Get organized for the work week with these easy meal prep recipes so you can save money, time and stress – most are ready in just 30 minutes!
What is meal prep?
- Making one or two recipes and portioning everything out for a set of breakfasts and/or lunches to take with you to work
- Prepping ingredients such as cooking chicken, rice, making sauces and chopping veggies so that a meal can come together with minimal effort
How to meal prep for beginners
- Be realistic about the meals you need help with. I find it helpful to actually sit down and do a bit of goal setting first. Why are you looking to meal prep in the first place, what is your WHY? Are you looking to stop eating lunch out, or reduce stress around dinnertime? Determine which meal gives you the most trouble and go from there.
- Make time to plan, shop and prep. Schedule a meal planning day into your calendar, then determine what day is best for you to meal prep. I typically meal plan on Fridays, grocery shop on Sundays and meal prep on Mondays but your schedule may be different.
- Start with just ONE recipe. Once you've determined the meal you most need help with, pick just ONE recipe. If you have trouble choosing recipes, check out my Master List technique to reduce decision fatigue. This will help you cultivate a list of favourites and better organize the recipes you want to try.
- Repeat, repeat, repeat! Once you've gotten past the first three steps, it's all about practice! Over time, you'll be able to make more recipes with ease, and really develop meal prep as a self care routine. Consistency is key!
Meal Prep Breakfasts
You'll find my favourite meal prep, make-ahead breakfasts below. They're great to grab on your way out the door, and you can even freeze some of them so that you have plenty of variety for your first meal of the day!
Meal Prep Sausage Egg McMuffin {Copycat}
Freezer-Friendly Tex Mex Breakfast Quesadillas
Meal Prep Freezer Breakfast Burritos
Freezer-Friendly Mini Breakfast Pizzas
5 Meal Prep Smoothie Packs for Busy Days
Baked Oatmeal Cups via Dinner at the Zoo
Bacon Wrapped Egg Cups via Fit Foodie Finds
The Best Healthy Blueberry Muffins via Ambitious Kitchen
Meal Prep Almond Flour Pancakes via Skinny Fitalicious
Sheet Pan Sweet Potatoes and Black Bean Hash via The Kitchn
Mason Jar Recipes
Mason jars make excellent meal prep containers! They are reusable, affordable, and super easy to bring to work. I love layering salads in them (you can avoid soggy ingredients this way) or using them to store soups.
Healthy Fruit and Yogurt Parfaits {Meal Prep}
Big Mac Salad Jars {Meal Prep, Low Carb}
Quick & Easy Chicken Spring Roll Jars
Mason Jar Instant Noodles
5 Mix & Match Mason Jar Salad Recipes {Healthy Lunches}
Mediterranean Chickpea Salad Jars {Vegan}
Dynamite Shrimp Sushi Jars {Meal Prep Lunch}
Zucchini Chicken Noodle Soup Jars
Meal Prep in Just 1 Hour With My Free Challenge!
Take back your weekends and put dinner on the table in 20 minutes or less!
Meal Prep Bowls and Bento Boxes
These recipes are the best for lunches! They’re easy to make and can be prepped ahead of time and stored in the fridge for 3-5 days. Here are my fave ideas below, and you can find more meal prep lunch recipes here.
Healthy Bento Lunch Box Recipes {5 Ways}
Jerk-Inspired Chicken Rice Bowls {Meal Prep Lunch}
Coconut Mango Chicken Meal Prep Bowls
Honey Sriracha Chicken Meal Prep Bowls
Peanut Chicken Meal Prep Bowls {Low-Carb}
Sweet Chili Chicken Meal Prep Bowls
Honey Sesame Chicken Lunch Bowls via Sweet Peas and Saffron
Meal Prep Butter Chicken with Rice and Garlic Naan via Gimme Delicious
Greek Chicken Souvlaki Meal Prep Bowls via Salt & Lavender
Meal Prep Veggie Stir Fry via Wholefully
Salads and Wraps
Whenever I want to switch things up for lunch, I make a salad or wrap. They’re very customizable and a great way to use up ingredients. They also don’t require reheating, making them perfect for when you’re on the go. If you need more easy cold lunch ideas, I’ve got a whole list on the blog!
5 Easy Quinoa Salad Recipes {Meal Prep}
Broccoli Salad {High Protein + Meal Prep}
Best Ever Brussels Sprouts Salad
The Best Kale Salad on the Internet
Kale Chicken Caesar Wraps
Meal Prep Buffalo Chicken Wraps
Garlic Chicken Collard Wraps {Low-Carb}
Meal Prep Baked Falafel Lettuce Wraps via Wholefully
Sheet Pan Dinners
Sheet pans dinners are one of my favourite ways to meal prep. All of these recipes are cooked on one sheet pan in the oven from start to finish so clean up and cook time are reduced. Easy-peasy!
Indian-Inspired Chicken Meal Prep Bowls
Sheet Pan Pesto Chicken Meal Prep Bowls
Sheet Pan Buddha Bowls with Turmeric Tahini Dressing
Sheet Pan Crispy Coconut Chicken
Baked Honey Mustard Chicken {Sheet Pan Recipe}
Sheet Pan Bruschetta Chicken {Low Carb}
Sheet Pan Zucchini Chicken Meatballs with Coconut Curry Sauce via Ambitious Kitchen
Wanna Learn How To Meal Prep?
My meal planning service, Dinner Prep Pro, removes the guesswork and helps you get dinner on the table in 15-20 minutes each night. My meal prep checklists only take 1 hour each week!
