This refreshing Greek Chicken Salad Meal Prep is packed with crisp veggies and tender marinated chicken, topped with crumbled feta and a simple lemon olive oil dressing. Perfect for on-the-go and no-reheat make-ahead lunches!
The weather is finally changing, seeds are finally sprouting, and it’s time to start thinking about no-reheat lunches to keep cool at work or school! This colorful Greek Chicken Salad Meal Prep is here just in time 🙂
Besides a super simple recipe for the salad, marinated chicken and the lemon dressing, there are plenty of other tips in this post to make your meal prep salads taste as delicious as possible.
From whipping up a super simple chicken marinade to how and why you should soak your red onions, this post has everything you need to prep these Greek Chicken Salad Meal Prep bowls. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!
What are the ingredients in these Greek Chicken Salad Meal Prep bowls?
The ingredients for this meal prep lunch could not be any easier: you’ll need the veggies (swap or sub others to your heart’s content), chicken breast or chicken thighs, crumbled feta, and of course, lemon and olive oil for that super simple dressing.
Here’s a list of everything I used in this recipe and a little info about each, just in case you need it:
- extra virgin olive oil – This Mediterranean food staple is used for the marinade as well as the dressing. Use a high quality oil extra virgin oil for the best taste and flavor.
- dried oregano – Using dried oregano in the marinade gives the chicken a pungent but mild, slightly earthy taste that goes incredibly well with lemon!
- runny honey – Adding just a small amount of honey to the marinade helps bring a nice caramelization and char to the chicken when grilled or seared! The chicken does not actually taste sweet at all.
- red wine vinegar – Another staple in Mediterranean cooking! Just a touch of this vinegar helps bring a zesty tang to the chicken.
- lemons – You’ll need the zest of one whole lemon, and the juice of two lemons, for both the marinade and the salad dressing.
- garlic – I love garlic and in my opinion it should go in every chicken marinade ever. Remember to measure with you heart!
- boneless chicken breasts – For this recipe, find a one pound or more sized package of two large boneless skinless chicken breasts. Look for packages where the breasts are equal size, which helps them cook more evenly.
- red onion – We’re gonna soak them for a few minutes to remove that intense bite so just the delicious flavor remains.
- cherry tomatoes – Use your favorite small tomatoes here. I can not wait until my garden is giving me fresh cherry tomatoes!
- feta cheese & kalamata olives – Both of these ingredients add the wonderful salty tangy flavors that are classic in Greek cuisine. Kalamata olives can be pretty intense, so feel free to use regular black olives if you want!
- English cucumber – I love how cucumbers bring a refreshing element to the salad! And they go perfectly with the lemon oil dressing.
- romaine lettuce – For about 4 cups of chopped lettuce, I used two medium sized heads of romaine. Salad spinner for the win!!
- garlic powder – The dressing calls for garlic powder which brings wonderful flavor without the possibility of raw pieces of garlic in your dressing!
- kosher salt & fresh ground black pepper – Use these in the marinade and the salad dressing to bring everything together. I prefer using fresh ground black pepper for the best flavor.
How do you make these Greek Chicken Salad Meal Prep bowls?
Start by preparing the chicken marinade. You can prepare the veggies and salad dressing while the chicken is marinating.
If you’ve purchased a pack of two chicken breasts, slice them horizontally, as evenly as you can! You should have four equal sized chicken breast halves. These halves make the perfect portion size, plus they cook more quickly than whole breasts. Next, use the heel of your hand to quickly pound any thicker parts of the chicken breasts.
In a large and shallow bowl, add all the marinade ingredients and whisk together. Add the chicken pieces to the marinade and turn them over a few times to cover with the marinade. Cover and let it sit for about 30 minutes.
If you’ll be cooking immediately after the 30 minutes is up, you don’t need to refrigerate the chicken. Otherwise, place the chicken into the fridge while it marinates.
While the chicken is marinating, turn your attention to the veggies, starting with the red onion. Thinly slice a small red onion (or half a large!) and place all the slices into a bowl of cold water to soak.
Let the onions soak for at least 15 minutes while you prep the rest of the veggies and cook the chicken. When you’re ready to add them to the salad, drain and pat dry with a kitchen towel or paper towel.
