Mexican Chicken and Cauliflower Rice Meal Prep Bowls

Mexican chicken and cauliflower rice meal prep bowls make for a tasty, low carb work lunch that can be prepped on the weekend.  Topped with jalapeño monterey jack cheese for a little kick!

We’ve just wrapped up our second Lunch Prep Challenge, and it was an absolute blast!

I love the challenges because I learn so much about different people’s likes/dislikes, dietary needs, and how other families eat.  This time around, there were some requests for lower carb meal prep lunch recipes.

Now as a hungry carb-loving pregnant lady, the thought of cutting carbs made me worried it would mean going hungry.

Luckily, these Mexican chicken and caulifower rice meal prep bowls are not going to leave you feeling hungry!  They are filling, and full of flavor, and have a little kick thanks to Armstrong Cheese’s new Monterey Jack with Jalapeño.

This post is brought to you in partnership with Armstrong Cheese, a Canadian heritage brand that I’ve loved and eaten as far back as my memory stretches.  Armstrong Cheese has taken new, exciting flavors and put them into our favourite family-friendly block.  I can’t wait to try the Garden Herb and Havarti…hello heaven!

To pair with the Monterey Jack with Jalapeño, I created this ‘chicken parmesan’ inspired Mexican chicken served in some cauliflower rice meal prep bowls.  I added some ground cumin and coriander to the breadcrumb mixture, topped with some salsa in place of marinara, and smothered it with the Monterey Jack with Jalapeño.

And I think I might just like this version better than traditional chicken parmesan!

You could enjoy these as dinner or as meal prep bowls.  The chicken is crispy and delicious right after cooking, and while the texture will soften slightly in the fridge, the awesome flavours stick around for good!

I was happily surprised with how well the cauliflower rice held up in the fridge.  I cooked mine al dente, so that as it cooks in the microwave as you re-heat the meal prep bowls, it won’t get mushy.

Another tip: don’t over process your cauliflower.  Cutting the cauliflower into smaller chunks (rather than larger ones) before processing helped me get uniform, larger cauliflower rice.

I kept the flavours of the cauliflower rice really simple because with this dish, it’s all about that Mexican chicken…and that cheese!

Check out all of Armstrong Cheese’s new flavours, and find some more recipe inspiration here, and be sure to follow Armstrong Cheese on Facebook.  

Thank you to Armstrong Cheese for sponsoring this post!  As always, all opinions are my own.

Tips for your perfect Mexican Chicken and Cauliflower Rice Meal Prep Bowls

• I used my trusty food processor
  to make my cauliflower rice, but you can now often find pre-riced cauliflower in the grocery store
• for other breaded chicken ideas, check out these Healthy Homemade Freezer Chicken Strips and these Lime Tortilla Chicken Strips or try one of these 7 Freezable Chicken Marinades
• these are my favourite meal prep lunch containers

Mexican Chicken and Cauliflower Rice Meal Prep Bowls   Print Prep time 25 mins Cook time 25 mins Total time 50 mins   Author: Denise Serves: 4 Ingredients Mexican Chicken

• 12-14 oz chicken breast (roughly 2 large chicken breasts), sliced in half to make 3 oz portions
• ¼ cup all purpose flour
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup cornmeal
• ¼ cup Panko or regular breadcrumbs
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• ½ teaspoon ground coriander

After baking

• ½ cup salsa
• 1 cup Armstrong Monterey Jack with Jalapeño

Cauliflower Rice

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ onion, small dice
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 bell pepper, small dice
• 3 cups riced cauliflower (roughly 4-5 cups florets chopped small)
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• additional salsa & cheese (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.
2. In three separate bowls combine: 1) flour 2) egg 3) cornmeal, panko, salt, cumin and coriander.
3. Prepare the chicken breast, cutting large portions in half (the way you would if you were butterflying it). Dip first in the flour, shaking off excess, then in the egg to coat, and finally, roll in the cornmeal mixture until fully coated.
4. Place chicken breast on the baking sheet and repeat with remaining portions.
5. Bake for 10 minutes, flip, then bake for another 10 minutes.
6. Spread with 2 tablespoons of salsa, and sprinkle with 2-4 tablespoons of cheese.
7. Return to oven for 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Cauliflower Rice

1. While chicken is baking, prepare the cauliflower rice.
2. Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat.
3. Add the onion and cook for 5 or so minutes, until soft. Add the garlic and cook for a minute.
4. Add the bell pepper and cook for 3-4 minutes, until slightly soft.
5. Add the riced cauliflower and salt, and continue cooking for 3-4 more minutes. You want your veggies to be al dente and not completely soft.
6. Remove from heat and cool.

Lunch Bowls

1. Divide the cauliflower rice between four 2 cup capacity storage containers. Top each with a portion of chicken.
2. Store for up to 4 days.

To Re-heat

1. Heat in the microwave until hot.

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