This Grilled Chicken, Edamame and Quinoa Salad Jar is a PCOS-friendly recipe with 486 calories, 42g protein, and 36g carbs per serving. Ready in 33 minutes. High in fiber (10g), which supports insulin sensitivity.
Nutrition per Serving
42g of protein in a lunch you can build three of on a Sunday night. The jar layering is not a presentation gimmick, it is what keeps the dressing away from the leaves so this is as good on Wednesday as it was on Sunday.
Grocery list:
- Chicken breast
- Quinoa
- Shelled edamame
- Carrot
- Cucumber
- Red cabbage
- Rice vinegar
- Tamari
- Toasted sesame oil
- Fresh ginger
- Miso paste
- Sesame seeds
Glycemic index of the key ingredients: quinoa 53, edamame 18, carrot 39 raw, cabbage 10, chicken 0.
Ingredients
Instructions
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Rinse and cook the quinoa in 1 cup of water for 15 minutes, then rest covered for 5 and fork through. Spread on a tray to cool completely.Season the chicken with pepper and a little olive oil, then grill or pan-sear over medium-high for 6 to 7 minutes a side. Rest for 5 minutes before slicing, which is the difference between juicy and dry.Whisk the rice vinegar, tamari, sesame oil, ginger and miso into a dressing.Layer the jars in this order: dressing at the bottom, then quinoa, then edamame, carrot and cucumber, then cabbage, then chicken on top. The order matters, the dressing must not touch the leaves until you shake it.Seal, refrigerate, and shake into a bowl when you eat. Top with sesame seeds.
Why this works for PCOS
The single most reliable predictor of whether a PCOS eating plan survives a month is whether lunch is decided in advance. This is a make-ahead lunch that carries 42g of protein and 10g of fibre, which is a combination that essentially removes the afternoon crash.
Protein at this level also matters for anyone doing resistance training alongside dietary change, which is the exercise modality with the best evidence for improving insulin sensitivity in PCOS.
The ingredients doing the work
- Chicken breast: 32g of protein per serving for very little fat, which leaves room for the sesame oil and olive oil to do the satiety work.
- Edamame: 9g of protein and 5g of fibre per cup, at a glycemic index of 18. One of the best plant proteins available.
- Miso and rice vinegar: fermented food plus acidity. Both have small documented effects on post-meal glucose, and together they replace a bottled dressing.
- Red cabbage: anthocyanins and glucosinolates, and it is the only salad leaf that genuinely does not wilt in a jar.
Swaps and notes
Vegan: swap the chicken for a block of baked marinated tempeh, holding protein around 35g. Lower carb: halve the quinoa and add another half cup of edamame. Add a soft-boiled egg on top for an extra 6g.
Do not add the dressing to the top. Three days of dressed cabbage is a texture nobody wants.
How this fits a PCOS week
One good meal does not move insulin, androgens or cycle length. A repeatable week does. The point of this recipe is that it is boring in the best way: it holds its blood-sugar shape whether you cook it carefully on a Sunday or throw it together on a Wednesday night, so it survives real life.
PCOS Meal Planner builds this into a full week around your calories, your symptoms and the foods you actually like, then hands you the grocery list. You cook. It handles the arithmetic.
Why this Grilled Chicken, Edamame and Quinoa Salad Jar works for PCOS
With 42g of protein per serving (about 35% of calories), this Grilled Chicken, Edamame and Quinoa Salad Jar sits at the top end of the 25-35g per-meal range that the 2023 International PCOS Guideline recommends for managing insulin resistance and supporting lean mass. Higher-protein meals also blunt the glucose response when carbohydrates are included, which matters for women with PCOS because chronic insulin elevation drives androgen excess and irregular cycles.
The 36g of carbohydrates here come paired with 10g of fibre, which slows glucose absorption and produces a flatter post-meal blood sugar curve. Fibre is one of the most under-rated tools for PCOS: it feeds gut bacteria that produce short-chain fatty acids linked to improved insulin sensitivity, and it modestly lowers circulating androgens by binding bile acids in the gut.
Fat makes up about 35% of calories in this dish. Dietary fat plays a load-bearing role in PCOS because sex hormones are synthesised from cholesterol, and very-low-fat eating can suppress hormone production over time. The 2023 PCOS guideline does not specify a strict fat target, but most clinicians recommend at least 25-35% of calories from a mix of monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and saturated sources.
Lunch is where most PCOS meal plans either succeed or collapse. A meal like this Grilled Chicken, Edamame and Quinoa Salad Jar that combines adequate protein, fibre-rich carbs, and fat keeps blood sugar stable for the rest of the workday and reduces the late-afternoon energy crash that drives sugar cravings around 3-4pm.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, this Grilled Chicken, Edamame and Quinoa Salad Jar recipe is designed to be PCOS-friendly. At 486 calories per serving with 42g of protein, it supports balanced blood sugar and hormonal health. It also provides 10g of fiber, which helps with insulin sensitivity.
This recipe takes about 33 minutes total. Prep time is 15 minutes and cook time is 18 minutes. It makes 2 servings, so you can meal prep for multiple days.
Per serving: 486 calories, 42g protein (35%), 36g carbs, 19g fat. Plus 10g fiber. PCOS meal plans typically aim for 30% protein, 35% fat, 35% carbs to support insulin sensitivity.
Yes, this recipe works well as a PCOS-friendly Lunch. At 486 calories, it fits within typical PCOS meal plan targets for Lunch. Pair it with other PCOS-friendly foods throughout the day for balanced nutrition.
This recipe can be part of a structured PCOS meal plan. It makes 2 servings, making it great for meal prep. For a complete weekly plan tailored to your PCOS type, take our free 60-second quiz at pcosmealplanner.com/pcos-quiz to get a personalized 7-day meal plan.
Cook Another PCOS-Friendly Lunch
Each recipe you add to your rotation makes PCOS management easier. Variety keeps you from getting bored and quitting.
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