Greek Chicken with Spaghetti Squash Primavera

Name: Greek Chicken with Spaghetti Squash Primavera
Prep time: 20 minutes
Ingredients: IngredientsFor the Chicken:5 bone-in chicken breasts; 6 cloves of garlic finely grated or chopped; ½ teaspoon each of dried oregano & thyme; Zest of 2 lemons; Juice of 2 lemons; 3 tablespoons of olive oil; Kosher salt; Freshly cracked pepperFor the spaghetti squash:; 1 large spaghetti squash; 8 ounces of cherry tomatoes; ½ a red onion chopped; 1 red bell pepper thinly sliced; 1 bulb of fennel chopped; 2 cloves of garlic minced; ½ a red hot chile pepper finely sliced or ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes; Zest of 1 lemon; Juice of half a lemon; 3 tablespoons freshly chopped Italian flat leaf parsley; 2-3 tablespoons of chopped & toasted optional walnuts; 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar; Olive oil; Kosher salt; Freshly cracked pepperFor the immune tea:; 2 cups of water; The yellow peel of 1 lemon use a veggie peeler; 2 inch piece of ginger cut in thin rounds. No need to peel the skin; 2 inch piece of turmeric root cut in thin rounds. No need to peel the skin; Small pinch of cayenne pepper; 1 small crack of black pepper; Juice of 1/2 a lemon

The best ever greek chicken recipe using bone in chicken breasts served with baked spaghetti squash tossed with lots of veggies. This chicken meal prep recipe makes 5 servings for the week.

This recipe is Clean Eating, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Keto/Low Carb, Paleo, Weight Loss/Low-Cal with main ingredient Chicken

If you tend to make dry and overcooked chicken breasts, it's because you are using boneless breasts. This chicken meal prep recipe has juicy bone-in chicken breasts tossed in the best Greek marinade. Baking the chicken on the bone adds more moisture, flavor, and prevents it from overcooking.

For this meal prep recipe you will need 5 bone in chicken breasts, and make sure to roast them in a 400 degree F oven for only 45-55 minutes or until the internal temperature is 155 degrees F. Once you take the chicken out of the oven, it will continue cooking (also known as carry over heat) another 5 degrees to 160. That is true for all protein except seafood. Make sure to check out my other meal prep recipes that feature spaghetti squash like this creamy pesto and shrimp meal prep and this this yogurt marinated chicken thighs and spaghetti squash recipe.

Greek Chicken Marinade

For the Greek style marinade you will need olive oil, dried oregano, lots of lemon juice, and grated garlic. This Greek marinade will add lots of moisture to the bone-in chicken breasts, which tend to need a lot of love in the flavor department. You can allow the Greek marinade to sit on the chicken for up to 2 hours, but any longer and the lemon juice will start to make the chicken meat mushy.

Make sure the chicken breasts are at room temperature before baking in the oven. Cold chicken in a hot oven can make it cook unevenly and make the texture tough.

How Long Does Chicken Meal Prep Last

Once you cook the bone-in chicken breasts, they will keep for 5 days in the fridge or can be frozen for 2-3 months. The most important thing is how you reheat the meal prep since chicken breasts can easily get dry. The preferred method is to reheat in a 350 degree F degree oven for 8-10 minutes. It helps if you drizzle some olive oil over to keep it moist.

Can I Reheat Meal Prep Containers In The Microwave

Yes, you can reheat meal prep in the microwave, but you need to cover the container with a wet paper towel and make sure not to overheat. Otherwise the chicken will get dry. Try to reheat on the medium setting in intervals of 30 seconds. Chicken breast will dry out very easily in the microwave.

Check out my other chicken meal prep recipes for the week:

Instructions

Order of cooking:
Roast the squash and cherry tomatoes
Cook the veggies while the squash is roasting
Roast chicken as soon as the squash comes out of the oven or roast at the same time but lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees F. This will increase the squash cooking time by 20 minutes.
Make the tea
For the squash, pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Carefully cut the squash in half from top to bottom and scoop out the seeds. Place squash on a tin foil lined sheet tray and season the inside of the squash with a drizzle of olive oil, a generous pinch of salt, and a couple cracks of pepper. Roast in the oven for 65-75 minutes until the nice and golden on top. You will know the squash is ready when a knife pierces deep in the flesh with ease, if it still feels hard, roast for another 15 minutes.
While the squash is roasting, toss the cherry tomatoes with 1 tablespoon each of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, along with ½ teaspoon salt, and a couple cracks of pepper. Mix well and place on a tin foil lined sheet tray and roast in the oven with the squash for 20 minutes, or until the tomatoes burst and look slightly wilted. Set aside.
Pre-heat a large pan over medium heat with 1.5 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the chopped onions and next 2 ingredients along with ½ teaspoon of salt and a couple cracks of pepper. Cook for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and sliced chile peppers and cook for another 4 minutes or until all the veggies have softened. Check for seasoning, you may need a small pinch of salt. Turn off the heat and set aside.
Once the squash has cooled down, use a large fork and rake the squash from top to bottom. Scrape out all of the strands of squash and add them to the pan with the cooked veggies. Turn the heat on medium and cook everything together for 3 minutes, stirring well. Turn off the heat and add the lemon zest, lemon juice, walnuts, and parsley. Mix well and check for seasoning, you will most likely need a pinch of salt and maybe a little more lemon juice. Set aside.
Let the chicken breasts sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before cooking and raise the oven temperature to 400 degrees F. Make the marinade by combining the garlic and next 4 ingredients in a small bowl, whisk well to combine. Place the chicken breasts on a tin foil lined sheet tray and season both sides with a generous pinch of salt and a few grind of pepper. Pour the marinade all over the chicken and roast in the oven for 45 minutes, skin side up. Remove from oven and set aside.
For the tea, bring the water and next 4 ingredients to a low simmer for 7 minutes. Take off heat and add the lemon juice. Strain the tea into serving cups and add 1-2 teaspoons of honey in each cup. If using raw honey, wait for the tea to cool down a little so the heat doesn't destroy some of the nutrients. You can make a double batch and leave the leftover tea in the pot at room temperature overnight.
Prepare you meal prep containers for the week and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

Macros not including the tea:
600 calories per meal with the chicken skin, 550 per meal without skin
28.4 grams of fat per meal with the chicken skin, 23.4 grams without skin
50 grams of protein per meal
10.2 grams of carbs per meal
3.4 grams of fiber per meal