Meal Prep Chicken Quinoa Fried “Rice” Bowls

A delicious quinoa fried “rice” recipe that’s perfect for meal prep! Fried quinoa in place of rice with veggies and chunky chicken breast – you won’t even know what’s missing in these Meal Prep Chicken Quinoa Fried “Rice” Bowls!

My latest obsession in the quinoa department! Not joking about the obsession part. Basically if there’s leftover quinoa and I have carrots and peas available, this is what happens.

Quinoa is not something I’ve always been into, despite having several quinoa recipes on the site. I started making it as an alternative to brown rice when I figured out how easy it was to cook in the rice cooker.

More recently, after receiving the best kitchen appliance EVER (my Instant Pot), I perfected How to Cook Quinoa in the Instant Pot. But this left me with lots of extra quinoa. I wasn’t too happy about this because, well. Ugh… Confession:

I don’t like quinoa by itself 😱 but after this recipe, gimme all your leftover quinoa so I can turn it into fried “rice”!!

Originally published on February 21st, 2018!

Hello, it’s Danielle. It’s September 2021, and I’m here to give this recipe a make-over. It’s also headed for my upcoming eBook! 

Today, I updated this post to be easier to follow, as well answer some common questions you might have about the recipe. I’ve also updated the photos! Text above is from 2018, but everything else has been rewritten.

I’m still just as into this recipe as I was when it was first published. It’s ADDICTING, super easy to make, less frantic than real home-cooked fried rice, and possibly a little bit healthier too 😉

Watch how to make this Meal Prep Chicken Quinoa Fried “Rice” Bowls Recipe (2 min):

What are the ingredients in these Meal Prep Chicken Quinoa Fried “Rice” Bowls?

• white quinoa + chicken broth – For cooking quinoa, I like to use my Instant Pot, but you can use any leftover cooked quinoa as well. The important part is making sure your quinoa has fully cooled before proceeding with the recipe.
• boneless skinless chicken breasts – This recipe calls for 1 pound of chicken, but if you have a little more, that’s fine too. Make sure to cut into uniform bite size pieces for easy cooking.
• cooking oil – I prefer to use avocado oil for cooking, but you can also use olive oil. 
• onion + carrots – Use lots of finely diced carrots and onion for added bulk and flavor! 
• garlic + ginger – These are some of my very favorite flavors and they certainly belong in fried rice style dishes.
• soy sauce – Required for fried rice! 
• sesame oil – I love the flavor that sesame oil brings to the recipe! 
• Sambal Oelek – This is just a brand name for chili garlic paste that comes in the red and gold container with the green lid. I always have this stuff on hand!
• eggs – Whenever I’ve had fried rice growing up, it always included some pieces of scrambled egg. Also means extra protein!
• peas – Need something green, right? Peas were also a classic in my fried rice I had!

How do you make the Chicken Quinoa Fried “Rice” Bowls?

While the recipe looks a little longer than my normal, I’m gonna break it down and show you how easy it really is.

The first step in this recipe is to cook the quinoa. This is something you can do a day ahead of time as well. You want to make sure it’s cooled to at least room temperature before moving on.

Before we get started cooking, it’s a good idea to prep the sauce so you can pour it all in at once later. In a small bowl or jar with lid, add the soy sauce, sesame oil, and Sambal Oelek. Shake or stir!

Next step – cook the chicken. You want to use a large non-stick still (or a wok works great if you have one!). Cook your bite sized chicken breast pieces for about 3-4 more minutes on each side. Once the chicken is fully cooked, remove it from the pan and set aside.

Simple and easy to make with lots of flavor. I left out the peas because we didn’t have any and I’m still impressed.

– Iris, from Pinterest

After the chicken, it’s on to the veggies. In the same pan, heat your oil over medium-high heat, then add onion, carrot and a pinch of salt, and cook until onions are beginning to turn translucent.

Add garlic and ginger, and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly, until the garlic is fragrant. Push the cooked veggies to the side of the pan to make room for the quinoa!

