A refrigerator full of ready-to-go meals can save your week and your sanity. We've rounded up healthy meal-prep ideas to make your life simpler!
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Make Big Batches of Grains
When it comes to easy healthy meal-prep ideas, this might be the one to prioritize. Cooking a big batch of grains like brown rice, farro or quinoa is simple and has endless meal possibilities. Divided between hearty lunch salads or quick dinners, a pot of grains can serve you well for days. And if you don’t make it through the batch, you can freeze it for soups or fried rice recipes. Spread hot cooked grains on a large rimmed baking sheet to cool quickly, then transfer to storage containers and refrigerate.
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Layer Salads in Jars
Soggy salads can burst your meal-prep bubble, but it’s easy to avoid that pitfall by simply layering the ingredients in a jar rather than tossing them all together. Keep the crunch and vibrant flavors by strategically building the salad: Place the dressing at the bottom, top with beans and sturdy vegetables, cheese and/or meat next, and finish with leafy greens. When it’s time to eat, shake it up and empty it onto a plate for a craveworthy meal in seconds. These wide-mouth Mason jars make layering easy.
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Invest in Good, Sturdy Containers
To get you excited about meal planning, former senior food stylist Shannon Norris recommends picking up some good meal-prep containers in various shapes and sizes for easy packing. “There’s something satisfying about opening your fridge and seeing a neat little stack of meals ready to go,” she says. Some new gear can really inspire you, and having a fresh set with matching leak-proof lids is a bonus. This stackable set of Pyrex dishes is Shannon’s favorite and has a great mix of sizes.
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Cut Fruits and Vegetables for Several Days
When healthy fruits and veggies are prepped and ready to eat, you and your family will be more likely to reach for them as a snack or incorporate them into meals. Set yourself up for success by chopping a variety of veggies, like celery, bell peppers, carrots and cucumbers, into sticks or chunks. Then you can toss them together to roast or saute, or assemble a quick crudite platter. You can use any clean cutting board, or pick up a meal-prep cutting board to make chopping and storing veggies a little quicker.
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Make a Double Batch
One of the easiest meal-prep ideas of all time? Make extra! Next time you’re making a family favorite (soups, stews and chili batch up extremely well), double the recipe. Serve some for dinner and portion the rest into freezer-safe containers for future lunches and dinners. You can buy specific freezer containers for soup, or freeze it flat in freezer-safe food storage bags and then stack them like books. Then when you are in a pinch, thaw it in the refrigerator, heat it and serve.
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Assemble Smoothie Bags
Meal prep is helpful for healthy breakfasts, too, or when you need something in between meals. Having bags filled with your favorite smoothie ingredients is a huge timesaver. To meal prep smoothies, fill freezer-proof bags or containers with assorted chopped fruits and vegetables, and write a label with what’s inside the package. Then you can just dump the bag into the blender, add your liquid of choice and blend until smooth. Pour it into a glass or turn it into a smoothie bowl.
Recipes to try:
Make Veggie Burgers
To get more veggies and plant-based protein in your weekly meal plan, make a bunch of veggie burgers and stash them in the freezer or refrigerator. You can freeze them, cooked or uncooked, on a baking sheet, then transfer them to a storage container once they are firm. Besides serving them on a bun, you can enjoy them plain with a side of veggies or add them to salads, grain bowls and wraps.
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Prepare a Breakfast Casserole
For a sweet or savory breakfast you can eat for days, try making a breakfast casserole. Some recipes can be assembled, baked quickly and then stored in the refrigerator, while others are built the night before and popped in the oven in the morning. Try breakfast egg casseroles packed with veggies and cheese, or make a sweet option with fruit, such as baked oatmeal. I like to wrap a few servings tightly and freeze them for mornings when planning ahead didn’t happen.
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Try Overnight Oats
For those weeks when you have minimal time in the morning to get up and out the door, overnight oatmeal is one of the easiest options for a nutrient-dense breakfast. Just mix oats with your choice of milk, yogurt, sweetener and stir-ins (everything from berries to nut butters works!) right in a serving container, cover and refrigerate. In the morning, you can top with toasted nuts or coconut for crunch, or just grab a spoon and dig in.
