Mexican Quinoa Chicken Salad Lunch Bowls

Mexican quinoa is the star of this meal prep – cooked with fire roasted tomatoes, jalapeno and portioned with juicy chicken breasts over greens to make the Mexican Quinoa Chicken Salad Lunch Bowls.
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Hey guys, it’s me. And I’m back from jury duty. It was probably one of the more enlightening and boring things I’ve done. I decided not to post during my three day service for a couple reasons. First, my brain was full up of random trial tidbits all week. Of course, any trial related discussion is totally off limits until the trial is over, but it was all I could think about. Second, I wanted to show off my meal prep for the week and be able to reference the jury duty service without any worries. So, now that it’s over, I’d like to share the Mexican Quinoa Chicken Salad Lunch Bowls I made for the week of jury duty.

Obviously, I didn’t know how long jury duty would last, or even if I would be selected for a trial. But more obvious than that, I was prepared with lunches (except for when I met my mom for lunch – understandable). Thank you to the City of Seattle for having excellent accommodations and amenities (a microwave and utensil) for my lunch use!

I recently made One Pan Mexican Quinoa from Damn Delicious as a side for Christmas dinner, and it was a hit. I can only take credit for following the super clear and easy recipe directions. It was not only fresh and creative, but a change of pace from my always perfect quinoa in a rice cooker method. With black beans, jalapeño kick, fire-roasted tomatoes, plus the perfect seasonings, it’s quite the healthy side dish. After that, I planned for multiple weeks to make the dish into a lunch-with-other-stuff meal. Aaaaand, drum roll – here it is: Mexican Quinoa Chicken Salad Lunch Bowls.

For this lunch prep, I started with the chicken. Place three large chicken breasts on a lined sheet pan. Coat each side with avocado oil, salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder and smoke seasoning (the Trader Joe’s kind – smoked paprika will sub). Begin with 25 minutes in the oven at 400 degrees. Check the temp (always), and continue cooking until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. I cubed the chicken and mixed it together when it was done.

While the chicken is cooking, start on the quinoa. I truly loved the Damn Delicious version, but I can’t really help but make it my own. Since I’m not huge into corn, it was omitted. I also tripled the jalapeños (yep). The lime juice was omitted so the quinoa didn’t get too soggy. The cilantro was omitted so it wouldn’t get too wilty. Simmer away, my sweet quinoa.

For the final product, arrange your chicken, quinoa, and favorite greens into your storage bowls. Sprinkle with cheese if you desire (lots of my desires involve cheese). DONE WITH PREP. Optional: Add diced avocado day of planned eating. Optional: Add anything you want to these super versatile bowls. And there you go. You can also opt for no greens for reheating purposes, or keep them separate. Get prepping!

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I’m so glad to get back into a normal schedule! Thank you so much for checking out the Mexican Quinoa Chicken Salad Lunch Bowls! I promise to be back on time next week 🙂 Tag @projectmealplan on social media if you make any lunch bowls of your own! I’d love to check them out. And be sure to follow me on Pinterest for meal inspiration every single day!

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