33 delicious meal prep recipes for healthy lunches that taste great! (2024)

In today’s post: Find 33 of the best meal prep recipes to save you money and help you eat healthier. Chicken, beef, seafood, vegan, and more!

We all know how it goes when you’re a mom: you’re so busy prepping lunch for the little kids (and then trying to convince them to eat it) that there’s not much time to prepare a tasty lunch for yourself, let alone a healthy one. I thought that would change once my kids were in school, but it turns out that even when I’m home alone during lunch time I still don’t want to stop and take time to cook something amazing. I end up eating cold cereal for lunch more often than I’d like to admit. So I’m totally intrigued by the idea of meal prep recipes: cook once on the weekend and make 4 servings of something totally healthy and delicious, then enjoy it all week long! Or split them with your husband so each of you can have at least a couple days worth of healthy meals ready to grab and go.

Today I’ve rounded up 33 amazingly delicious meal prep recipes that I can’t wait to try! I’ve divided them up by protein, so you’ll find chicken meal prep recipes, seafood meal prep recipes, beef meal prep recipes, vegan meal prep recipes, plus a few more for good measure. Enjoy!

33 delicious meal prep recipes for healthy lunches that taste great! (1)

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Healthy Chicken Meal Prep Recipes

1. Lemon Herb Chicken with rainbow vegetables from Life Made Sweeter is full of healthy ingredients that all cook on one sheet pan for easy prep and cleanup.

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2. Have a healthier version of the takeout classic with thisChicken Lo Mein from Life Made Sweeter:

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3. Buffalo chicken meatballs and quinoa from Project Meal Plan is made in the instant pot for a one pot meal that comes together super quickly.

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4. The chicken in thisHoney mustard chicken with roasted potatoes and veggies meal prep recipe is baked in an amazing tangy mustard sauce for loads of flavor. From Recipe Righter:

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5. Spicy Chicken and Asparagus Rice Bowls from Project Meal Plan uses ground chili paste for lots of added flavor without lots of calories:

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6. Chicken hummus naan wraps from The Rising Spoon are filled with healthy veggies and look absolutely delicious!

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7. Spicy Peanut Chicken meal prep wraps from Carmy mix chicken and broccoli slaw in a tortilla with an amazing homemade peanut sauce.

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8. Sheet pan teriyaki chicken and veggies from Carmy is colorful and gets a sweet kick from pineapple. This meal prep recipe is all cooked together on a sheetpan for easy preparation and cleanup.

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9. ThisGreek Chicken Bowlsmeal prep recipe from Eazy Peazy Mealz features tender chicken, crunchy veggies, and an amazing yogurt sauce for 500 calories per bowl.

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10. Italian Chicken Meal Prep Bowls by Eazy Peazy Mealz is a healthy meal prep recipe that features chicken and veggies cookies together on one sheet pan.

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Healthy Seafood Meal Prep Recipes

11. Make ahead Greek Shrimp meal prep bowls from Organize Yourself Skinny are low carb and super tasty!

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12. Lemon Roasted Salmon from Little Spice Jar bakes together on a sheet pan for super fast prep and cleanup.

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13. Cuban style tuna meal prep bowls are both gluten free and paleo approved! From Strength and Sunshine:

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14. Caribbean Jerk Shrimp w/Cauliflower Rice from Eat Yourself starts with an incredible marinade for the shrimp and uses pre-riced cauliflower for tons of nutrition without all the work.

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15. Meal prep Hummus Tuna Saladfrom Skinny Fitalicious uses hummus instead of mayo for a lighter version of the classic:

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Healthy Beef Meal Prep recipes

16. This Instant Pot Beef and Broccoli is similar to a Mongolian stirfy and looks absolutely amazing! From Savory Tooth:

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17. Salsa Verde Taco Meal Prep Bowls from Eazy Peazy Mealz is a meal prep recipe with lots of colorful ingredients that come together quickly:

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18. Garlic Lover’s Pepper Steak Stirfy meal prep recipe from Little Spice Jar starts with an amazing marinade and cooks up quickly in a skillet:

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19. Korean Beef Bowl from Damn Delicious are easy to make because they start with ground beef in a delicious Korean BBQ sauce, plus brown rice, garlic spinach, and eggs for extra protein.

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20. Have you ever seen a salad that looks better than this Steak Cobb Salad meal prep recipe from Damn Delicious? Me either!

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Vegetarian Meal Prep Recipes

21. Asian Zucchini Noodle Salad filled with veggiesis an delicious healthy meal prep option from Life Made Sweeter.

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22. This vegan buddha bowl from Melanie Cooksfeatures spiced sweet potatoes, chickpeas, spinach, brown rice, and a simple healthy dressing.

