No doubt about it, pasta is freaking fantastic. Not to mention, versatile! It’s the heart and soul of so many delicious dishes, from hearty bolognese with zesty red sauce, to delectable, creamy white sauce dishes like fettuccine. Unfortunately though, not all people can enjoy traditional wheat pasta for health reasons, like gluten allergy or Celiac disease. If you’re one of these people, we want you to know that here at MPOF, we’ve been there before, and we really care about making your dietary experience as enjoyable as possible! We believe that what we choose to eat shouldn’t be restrictive, but instead liberating, pleasantly surprising, and most of all, empowering! And it’s for our gluten-free friends especially that we present today’s meal prep recipe—Pesto Noodles with Crispy Chicken Bites!
To make this recipe accessible to those of us who do not consume gluten, we use Palmini noodles—A special kind of gluten-free noodle made from delicious, tender palm hearts! But what about the breading on the chicken, you ask? For this, we offer the simple solution of gluten-free breadcrumbs, which can be easily obtained at any health food store.
For a healthier, gluten-free twist on an Italian-influenced dish, give this recipe a shot for your meal prep this week! We think you’ll be saying mamma mia!
This lightened-up pasta dish uses hearts of palm noodles instead of traditional pasta and gets topped with crispy baked herb chicken bites for irresistible texture!
How long will Pesto Noodles With Crispy Chicken Bites last for?
Like most pasta dishes, we found that the pasta and chicken portion to last between 3-5 days. However, caprese salad will only last for a maximum of 3 days in the fridge, so consider eating everything within that time frame, or giving a portion to a friend!
Can Pesto Noodles With Crispy Chicken Bites be frozen?
Yes, you can partly freeze this dish! We recommend freezing the noodles and chicken in separate freezer bags though, to maintain consistency. We do not recommend the freezing of Caprese salad, however.
Pesto Noodles With Crispy Chicken Bites Ingredients:
For Chicken Bites
- 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast, sliced into bite-sized pieces
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup gluten-free breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon cracked black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
For Pesto Palmini Noodles
- 2 15 oz cans Palmini noodles, drained
- ½ cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 ½ cups fresh basil leaves
- ½ teaspoon minced garlic
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
For Caprese Salad
- 3 cups halved cherry tomatoes
- ½ cup halved mozzarella balls
- 1 tablespoon chopped basil
- 2 teaspoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- Sea salt and black pepper to taste
How do you make Pesto Noodles With Crispy Chicken Bites?
One of the best parts of this meal prep recipe is that it comes together quickly—in just 50 minutes! You can begin the process of making it by preheating your oven to 400ºF and lining a baking sheet with parchment paper. Now get out two bowls. In one, whisk the egg, and in the other, mix together the gluten-free breadcrumbs as well as the seasonings. Dunk 5-6 chicken bites at a time in the egg, shake off excess, and coat all sides in breadcrumb mixture. Place the chicken bites on a baking sheet, and bake for 30 minutes.
Now it’s time to prepare the noodles, while waiting for the baking to finish! Begin by combining olive oil, parmesan cheese, basil, garlic and sea salt into a food processor, until all ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Add drained palmini noodles to a medium skillet over medium heat, and pour your pesto sauce on top. Use tongs to coat the noodles, and heat for 4-5 minutes until warmed through.
To make caprese salad, simply stir mozzarella balls, cherry tomatoes, olive oil, basil, and red wine vinegar together in a medium mixing bowl, then divide into the small compartments of four separate meal prep containers. Do the same with the warmed pesto noodles into the larger compartments, and top and top with 5-6 chicken bites.
How to portion Pesto Noodles With Crispy Chicken Bites?
Being that this meal prep recipe has both a main dish and a side dish, we recommend portioning into dual-compartment meal prep containers!
More gluten free chicken and noodles meal prep recipes:
We just love chicken at MPOF, and we even have a number of chicken-based recipes that are all gluten-free, too! Here are just a few, for your future meal prep consideration:
- Air Fryer Chicken Parmesan
- Chicken Ramen Meal Prep
- Cold Chicken Soba Noodle Meal Prep
- Sesame Chicken & Broccoli Stir Fry Meal Prep
Other tips for making Pesto Noodles With Crispy Chicken Bites:
- Palmini noodles can be substituted for your favorite gluten-free pasta!
- Keep in mind that caprese salad doesn’t store for very long, so make sure you eat it within 2 days of making it.
- To neutralize the flavor of palmini noodles, soak them in almond milk for 45 minutes.
- Also, if you're gluten-free, you probably already have the ingredients on hand to make your own breading, here's How to Make Gluten-Free Breading.
Equipment
- Air Fryer
Ingredients
For Chicken Bites
- ½ lb. boneless skinless chicken breast sliced into bit sized pieces
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup gluten-free breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon cracked black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
For Pesto Palmini Noodles
- 2 15 oz cans Palmini noodles drained
- ½ cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 ½ cups fresh basil leaves
- ½ teaspoon minced garlic
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
For Caprese Salad
- 3 cups halved cherry tomatoes
- ½ cup halved mozzarella balls
- 1 tablespoon chopped basil
- 2 teaspoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- Sea salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk egg in a shallow bowl and combine breadcrumbs and seasonings in a separate shallow bowl. Add 5-6 chicken bites to egg mixture at a time. Shake off excess egg and place chicken into breadcrumb mixture, coating all sides. Place onto baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes.
- While chicken bakes, combine olive oil, parmesan cheese, basil, garlic and sea salt to a food process and pause until thoroughly combined. Add drained palmini noodles to a medium skillet over medium heat and for pesto sauce on top. Use tongs to toss noodles to coat. Heat for 4-5 minutes to warm noodles through.
- Stir together ingredients for caprese salad in a medium mixing bowl. Divide between 4 small compartments of teal MPOF containers. Divide pesto noodles between large compartments and top with 5-6 chicken bites.
Jmki says
This recipe calls for .5 pounds of chicken. Then that chicken is divided between four meals. Meaning that each meal is 1/8th pound of chicken. Am I reading that correctly?
Also, does this go in the oven or air fryer?
Sarah Kesseli says
Thanks for bringing this to our attention. It should be 1 pound and not 1/2 pound. The chicken goes into the oven. We hope you enjoy the recipe!