with the basics:
- whole chicken
- olive oil
- salt
- pepper
- paprika
- lemon
- garlic
However, if you’d like to change it up, you can try these different ways to season your chicken:
- garlic herb butter roasted chicken
- swap olive oil for butter and coat with fresh or dried herbs such as basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary
- cajun seasoning
- 5 spice
- bbq
- fajita seasoning
- lemon pepper with dried herbs
- jerk chicken seasoning
For the first freezer meal (cooked with the chicken), I went with my usual:
- potatoes
- carrots
- onions
- lemon
- salt
- pepper
- garlic
For the second freezer meal (cooked on the stove top):
- quinoa
- spinach
- salt
- pepper
- pesto
For the third freezer meal:
- add ins such as frozen corn, peas, beans, cauliflower, broccoli, etc and swap out pesto for a different sauce, etc to mix into the quinoa meal
- If you do not like quinoa, you can try another freezer friendly grain.
Why did I choose to do add ins for the third meal? The add ins is a fast and easy way to “change up” the original version of the meal without having to spend a ton of extra money and it also saves you time. If you want a completely different 3rd meal, you could always try a salsa chicken soup or chicken noodle soup!
How to make 3 freezer friendly meal preps with a whole chicken
This whole chicken meal prep is so easy to make.
- After dicing up your potatoes, carrots, onions, drizzle oil on and coat with salt and pepper before placing it into a pan.
- Then on a rack, place your seasoned chicken on top and bake in the oven for 70 minutes.
- While the chicken is cooking, prepare your other two meal preps by cooking 2 cups of quinoa and then mixing in spinach and pesto. Divide it in half and add some add ins (such as freezer friendly veggies) to the second portion if you want to have 3 different meal options!
- Once the chicken is done cooking, portion it out into 3.
Alternative, if you do not have a roasting rack but have a dutch oven, you can use that to roast your chicken instead. Check out my garlic herb chicken made in a Dutch oven here.
How to store these freezer friendly meals
After dividing the chicken up (2 breast, shredded the rest) and cooking the quinoa, I put them in freezer friendly ziploc bags because they lay flat so it takes up less room in my freezer. You can also put them in freezer safe containers but because my freezer has limited space, the ziploc bags work best for me.
How to reheat this whole chicken meal prep
To get this freezer friendly whole chicken meal prep ready to eat, thaw it out in the fridge overnight and reheat in microwave.
Whole Chicken Meal Prep (3 Freezer Friendly Meals)
Ingredients
Whole Chicken
- 4 lb chicken
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp salt
- 2 tbsp pepper
- 2.5 tbsp paprika
- 1 lemon
- 5 cloves garlic crushed
Roasted Veg (Meal 1)
- 2 potatoes
- 2 carrots
- 3 onions
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper
Pesto Quinoa (Meal 2 and 3)
- 1.5-2 cups quinoa
- 120 grams spinach
- 4 tbsp pesto
- salt and pepper
- 1 cup frozen vegetables such as corn, peas, carrots, caulitflower, etc as an add in for meal 3
Instructions
- Heat your oven up to 400F
- Season your whole chicken (inside and out) with the salt, pepper, and paprika before placing a sliced lemon and crushed garlic cloves inside the cavity of the chicken.
- In a roasting pan, place your diced potatoes, carrots, onions, and garlic in and coat it with some oil and salt and pepper to taste. Then put your roasting rack on top of the pan and place your chicken on top before putting it in the oven.
- While roasting your chicken and vegetables, cook your quinoa. Once cooked, add in spinach, pesto, salt, and pepper. Divide this in half.
- In a separate pan, cook some frozen vegetables of your choice such as corn and edamame beans (this is what I had on hand). Once cooked, mix in with half of your quinoa.
- Once the chicken is done, let the chicken rest for 10-15 minutes before cutting off the two breasts and place it in a freezer bag/container with the roasted vegetables. Shred the rest of the chicken and divide that in half and put each half in with your two portions of quinoa.
- Either serve immediately or if you freeze it, thaw it out overnight before reheating via stovetop or microwave.
Notes
Related: An alternative meal prep to use up any extra cooked chicken is this spicy peanut chicken wrap or these 3 recipes for leftover chicken!
Related: Want to try making this whole chicken in an Instant Pot? Click here!
Want more simple chicken recipes? Check these out!
- Sheet Pan Cashew Chicken with Veggies
- Sheet Pan Chicken Teriyaki with Veggies and Pineapple Meal Prep
- One Pan Spicy Pineapple Chicken Meals
- Super Easy and Fast Dinner Idea: One Sheet Pan Chicken and Vegetables
- One Sheet Pan Honey Mustard Chicken + Veggies
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Mindy
I loved the pesto in the quinoa. It was a great lunch!
Janice - Salads for Lunch
Looks delicious Carmy! The pesto Quinoa sounds amazing!