Greek Chicken & Rice — 15 Portion Meal Prep
Batch-scale Greek chicken thighs marinated in lemon-oregano, sous vide at 63°C / 145°F then seared, served over dill rice with roasted broccoli, feta, olives, and homemade tzatziki. ~15 servings in 24oz containers.
My Take
Delicious, I cooked extra chicken but wish I had added another vegetable to round things out better. The tzatziki was wonderful (although it kinda feels like I made too much of it?). I did 15 servings this time instead of 10 from my last meal prep. However, after eating it for 3 days in a row, I've realized my appetite for tzatziki is wearing thin - 5 lunches of this in a week is probably not the best choice.
AI-Generated Recipe
Prep
30 minutes
Cook
3 hours
Total
3 hours 30 minutes
Servings
15
Difficulty
Medium
Course
Dinner
Ingredients
- 3000 g boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 135 ml olive oil (for marinade)
- 7½ lemons, zested and juiced (for marinade)
- 23 cloves garlic, minced (for marinade)
- 45 ml dried oregano
- 23 ml salt (for marinade)
- 11 ml black pepper
- 1125 g rice (long- or medium-grain)
- 2250 ml chicken stock or water
- 23 ml fresh dill, chopped (for rice)
- 3000 g broccoli, cut into florets
- 90 ml olive oil (for broccoli)
- 450 g feta, crumbled
- 300 g kalamata olives, pitted
- 1500 g Greek yogurt, full-fat (for tzatziki)
- 3¾ English cucumbers, grated (for tzatziki)
- 7½ cloves garlic, grated (for tzatziki)
- 113 ml lemon juice (for tzatziki, ~2 lemons)
- 90 ml olive oil (for tzatziki)
- 45 ml fresh dill, chopped (for tzatziki)
- 11 ml salt (for tzatziki)
Instructions
- In a large bowl or two zip bags, combine olive oil (for marinade), zest and juice of the lemons, minced garlic (for marinade), dried oregano, salt (for marinade), and black pepper. Add chicken thighs and toss to coat. Refrigerate at least 30 min, ideally overnight.
- Set sous vide bath to 63°C / 145°F. Split marinated chicken across 2-3 vacuum or zip bags (water displacement method works fine), leaving space for circulation. Cook 2 hours.
- Rinse rice until water runs clear. Cook in 2-3 batches: for each batch combine rice with chicken stock or water (2:1 liquid:rice ratio) and a pinch of salt. Bring to boil, cover, simmer low 15-18 min. Rest 5 min off heat, fluff, and stir in fresh dill (for rice) across all batches.
- Heat oven to 220°C. Toss broccoli florets with olive oil (for broccoli), salt, and pepper. Roast on 2-3 sheet pans (don't crowd) for 18-20 min per batch, rotating pans halfway.
- Grate the English cucumbers on the large holes of a box grater. Wrap in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze HARD over the sink — you want it nearly dry. In a large bowl combine Greek yogurt, squeezed cucumber, grated garlic (for tzatziki), lemon juice, olive oil (for tzatziki), fresh dill (for tzatziki), and salt (for tzatziki). Stir well and refrigerate.
- Remove chicken from bags and pat completely dry (wet chicken won't sear). Heat a large skillet or griddle on high with a splash of oil. Sear thighs 45-60 sec per side in batches until golden. Slice into strips.
- Line up 15 x 24oz containers. Divide rice evenly (~120g cooked per container), then broccoli (~150g per container), then sliced chicken (~150g per container). Line up 15 small side containers: ~30g feta, ~20g olives, and a generous spoonful of tzatziki in each.
- Let containers cool uncovered 10-15 min on the counter. Seal and refrigerate. Use within 4 days; freeze any past that. Reheat main container 2.5-3 min in microwave, then top with contents of side container and an extra squeeze of lemon.
Notes
**Key tips for scale:** - Split chicken into 2-3 sous vide bags with space between — overpacked bags cook unevenly. - Cook rice in 2-3 batches unless you have a huge pot. 500g dry rice per batch is manageable. - Broccoli needs 2-3 sheet pan rounds at 220°C — don't crowd the pans or it'll steam instead of roast. - Squeeze the cucumber HARD for tzatziki — 5 cucumbers produces a lot of liquid and watery sauce is the fastest way to ruin this. - Cool containers uncovered 10-15 min before sealing or condensation makes everything soggy. - Good for 4 days in the fridge. If day 5 matters, freeze 4-8 portions on prep day and thaw in fridge the night before. - Reheat main container 2.5-3 min in microwave. Add feta, olives, and tzatziki cold after heating.