The Best Way To Cook Chicken For Meal Prep
There are an almost overwhelming number of great ways to prepare chicken. This versatile protein can be boiled, grilled, roasted, baked, or fried many different ways to produce a flavorful dish. There are also an endless number of great recipes for meal prep. Preparing cooked food for the week ahead can be a great way to save time and effort after an exhausting day of work. Using a nutritious lean meat like chicken as the central focus of your meal will help ensure that it's a healthy choice as well (via Healthline).
While it might be tempting to just make a big batch of your favorite recipe, good meal prep recipes need to take certain things into consideration. While taste is still a priority, being able to cook in large batches will often take precedent. If the goal of your meal prep is to save time, then you probably don't want to just end up draining it all from your weekend instead. WebMD recommends using easy recipes to make meal prep a breeze.
When it comes to getting the most bang for your buck out of cooking chicken, there is one method that works better than the rest.
Oven baked chicken is perfect for meal prep
The Kitchn reports that baking chicken in the oven is the best way to cook the meat for meal prep. This is because ovens can hold a large number of any cut of chicken, and can still be prepared in a variety of ways. Remember that the focus is also on quantity and ease when it comes to meal prep.
A whole roast chicken probably isn't the most economic use of the oven space, for example. Choosing smaller cuts will make the most of the oven space, and you can choose from Italian, French, or any other style preparations to lend a healthy variety to your meal prep rotation. Just be sure to preseason your chicken for lots of flavor, load up the baking trays, and let your oven do all the work. You can line the trays with parchment paper to let them baste in their own juices, and make the most of the meat's natural flavors as well.
Just be sure to not let your chicken sit in the refrigerator for too long. Most cooked chicken should only stay in the refrigerator for three to four days. The USDA says that most foods will start to develop harmful bacteria, fungi, or mold after four days. There will be some variation for different recipes, and storage methods, but it's better to be safe than sorry, and plan to do meal prep twice a week.