PREPARE ROASTED VEGETABLE COUSCOUS MEAL

Traveling is always fun, but I’m always ready for a regular eating pattern once I return. After my return from China, I started to prepare meals preparations. Meal preparations that include a lot of vegetables. This Roasted Vegetable Couscous Meal Prep combines a few of our favorite recipes. It can be made with chicken or with chickpeas. These meal preps can be used as a regular meal or even saved for later.

This MEAL PREP includes:

• Roasted vegetable couscous (made with less CouscousCouscous, and more parsley, to increase vegetable-to-couscous ratio and reduce recipe size).
• Garlic Herb Baked Chicken Breast
• OR Garlic Herb Chickpeas.
• Ranch Dressing Optional This time, I used Ken’s Steakhouse brand, which I bought in a store.

MAKE THIS MEAL PREP VEGETARIAN or VEGAN

Below are the instructions for making Garlic Herb Chickpeas. You can use them in place of Garlic Herb Roasted chicken breast to make a vegetarian version. These Garlic Herb Chicken Breast Chickpeas are super quick and cost only $2.20 per portion instead of $4.00. It’s a great deal!

Vegan ranch dressing can be used to make your entire meal vegan. You can also make your vegan ranch dressing. You can find many vegan ranch dressing recipes online from highly reputable websites. 

PREPARE HOW TO STORE ROASTED VEGETABLE COUSCOUS MEAL

The roasted vegetable couscous should be stored with the chicken sliced or garlic herb chickpeas. However, I recommend keeping the ranch dressing separate so you can reheat the dish. You can eat this dish either cold or warm. These containers are no longer available, but you can still find similar glass containers (affiliate hyperlink).

ROASTED VEGETABLE COUSCOUS MEAL PREP

Roasted Vegetable Couscous Meal Prep can be made with chicken, vegetarian with chickpeas.

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 55 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

INGREDIENTS

ROASTED VEGETABLE CUSO

• 4 Roma tomatoes ($1.35)
• 2 zucchini (about 20 oz.) ($1.69)
• 1 bell pepper (1.00)
• 1 red onion (0.42)
• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled (0.32)
• 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
• Two pinches of salt & pepper ($0.05).
• 1 cup couscous (0.79)
• 1.5 cups vegetable broth ($0.20)
• 1/2 bunch of parsley (about 1 c. chopped) ($0.40

GARLIC HERB BAKED CHICKEN BREAST, GARLIC HERB CHICKPEAS*

• Two boneless, skinless chicken breasts (approximately 1/2 lb. each) OR two 15 oz. Cans chickpeas (4.23)
• 2 Tbsp butter at room temperature (0.36)
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley ($0.10)
• 1/2 tsp dried Oregano ($0.05).
• 1/2 tsp dried Basil ($0.05)
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder ($0.03)
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder ($0.03)
• 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
• pepper ($0.02)

OPTIONAL DRESSING

• 1/2 cup ranch dressing ($0.70)

INSTRUCTIONS

ROASTED VEGETABLE CUSO

• First, prepare the Roasted Vegetable Couscous. Pre-heat the oven to 400oF. Cut the bell pepper, Roma tomatoes, and zucchini into 1-inch pieces. Cut the red onion into strips of 1/2 inch thickness. Place the bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, and peeled garlic on a large baking sheet.
• Toss the chopped vegetables in olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. The vegetables should be roasted for 45 minutes, with a stirring once every 15 minutes.
• Start the CouscousCouscous while the vegetable roast. In a small saucepan, bring the vegetable broth to boil. Once the vegetable broth has boiled, add the CouscousCouscous. Cover the pot with a lid and allow it to cool for 5 minutes or until the broth has absorbed. The CouscousCouscous should be rubbed with a fork. Once it is done, please place it in the fridge to cool while preparing the rest.

FOR GARLIC HERB BAKED CHICKEN

• Start the garlic herb-baked chicken while the CouscousCouscous cools. In a bowl, combine the room temperature butter and the parsley, Basil, garlic powders, onion powders, salt, pepper, and the Oregano. Mix until the mixture forms a paste.
• To ensure that the chicken breasts don’t get too thick, gently pound them using a mallet, rolling pin, or a wooden spoon until they are a uniform thickness. I cover the chicken with plastic to stop splatter from pounding. After drying the chicken, spread the butter herb mixture over the surface.
• Bake the chicken in a baking tray for 20 minutes at 400oF or until it reaches 165oF. Allow the chicken to rest for five minutes before slicing it into strips.

CHICKPEAS FOR GARLIC HERB

• Garlic Herb Chickpeas can be made instead. Rinse and drain 215 oz. Cans of chickpeas. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the chickpeas and cook for 5 minutes or until they are golden brown and the skins are crispy. Then, remove them from the heat and season them with the same garlic herb spices as the chicken. Stir the spices and herbs into the chickpeas.

ASSEMBLE MEAL PREP

• After the vegetables have been roasted, remove the whole garlic cloves and chop them. In a large bowl, combine the partially cooled CouscousCouscous with the roasted vegetables, garlic, chopped parsley, and olive oil. Mix well.
• Split the Roasted Vegetable Couscous into four containers. Top each container with 1/4 of the Garlic Himba Chickpeas or sliced chicken. Each portion should be served with 2 Tbsp Ranch Dressing.

NOTES

Garlic Herb Baked Chicken and Garlic Herb Chickpeas use the same mixture of herbs and spices. You will not need butter for chickpeas, but you will need oil to cook them.

NUTRITION

Serving Size: 1 Serving Calories 495.15 Kcal Carbohydrates 51.73 G Protein: 35.23 G Fat: 16.48g Sodium: 934.88mg Fiber: 7.08g