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–+ servings
A dense bean salad in a metal bowl with chickpeas, vegetables, fresh basil leaves, lemon wedges, and a wooden spoon, set on a bright blue background.
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5 from 2 votes

Dense Bean Salad with Chicken

This packed dense bean salad is the ultimate meal prep lunch. Loaded with chicken & fresh veggies, it keeps you full all week.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Course: Main, Salad
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 6
Calories: 453kcal
Author: Mimi Harrison

Ingredients

  • 600 g boneless skinless chicken thighs
  • 400 g chickpeas (1 can)
  • 400 g butter beans (1 can)
  • 70 g sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
  • Handful of fresh basil
  • 3 zucchinies, diced
  • 6 pickled peppers, thinly sliced
  • 2 romano peppers, thinly sliced
  • 200 g chesnut mushrooms, sliced into quarters
  • 1 ball of mozzarella, roughly chopped
  • 1 lemon
  • 1 tbsp sun-dried tomato oil

For the dressing

  • 2 tbsp sun-dried tomato oil
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • 1 tsp Italian seasoning
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp salt

For the chicken marinade

  • 2 tbsp pickled pepper brine
  • 1 tbsp sun-dried tomato oil
  • 1 tbsp paprika
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
Metric - US Standard

Instructions

  • If possible, coat the chicken in the marinade for 1-3 hours before cooking.
  • Preheat your oven to 200°C/ 400°F. Before popping it in the oven, add your Romano peppers, courgette, and one more tablespoon of sundried tomato oil to the bowl and stir to combine. Evenly distribute the ingredients across the baking sheet.
  • Bake for 35-60 minutes depending on the size of your chicken thighs. I removed the chicken thighs at 35 mins and roasted the veg for a further 15 mins for colour.
  • Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before slicing into chunks.
  • Place the contents of the tray into a bowl and allow it to cool for about 10 minutes.
  • During this time, slice your pickled peppers, sun-dried tomatoes and rinse the beans. Combine the ingredients for the dressing, then add of your ingredients to the bowl and toss to combine and stir in the basil leaves.
  • Divide into portions and add a lemon wedge to each container. Pop in the fridge and enjoy throughout the week!

Notes

  • You can also use skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs for this recipe! I’d buy 1kg to get the right ratios for this recipe. I like to remove the skin to reduce the fat content slightly before slicing into chunks. 
  • If you use bone-in chicken thighs, cook them for 45-60 minutes instead of 35-45 minutes.
  • If possible, marinate the chicken before as it really helps the flavour penetrate the chicken.
  • Let the hot traybake ingredients cool down properly before you mix them with the salad and Mediterranean dressing.
  • The weight of the cans is the full weight, but you are adding 240g drained weight of both chickpeas and butterbeans. 

Nutrition

Calories: 453kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 7g