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Make a Big Lunch Salad
At the end of the day, the last thing you feel like doing is packing tomorrow’s lunch. That’s why making a big batch of a hearty salad that gets better as it sits should be part of your weekly meal prep. Portion it right after you make it, or just spoon as much as you need for the next day into your to-go containers. Stick with veggies that stay fresh or crunchy and aren’t too watery, like bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, fennel and celery, and use cooked grains that soak up the dressing.
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Prep Slow-Cooker Ingredients
Slow-cooker dinners are perfect for busy weeknights. After a long day at work or school, you get to walk into a cozy house filled with the aroma of comfort food that’s ready to eat. If you have time over the weekend, place all your slow-cooker ingredients in containers or large food storage bags so all you have to do in the morning is dump them in the pot, set the time and go! Or, follow the same idea but prep and freeze slow-cooker meals so you don’t have to worry about uncooked meats spoiling.
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Package Individual Servings of Snacks
It’s hard to eat healthily when you’re starving and have time to grab only the first thing you see in the pantry. Give yourself the gift of prepped snacks by making individual bags of trail mix, popcorn or other treats. Not only are they ready to grab and go, but having planned snacks gives you the opportunity to consider the portion size mindfully.
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Marinate Meat
If you’re planning to grill or have a tough cut of meat, save yourself a step by making the marinade ahead of time so it’s ready to pour over the meat, seafood or vegetables. Some marinades need only 15 minutes to flavor meat or seafood while others benefit from an overnight soak, so check our guide to marinades to prevent over-salted or mushy food. Make your own marinade or use your favorite prepared salad dressing to save time.
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Roast a Big Tray of Veggies
I always try to have a container of roasted vegetables in the refrigerator to make quick yet satisfying meals. I toss them with lettuce and dressing for a big salad that requires no chopping, scramble them with eggs for a five-minute breakfast, or toss them in the air fryer to re-crisp while getting dinner together. To roast vegetables in the oven, make sure the oven is properly heated, season them well and leave enough room on the baking sheet so the veggies can spread out and brown, not steam.
You can roast trays of single vegetables or combine several on one baking sheet. If roasting a mixture of veggies, choose ones that will brown and cook through at a similar rate so you don’t end up with half-burnt and half-raw veggies.
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Simmer a Pot of Soup
A simple, humble pot of soup fills the house with delicious scents and gives you easy lunches and dinners for days to come. You don’t even need to be home all day if you choose one of these easy 30-minute soup recipes. Stick to brothy soups with beans, vegetables and meat, if you like, as they reheat beautifully. If you have cooked grains, you can add them to the bowl right before heating a portion. A sprinkle of fresh herbs or crunchy tortilla strips will make it feel like anything but leftovers.
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Healthy Meal-Prep Ideas FAQ
What are some meal-prep recipes for beginners?
If you are new to meal prepping, start with easy-to-make recipes that can be eaten cold or quickly reheated for snacks and meals, such as casseroles, comforting stew recipes and hard-boiled eggs. If you don’t want to commit to a specific recipe, you can also cook big batches of rice or quinoa and cut up raw fruits and vegetables so you can assemble salads or cook a skillet of fresh fried rice without having to do more work than tossing or quickly sauteeing everything together.
What are the best foods to meal prep?
The best foods to meal prep hold up well for several days and are easy to transport, such as grain salads, soups, chili recipes, overnight oats, and grilled meats and vegetables. These options cover breakfast, lunch and dinner, so there is something to grab any time of day. Making and freezing easy slow-cooker recipes is another great way to plan for lunches and dinners on busy days.
Is it OK to meal prep for five days?
Most leftovers last for three to four days in the refrigerator, so if you want to meal prep for five days, it’s best to divide the recipe into portions, refrigerate some and freeze the rest. The day before you would like to eat it, thaw a frozen portion in the refrigerator overnight. When planning a grocery list for the week, consider how long food lasts in the fridge and ensure you have enough time to cook raw meat and fresh vegetables to prevent food waste. Use pantry items like pasta, beans and rice for last-minute meals.
