Chicken Satay Noodle Jar Meal Prep

Say goodbye to boring lunches! These Chicken Satay Noodle Meal Prep Jars are packed with bold flavors, fresh ingredients, and the perfect balance of protein, veggies, and noodles—all topped with a creamy, nutty satay sauce.

The best part? Whether you work from home, work outside of the office, or need a handy, on-the-go lunch, these meal prep jars are super easy to make, ready in just 15 minutes, and stay fresh all week long. 

The satay sauce is taken from one of my longtime stalwart recipes, Chicken Satay Skewers, and it’s so freaking good I can’t help myself from licking the spoon clean whenever I make it.

Trust me on this one- I could drizzle this sauce over just about anything – tofu, veggies, beef, fish, you name it. It would bump up the flavor of any dish. I recommend doubling this satay sauce and freezing the extra so you’ve always got some on hand! 

What’s Inside These Chicken Satay Noodle Jars? 

Before I get into the nitty-gritty here, can we pause to enjoy that these jars are GORGEOUS. I love the colors of the ingredients in this recipe; it’s like a pretty little rainbow in a jar.

This recipe calls for crunchy ribbons of fresh carrot, crispy leaves of baby spinach, and sharp bites of minced ginger. Topped with scallions and crushed peanuts, it’s a total flavor bomb. 

I used chicken pulled from a rotisserie’d bird, but you can also cook and shred or chop chicken ahead of time. Those bags of freezer-friendly chicken strips you can find at Costco or on Amazon Fresh would work great here, too! 

If you want to switch up the veggies or get inspiration for swaps, here are a few ideas:

• Snow peas
• Corn
• Bell pepper
• Cucumber 
• Cooked mushrooms

These Chicken Satay Noodle Jars are made with pad-thai style rice noodles, but you can sub that for just about any noodle you fancy; lo mein or vermicelli (gladd noodles) would be great here. 

Not in a noodle mood? You can also add rice! I’d make sure to layer the rice above the chicken, so it doesn’t soak up too much liquid from the sauce while its stored in the fridge.

How to Layer Your Jars for Maximum Freshness

Since these jars hang out in the fridge until you’re ready to eat them, it’s important to layer the ingredients correctly so you can maximize both flavor and freshness. 

Bottom layer: Satay sauce. Keeping the sauce or dressing on the bottom layer means it’s the last to come out when you pour into a bowl, and it won’t make the veggies soggy while it’s stored.

Above the sauce: Chicken/proteins 

Adding the protein right after the sauce means it’s used as a barrier to the veggies and noodles above; it will also marinate the protein in the sauce while it sits, giving you a one-two punch for flavor. 

Above the protein: crispy veggies, including the ginger. 

Above the veggies: cooked starches/noodles/rice

The layer above the chicken should be your most hearty vegetable; in this recipe, that’s the carrots. Above the carrots should be your more delicate green leaf spinach. Then, when the cooked noodles are on top of the spinach, the heat from the noodles will slightly cook and wilt the spinach. They don’t get soggy this way; they stay just right. 

At the top of the jar: all the crunchy, crispy textures! Scallions and crushed peanuts stay crunchy and flavorful when they’re right there on top.

Meal Prep & Storage Tips: How to Keep Your Jars Fresh

These jars should keep the ingredients fresh and tasty for up to 5 days. Make sure to store them in the coldest part of your fridge and screw those lids on tightly! 

When you’re ready to eat, just pour it into a bowl and enjoy! You can also lightly heat them in the microwave or on the stove until just warmed through, which will boost the flavor of the sauce a bit. 

Can you freeze these Chicken Satay Noodle Jars?

• I don’t recommend it. The act of freezing and then thawing will change the texture of the veggies, possibly giving you a soggy dish. We don’t want that!
  

Watch the Recipe in Action:

@percolatekitchen

Full recipe below! I only have 3 clean jars so that’s what we’re using 🫠 1/3 cup canned coconut milk 1/3 cup soy sauce 3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter 3 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar 3 tablespoons sesame oil 2 teaspoons garlic powder Plus: Cooked chicken Minced ginger Spinach Cooked rice noodles Scallions Crushed peanuts #healthyrecipe #lunchideas #healthyrecipes #easyrecipes #mealprepideas #mealprep

♬ pink and white frank ocean – sped up sounds

These Chicken Satay Noodle Jar Meal Preps make lunch easy to handle any day of the week! If you get the chance to make them, please drop a comment below and let me know how they turned out for you!