Meal prep is the single biggest thing we ever did to start eating healthier! There’s no doubt eating food you prepare yourself does take some time. But it doesn’t need to take ‘too’ much time or be complicated. There are 4 main styles to meal prep listed below. And I think all four ways have many benefits depending on your schedule. With a little experimenting, you can find what works best for you. My main tip for healthy meal prep ideas is to start small! There’s no need to prep every single meal you need all week to get started. My encouragement would be to prep something… anything at all ahead and see how your week goes. From there, make adjustments to prep more as needed.
4 main styles of meal prepping
We have found a mix of 2, 3, & 4 to work best for us. I try to have something prepped for the pantry or freezer, like my Granola or Energy Bites. From there, we’ve found having something healthy prepped for lunch really helpful. In the summer, I grill a large batch of meat and vegetables. Then we’ll eat the leftovers cold or heated up for lunch. Or make one of our favorite salad recipes listed below. In the colder months, I almost always have a batch of soup made ahead to reheat. Then when I cook dinner, I always make more than we need to reheat for lunches and dinners. I also love to prep sauces or dressing ahead of time to use for a quick salad or even as a marinade. My Dairy Free Ranch or the Greek Yogurt Dressing pictured above are favorites for healthy snacking with veggies like carrot sticks or celery. Now, let’s dive in and talk about my best healthy meal prep recipe ideas!
Breakfast Meal Prep Ideas
Overnight Oats + 10 Flavors Sausage Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole Healthy Breakfast Salad – use my make-ahead option Air Fryer Sausage Links Turkey Breakfast Sausage Fruit and Yogurt Parfaits Homemade Granola Mexican Sweet Potato Bowls Meal Prep Egg Muffins 3 Ways Sweet Potato Sausage Apple Hash Meal Prep Sweet Potato Avocado Toast
We love these recipes for breakfast, but also some of them make great snacks. I make the Air Fryer Sausage Links almost every week to have in the refrigerator for a quick protein snack. The Turkey Breakfast Sausage is another favorite for a quick afternoon pick me up and good energy. If you like oatmeal for breakfast, I highly recommend out Overnight Oats Recipe because there are 10 flavors to choose from and they’re so tasty.
Meal Prep Snack Recipes
No Bake Energy Bites + 10 Flavors Coconut Chia Pudding Peanut Butter Granola Bars Coconut Chips Rosemary Almonds Paleo Honey Mustard Trail Mix Paleo Zesty Ranch Trail Mix 3 Easy Apple Slice Snacks Slow Cooker Applesauce
The No Bake Energy Bites are our most-made healthy snack ever! They’re so easy to make and taste like cookie dough. They keep well in the fridge and freezer so we almost always have them on hand. But don’t overlook some of the pantry options as well like the Coconut Chips, Rosmeary Almonds, and both trail mix recipes go with us hiking all the time.
Meal Prep Lunch Ideas
Healthy Tuna Salad 15 Healthy Adult Lunchables Turkey Taco Salad Curried Chicken Salad Healthy Chicken Salad Spicy Tuna Salad Greek Chicken Meal Prep Thai Lettuce Wraps Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana Italian Sausage Butternut Soup Creamy Taco Soup Chicken and Broccoli Soup
The healthy lunches are so easy to make, and I highly recommend hopping over to that recipe for the make-ahead and budget-friendly options! And as I mentioned above, we’re all about the salads in the summer and a big batch of soups in the winter. Every single recipe I listed above is a longtime favorite we make often.
Easy Meal Prep Dinner Recipes
Instant Pot Egg Roll in a Bowl Garlic Herb Chicken and Asparagus Korean Ground Beef Bowls Carnitas Burrito Bowls or Barbacoa Burrito Bowls Instant Pot Salsa Chicken Slow Cooker Whole30 Chili Homemade Spaghetti Sauce Creamy Taco Soup Slow Cooker Salsa Beef Creamy Broccoli Chicken Soup Sheet Pan Lemon Chicken Asparagus
We rarely prep a dinner recipe ahead of time. But I always make at least twice what we need of these recipes so we can reheat them for dinner. Or for a healthy lunch option. I really hope you enjoy these Healthy Meal Prep Recipes! If you do get a chance to make these recipes, I’d love to hear from you.
