Dinner meal prep is the last thing many of us want to do at the end of a long, hard day. Just the thought of chopping and cooking anything when all you want to do is relax can be just too much. We get it. The couch is much more enticing, isn’t it, than standing up and prepping one of these chicken recipes, even though you know you’ll be glad you did, at the end of it. Luckily, there are plenty of one-pan meals that make the process short and sweet from start to finish.
Cutting down on both dinner meal prep and clean-up time, these one-pan recipes rely on a single skillet or sheet pan to get dinner on the table in just 30 minutes. They’re particularly well-suited to meal prep because they make a bunch of servings. Try cooking one for dinner and saving the leftovers for the next day or two after, or whipping up a couple at once for ready-to-go meals all week long. Work now and eat all week long!
Even if you don’t decide to meal prep these easy chicken dinners ahead of time, they’ll come together quickly and effortlessly on busy weeknights (plus, of course, those leftovers!). Packed with an array of nutritious ingredients and exciting flavors, they’ll keep you full, satisfied, and stress-free.
If you need more meal prep ideas, check out our other recipe roundups for some delicious inspiration! And keep scrolling for 15 delicious chicken recipes that will answer your question “what should I meal prep for dinner?”
15 Easy Meal Prep Dinners
1. Chicken Shawarma Sheet Pan Dinner from The Modern Proper
This spicy recipe involves baking just four separate ingredients on the same sheet pan. Red bell peppers, onions, and tomatoes cook to perfection next to tender, marinated chicken breasts. While that’s happening, you can whip up a quick and foolproof tahini sauce to pour over the whole thing. Save yourself even more time by preparing the sauce at the beginning of the week. Double the recipe and eat this winning combination on top of everything from salads to grain bowls, too.
2. Chicken, Broccoli, and Sweet Potato Dinner from Gimme Delicious for Dinner Meal Prep
This recipe has everything you need for four, filling meal-prepped lunches or dinner. The combination of spiced chicken with broccoli and sweet potato tastes great fresh from the oven or straight out of the fridge, but you can also get creative and repurpose the ingredients in different ways. Pack up all your sweet potato into one container and use it in various dishes throughout the week. We like it to jazz up salads or add some depth to soups. Ditto the chicken and broccoli, which can easily be reimagined for other quick and flavorful recipes. But we love this recipe because broccoli and sweet potatoes were made for each other.
Related: Weekly Meal Prep: 12 One-Pot Dinners Under 30 Minutes
3. Moroccan Spiced Sheet Pan Chicken Dinner from Dash of Jazz
A mix of spices including ground coriander, cumin, and cinnamon lend this simple chicken and veggie bake a Moroccan flair. Don’t feel limited to the veggies used in this recipe, though. The seasoning will taste great on everything from carrots to Brussels sprouts. Make the spice blend ahead of time so you have it on hand whenever you’re in the mood for this dish. It will keep for up to 6 months provided you’ve packed it in an airtight jar and kept it in a cool, dark place as best as possible.
4. Chicken Bacon Ranch Sweet Potato Bake from The Real Food Dietitians
That bottle of ranch dressing in your fridge is the secret to cutting down on dinner meal prep. The humble sauce made with ranch dressing gives this chicken and bacon dinner all the additional flavor it needs. You can make your own ahead of time or stick with your favorite store-bought brand—either option will produce great results.
5. Sheet Pan Chipotle Chicken Nachos from Spoon Fork Bacon
When in doubt, nachos are always a great speedy dinner idea, especially because it’s so easy to customize them. This version packs in the protein with the help of shredded chicken and plenty of cheese. Saute and shred the chicken ahead of time to speed things up even more, or take a smart shortcut and use store-bought rotisserie chicken instead. (And then use that carcass to make stock or sandwiches the next day!)
Related: How To Meal Prep For Two
6. Sheet Pan Garlic Ginger Chicken and Broccoli from Pinch of Yum for Dinner Meal Prep
Delicious cold or hot, this nutty chicken recipe is the secret to a quick lunch or dinner. Eat it alongside something starchy to guarantee satisfaction. It tastes great over a bed of rice, wrapped in a tortilla, or even over a quick-cooking vermicelli noodle.
