Happy Meal Prep Monday, friends! This is my first summer meal prep recipe, and I wanted to make the bowls bright, sweet, and flavorful. Fresh pineapple added the perfect burst of sweetness and color, while a mandarin teriyaki sauce I picked up at Smith’s gave the chicken a bold, slightly sweet glaze that paired beautifully with the fruit. These Summer Chicken Pineapple Bowls are easy, cheerful, and full of summer flavor—perfect for batch cooking and enjoying throughout the week.
What Teriyaki Sauce to Use?
For this batch I tried a mandarin teriyaki from Smith’s. I normally reach for Trader Joe’s Island Soyaki, which remains a favorite for its balanced flavor, but the Smith’s bottle was convenient and worth trying. It’s a bit sweeter and has a distinct profile compared with Soyaki, so I enjoyed the flavor change. Because it contains a little more sugar, I wouldn’t use it every week, but it worked wonderfully for these bowls.
Bottom line: use the teriyaki you enjoy most—Soyaki for a lighter option, or a sweeter mandarin-style sauce when you want a brighter, fruit-forward pairing.
Use Seasonal Ingredients
I like adding zucchini and yellow squash to meal prep bowls because they offer a mild flavor and a nice contrast to more common choices like broccoli. Broccoli is easy and convenient, but variety keeps meals interesting—zucchini does just that. When cooking vegetables for meal prep, undercook them slightly so they finish cooking when reheated. This helps avoid soggy, overcooked veggies—this tip applies to broccoli, asparagus, carrots, and others.
Using Fresh Fruit in Bowls
Adding pineapple was a delightful idea—sweet, juicy, and it brightened the whole bowl. I usually avoid warm fruit, so when I reheat my portions I remove the pineapple and keep it chilled; my husband prefers it warmed with the chicken, so he reheats everything together. This way we both enjoy the bowls our own way: his with warm, grilled-like pineapple, and mine with cold fruit for a refreshing contrast.
Using Premade Chicken
I used pre-cooked rotisserie chicken from Costco for convenience. The package is great value—you get two whole chickens ready to use. I typically use half the package to make 5–6 bowls and freeze the remaining chicken for the following week. If weekly meal prep feels overwhelming, this Costco shortcut speeds things up significantly.
A typical routine: start the rice the night before, then Monday morning marinate the chicken while you cook the vegetables. Assemble the bowls and you’re done—meal prep completed in a short, efficient session.
What You’ll Need for the Summer Chicken Pineapple Bowls
2 cups brown rice
1 package Costco rotisserie chicken
2 zucchini, sliced
2 yellow squash, sliced
1 pineapple, cubed
2 cups mandarin teriyaki sauce
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Summer Chicken Pineapple Bowls
20 minutes
20 minutes
20 minutes
1 hour
Ingredients
- 2 cups brown rice
- 1 package Costco rotisserie chicken
- 2 sliced zucchini
- 2 sliced squash
- 1 pineapple, cubed
- 2 cups mandarin teriyaki sauce
Instructions
- Prepare the brown rice by adding two cups of water and two cups of brown rice to the Instant Pot. Use the manual setting, set the time to 24 minutes, and let the rice cook.
- Add half the package of chicken to a zip-top bag with 1 1/2 cups of sauce. Allow to marinate for 20 minutes.
- Prepare the zucchini and squash. Using a mandoline or a food processor with a slicing attachment, slice the vegetables into about 1/8-inch disks.
- Prepare the pineapple: remove the core and cube into small, bite-sized pieces.
- Build the 6 bowls: brown rice on the bottom, chicken on one side, vegetables in the middle, and pineapple on the other side. Add the remaining 1/2 cup sauce to the chicken and store for later.
- For reheating: microwave the bowls for 2–2:30 minutes. If you prefer cold fruit, remove the pineapple before reheating and add it back chilled.