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The High-Protein Grain Bowl I Make on Repeat

High-ProteinSignature recipe
Alex Busse, Sydney-based nutritionist

Alex Busse— Bondi Junction, Sydney

Published 8 September 2025

Grilled chicken, roasted sweet potato, and greens over brown rice — built to reheat for three days without turning to mush.

Overhead view of a grain bowl with sliced grilled chicken, roasted sweet potato cubes, baby spinach, and a tahini dressing in a ceramic bowl
Prep15 min
Cook25 min
Total40 min
Servings4
Moderate
Calories
540
Protein
40 g
Carbs
46 g
Fat
18 g
Fibre
8 g

Per serving. Estimated from ingredients as listed.

This is the recipe I hand to anyone who says meal prep is boring. It isn’t — it’s just repetitive, which is a different thing and the entire point. Cook the components once on a Sunday, and you get four lunches that taste like someone made an effort, because someone did, just not four separate times.

The trick that makes it survive the fridge is keeping the dressing off until you eat. Tahini dressing on day-old rice for three days is fine nutritionally and a little sad visually — everything goes the same shade of beige. Dress it fresh each time and it still tastes like day one.

If you’re feeding more than four, double the sweet potato and chicken and keep the rice ratio the same — rice is the cheapest part of this bowl and nobody’s ever complained about too much of it.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings
  • 2 cups, cooked brown rice
  • 600 g chicken breast — or thigh, if you want it to survive reheating better
  • 1 large, cubed sweet potato
  • 3 cups baby spinach
  • 1/4 cup tahini
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 3 tbsp, divided olive oil
  • 1 clove, minced garlic — for the dressing
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • to taste salt and pepper

Method

  1. Cook the brown rice according to the packet and set aside to cool slightly — hot rice steams the spinach into mush when you assemble.

  2. Heat the oven to 200°C. Toss the sweet potato cubes with 1 tbsp olive oil, cumin, salt, and pepper. Roast for 20–22 minutes, turning once, until the edges catch some colour.

  3. While the sweet potato roasts, season the chicken and sear it in a hot pan with 1 tbsp olive oil, about 6–7 minutes a side depending on thickness. Rest for 5 minutes, then slice.

  4. Whisk the tahini, lemon juice, garlic, and remaining olive oil with 2–3 tbsp water until it loosens into a pourable dressing. Add water a teaspoon at a time — tahini seizes up before it smooths out, so don't panic halfway through.

  5. Divide rice between bowls, top with spinach, sweet potato, and sliced chicken.

  6. Dress just before eating if you're meal-prepping — dressing on cold rice for three days turns everything the same beige, which is fine to eat and slightly depressing to look at.

Frequently asked questions

Can I freeze this?

Yes — freeze the rice, chicken, and roasted sweet potato in one container without the dressing or spinach, up to 3 months. Add fresh spinach and dressing after reheating.

What can I substitute for chicken?

Firm tofu or a tin of chickpeas both work. Tofu needs a hotter pan and a lighter hand — it burns before it browns if you crowd it.

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