7. Sheet Pan Pasta Bake With Chicken and Kale from Two Peas and Their Pod
This pasta bake is overflowing with cheesy, chickeny goodness—and it’s further proof that you don’t technically need a pot to cook pasta. (It’s true!) This chicken meal prep is also particularly well-suited to freezing for later because its thick and creamy sauce keeps all the ingredients well protected from freezer burn. Pop it directly in a hot oven from the freezer, and it will be ready to eat in about 15 minutes.
8. Sheet Pan Zucchini Chicken Meatballs With Coconut Curry Sauce from Ambitious Kitchen
These spicy meatballs come together in a pinch and cook even faster. They’re paired with red bell peppers in this recipe but would be equally delicious if you paired it with another vegetable such as zucchini or even mushrooms. Feel free to use it as an opportunity to make use of the vegetables in your fridge that may otherwise not see the light of day. It’s a good fridge cleanout recipe.
Related: 5 Essential Freezer Meal Prep Tips
9. Sheet Pan Chicken Fried Rice from Creme de la Crumb
There’s no need to deal with splattering grease and a hot stove when this fried rice recipe exists. For best results, use day-old rice that’s had plenty of time to dry out. Less moisture means crispier results. (You can use freshly cooked rice if need be; just spread it out on a sheet pan to let it air dry a bit and that can help.) For the fluffiest leftovers, add a tablespoon of water to a serving of rice and microwave for 1 to 2 minutes. Just like that, it will taste good as new!
10. Sheet Pan Asian Stir-Fry Dinner from Damn Delicious for Dinner Meal Prep
Along with being a one-pan meal, this recipe comes together very quickly because it involves hardly any chopping. Shortcut this even further by grabbing a bag or two of pre-cut frozen veggies. We love a good shortcut!
Related: Don’t forget to check out these lunch meal prep ideas!
11. Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner With Peanut Sauce from Healthy Nibbles and Bits
While the chicken and broccoli roast together in the oven, you’ll have time to whip up the silky peanut sauce that brings this whole recipe together. Alternatively, meal prep the sauce ahead of time so that all you have to do is take it out of the fridge at dinnertime.
12. One-Pan Balsamic Chicken and Veggies from Chelsea’s Messy Apron
This recipe uses just a few, common pantry staples to deliver big flavor. Though it doesn’t take long to whip up the balsamic vinaigrette in this recipe, a store-bought alternative will work just as well. And you can cut down on dinner meal prep even more (including, in some cases, the cost) by using frozen rather than fresh vegetables.
Related: Meal Prep On A Budget: Spend $25 On Food This Week (Free Meal Plan)
13. Bruschetta Chicken Sheet Pan from A Spicy Perspective
Cheese and chicken are the stars of the show in this zesty one-pan dinner. Prep the bruschetta while everything is baking or add it to your meal prep to-do list to save yourself more time in the week. In fact, bruschetta tastes better after a couple of days in the fridge, when its flavors have had plenty of time to meld.
14. Chicken and Broccoli Casserole from Simply LaKita
A good old-fashioned chicken and broccoli casserole is one of the original old-school one-pan recipes. And for good reason. It’s quick, affordable, and oh-so-good. Buy pre-chopped broccoli florets to cut back on dinner meal prep. Then, simply pop all your ingredients into a pan and relax while it cooks all by itself.
15. Sheet Pan Chicken Cordon Bleu from Ka Pai Cooking for Dinner Meal Prep
This decadent recipe is the fastest way to feel fancy on a weeknight, with the key word being fast! Cheese and ham-filled chicken tastes great over roasted vegetables as seen here, but you can also chop it up and add it to everything from salads to wraps throughout the week.
We hope this list of easy dinner meal prep ideas made in 30 minutes or less inspires you to cook this week!
If you are looking to make the weekdays run a little smoother, The Workweek Lunch Meal Prep Program provides a weekly meal prep template with a new meal plan with recipes and a grocery list every week so you never get bored or have to spend hours searching for recipes. Each plan comes with 14-15 planned meals to avoid over-planning and leave plenty of space for spontaneity.
Our membership includes our customizable meal planning tool so you can even build your own meal plans with our recipes (we have over 450).
Start a free trial here! Again, this is perfect if you don’t have time to meal plan yourself, but know it’s super important.
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