Next, prepare the rest of the veggies, including the cucumber, tomatoes and olives. Peel the cucumber about halfway, leaving it striped. Then, slice the cucumber lengthwise into quarters and chop into small pieces.
You can mix all the veggies together with the chopped feta, or add them to your meal prep containers individually. Either way works, as it all gets mixed together in the end!
Last thing before cooking up the chicken (or you can do it after!) is to make the dressing. I love adding the dressing ingredients to a mason jar and just shaking it up! SO easy.
The last step before assembling this meal prep is to cook the chicken. Heat a large cast iron pan (I used a cast iron grill pan for these photos but it’s not required!) over medium high heat and cook the marinated chicken until it reaches 165F, flipping halfway through.
This will take about 10 minutes for smaller chicken breasts, and perhaps up to 15 minutes for chicken thighs. Since the chicken breasts are cut in half, cooking goes pretty quickly! Keep your eyes on the chicken so you can get a good char on each without any burning.
After cooking, let the chicken rest for a few minutes and then cut it into bite-sized pieces or strips. While the chicken is resting, you can start assembling the salads.
In your favorite meal prep containers, add about 1 cup packed lettuce to one side. Next, divide the veggies between each portion on the other side of the container, and then add the cut chicken on top of the roamine.
As for the dressing, you can keep it stored in one container separately from the salads, or you can use small salad dressing containers (affiliate link!) to hold the dressing and fit into the meal prep containers. And that’s all you need to do to make a seriously delicious salad for lunch!!
Ways to cook the chicken in this recipe:
Here are three ways to cook the marinated chicken. Do what works best for you!
- Cast iron pan – This is how I cooked the chicken in these photos. You can use a regular cast iron pan or a grill pan. This gives the chicken a really nice char too!
- Grill – If you’re a grilling pro, or you just wanna spend some time outside, you can definitely grill this chicken! This will add excellent char and flavor to the chicken.
- Stainless steel – Another totally viable method is to use a stainless steel pan, which can be lighter to hold and easier to clean than the cast iron. However, you won’t get that same char!
Can I use chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts?
Yes, you can substitute chicken thighs for the chicken breasts if necessary, or if that’s what you have on hand. Use four boneless skinless chicken thighs in place of the two large boneless breasts.
Best tips for making Greek Chicken Salad Meal Prep bowls:
Here are my best tips for making these Greek Chicken Salad Meal Prep bowls:
- Look for similarly sized chicken breasts, and do your best to cut them into equal size pieces. This helps them cook more evenly!
- When cooking the chicken, watch carefully to get a nice char but avoid burning! The honey in the marinade may cause a bit of smoking if you’re using a cast iron, but that’s okay.
- Store the dressing separately to help keep the salad crisp and bright for up to 3 days.
- If left for a few hours or overnight in the fridge, it’s possible for the acid in the lemon to start denature the proteins of the chicken, turning it visibly white where it has been in contact with the chicken. This is normal and it’s perfectly okay to cook as you would any chicken. However, keep in mind this is why you shouldn’t leave the chicken in the marinade for longer than 12 hours, as it may become mushy and over-marinated.
How do you meal prep this recipe?
This recipe was developed specifically for meal prep and makes a delicious make-ahead meal for lunch or dinner. There are also a couple different ways to do some prep and save time later if that’s your thing. Here are some options:
- Ingredient prep: If you’re doing a mini prep session to help things go smoother later in the week, you could prepare the chicken breast and marinade, then marinate the chicken overnight, up to 12 hours maximum. You can also chop and prep veggies ahead of time, but for best quality and long lasting meal prep, I would do this only one day ahead of time maximum.
- Prep for the week: Make the recipe as written and portion the ingredients evenly into four meal prep containers to enjoy throughout the week.
Where do you get those meal prep containers?
It’s so important to have dependable containers for your meal prepped meals (see ALL my recommendations here!). Airtight, glass, freezer safe – those are some of my requirements.
For this meal, I used 3-Cup Pyrex Rectangle Glass Containers (affiliate link!), but any container with a lid that can fit at least 3 cups of lunch will work! You could even use a large mason jar and follow the mason jar salad method!
