20 Awesome Meal Prep Ideas

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Whether you are meal prepping to save time, save money, or just make eating well easier, these 20 meal prep recipes can help you meet your goals. In this recipe round up is a variety of options and flavors ranging from Mexican inspired Ground Chicken Taco Bowls to the Asian inspired Sweet Chili Noodle Bowls. No matter what your preferences are, I hope I can provide you with some new and fresh ideas to keep your meal prepping fun.

1. Buffalo Chicken Rice Bowls

10 Buffalo Chicken Rice Bowls meal prep
Buffalo Chicken Rice Bowls

I am a big fan of the rice bowl style of meal prep as you can easily hide vegetables within them. This Buffalo Chicken Rice Bowl recipe combines seasoned chicken thighs, rice, a variety of vegetables and buffalo sauce together to create an awesome meal prepped lunch.

448 CALS

29g Carbohydrates | 37g Protein | 21g Fat

YouTube Recipe Video

2. Firecracker Beef & Brussels

5 Firecracker Beef & Brussels meal preps
Firecracker Beef & Brussels Meal Prep

This dish is among the more popular meal prep recipes I have on this website. The combination of beef, Brussels sprouts, and rice is brought together by a firecracker sauce made using combination of red pepper flakes, hot sauce and honey for a spicy, sweet, and flavor packed bite.

620 CALS

63g Carbohydrates | 44g Protein | 21g Fat

YouTube Recipe Video

3. Sweet Potato Turkey Skillet

Sweet Potato Turkey Skillet Meal Prep

One of my favorite tricks for keeping meal prep interesting is to include some sort of a fresh element like a salsa, pico de Gallo, or vinaigrette to pour over the top of the meal. The temperature variation and strong flavors of a sauce can help trick your mind into believing your meal prepped dish is fresher. The salsa in these Sweet Potato Turkey Skillets play that role.

527 CALS

44g Carbohydrates | 43g Protein | 20g Fat

YouTube Recipe Video

4. Spicy Adobo Chicken and Peppers

Spicy Adobo Chicken and Peppers Meal Prep in glass containers
Spicy Adobo Chicken and Peppers Meal Prep

This Spicy Adobo Chicken and Peppers meal prep recipe uses chipotle peppers in adobo sauce to provide depth of flavor along with a little bit of heat. This recipe is another version of the rice bowl meal prep template that I love so much.

506 CALS

39g Carbohydrates | 47g Protein | 18g Fat

YouTube Recipe Video

5. Sweet Chili Noodle Bowls

A collection of Sweet Chili Noodle Bowl meal preps in black plastic containers
Sweet Chili Noodle Bowl Meal Prep

These Sweet Chili Noodle Bowls are one of the few meal prep ideas I have on this website that are meant to be eaten cold. They are a collection of chicken breasts, vegetables, noodles, and a sweet chili vinaigrette to pour over the top.

569 CALS

64g Carbohydrates | 37g Protein | 18g Fat

YouTube Recipe Video

6. Ground Chicken Taco Bowls

Ground Chicken Taco Bowls meal prep with 481 calories and 39 gram of protein
Ground Chicken Taco Bowl Meal Prep

These Ground Chicken Taco Bowls are in my Top 10 Favorite meal prep recipes of all time. Inside of them is ground chicken, shredded cabbage, seasoned rice and a homemade salsa to pour over the top for extra flavor.

481 CALS

45g Carbohydrates | 31g Protein | 13g Fat

YouTube Recipe Video

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7. Hidden Vegetable Chicken Mac & Cheese

Hidden Vegetable Mac and Cheese in a casserole dish
Hidden Vegetable Mac & Cheese Meal Prep

I’m not a vegetable eater, in fact I hate vegetables. However, I know they are good for me so I still try and find meal prep ideas where I can easily incorporate them. With this Hidden Vegetable Mac & Cheese, the sauce is made using roasted cauliflower and carrots that are blended into a cheese sauce.

596 CALS

54g Carbohydrates | 50g Protein | 20g Fat

YouTube Recipe Video

8. Apple Pie Baked Oatmeal Meal Prep

Apple Pie Baked Oatmeal Meal Prep in meal prep containers
Apple Pie Baked Oatmeal Meal Prep

Baked Oatmeals have quickly become my favorite thing to eat for breakfast in the mornings. They are incredibly fast and easy to make and allow me to sleep in an extra 15-20 minutes each day.

361 CALS

52g Carbohydrates | 18g Protein | 9g Fat

YouTube Recipe Video

9. Chicken Pancit

Chicken Pancit Meal Prep in meal prep containers
Chicken Pancit Meal Prep

Pancit is a Filipino dish and it is made up of noodles, vegetables, some kind of meat, and a sauce. It’s a dish that I grew up eating and it happens to work wonderfully as a meal prepped dish. It is modular as well where you can substitute in or our just about any meat and vegetables.

393 CALS

44g Carbohydrates | 28g Protein | 12g Fat

YouTube Recipe Video

10. Chimichurri Rice Bowls

Chimichurri Rice Bowl Meal Preps in a line
Chimichurri Rice Bowl Meal Prep

This Chimichurri Rice Bowl recipe is another of my top 10 favorite meal prep ideas of all time. It’s hard not to love the vinegary chimichurri, it brings immense flavor and zest and it pairs wonderfully with the sweetness from the sweet potatoes. This particular recipe is made with turkey but any meat could be used.

