How to Meal Prep

Sharon Palmer RD

Published on May 6, 2026

Learn how to meal prep with these easy tips, step-by-step strategies, and healthy recipes. Discover the nutrition benefits of meal prepping and how to save time, stress, and money while eating well all week.

How to Meal Prep: Easy Tips, Nutrition Benefits, and Healthy Recipes

There are so many rewards from getting into the kitchen and falling into a healthy eating routine. Overall, you can enjoy warming, comforting meals that nourish your body and soul. You can prep healthy meals for yourself, or the whole family. That means more home-cooked goodness and nourishment, and less money spent on takeout or Uber Eats, as well as lower amounts of added salt, sugar, and saturated fat in your meals. Not to mention all the stress from figuring out what to cook for dinner after a busy day of work. It all sounds so cozy and welcoming! But let’s face it: A focus on nourishing home cooking can also take time. So, how can you renew your commitment to healthy meals at home without the worry? Say hello to meal prepping!

Grain bowls make fabulous meal preps. Check out this easy healthy recipe for Black Beans and Rice Vegan Bowl.

What Is Meal Prepping?

Meal prepping may sound like some nouveau term (and, indeed it is!), but home cooks have been practicing this time-saving skill for decades. Every time you make a large recipe and heat up leftovers during the week, you’ve essentially meal prepped. Yet today’s version of meal prepping is a bit more organized, so that home prepared, healthy meals are often neatly portioned and at your fingertips all week long. This comes in handy for office lunches, school lunch boxes, virtual workdays, and busy nights. No worries about getting healthy meals on the table on those exceptionally stressful days that can stretch from dawn until dusk. Just grab a pre-portioned container from the fridge and you’re set! No last-minute food pick-ups or mid-week trips to the supermarket, thank you very much. You’ll reduce your food dollars and food waste, and better achieve your health goals. You can meal prep healthy lunches, dinners, breakfasts and even smoothies! Try portioning them in glass meal containers, Mason jars, Wreck jars, or jelly jars to keep it plastic-free and sustainable.

This recipe for Southwest Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie is excellent for meal prep!

You don’t always have to pack up individual containers for meal prepping for home meals, though. You can simply create a large batch of a main dish, such as a stew, lasagna, or casserole, and store it in the fridge to warm up for lunch or dinner during the week. It can even be a pot of steel cut oats with seasonal fruit and nuts for your breakfast. The key is creating balanced recipes that provide the major food groups (protein, grains/starch, veggies/fruit, healthy fats) in one recipe. You can also serve that main dish with a side salad or soup to pack in extra veggies.

Step-by-Step Meal Prepping

How do you meal prep? It may sound challenging, but it’s not. It goes something like this.

This yummy, nutrient-dense recipe for Tofu Bourguignon is a go-to for meal prep in my kitchen. I like to make it in my Dutch oven, and I store the whole container in the fridge so I can dip into it for weeknight meals.

1. Select One Day a Week to Prep Meals
Choose your easiest day of the week, when you have the opportunity to shop and spend a couple of hours in the kitchen. For me, that’s Sunday afternoon (right after a visit to farmers market). I like to meal prep a big batch of smoothies and oatmeal for the week and a favorite hearty dinner recipe, such as Tofu Bourguignon, Swiss Chard Lasagna, or Snow Pea Seitan Stir-Fry.

This hearty recipe for Hearty Chickpea Stew is a favorite meal prep recipe. Just serve it with some toasted whole grain bread to make it a meal.

2. Plan Ahead
Decide how many recipes and meals you want to prepare for the week, and select recipes for meal prep. Look for recipes that store well, are easily heated or can be enjoyed cold, make at least four servings, and include a balance of healthy protein (think chickpeas, sustainable seafood, or tofu), starch/grains (sweet potatoes, brown rice, or quinoa), veggies (broccoli, kale, or cauliflower), and a healthy fat (vinaigrette, tahini, mushroom sauce) all in one pot or dish. Create a shopping list, and purchase those ingredients, keeping seasonality in mind.

I like to meal prep in these glass storage containers, which can be taken from freezer, refrigerator, oven, or microwave.

3. Get to Prepping
Prepare the recipes and portion the servings into individual microwave- or oven-ready glass containers with lids. Label with the recipe title and date. If you have a dressing, sauce, or nuts in your recipe, you may want to place that in a small container on the side to avoid the ingredients getting soggy. Place in the refrigerator for up to five days. You can even freeze them for up to 3 months!

Every Sunday I make a batch of this Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal with Pistachios for weekday breakfasts. I portion it in Mason or Wreck jars. Then I just pop them in the microwave.

4. Grab and Go!
Now you’re all set to grab your meal and run to the office, school, or dinner table. Pack in an insulated bag with ice to keep your meals safe from spoiling.

Ideal Meal Prep Recipe Ideas

Try these one-dish recipe concepts for meal prep ideas. For dinner, add a salad or whole grain bread for heartier meals.

Vegetable Lasagna
Bean and Vegetable Stews
Vegetable Tofu Stir-Fry with Rice
Fajitas with Lean Protein and Vegetables
Grain Bowls
Protein Smoothies
Hearty Salads

No Recipe Meal Prep

You don’t even need to follow a recipe to do meal prep. Just prepare a healthy protein + cooked grain or starch + veggie + sauce in meal prep containers and you’re all set.