The “Gains Bowl” You’ll Actually Be Excited to Eat: The Ultimate High-Protein Chicken & Mac!

Let’s be honest about the reality of most fitness-focused meal preps. It’s often the same boring rotation of plain grilled chicken, dry brown rice, and endless florets of steamed broccoli, right? It’s an effective way to hit your macros, but it can get so repetitive that you lose all excitement for your meals.

What if your weekly meal prep could be something you genuinely craved and looked forward to eating every single day? A delicious meal with juicy, sweet and savory glazed chicken, perfectly paired with a surprisingly creamy, cheesy, and protein-packed mac and cheese. It sounds almost too decadent to be a healthy meal prep, but it is the perfect fuel for your body.

Today, we are making the ultimate High-Protein Meal Prep: Honey Garlic Butter Chicken & Mac. This recipe is designed to be incredibly delicious, easy to make in a big batch, and perfectly balanced to support your fitness goals. Get ready to transform your meal prep game for good.

The Ultimate Muscle-Building Meal: Healthy Meal Prep Idea

This Healthy Meal Prep Idea is a true game-changer for anyone with fitness goals. The meal is perfectly balanced with a huge portion of lean protein, complex carbohydrates, and a delicious sauce to keep things interesting. It’s a complete, satisfying, and flavour-packed meal designed to fuel your workouts and aid in recovery.

A Perfect Easy High-Protein Lunch for Simple Chicken Recipes for the Week

You will find that this is the perfect easy high-protein lunch. It is specifically designed to be made in a large batch, giving you a delicious and convenient grab-and-go meal for the entire week. It is also one of the absolute best simple chicken recipes for the week, proving that your meal prep can be both incredibly effective and delicious.

Your Guide: How to Make a Healthy High-Protein Mac and Cheese

For anyone wondering how to make a healthy high-protein mac and cheese, the secret is a brilliant two-part swap. First, you will want to use a protein-fortified pasta, like one made from chickpeas or lentils, instead of a traditional flour-based pasta. The second and most important trick is to make your creamy sauce with a base of blended cottage cheese or Greek yogurt instead of a heavy, butter-and-flour roux, which creates an unbelievably smooth and protein-packed sauce.

Why You’ll Love This High-Protein Meal Prep

You are going to love this recipe because it is a delicious and exciting escape from the boring, repetitive meal preps you might be used to. You’ll also adore the incredible flavor combination of the sweet and savory honey garlic chicken and the creamy, cheesy protein mac and cheese. Plus, it’s a perfectly balanced meal that makes hitting your protein goals for the day incredibly easy and satisfying.

Nutritional Benefits

This beautiful and simple meal prep is a true nutritional powerhouse designed to support an active lifestyle. The chicken breast and the protein-packed mac and cheese provide a massive dose of high-quality protein, which is essential for muscle repair and growth. The complex carbohydrates from the chickpea pasta provide a great source of sustained energy, making this the perfect meal to fuel your day and your workouts.

Full Recipe

Are you ready to create the easiest and most delicious high-protein meal prep that will have you excited for lunch every day? This detailed guide will walk you through the unbelievably simple process for creating both the juicy chicken and the creamy mac and cheese. Get ready to master a new weekly staple that tastes like a treat but works like fuel.

The ultimate post-workout meal prep has arrived. This Honey Garlic Butter Chicken is juicy, savory, and perfectly paired with high-protein mac and cheese for a lunch that fuels your gains. Forget boring chicken and rice; this is a delicious meal prep you’ll actually look forward to.

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 45 minutes | Yield: 5 meal prep servings | Category: Lunch, Dinner, Meal Prep | Method: Sautéing, Boiling | Cuisine: American | Diet: High-Protein

Essential Ingredients for a High-Protein Meal Prep

This ultimate meal prep combo comes together with a handful of simple, wholesome ingredients.

• For the Honey Garlic Butter Chicken:
  • 2 lbs (about 1 kg) of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
  • 4 cloves of garlic, minced
  • ¼ cup of honey
  • 2 tablespoons of low-sodium soy sauce
• For the High-Protein Mac & Cheese:
  • 1 box (8 oz / 225g) of chickpea pasta (like Banza)
  • 1 cup of low-fat cottage cheese
  • ½ cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
  • ½ cup of milk (dairy or plant-based)
  • Salt and black pepper to taste

Ingredients Notes

A little more detail on our key ingredients will ensure your meal prep is a spectacular success.

