MON LUNCH · FROM THE VIDEO
Lemon Chicken Rice Box
- 30 min
- 8 min with Sunday prep
- 1–4 servings
- 430 kcal
- 35g protein
A bright, no-fuss lunch box built around lemony rice, warm shredded chicken, and crisp cucumber slices. It eats well cold or gently reheated, and a fresh squeeze of lemon at lunchtime wakes everything back up. Simple, protein-packed, and ready in under ten minutes if you've done the Sunday prep.
Adds this lunch's 4 groceries to your Walmart cart; you check out on Walmart. Part of Five work lunches from one Costco rotisserie chicken · send the whole week to Walmart.
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Ingredients
- 5 ozcooked rotisserie chicken, shredded
- 1 cupjasmine rice, cooked
- 0.5 lemonlemon, zested and juiced
- 0.33 cucumber (about 0.5 cup slices)English cucumber, sliced
From the pantry: olive oil, salt, black pepper
Cookware
cutting board · chef's knife · medium saucepan with lid · zester or microplane · mixing bowl · meal-prep container
Directions
- Cook the jasmine rice according to package directions, then let it cool slightly (or use rice from Sunday prep).
- Zest and juice half a lemon per serving, then stir the zest, juice, and a teaspoon of olive oil into the cooked rice while it's still warm.
- Season the lemon rice with a pinch of salt and pepper, tasting and adjusting as needed.
- Slice the English cucumber into thin rounds or half-moons on a cutting board.
- If starting from a whole rotisserie chicken, shred the meat off the bone, discarding skin and bones; if using Sunday's prepped chicken, simply portion it out.
- Warm the shredded chicken briefly if desired, or leave it at room temperature for a cold-pack lunch.
- Spoon the lemon rice into one section of the meal-prep container, then add the shredded chicken and cucumber slices in their own sections.
- Tuck a small extra lemon wedge into the container or a separate small bag to squeeze over the box just before eating.
Two tips
- Swap the cucumber for sliced snap peas or shredded carrot if you want more crunch or color variety.
- This box comes together fastest if you use the Sunday-prepped lemon rice and shredded chicken piles, cutting the whole thing down to about 8 minutes of assembly.
Packing
Pack the lemon rice, chicken, and cucumber in separate compartments of a divided meal-prep container so the cucumber stays crisp. Keep an extra lemon wedge on the side and squeeze it over the box right before eating; the chicken and rice can be eaten cold or microwaved for 60–90 seconds (add the cucumber after reheating).
Storage
Store assembled boxes in the fridge for up to 4 days. The lemon rice and chicken freeze well for up to 2 months, but hold off on adding fresh cucumber until you're ready to eat.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 430 kcal
- Protein
- 35 g
- Carbs
- 48 g
- Fat
- 11 g
- Fiber
- 2 g
- Sodium
- 380 mg
The rest of the week
TuePesto Chicken Pasta Salad
Cold pasta, pesto chicken, halved tomatoes.
chicken · pasta · pesto · cherry tomatoes
~36g proteinFull recipe →
WedBuffalo Chicken Wrap Box
Buffalo chicken, shredded romaine and a drizzle of ranch in a tortilla; celery on the side.
chicken · buffalo sauce · tortilla · romaine · ranch
~38g proteinFull recipe →
ThuBBQ Chicken Mac Box
Mac and cheese with BBQ chicken folded in. Reheat 2 minutes.
chicken · BBQ sauce · mac and cheese
~41g proteinFull recipe →
FriChicken Quesadilla Box
Chicken and cheddar quesadilla wedges with salsa to dip.
chicken · tortilla · cheddar · salsa
~42g proteinFull recipe →
Recipe developed by MealPot for the “Five work lunches from one Costco rotisserie chicken” video. Nutrition is estimated from standard (USDA) data for the quantities above. Photo: MealPot, an AI-rendered illustration of the packed lunch.