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23. ThisMexican Burrito bowl mason jar saladfrom Melanie Cooks is modeled after Chipotle’s vegan burrito bowl.

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24. Mason jar Greek salad from Delicious Obsessions features a homemade greek dressing, tomatoes, olives, artichoke hearts, and feta cheese for a meal prep salad that’s packed with flavor. Add your favorite protein if you want!

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25. Coconut curry sweet potato stew cooks with rice in the Instant pot and can be frozen for grab and go lunches.

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Other meal prep recipes

26.The Italian Couscous Salad from Chelsea’s Messy Apron mixes tons of Italian flavors for a meal prep recipe that’s easy and healthy.

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27. Turkey snap pea stir fry bowls from Project Meal Plan:

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28. Ham and Cheddar Pinwheels from Chelsea’s Messy Apron is the perfect meal prep recipe when you’re rushed for time because it comes together so quickly!

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29. Easy deconstructed spring roll in a jar from Carmy gives you the taste of spring rolls without all the work! Easy + healthy meal prep recipe.

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30. Honey Sriracha Glazed Meatballs from Eat Yourself Skinny pack a ton of flavor in about 300 calories.

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31. Breakfast hash with hard boiled eggs is a meal prep recipe that’s low cal, gluten free, high in protein and full of fiber. From Skinny Fitalicious:

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32. Mini sausage and veggie omelettes can be made ahead and frozen for quick meal prep breakfasts or lunches. From Must Have Mom.

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33. This post from Green Healthy Kitchen shows you to how prep four different meals in one go if you’re looking for more variety from your meal prep recipes.

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Also check out 20 healthy meals your kids will actually want to eat.

33 delicious meal prep recipes for healthy lunches that taste great! (2024)

FAQs

What are 3 keys to successful meal prepping? ›

The 3-Step Method for Successful Meal Prep
  • Plan. Select one day of the week that is going to be your 'prep' day. For example, Sunday or another day of the week with available time. ...
  • Prep. After the planning and shopping comes the actual 'prep' part of meal prep. Getting good-quality containers is a good investment. ...
  • Cook.
Mar 20, 2018

How do you make meal prep not taste bad? ›

utilize your freezer.

Instead of prepping one meal to eat every day this week, try freezing one or two servings to defrost in a few weeks or months. This way, when you revisit your recipe, your taste buds will be pleasantly surprised.

How do I meal prep to lose weight? ›

Meal prep for weight loss includes using cooking methods that experts recommend for a balanced diet. This entails broiling, baking, grilling, and roasting instead of frying. People can also season their food with herbs, spices, and lemon juice instead of store-bought sauces.

What is the rule of 3s meal plan? ›

The Rule of 3's is made up specifically of these guidelines: Eat at least three meals and up to three snacks a day (you might think of this as a breakfast, lunch, and dinner meal plan) Eat at least three food groups per meal (and two per snack) Allow no more than three hours between eating.

What is a simple 3 course meal? ›

3 course meal: A 3 course dinner menu includes an appetizer, main course, and dessert.

Is it unhealthy to meal prep? ›

Meal prep isn't necessarily a bad thing and many ideas around it can be helpful. However, we have to possess some more tools and abilities than relying on what we made Sunday for our Friday meal. Being consistent means being able to easily adapt and eat a wide variety of foods.

Is it bad to meal prep rice? ›

Rice and grain bowls make great meal preps! They can chill in your fridge for up to four days and are freezer-friendly in most cases. The cool thing about meal prepping rice is that many times, microwaving it can fix any rice issues you had when cooking it.

What food lasts the longest for meal prep? ›

Meal-prepped soups and stews can last up to four days in the fridge. Chicken and rice can last up to five days in the fridge.

What is the best eating schedule for weight loss? ›

1: Make breakfast your biggest meal of the day. Make lunch mid-size and dinner the smallest. 2: Eat dinner four hours before bedtime, rather than right before bedtime. 3: Eat lunch earlier, and always before 3 p.m.

What are the 3 essential factors of food preparation? ›

The four major steps for healthful food preparation are 1) cleaning food contact surfaces, 2) separating raw from cooked foods, 3) cooking foods thoroughly, and 4) storing foods in proper keeping temperatures.

What are 3 factors to consider when planning a meal? ›

These include meal occasion, who will be eating, whether the food will be eaten out or at home, dietary needs, religious, cultural or ethical beliefs, the cost and availability of ingredients; current healthy eating advice and/or personal preferences.

What are the 3 key Dietary Guideline steps? ›

When deciding what to eat or drink, follow these three key dietary principles.
  • Meet nutritional needs primarily from nutrient-dense foods and beverages.
  • Choose a variety of options from each food group: vegetables, fruits, grains, dairy, and protein foods.
  • Pay attention to portion size.

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