62 Meal Prep Recipes To Make Your Life Easier
Let us take the guesswork out of prepping.
Meal prepping sounds like a great idea, right? It saves time and money, takes the guesswork out of what to eat, and can lead to making healthier choices over time. The trouble is deciding what to make. It’s got to be interesting enough that you’ll want to eat it over and over again, easy enough that it can be prepped in one go, and simple enough that the idea of prepping it isn’t overwhelming. Phew! Good thing we’re up to the challenge, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Check out our 62 best meal prep recipes for ideas—you’ll become a master at it in no time.
If you’re unfamiliar, the idea of meal prepping is just what it sounds like—making multiple meals ahead of time rather than cooking each meal individually. It’s not a novel concept (hello, leftovers!), but it can be tricky to plan to do it for all of your meals. To start, you’re going to want to get some good meal prep-ready containers. The goal is to make you more organized, not less, so we definitely recommend getting a matching set.
Once you’ve got those ready, get to prepping! We recommend starting with a base like pasta or rice (try it in a rice cooker to make it extra easy on yourself). Then get in some veggies and legumes, like our sweet potato salad, our Mediterranean chickpea salad, or our roasted vegetables. Next up should be protein, like our slow cooker Korean beef, tofu scramble (not just for breakfast!), or sheet-pan sausage & vegetables. Speaking of, we've got a number of other recipes that include nearly everything you’ll need (including protein, carbs, and veggies) too, like our red curry chicken thighs & rice, our sheet-pan garlicky shrimp & veggies, or our Thai-inspired basil beef. Just add something to go with them, and you’ll be all set. Check out our halal cart-style cauliflower bowls, our avocado breakfast bowls, our copycat Chipotle burrito bowls, or our salmon quinoa bowls to see examples of what a perfect meal prepped dish looks like, then get creative in making your own.
It should be noted, SO many of our recipes are already meal prep-ready (we love making things easier for you in the kitchen). Check out our favorite one-pan meals, our sheet-pan dinners, our slow-cooker recipes, our top quick dinners, and our best air fryer recipes too.
Low-Carb Turkey Gyro Bowls
With tender spiced meat, crunchy fresh veggies, tzatziki, and chewy pita, it's not hard to see why gyros are so globally beloved. Inspired by this popular sandwich, we created this healthy but hearty bowl that's perfect for a light dinner.
Get the Low-Carb Turkey Gyro Bowls recipe.
Slow-Cooker Korean Beef
This is not a drill: If you toss a pot roast (we went for bottom round roast, which doesn't break the bank) in the slow-cooker with a bunch of spices and soy sauce, you'll have killer Korean beef for dinner!
Get the Slow-Cooker Korean Beef recipe.
Salmon Quinoa Bowls
This recipe is not only a simple, quick dinner (ready in 20 minutes!), but it’s a texture lover’s paradise. Quinoa is the base for our bowl, setting the stage for fresh arugula, thin slices of cucumber, tender, buttery salmon, and a homemade creamy dill and yogurt dressing.
Get the Salmon Quinoa Bowls recipe.
Roast Chicken
The steps to make this chicken are simple: You season the bird (just salt & pepper!), then roast it at high heat until the skin is bronzed and crisp and the flesh juicy. Use it anywhere you'd use a rotisserie chicken—the options are endless!
Get the Roast Chicken recipe.
Mini Mushroom Pasta Bakes
For these pasta bakes, you get the best of all worlds from a creamy, cheesy sauce reminiscent of your favorite oven-baked mac and cheese, plus crispy, savory bread crumbs and hearty, almost meaty mushrooms.
Get the Mini Mushroom Pasta Bakes recipe.
Sheet-Pan Garlicky Shrimp & Veggies
This recipe combines well-seasoned shrimp with red bell peppers, broccoli, and onions for a quick and easy dinner ready in a little more than 30 minutes. Not only is it so simple to throw together, it's extremely versatile. This dinner is all about ease—make it work for you.
Creamy Peanut-Lime Chicken With Noodles
Who can resist rice noodles bathed in an abundance of sweet and creamy peanut sauce? The trick here is getting everything in order before starting to cook. The prep actually takes longer than the cooking, but once it's behind you, the dish comes together in a snap!
