Chickpea Fajita Meal-Prep Bowls with Cilantro Lime Pesto

These Chickpea Fajita Meal-Prep Bowls are packed with vegetables and protein and are perfect for a healthy and filling vegan meal-prep lunch.

I planned on posting this recipe as part of my meal-prep/30-minute dinner in January, but baby Sawyer came early, and I’ve been mostly spending my days lying on the couch, nursing a newborn, and watching TV. 🙂

I’m finally getting my energy back, though, and I think I need to carve out some time to prepare meal-prep lunches. These days, I’ve been surviving mostly on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Don’t get me wrong—I love peanut butter and jelly—but in these postpartum days, nourishing yourself with warm, hearty meals is important. I made these Chickpea Fajita Meal Prep Bowls quite a while ago, and they’ve become one of my favorite meal-prep recipes.

Why Your Body Will Love These Meal-Prep Bowls

• Protein – Quinoa is an excellent protein source for muscle health and satiety. It contains all nine essential amino acids, making it a complete protein.
• Digestive Health – Quinoa is a great source of fiber, helping us feel full longer, smoothing the digestive process, and carrying toxins out of our systems. Beans are high in insoluble fiber, which helps bulk up the digestive system and prevent constipation. The fiber in beans also acts as a prebiotic that feeds the good bacteria in the large intestine and carries out toxins in the system.
• Blood Sugar Regulation – Beans are high in fiber and protein, giving them a low glycemic index. This means they digest slowly and don’t cause blood sugar levels to spike or rise too quickly. This makes beans a healthy choice for people with diabetes who need to control their blood sugar levels more.

Quinoa and chickpeas are regular ingredients around here, and I love it when I can make a fun, flavorful pesto to go on top of my bowls. This cilantro lime pesto is one of my favorites! I used it first in this meal-prep recipe, and it’s such a great topping packed with tons of spinach and cilantro! I love it when I can add a fresh green sauce to my meals.

Fajita Meal-Prep Bowls with Cilantro Lime Pesto Recipe Ingredients

• Quinoa – Feel free to use your favorite quinoa (various kinds/colors are available).
• Bell pepper – You can use whatever colors you like.
• 1/2 onion, diced
• Chickpeas – I used two cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed. I’ve been loving roasted chickpeas lately. I put them into many of my bowls, and my 2-year-old really enjoyed them, too. They add a perfect texture to any recipe and are great with many different flavors.
• Olive oil
• Spices – I used garlic powder, ground cumin, paprika, salt, and black pepper.
• Dressing – This cilantro lime dressing is made with baby spinach, cilantro, chopped walnuts, nutritional yeast, fresh lime juice, garlic, salt, and olive oil.

How To Make Chickpea Fajita Meal-Prep Bowls

1. Cook quinoa according to package directions. Let it sit covered for about 5 minutes, fluff with a fork, and divide evenly into four meal-prep containers.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. On a large sheet pan, add the peppers, onion, and chickpeas (I like to keep my peppers and chickpeas separate for aesthetic reasons, but you can also mix everything together) and toss them with olive oil and spices. I like to use a really large sheet pan to bake this meal since it’s a lot of food and it cooks faster, but you could also separate it into two pans if you have smaller ones.
3. Bake until veggies are cooked and chickpeas are crispy, 30-35 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes, then transfer equal portions to meal prep containers.
4. Add all the Cilantro Lime Pesto ingredients to a food processor or blender and blend until creamy. You can either put the pesto into small containers to take with you or top it on your meal-prep bowls. Depending on how much you like it, you may not need to use all the pesto.

Chickpea Fajita Meal-Prep Bowls with Cilantro Lime Pesto Recipe Tips

• If you don’t have a huge sheet pan, like the size of your oven, you may want to roast the peppers and chickpeas in two batches. It’s a lot of food and may take longer to roast if it has little room to spread out on the tray.
• Feel free to add any other roasted veggies you like.
• You can substitute the quinoa for any other grain or cauliflower rice.

Have a question about this recipe? Ask me in the comments, and I’ll get back to you ASAP.

Looking For More Vegetarian Meal-Prep Recipes?

Mediterranean Pasta Salad [Meal Prep]

Chopped Asian Salad with Chickpeas [Meal Prep]

Sesame Ginger Tofu Meal Prep Bowls

Chickpea Fajita Meal Prep Bowls with Cilantro Lime Pesto

Roasted Brussels Sprout and Chickpea Meal Prep Bowls

Chickpea Fajita Meal Prep Bowls with Cilantro Lime Pesto

---

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

5 from 1 review

• Author: She Likes Food
• Total Time: 55 minutes
• Yield: 4 1x
• Diet: Vegan

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

Description

These Chickpea Fajita Meal Prep Bowls are packed with tons of vegetables and protein and are perfect for a healthy and filling vegan meal prep lunch!

---

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 3/4 cup dry quinoa
• 4 cups diced bell peppers, what ever colors you like
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 2 (15 oz) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 3 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Cilantro Lime Pesto:

• 2 cup baby spinach leaves
• 1 cup cilantro leaves
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts, or your favorite nut
• 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

---

Instructions

1. Cook quinoa according to package directions.  Let sit covered for about 5 minutes, fluff with a fork and divide evenly into 4 meal prep containers.
2. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.  On a large sheet pan add the peppers, onion and chickpeas (I like to keep my peppers and chickpeas separate for aesthetic reasons but you can also just mix everything together) and toss together with olive oil and spices.  I like to use a really large sheet pan to bake this meal since it’s a lot of food and it cooks faster, but you could also separate it onto two pans if you have smaller ones.
3. Bake until veggies are cooked through and chickpeas are getting crispy, 30-35 minutes.  Let cool for a few minutes and then transfer equal portions to meal prep containers.
4. Add all Cilantro Lime Pesto ingredients to a food processor, or blender, and blend until creamy.  You can either put the pesto into small containers to take with you or top it on your meal prep bowls.  You may not need to use all the pesto, depending on how much you like.

• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 35 mins
• Category: Lunch, Meal Prep, Vegan, Gluten Free
• Method: Oven
• Cuisine: American