I would not recommend freezing this recipe. With all the fresh ingredients, it just wouldn’t work. However, you could freeze the cooked chicken if necessary.
Keep the dressing in a separate container ready to pour over the salad just before serving. I used small salad dressing containers (affiliate link!) with their own silicone lids which fit directly into the meal prep container. Put the lids on and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days for best quality.
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Greek Chicken Salad Meal Prep
This refreshing Greek Chicken Salad Meal Prep is packed with crisp veggies and tender marinated chicken, topped with crumbled feta and a simple lemon olive oil dressing. Perfect for on-the-go and no-reheat make-ahead lunches!
- Total Time1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield4 servings 1x
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons runny honey
- 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- juice and zest of 1/2 lemon
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced
- fresh ground black pepper to taste
- 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts or 4 boneless skinless thighs
For the salad:
- 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 cup quartered grape or cherry tomatoes
- 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1/2 cup kalamata olives, halved
- 1 small English cucumber
- 4 cups packed chopped romaine lettuce
For the dressing:
- 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (approx. 1 1/2 lemons)
- zest of 1/2 lemon
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- fresh ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken: Whisk together all of the chicken marinade ingredients in the bottom of a large shallow dish. If you are using chicken breasts, with a sharp knife halve them down the middle to create four thinner pieces. Using the heel of your hand, lightly pound the thicker parts of the chicken to flatten them so that they cook evenly. Do the same flattening exercise if you’re using chicken thighs. Turn the chicken pieces over in the marinade and leave for 30 minutes in the fridge. This step can also be done in advance, marinating the chicken overnight in the fridge.
- Soak the onions: Soak the onion slices in a bowl of cold water to remove their intense bite and mellow out the flavor while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. When you’re ready to add them to the salad, drain them well and pat them dry with a kitchen towel or paper towel.
- Prepare the salad vegetables: Using a vegetable peeler, peel approximately half the skin away from the cucumber so it looks striped. Then, slice lengthwise into quarters and roughly chop these pieces to create thick, almost triangular slices. In a bowl, toss the chopped cucumbers together with the tomatoes, olives, feta and soaked onions.
- Make the dressing: Whisk together all the dressing ingredients and season to taste with more salt and pepper if needed. You can also shake all the ingredients together in a mason jar.
- Cook the chicken: Heat a large cast iron skillet or griddle pan over a medium high to high heat and cook the chicken until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees, flipping about halfway through. Alternatively, grill the chicken for extra flavor. Chicken breasts should take about 10 minutes but larger thighs may take up to 15 minutes. Make sure your kitchen is well ventilated as the honey in the dressing (which helps produce a good char) might cause the marinade to burn and smoke if you don’t watch it carefully! Once the chicken is cooked, let it rest and cool for a few minutes before cutting into strips or bite-sized pieces.
- Meal prep it: Divide the chopped lettuce between 4 meal prep containers, topping each portion with a quarter of the sliced chicken pieces once cooled. Divide the prepared Greek-style salad veggies between the other side of the container so the liquid from the vegetables does not impact the salad’s crunch. Keep the dressing in a separate container ready to pour over the salad just before serving. Put the lids on and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Notes
- Salad greens: Any other crisp and crunchy variety of lettuce with a good balance between white and green can be substituted for the romaine.
- Olives: Any black olive you prefer can be substituted for the kalamata variety. Regular black Mediterranean or California canned olives work well here.
- Marinate overnight: If you plan to marinate the chicken overnight, marinate it in a zip-lock or reusable silicone bag for easier storage. Do not let the chicken marinate for more than 12 hours as the acid could over marinate the chicken and ruin the texture.
- Lemons: I used 2 lemons total for this recipe – you’ll need the zest from 1 lemon and the juice from both lemons.
- Total recipe time includes 30 minutes for the chicken to marinate. Nutrition information estimated with My Fitness Pal.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Lunches
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Greek inspired
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 of recipe
- Calories: 494
- Fat: 34g
- Carbohydrates: 54g
- Protein: 36g
Did You Make This?
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Recipe developed by Rachel Phipps.