Hummus Bowl With Spiced Lamb
For this recipe, creamy hummus is topped with spiced ground lamb, onions, fresh herbs, and some pickled veggies add a bright pop of flavor and color. Make everything ahead of time, then toss it all together with some pita (for scooping!) for an easy, tasty meal with minimal effort.
Get the Hummus Bowl With Spiced Lamb recipe.
Mexican Rice
Frequently served with refried beans at Tex-Mex restaurants, Mexican rice can often be pushed to the side (literally). We think that’s criminal—when made right, Mexican rice can be a fluffy, flavor-packed side that upgrades everything it’s added to, from grain bowls to taco dinners and everything in between.
Get the Mexican Rice recipe.
Overnight Oats
When busy mornings hit, nothing beats overnight oats. They’re a no-bake, on-the-go-ready version of the classic breakfast that only takes a few minutes to prepare. The best part? Because these are so fast, you can easily change them up with different flavors and toppings every time you make them.
Get the Overnight Oats recipe.
Thai-Inspired Basil Beef Bowls
Pad krapow is Thailand’s most popular stir-fry dish, and it's perfect for meal prepping. In it, saucy ground meat is tossed with sliced bell peppers, spicy chiles, fresh, sweet basil, and served over steaming rice with a runny fried egg for a filling and wallet-friendly meal.
Sheet-Pan Tikka Masala
This sheet-pan recipe is a fun way to enjoy a classic Indian dish, chicken tikka masala, at home in a slightly new (and easier!) way. Paired with some rice or naan, it's a foolproof way to get a whole dinner on the table (or lunch packed for the next few days).
Get the Sheet-Pan Tikka Masala recipe.
Turkey Lavash Wraps
Filled with a zingy arugula-dill salad, sliced turkey, roasted red peppers, and crunchy cucumbers, and sealed with a creamy goat cheese spread, this wrap is exactly the kind of colorful meal we crave to brighten up our weekdays. Make a few, then wrap 'em in foil, and you'll be set for lunch all week.
Get the Turkey Lavash Wraps recipe.
TikTok Green Goddess Salad
Melissa Ben-Ishay is the creator of the cupcake company Baked By Melissa, but some of you may also know her as the creator of one of the most viral recipes on the internet. Is it a salad? A dip? Trust us—make a batch and you won't care, it's that good.
Get the TikTok Green Goddess Salad recipe.
Red Curry Chicken Thighs & Rice
Aside from garam masala, this dish gets most of its flavor from a Thai-style curry paste that’s spiked with extra ginger, garlic, and lemongrass, then mellowed out with tomato sauce, brown sugar, and coconut milk to create a well-rounded sauce you'll love.
Chicken Shawarma Bowls
Meal prepping doesn’t need to be complicated, and these chicken shawarma bowls prove that. The longest step in the recipe is to let the chicken marinate, which allows you time to cut all your veggies. Win!
Get the Chicken Shawarma Bowls recipe.
Coconut Chickpea & Sweet Potato Curry
If you're craving a hearty and comforting dinner that's also vegan, look no further. This curry is bursting with ingredients inspired by chana masala, and is so chock-full of flavor that you won't miss the meat.
Best-Ever Egg Muffins
Egg muffins are one of the BEST healthy breakfasts for meal prepping because you easily make a big batch of them at once. They will keep in your fridge for up to 7 days, so you can grab them on your way out the door all week!
Get the Best-Ever Egg Muffins recipe.
Miso Salmon & Farro Bowl
Take your Monday night dinner into a Tuesday afternoon grain bowl with this recipe featuring some new faves, miso and farro. Miso has toasty, savory, and slightly sweet notes that pair well with hearty fish like salmon, while the dense, chewy grains have a more interesting texture than average rice or quinoa.
Get the Miso Salmon & Farro Bowl recipe.
Chicken Stir-Fry
A stir fry is our go-to weeknight dinner when we just don’t have the energy to spend a long time in the kitchen—this recipe is no exception. Make it as is for our best-ever version, then use it as a jumping-off point to create your own.
Get the Chicken Stir-Fry recipe.
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