These Chicken Salad Protein Boxes will soon be staples in your weekly meal prep rotation. Use leftovers to make a delicious chicken salad, then start building your protein boxes! The chicken salad goes on top of lettuce, and you’ll also add sliced cucumbers and crackers for good measure. Finish sweetly with dried fruit and chocolate chips and your lunches are in the bag… er, well, box!
Chicken Salad Protein Boxes:
I’m always looking for new ideas for make ahead lunches. Finding lunch options that are delicious and keep you full and energized can be difficult. Since I loved the first protein box lunches so much, I wanted to make a new version of the idea. So here is protein box part two for your weekly meal planning – chicken salad protein boxes!
The chicken salad idea came from having leftover roasted chicken in the fridge to use up. I looked at it and thought “chicken salad”! I’m trying to be better about using leftovers in new ways, and I also often have random thoughts about food pop into my head. Chicken salad is great for protein boxes because it stays fresh for a few days in the fridge and you have so many options for flavoring it. In this case I used toasted sesame oil and smoked paprika in the dressing for a big punch of flavor.
In addition to the chicken salad, I needed more easily portable lunch ingredients to add to the boxes. A bed of lettuce and slices of cucumber and crackers were naturals to eat with the salad. And as a finishing touch, I added some craisins, golden raisins and chocolate chips. They’ll help make your day a little sweeter!
The Ingredients:
This chicken salad recipe is both easy and really flavorful. The main ingredient is the chicken, of course, and you’ll also add cashews and scallions to compliment the flavors in the dressing. Speaking of the dressing, this is where the magic happens in this chicken salad. You’ll start with a typical mayonnaise base, but then you’ll add toasted sesame oil and smoked paprika for really rich flavor.
Toasted sesame oil is a finishing oil, meaning you don’t usually cook with it, but add a small amount as flavoring when you are finishing a dish. It’s most often used in Asian dishes, but it adds that same toasted nutty flavor to this dressing. Try it in a pasta salad dressing sometime too!
Smoked paprika is one of my favorite spices and I use it in lots of recipes. It really seems to compliment almost anything. It’s made from pimiento peppers that have been dried and smoked, then ground into a powder. Smoked paprika has loads more flavor than the typical paprika, which often adds more color than spice.
In addition to the smoked paprika chicken salad, I used butter lettuce, sliced cucumbers, rice crackers and dried fruit to complete the chicken salad protein lunch boxes. And some chocolate chips. There’s protein in chocolate, right?
The Preparation:
The first step is to make the chicken salad and it’s as easy as putting all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and then folding them together.
As a side note, the cashews will soften in the chicken salad after a day or so. If you’d like them to keep their crunch, leave them out of the mix, then sprinkle them on top each day as you eat your chicken salad protein boxes.
Now it’s assembly time! I used four containers and the recipe amounts reflect that. You can adjust the ingredients for however many protein boxes you want to make.
- First you’ll put the lettuce on one half of your container, then the dried fruit and chocolate chips on the other side. I like to use silicone baking cups because they’re reuseable, and won’t get soggy from the other foods in your lunch box.
- Next add the cucumber slices in the middle of the container, and the wrapped crackers next to the fruit and chocolate chips. You don’t have to wrap the crackers, but if you think you’ll have the lunch boxes in the fridge for a few days, wrapping will help them stay crisp.
- Finally you’ll add the main event, the delicious toasted sesame, smoked paprika chicken salad right on top of the lettuce.
The Payoff:
Your chicken salad protein boxes are done! Now you can rest easy knowing you’ve got a delicious, healthy lunch (or dinner) ready to go anytime you need one.
A great option if you don’t have leftover chicken, is to make a delicious lunch box with curried egg salad instead of chicken salad!
Chicken Salad Protein Boxes (Meal Planning)
Description
These Chicken Salad Protein Boxes will soon be staples in your weekly meal prep rotation. Use leftovers to make a delicious chicken salad, then start building your protein boxes! The chicken salad goes on top of lettuce, and you’ll also add sliced cucumbers and crackers for good measure. Finish sweetly with dried fruit and chocolate chips and your lunches are in the bag… er, well, box!
Ingredients
For the chicken salad:
- 3 1/2 – 4 cups chopped, cooked chicken
- 6 scallions, white and light green parts thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup roasted cashews, chopped
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise (I used olive oil mayo)
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika (or more to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Other Ingredients:
- 4 cups of lettuce (I used butter lettuce)
- 24 slices of cucumber
- 24 crackers (I used rice crackers)
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup golden raisins
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Mix all chicken salad ingredients together. Set aside (or refrigerate if making ahead).
- Start assembling the protein boxes: place 1 cup of lettuce in one half of each container.
- Mix together the craisins, golden raisins and chocolate chips. Place about 3 tablespoons in baking cups or other small containers and place opposite of the lettuce.
- Wrap 4 bundles of 6 crackers (or however many you want!) in plastic wrap. Place the wrapped crackers next to the cups of dried fruit.
- Place 6 sliced cucumbers in the middle of each container, between the lettuce and the dried fruit/crackers.
- Finally, top the lettuce in each container with 1 cup of chicken salad. Cover the containers and store in the refrigerator.
Notes
- The chicken salad protein boxes will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- You can omit the smoked paprika and/or add diced celery to the chicken salad.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 protein box
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