Freezer-Friendly Meal Prep Ideas
These recipes are the way way to enjoy a hot meal when you don’t have time to cook! They’ll keep in the freezer for between 3-6 months and reheat like new.
Super Easy Homemade Pizza Pockets
Easy Baked Turkey Meatballs {Freezer-Friendly}
Easy Chicken Pasta Bake {Freezer Meal}
Super Easy Mini Chicken Pot Pies
Meal Prep Skinny Taco Bake
Meal Prep Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
Meal Prep Chicken Enchiladas Verdes
The Best Ever Healing Chicken Soup
One Pan/One Pot Recipes
One of the most annoying things about meal prepping is having a sink full of dishes afterwards. These recipes are the solution to that! Cut down on mess and time with these one pot meals that take around 30 minutes from start to finish.
Sweet Potato Hash {Whole 30}
Easiest Ever Ground Turkey Stir Fry
Whole Wheat Summer Pesto Pasta {One-Pot Meal}
Homemade Hamburger Helper {One Pot}
The Easiest One Pot Pasta Primavera
The BEST One Pot Lasagna Soup
Healthy Beef Stroganoff {One Pot + Extra Veggies}
Sausage, Peppers and Onions Skillet {One Pan!}
Stir Fry and Skillet Recipes
Busy weeknights are no match to these speedy and easy stir fry and skillet recipes! They’re also great for using up any leftover vegetables in your crisper that you have lying around at the end of the week.
Easy Cashew Chicken Stir Fry {Meal Prep}
The Easiest Beef Stir Fry {2-Ingredient Sauce!}
Chicken Ramen Stir Fry {Easy 30-Minute Meal}
The Best Cauliflower Fried Rice {Low Carb!}
30-Minute Italian Chicken Skillet {One Pan}
Easiest Skillet Shrimp Fajitas
Chicken Parmesan Pasta Skillet
Slow Cooker Recipes
The slow cooker isn’t just for making soups and stews! Most of these recipes are dump dinners so the cooking process is hands-off. You can prep all the ingredients ahead of time In a large container or Ziplock bag so all you have to do is dump in the ingredients and press start!
Crockpot Breakfast Casserole
The Easiest 2-Ingredient Crockpot BBQ Chicken
Easy Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup
Healthy Slow Cooker Turkey Chili
Easiest Ever Crockpot Lasagna Recipe
Easy Crockpot Chicken Fajitas
Crockpot Sweet and Sour Chicken via Well Plated by Erin
Instant Pot Recipes
Weeknight cooking is made easy with the Instant Pot! These pressure cooker recipes are ready in a flash and require minimal clean up. You can see all of the best meal prep Instant Pot recipes here.
Instant Pot Egg Roll in a Bowl {Low-Carb}
Instant Pot Chicken Fajita Pasta
Instant Pot Chicken Fried Rice Meal Prep Bowls
Instant Pot Turmeric Lentil Soup {Vegan}
Instant Pot Barbacoa Bowls {Chipotle Copycat}
Garlic Sesame Instant Pot Chicken Thighs
Buffalo Chicken Whole30 Meal Prep via 40 Aprons
Meal Prep Tools
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls to pack up your weekly lunches.
- Meal prep with your freezer! Butcher Box, conveniently delivers a variety of meats to your door frozen.
- Use these Ziploc bag holders if you're preparing freezer meals
- Freeze and refrigerate leftovers in round glass microwave-safe bowls with lids
- Mason jars are great for salads where you're layering a bunch of different ingredients
- **Get my full list of tools here**
More FAQs
Depending on the ingredients used, most recipes will usually last up to 5 or 6 days. For instance, if you make a set of rice bowls on a Sunday, they will last you until the end of the work week. Freezer-friendly recipes will usually last for 3-6 months.
No! I'm a big fan of ingredient prep because you can prep components of multiple recipes ahead of time so that you can cook a fresh meal in 15-20 minutes each night. Check out my ingredient prep process – it only takes an hour on the weekend!
I recommend starting with a set of lunches for the week, so choose one recipe and get in the habit of making just one every week. Then you can start to build up to more. Maybe you add a set of breakfasts next.
It honestly takes practice and patience. This is a lifestyle and self care routine, not a quick fix. Pick the same day every single week around the same time and it will start to become habit.
Absolutely! Believe it or not the texture very much remains the same once you reheat them, and I am very picky about taste and texture when it comes to leftovers. I recommend slightly undercooking your eggs when prepping so that they don't become overheated when you microwave throughout the week.
How to Meal Plan
A lot of people overthink the meal planning process because they don't know where to start. Did you know that it really only should take 15 minutes each week? Check out my 15 minute weekly meal planning routine that comes with a free meal planner template.
75+ Healthy Budget Meal Prep Ideas
Ingredients
Protein
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
Rice
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 cup white, jasmine or basmati rice
- 1 pinch salt
Sauce
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 4 cloves minced garlic
- 1 tbsp minced ginger
Veggies
- 4 cups coleslaw mix or choice of veggies
Instructions
- Saute diced chicken in a skillet with some oil and salt & pepper for 7-8 minutes or bake in a 400 F oven for 20-22 minutes until internal temperature reaches 165 F.
- Meanwhile, cook rice in a rice cooker or pot on the stove until all liquid has been absorbed and mix sauce ingredients together. Microwave sauce ingredients (covered) for 2 minutes, stirring well.
- Saute veggies with a little oil and salt and pepper in a skillet for 5 minutes over medium-high heat.
- Add chicken, rice and veggies together to 4 glass meal prep bowls and drizzle each with 1/4 of each sauce.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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