542 CALS

42g Carbohydrates | 48g Protein | 24g Fat

YouTube Recipe Video

11. Smoked Sausage with Rice and Beans

Smoked Sausage with Rice and Beans meal prep in glass meal prep containers with broccoli and carrots.
Smoked Sausage with Rice and Beans Meal Prep

The Smoked Sausage with Rice and Beans recipe is among the fastest meal prep ideas I have in my collection. You can use either turkey sausage or a regular pork kielbasa depending on your calorie or macronutrient needs. Pair that sausage with rice and beans and maybe a little lime wedge for juicing and you’ve got yourself a wonderful meal.

467 CALS

52g Carbohydrates | 32g Protein | 15g Fat

YouTube Recipe Video

12. Teriyaki Ground Beef Bowls

Teriyaki Ground Beef Bowl Meal Prep in black plastic containers.
Teriyaki Ground Beef Bowls Meal Prep

The Smoked Sausage with Rice and Beans recipe is among the fastest meal prep ideas I have in my collection. You can use either turkey sausage or a regular pork kielbasa depending on your calorie or macronutrient needs. Pair that sausage with rice and beans and maybe a little lime wedge for juicing and you’ve got yourself a wonderful meal.

652 CALS

66g Carbohydrates | 44 Protein | 24g Fat

YouTube Recipe Video

13. Pasta e Fagioli Meal Prep

Five meal prepped dishes of Pasta e Fagioli
Pasta e Fagioli Meal Prep

Pasta e Fagioli (fagioli is Italian for beans) made using macaroni, white and red kidney beans, vegetables, and ground beef. This meal is freezer friendly, easy to make a huge batch, and it’s a one pot meal. If you are trying to put on muscle and gain weight this can be an awesome meal to prep.

642 CALS

72g Carbohydrates | 42g Protein | 21g Fat

YouTube Recipe Video

14. Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal

One slice of Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal.
Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal Meal Prep

This Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal is likely the most popular of the baked oatmeal recipes I have on the website. Ripe bananas baked into an oatmeal and egg mixture and topped with chocolate chips for a Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Baked Oatmeal. This is a great meal for those weeks you prefer something sweet to have in the morning.

389 CALS

59g Carbohydrates | 19g Protein | 9g Fat

YouTube Recipe Video

15. Creamy White Enchilada Chicken

Creamy White Enchilada Chicken Meal Prep with air fried potatoes
Creamy White Enchilada Chicken Meal Prep

This Creamy White Enchilada Chicken with green chilies, vegetables, cheese over the top, and served with a side of potatoes. This dish is a meal prepped version of the midwestern classic Creamy White Chicken Enchiladas that everyone’s mom used to make.

500 CALS

44g Carbohydrates | 42g Protein | 18g Fat

YouTube Recipe Video

16. Deconstructed Big Mac Bowl Meal Prep

A close up image of the Deconstructed Big Mac Bowl Meal Prep
Deconstructed Big Mac Bowl Meal Prep

Deconstructed Big Mac Bowls, a meal prep version of the fast food classic. This meal is a combination of ground beef, potatoes, shredded cabbage and a calorie friendly mac sauce to top it all off. Shredded cabbage is heartier than regular lettuce is which makes it more meal prep friendly.

541 CALS

35g Carbohydrates | 44g Protein | 25g Fat

YouTube Recipe Video

17. Salsa Verde Beef Bowl Meal Prep

5 Salsa Verde Beef Bowls in glass meal prep containers.
Salsa Verde Beef Bowl Meal Prep

These Salsa Verde Beef Bowls are made up of ground beef, red onions, poblano peppers, cabbage, cilantro lime rice and salsa verde to pour over the top. This is a quick and easy recipe that can be finished in under an hour.

540 CALS

39g Carbohydrates | 42g Protein | 24g Fat

YouTube Recipe Video

18. Korean Chicken Stew (Dakdoritang)

6 servings of the Korean Chicken Stew Meal Prep in black containers
Korean Chicken Stew Meal Prep

Dakdoritang is a Spicy Korean Chicken Stew dish. It is full of intense flavors from gochujang and gochugaru and its stewy qualities make it a wonderful dish for meal prepping. Filled with potatoes, carrots, celery, and chicken and served with rice this stew is something you’ll find yourself wanting to make often.

520 CALS

60g Carbohydrates | 33g Protein | 15g Fat

YouTube Recipe Video

19. Japanese Curry Meal Prep

10 servings of the Japanese Curry Meal Prep with broccoli
Japanese Curry Meal Prep

Chicken thighs, potatoes and carrots make up this Japanese Curry. The “stewy” quality of Japanese Curry makes for a perfect meal prep meal that reheats like a dream in the microwave. Japanese Curry has a bit more umami flavor than Indian Curry and is more mild in flavor profile, making it the superior curry in my opinion.

441 CALS

55g Carbohydrates | 29g Protein | 12g Fat

YouTube Recipe Video

20. Lo Mein Meal Prep

9 servings of the Lo Mein Meal Prep in black plastic containers
Lo Mein Meal Prep

Ground chicken or turkey mixed with a wide variety of vegetables and lo mein noodles in a flavorful sauce made from soy sauce, honey, sriracha, and hoisin sauce. This meal is a great way to use up any vegetables you have in your fridge.

557 CALS

57g Carbohydrates | 40g Protein | 19g Fat

YouTube Recipe Video

Recipe: Lo Mein