Chicken fajita meal-prep bowl with cilantro-lime cauliflower rice
20 min · 45 g protein · 420 cals / serving
Smoky chili-and-cumin chicken strips and three colours of charred peppers and onion from one hot pan, over cilantro-lime cauliflower rice with fresh pico de gallo, a lime yogurt crema and avocado. Fajita night without the tortillas, packed for four days.
Ingredients
Fajita spice
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp paprika, smoked if you have it
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp salt, divided
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 1/3 lb chicken breast, sliced into thin strips
- 1 tbsp canola oil, divided
- 1 large red bell pepper, sliced
- 1 large yellow bell pepper, sliced
- 1 medium bell pepper, green, sliced
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 3 tbsp lime juice, divided
- 2 (12 oz) bags cauliflower rice, frozen
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
To serve
- 1 1/4 cups pico de gallo, fresh, store-bought
- 3/4 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
- 1 medium avocado, sliced as you eat
Steps
- Mix the spices with 3/4 teaspoon of the salt and toss half of it with the chicken strips.
- Heat half the oil in your largest skillet over high heat. Cook the chicken in one layer, 2–3 minutes a side, until browned and no longer pink (165°F). Tip onto a plate.
- Add the rest of the oil, the peppers, onion and the rest of the spice mix and cook over high heat, tossing now and then, 5 minutes, until charred in spots but still with some bite. Return the chicken, squeeze in 2 tablespoons of the lime juice and toss.
- Meanwhile microwave the cauliflower rice for 5–6 minutes, press out the water, and stir in the cilantro, a squeeze of the lime juice and a pinch of salt. Divide among four containers and top with the fajita chicken and peppers.
- Stir the rest of the lime juice and a pinch of salt into the yogurt for the crema. Pack the crema and pico in small pots; slice the avocado only when you eat. The bowls keep 4 days.
Good to know
Short on time?
A bag of frozen pepper-and-onion fajita strips saves the slicing: cook it straight from frozen over high heat, a minute or two longer, until the water has gone and the edges colour.
Can I skip the avocado?
Yes, the crema and pico carry the bowl, at about 83 instead of 78. Avocado browns once cut, so if you keep it, slice a quarter fresh each day.
Alternative
Per
- Calories
- 68
- Protein
- (44%)
- 7 g
- Fat
- (32%)
- 2 g
- Carbohydrates
- (24%)
- 5 g
- of which sugar
- 2 g
- Fiber
- 2 g
- Sodium
- 178 mg
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. General guidance, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber. How
As written, 1679 kcal goes into the pot and 2716 g of ingredients comes out as about 2460 g of food: 68 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.