Honestly, I’m making dinner. every Late-night snacking can be a real pain. That’s where meal prep can help. Meal prep basically means cooking an entire meal or dish in advance, which is a great way to save time on busy weeknights. It also tends to be easier on the wallet, since you have to buy groceries in advance and plan for multiple meals at once, reducing the chances of impulse buys or duplicate purchases.
But like anything else, meal prep can become tedious if you find yourself making the same dishes over and over again. With that in mind, we’ve compiled a list of 20 healthy meal prep recipe ideas that you may not have tried before. Some of our favorite easy dishes include Spaghetti Squash Slow Cooker Ragu and Sheet Pan Sausage and Vegetables. Read on for more meal prep ideas you’re sure to love.
Fried rice with tofu
Fred Hardy
This 25-minute vegetarian fried rice is full of flavor and hearty ingredients to satisfy you and your table. The raisins add a sweet kick and the lemon juice adds a tangy flavor. Serve with a dollop of creamy yogurt just before serving. This recipe serves four, but you can make more if you want to prepare ahead and store leftovers for a few days.
Sun-dried Tomato Butter Salmon and Broccolini
Fred Hardy
This dish looks so good you’ll have a hard time believing it’s ready in 25 minutes, but the time doesn’t lie. This sheet pan wonder is salmon seasoned with butter, sun-dried tomatoes, Italian seasoning and garlic, then roasted with broccolini. To add some flavor to the bright green veggies, top with a few drops of lemon juice and a grated Parmesan after removing from the oven. Make this on Sunday and portion it out for the rest of the week, so all you have to do is heat it up when you get home.
Hoisin sauce, serrano meatballs and rice noodle salad
Greg Dupree Food Stylist: Emily Hall Prop Stylist: Claire Spollen
Prepare this sweet and spicy noodle salad on Sunday and enjoy five extra servings throughout the week. The juicy meatballs are packed with flavor thanks to the sweetness of the hoisin sauce and the heat of the chili-garlic sauce and serrano chiles, while the rice noodles are also seasoned with the same flavorful combination. Cool cucumber, carrot, and lettuce added separately to each serving tame the heat.
Slow Cooker Spaghetti Squash Ragu
What I love most about this recipe is that the Bolognese sauce and spaghetti squash cook at the same time in the slow cooker, making it the perfect meal prep companion. It’s a quick and easy dinner without sacrificing flavor. Simply grate a little Parmesan on top of each dish and serve.
Sausage and mushroom cassoulet
Jennifer Causey
This hearty, healthy dish is comfort food at its finest and takes just an hour to make. Start by grilling the mushrooms, which are shredded rather than sliced or chopped. Next, saute the onions, carrots and kielbasa in olive oil to soften and color them before adding the cannellini beans and thyme. Finish with a cheesy breadcrumb topping that’s not to be missed. To make this dish ahead of time, hold off on the toppings until you’re ready to serve. The cassoulet can be refrigerated for 3 days. Transfer to a broiler-safe pan before serving. Reheat the cassoulet on the stovetop, topping with the breadcrumbs and broiling until golden brown.
Coq au vin made in a slow cooker
Coq au vin is a very labor-intensive dish to prepare, which is why it’s best made in a slow cooker. In this case, with this appliance, all you need to do is prep the bacon and chicken and toss them in the slow cooker with the other ingredients. The result is a decadent meal that’s surprisingly easy to prepare. Plus, this recipe serves six, making it a solid meal prep option to enjoy all week long.
Red curry vegetable stew
Who doesn’t love a good stew, especially one that can be made in 30 minutes? This vegan recipe is perfect for meal prep because it’s quick to prepare and full of flavor. It also stores well. Warm, fragrant Thai curry paste and creamy coconut milk add flavor and smoothness to this bowl of veggies, while lime zest and chopped cashews add brightness and crunch. Serve over rice (cooked separately and stored) and you’re done.
Sheet Pan Sausage and Vegetables
Caitlin Bensel
Sausage and peppers are an Italian classic. Using just one baking sheet, this version of this popular dish is ready in just 20 minutes because the Italian pork sausage, peppers, tomatoes, and shallots are all grilled at the same time. Serve with crusty bread (or a roll) to sop up all the flavorful juices.
Chicken Orzo Skillet
Jennifer Causey
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are the star of this one-pot dish, which you can make with a variety of ingredients you probably already have at home. Here, the orzo is studded with the aforementioned chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, and plenty of spinach. This well-balanced mix is packed with rich flavor, thanks to dry white wine, chicken stock, and creamy half-and-half.
