February 24, 2020…By Megan Byrd, RD – How To Meal Prep and Roast A Chicken Blog Post contains affiliate links. See full disclosure page for details.
Ahh, meal prepping. What a love-hate relationship. It’s hard to get motivated to do it, but once I actually meal prep, I’m so thankful I did it.
One of things I’ve always found EXTREMELY helpful is to roast a chicken at the beginning of the week.
When I have this in the fridge, it makes it that much easier to find something quick to eat.
It’s quick. It’s cheap. And it’s easy.
This is pretty much the only way I meal prep chicken.
If you’ve never roasted your own chicken, it can be intimidating. But it doesn’t have to be at all! It’s (almost) nothing like roasting a turkey, and takes less than 2 hours, start to finish.
The first time I roasted a chicken I literally had NO IDEA what I was doing. But I figured it out and it’s been turning out amazing ever since.
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It quickly became one of my meal prep go-to’s once I had mastered it.
Literally I have this recipe memorized because I’ve done it SOOO many times. That’s how incredibly easy it is!
After it’s done roasting and has cooled a bit, I shred it up and make good use of it! I usually end up adding it to salads like my easy taco salad, adding it to pastas like my loaded veggie pasta, or freezing it for later in zip lock bags. I’ve even used it for dog treats (you’re welcome Penny).
Boom. Meal prep chicken!
CLICK HERE to grab 3 exclusive recipes not found on the blog! 2 of the recipes actually use this chicken, sooo easy!
You may be asking yourself, “why would I go through all this trouble when I could just buy a rotisserie chicken at Costco”?
Although I definitely see the value in grabbing a cheap rotisserie chicken from Costco or another grocery store, you don’t have control over the amount of sodium, sugar, and added fillers they inject into that bird.
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Roasting your own chicken gives you complete control over the flavor and sodium content.
I usually grab a double pack of fryer chickens from the discount grocery store, and it ends up being about $4-5 per chicken anyway.
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And honestly, it’s so incredibly easy. It’s almost like a “set it and forget it” type of cooking.
Which I’m a total fan of. Who isn’t?
Salt-Free Roasted Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken completely thawed
- 1/4 c olive oil
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1/2 tbsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp paprika
Instructions
- Thaw chicken completely. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Remove all giblets/neck of the chicken.
- Place chicken in a roasting pan and rub olive oil over entire chicken. I line my roasting pan with aluminum foil to make clean up a breeze!
- In a small bowl, mix together garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, and paprika.
- Rub seasoning mixture over entire chicken, coating evenly.
- Roast chicken breast side down in the preheated oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until fully cooked at 165 degrees (take temperature where the leg meets the body)
- Allow to cool at least 30 minutes.
- Shred meat and enjoy!
Notes
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If you end up making this and loving it, take a photo and tag me on Instagram! I’d love to see your versions of my recipes! And feel free to rate it down below in the comment section. I would really appreciate it!
When you try this recipe, don’t forget to comment below with a star rating for the recipe!
xoxo Megan
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