Find your cooled quinoa and add it to the pan in large spoonfuls, followed by the sauce you made earlier. Stir and continue to cook over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes.

Reduce the heat and create a well in the center of the pan (see the pics!). Pour whisked eggs into the well. Let the eggs cook in the well for about 1 minute, then mix the eggs into the rest of the quinoa and veggies. Continue to stir and cook until the eggs are done.

Add the frozen peas and cooked chicken back to the pan. Cook for just a little longer over low-medium heat for about 2-3 minutes until the peas are heated through. And there you go! A few steps, but none of it is complicated 🙂

How can I meal prep this recipe?

This is a wonderful recipe for meal prep because it tastes just as delicious as leftovers! In my opinion, there are two great ways to meal prep this meal or parts of this meal. 

• Prep the whole meal: You can prepare the entire recipe as the instructions say, then portion the fried “rice” into airtight meal prep friendly containers (in these photos, I’ve used my 3-Cup Pyrex Rectangle Glass Containers (affiliate link!)). This recipe will last for up to 4 days in the fridge.
• Cook the quinoa & prep the veggies: Another option to prepare part of this meal ahead of time (meal prep!) is to cook your quinoa and prep your veggies 1-2 days ahead of time. This will save you 10-20 minutes on the day of cooking. 

Ways you can cook quinoa for this recipe:

• On the stove: Usually, the directions for this method are on the quinoa packaging. I suck at this method because I’m impatient and open lids too early. But it totally works if you can actually follow the directions. I’ve also used this method for a couple recipes where you toast the quinoa first (not required in this recipe).
• In the rice cooker: I successfully relied on this method for multiple years, and wrote a very detailed post called How to Cook Quinoa in the Rice Cooker. It was my go-to before we got an Instant Pot. If you have a rice cooker, you should definitely be using this hands-off method, perfect for impatient people because you can leave and do something else instead of watching the stove!
• In the Instant Pot: My new and current favorite method! Quicker than the rice cooker, no stove hovering, and perfect 100% of the time. Like I talked about above, I also wrote a detailed post on this method – How to Cook Quinoa in the Instant Pot. My go-to method!

Basically ANY leftover quinoa will work. You need about 3 cups of cooked quinoa. 

Alternative customization ideas for this recipe:

I highly encourage you to customize this recipe for your own taste buds! Here are a couple ways:

• You can use shrimp instead of chicken. Can be cooked the same way but shrimp will cook faster than the chicken.
• Change up the veggies going into the recipe! Try peppers or broccoli!
• Make it spicy!

Did not add the peas and carrots due to preference but added red bell peppers instead. Absolutely delicious tastes just like chicken fried rice!!!

– Lexxa, from Pinterest

More traditional recipes for fried rice:

If you’re looking for a more traditional or classic fried rice, I recommend checking out these recipes:

• Classic Chicken Fried Rice from The Woks of Life
• Easy Fried Rice from Just One Cookbook
• Fried Rice from RecipeTin Eats

Where do you get those containers?

For this recipe, I’ve use my 3-Cup Pyrex Rectangle Glass Containers (affiliate link!). You can get these containers on Amazon, or you might be able to find them at your local Target or grocery store cookware section.

Is this Chicken Quinoa Fried Rice recipe freezer-friendly?

Yes, this recipe is freezer friendly for up to 3 months when store in an airtight container. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and then reheat as normal the next day, or defrost slowly in the microwave before eating.

How to store Chicken Quinoa “Fried” Rice Bowls:

Store meal prep meals in airtight containers in the fridge and enjoy within 4 days.

How to freeze Chicken Quinoa “Fried” Rice Bowls:

Store meal prep meals in freezer-safe airtight containers in the freezer for up to 3 months for best quality.

How to reheat Chicken Quinoa “Fried” Rice Bowls:

Reheat cold meal prep in the microwave loosely covered for 90 seconds to 2 minutes. Thaw frozen meal prep overnight before eating and then reheat normally, or defrost slowly in the microwave.

This meal would also work well reheated in a HotLogic Mini Portable Oven – see my full review here!