• The Chicken: Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are the perfect lean protein for this healthy recipe. It is important to cut the chicken into uniform, bite-sized pieces to ensure that it cooks quickly and evenly in the pan. Patting the chicken pieces dry before cooking will help them get a beautiful golden-brown sear.
• The Chickpea Pasta: This is a key component of our high-protein meal. Using a pasta made from chickpeas or lentils instead of regular flour dramatically increases the protein and fiber content of the dish. Be sure to cook it just until it is al dente, as it will soften a bit more upon reheating.
• The Cottage Cheese: This is our secret weapon for an unbelievably creamy and protein-packed cheese sauce. When you blend a low-fat cottage cheese with a little bit of milk, it becomes perfectly smooth and velvety. It is a fantastic, healthy substitute for a traditional, heavy cream-based sauce.
• The Honey: A good quality, runny honey is the perfect choice for creating our beautiful glaze. The honey provides the essential sweetness to balance the salty soy sauce and savory garlic.

How to Make This Protein-Packed Meal

Let’s walk through the incredibly simple steps to create this perfect and delicious weekly meal prep.

• Step 1: Cook the Pasta and Make the Cheese Sauce. First, cook your chickpea pasta according to the package directions until it is al dente. While the pasta is cooking, combine the cottage cheese, the shredded cheddar cheese, and the milk in a blender. Blend on high until the sauce is completely smooth and creamy, then season with a little salt and pepper.
• Step 2: Finish the Mac and Cheese. Drain the cooked pasta and return it to the hot pot. Pour the blended cheese sauce over the pasta and stir to combine.
• Step 3: Cook the Chicken. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the bite-sized chicken pieces and cook until they are golden brown and cooked through. Add the minced garlic and cook for one more minute until it is fragrant.
• Step 4: Create the Glaze. Pour the honey and the soy sauce into the skillet with the chicken. Let the sauce bubble and simmer for 1-2 minutes, stirring to coat the chicken, until it has thickened into a beautiful, glossy glaze.
• Step 5: Assemble Your Meal Prep Containers. Divide the prepared high-protein mac and cheese evenly among five airtight meal prep containers. Top each portion of mac and cheese with an equal amount of the honey garlic butter chicken. Let the meals cool completely before sealing and storing.

Storage Options

This high-protein meal prep is designed to be stored and enjoyed throughout the week. Once the meals have cooled completely, you can store the sealed containers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can easily reheat individual portions in the microwave for about 2-3 minutes, until heated through.

Variations and Substitutions

This simple and healthy recipe is a wonderful and versatile template. You can easily substitute the chickpea pasta with another high-protein pasta, like one made from red lentils or black beans. For a different flavor profile, you could add a teaspoon of sriracha to the honey garlic glaze for a sweet and spicy kick. You can also add some steamed broccoli or green beans to your meal prep containers for an extra boost of vegetables.

Practical & Valuable Tips

For the absolute creamiest protein mac and cheese, it is essential to use a blender to get the cottage cheese sauce perfectly smooth. Slightly undercooking your chickpea pasta by about one minute is a great trick for meal prep, as it will prevent the pasta from becoming mushy when you reheat it. Finally, preparing all of your ingredients before you start cooking will make the entire meal prep process fast, smooth, and efficient.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can I use a different kind of pasta for the mac and cheese? Yes, you can, but to keep the meal high in protein, it is highly recommended to use a legume-based pasta like one made from chickpeas, lentils, or edamame. If you use regular flour-based pasta, the final dish will have a significantly lower protein content.
2. My cottage cheese sauce isn’t smooth. What did I do wrong? For the smoothest possible sauce, it is important to use a good quality, small curd cottage cheese and to blend it in a high-speed blender for at least a full minute. If you don’t have a powerful blender, you can press the cottage cheese through a fine-mesh sieve first to break down the curds before you blend it.
3. Can I make this recipe gluten-free? Yes, this recipe is naturally gluten-free as long as you use a gluten-free pasta (like chickpea pasta) and substitute the soy sauce with a certified gluten-free tamari or coconut aminos.
4. Can I freeze this meal prep? While the chicken freezes beautifully, the protein mac and cheese can sometimes have a slightly different texture after it has been frozen and thawed. For the absolute best quality and texture, it is recommended to enjoy this meal prep fresh from the refrigerator.
5. What are some other good side dishes to go with this chicken? If you want to switch it up from the mac and cheese, this honey garlic butter chicken is also fantastic served with a side of fluffy quinoa, brown rice, or some simple roasted sweet potatoes and broccoli.

Conclusion

This High Protein Meal Prep for the Week is the ultimate solution for a healthy, delicious, and incredibly satisfying lunch. It’s a dish that takes the boring out of meal prepping and gives you a flavour-packed meal that you will genuinely be excited to eat. It is a foolproof, perfectly balanced recipe that is designed to fuel your body and support your fitness goals. This is a Delicious Meal Prep you’ll actually look forward to. If you love this easy and nourishing recipe, don’t forget to share it and save it to your favorite meal prep board on Pinterest!