Slow Cooker Birria Bowl
Birria is a rustic Mexican stew, a type of barbacoa that can be made with beef, lamb, or pork. This dish is made in a slow cooker with chuck roast simmered in adobo sauce with tomatoes, jalapenos, and chilies. It serves six people, but I recommend simmering all of the meat and cooking the rice all at once so you can serve it all at once. When you’re ready to serve the birria, top each bowl with Monterey Jack cheese and avocado.
rotisserie chicken chili
Fred Hardy
This quick and easy chili recipe serves four with very little prep work. Sauté chopped onion in a stockpot and add the remaining ingredients: 2 cans pinto beans, 1 can green chiles, chicken stock, and masa harina (a gluten-free flour made from corn). Shredded roasted chicken adds volume without the need for additional cooking.
Slow Cooker Mississippi Pork Roast Rice Bowls
Fred Hardy
In this prepare-and-forget recipe, boneless pork shoulder is cooked in shallots, beef broth, and butter, with pepper onion and a packet of ranch dressing mix for authentic flavor. The roast is served in bowls with rice, shredded romaine lettuce, and cilantro for a simple meal that’s quick to prepare.
Sheet Pan Pierogi with Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Shallots and Mustard Dressing
This sheet pan dinner recipe stars classic cheese and potato pierogi, which you can buy frozen. Roast shallots and Brussels sprouts along with the dumplings for a perfect one-sheet-pan meal, all drizzled with a tangy mustard dressing. This recipe serves four, but double the portions if you’d like more.
Chickpea and Harissa Stew with Meatballs
Jen Causey
This one-pot dinner idea is comforting, nourishing, and the perfect dinner recipe to prepare ahead of time. The key here is a one-stop-shop spice blend made from ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, cumin, and more, which gives the meatballs their flavor. and The soup also has chickpeas, tomatoes, and spinach that are stirred in at the end. The soup can be stored for several days, and you can even make extra meatballs to add to salads, grain bowls, tacos, and more.
Turkey and Pumpkin Chili
This dish epitomizes fall flavors—chili, pumpkin, and ground turkey—in a warm, hearty bowl with a few twists on traditional chili. It uses cannellini beans instead of pinto beans and is seasoned just with coriander and paprika instead of chili powder and cumin, but it also pairs well with tortilla chips. Make a pot before you get to work and you’ll have dinner for several days.
Slow Cooker Puttanesca with Roasted Broccolini
Nothing beats homemade tomato sauce, but the near-constant stirring of spaghetti topping leaves little time for other tasks during the day. But when you use a slow cooker to make a tomato sauce (or in this case, puttanesca), the appliance does all the heavy lifting for you. While the slow cooker tosses the noodles in a rich, tangy sauce, you have plenty of time to prep an easy broccolini side dish and boil some pasta. Use food storage containers to portion out everything for the week.
Slow Cooker Pork with Peppers and Olives
Cuban ropa vieja with irresistibly tender pork serves eight in this easy slow cooker recipe. The dish also features a tomato-infused bell pepper and onion sauce, pimiento-stuffed olives, and plenty of oregano, cumin, and garlic. The result is a satisfying, flavorful meal that, when shared with some black beans and white rice, will keep you full all week.
Sheet Pan Shrimp Fajitas
This Mexican-inspired dish can be made in just 30 minutes on a single sheet pan. The sheet pan is preheated in the oven so the shrimp and vegetables can brown lightly when you add them to the pan. Once the main dish is done, wrap it in a warm tortilla and serve with garnishes like sour cream, salsa, and sliced avocado. If you’re tired of fajitas, try serving the leftover shrimp and veggies with rice or a salad.
Slow Cooker Chicken Tostadas
In this recipe, boneless, skinless chicken thighs are cooked in the slow cooker with onions, tomatillo salsa, and poblano chiles. The result is incredibly tender, tangy-tasting meat that’s the perfect topping for tostadas. While the chicken is cooking in the slow cooker, you can whip up a quick pico de gallo and top the resulting dish with a sprinkle of crumbled queso fresco to keep for a few days.
Grandma’s pie with pepperoni and pink sauce
After all, you don’t have to leave the house or pick up the phone to get restaurant-quality pizza. To make this pie, roll out pizza dough to the corners of a baking sheet and top with homemade tomato sauce, cheese, pepperoni, and onion slices. It’s pizza time. And it’s pizza time for the rest of the week!
