As I’m sure you’ve noticed, I enjoy making my meal preps fun and exciting. Instead of eating pb&j for lunch every day, I’m all about switching it up. Playing around with sauces and flavours is something that can take any lunch to another level. Inspired by the famously loved Cajun flavours and the comfort of mashed potatoes, this recipe provides a bold taste and comforting creamy texture that will satisfy your cravings and fuel you through your day. Let’s dive into the delicious details of this vegan Cajun Chicken and Jalapeño-Corn Mash meal prep.
What you’ll need for this Vegan Cajun Chicken & Jalapeño-Corn Mash Meal Prep
Vegan Cajun Chicken
Cajun flavours come from a rich blend of cultural influences, creating a culinary experience like no other. At the heart of Cajun cooking lies a myriad of tasty spices, including paprika, chili powder, garlic, onion and rosemary, which allows for layers of complexity and depth with every bite. That said, there are many variations out there giving you the opportunity to really customize your Cajun seasoning to suit your taste-buds.
Most Cajun dishes typically use chicken or fish but as I’m sure you know, everything can be made vegan. So going for a Cajun chicken vibe, I decided to use soy curls for my meat substitute. Soy curls are one of my favourite meat substitutes to use. Tofu would be great as well, but soy curls offer a different texture that feels wildly close to chicken. I have a few other soy curl meal prep recipes that you can check out here.
Jalapeño-Corn Mash
Many of my meal preps include rice as a base so this was a fun change. Mashed potatoes are the ultimate comfort food and it pairs so well with the bold flavours of the Cajun soy curls. That said, these aren’t any regular mashed potatoes. These creamy mashed potatoes consist of not only potatoes, but a flavourful mixture of jalapeño and corn blended together for an extra creamy and flavourful base for this dish. These mashed potatoes act as the perfect bed to transport the Cajun soy curls on that fork.
Veggies
The only thing missing from this vegan Cajun chicken and jalapeño-corn combo is a little pop of colour. Sliced veggies seemed like the perfect way to add a fresh and juicy taste and vibrancy to the meal prep. I’m sure any veggies would do, but I used a blend of red pepper and green pepper to just add a little colour variation to the dish.
Vegan Cajun Chicken & Jalapeño-Corn Mash – The Process
Cajun “Chicken” using Soy Curls
Soak – When cooking soy curls, you typically want to re-hydrate them, whether that is in a marinade, broth or just warm water. For this recipe I just hydrate the soy curls but placing them in a large bowl with water and letting them soak for about 10 minutes. Then you can drain and set aside.
Season – I used a pre made Cajun seasoning and some extra onion powder, garlic salt, paprika, and black pepper to enhance the bold, lightly spicy, and earthy flavours for the seasoning. Combine these spices and sprinkle them over the soy curls, tossing to evenly coat.
Saute – Once seasoned, these soy curls are ready for the pan. Heat a medium pan with vegetable broth and add your soy curls in, leaving them unbothered so that they get golden brown and black in spots. I also like to add a little bit of coconut milk at this point.
Jalapeño-Corn Potato Mash
Boil – Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. While waiting, peel and dice your potatoes and then add them to the boiling water. You just want to cook them until tender. Drain the potatoes but leave ¼ cup of that potato water.
Add the Jalapeño-Corn – For the alapeño-corn mixture, I used a President’s Choice frozen mixture that is sold at Loblaws. That said, you could always use canned corn and canned or fresh jalapenos. You’ll just want to make sure you remove the seeds to remove that spice if you’re not into that. Add your mixture to the pot with the drained mashed potatoes, reserved potato water with butter, oat milk, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Use an immersion blender to mix.
Cook the Veggies
Saute – For the peppers you’re just going to slice them however you like and saute them in a pan with oil on medium heat. I like to wait until they get nicely tender.
Ready, Set, Prep!
Once you have your vegan Cajun chicken soy curls, the jalapeño-corn mash and the veggies, you are ready to assemble! First add a nice layer of potato to the bottom of the meal prep container. Then add your Cajun soy curls and the veggies. Store in the fridge for 4-5 days.
This is one of those meal preps that is bursting with flavour and will have you salivating while you impatiently wait for your lunch to heat up. Between the smokiness of Cajun soy curls, and the creamy taste of the mash, this meal prep the perfect balance of flavours and texture.
Looking for more delicious meal prep ideas? Check out my other meal prep recipes.
Vegan Cajun Chicken & Jalapeño-Corn Mash
Ingredients
Cajun Soy Curls
- 1 -3 tbsp vegetable broth
- 3 cups Butler Soy Curls dry
- 1 tbsp Cajun seasoning
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic salt
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp black pepper ground
- ¼ cup coconut milk
Jalapeno-Corn Mash
- 4 large potatoes peeled & diced
- 2 cups jalapeño-corn mixture frozen **
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbsp non-dairy butter
- ¼ cup oat milk
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ¼ cup water reserved from potatoes
- salt & pepper to taste
Veggies:
- 3 bell peppers sliced
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place 3 cups of soy curls in a bowl and cover with water for 10 minutes. Drain.
- Combine onion powder, Cajun spice, paprika, black pepper and garlic salt in a small bowl. Sprinkle over soy curls and mix and set aside.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and add diced potatoes. Cook until tender, then drain, reserving ¼ c of the potato water.
- To the pot of potatoes and reserve water, add corn and jalapeño mixture, garlic, butter, oat milk, salt and pepper and garlic powder.
- Heat a skillet on medium with oil. Once hot, add in peppers and saute until brown. Remove from heat and set aside
- In the same skillet, add veggie broth to coat the pan, and add the soy curls. Leave soy curls unbothered for a few minutes allowing them to brown/black in spots. Stir occasionally.
- Add ¼ cup of coconut milk to the soy curl mixture and stir to combine.
- Add all of the ingredients to your meal prep containers.
Notes
I hope you enjoy this recipe for my Vegan Cajun Chicken and Jalapeño-corn Mash meal prep! If you make it, please leave a comment below (it helps others to find the recipe). As always, please feel free to share your creations with me! Be sure to tag me on Instagram or Pinterest so that I can see your yummy dishes!
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