Having a weekly meal plan and scheduling time for meal prepping can make a huge difference, especially for busy professionals and families. If you are looking for delicious meals to add to your dinner plans, these seven meal prep recipes will surely make your life easier.
But, before we get into the meat and potatoes of these seven recipes, let’s talk about the difference between meal planning and meal prepping.
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What Is The Difference Between Meal Planning And Meal Prepping?
Meal planning has everything to do with choosing what you want to eat and when you want to eat it:
- Chose the recipes you want to make.
- Purchase the groceries needed for your dishes.
- Add the meals to your dinner schedule.
Using a physical meal planner is highly recommended. Besides planning your meals, it can also help you set a grocery budget, make your grocery shopping list, and track your spending.
Recommended Reading: Meal Planning For A Month Made Easy [With Pictures]
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Meal prepping refers to making the actual dishes. Most people who meal prep cook large batches of meals that provide for multiple servings.
Meal prepping is very convenient for either single people or large families. The meals can be divided into individual portions and stored in the fridge or freezer in reusable containers.
Using Meal Prep Containers To Store Your Meals
If you are meal planning mainly individual meals, you are better off using meal prep containers. These can be purchased online or at any supermarket.
If you are meal prepping family meals, you can get away with keeping the food in the same pots or baking dishes you used to cook them, as long as you consume them within a couple of days. Don’t be shy to put the crockpot back in the fridge either if you have space.
Meal planning and prepping can save you a lot of time and money. If you are trying to cut back on eating out, simply start taking a homemade meal to work for lunch every day. You can save an average of $200 per month by skipping the fast-food lane.
7 Easy Meal Prep Recipes For Dinner
The recipes included in this guide are perfect meal prep options for small families. The portions will make at least eight to 10 servings, allowing you to schedule the same dish for two days.
Also, all the ingredients for these seven dinners cost on average less than $100. So, if you like to eat hearty meals and are trying to save money on food, you will love this menu!
I have included a little bit of everything—Mexican food, Italian classics, and cajun food. And, rest assured that it will be a lot of food, so make sure you pack some leftover portions individually to eat for lunch.
Easy Cheesy Lasagna
If you have never made a lasagna from scratch, you will love this recipe!
Instead of cooking the pasta, you will add one cup of water to the meat sauce and layer the raw lasagna noodles. This simple trick will save you tons of time in the kitchen.
Using raw lasagna noodles will also make it easier to layer the ingredients since trying to maneuver cooked lasagna is like trying to handle a fish out of the water.
Recommended Reading: The Easiest Way To Make Lasagna From Scratch
Meal Prep Recipes: How To Make Lasagna
Ingredients:
- 1 Pound Ground Beef [$3.50]
- 1 Pound Italian Sausage [$3.00]
- 2 Cans Spaghetti Sauce [$2.00]
- 2 Cups Shredded Italian Blend Cheese [$2.00]
- 2 Cups Cottage Cheese [$2.00]
- 2 Cups Shredded Parmesan Cheese [$2.00]
- 1 Package Lasagna [$2.00]
- 1 Cup Water
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Brown the meat over medium heat and drain the grease.
- Add 2 cans of spaghetti sauce and 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil, and let it simmer for 15 minutes.
- In a bowl, blend 2 cups of Italian and cottage cheese and 1 cup of parmesan cheese.
- In a large oven-safe dish, mine is 15 x 11 x 2 inches, add a layer of the meat sauce, then a layer of uncooked pasta, and finally a layer of the cheese mix. Repeat until you run out of ingredients, usually after three layers.
- Top the lasagna with 1 cup of parmesan cheese and cover the dish with foil.
- Bake covered at 350 F for 45 minutes.
- Remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes.
- Let it cool for 15 minutes before serving.
Crispy Beef Tacos
If you love Taco Bell, and I genuinely do, this crispy beef tacos recipe will blow your mind. And, what is even better, making this dish only takes like 15 minutes plus clean up.
Ingredients:
- 20 Taco Shells Great Value [$2.00]
- 2 Pounds Ground Beef [$8.00]
- 2 Packets Taco Seasoning [$1.00]
- 1 Head Lettuce [$1.00]
- 8 Ounces Sour Cream [$1.00]
- 2 Cups Mexican Cheese [$2.00]
- 2 Cans Refried Beans [$2.00]
- 16 Ounces Herdez Salsa [$2.00]
- 2/3 Cup Of Water
Instructions:
- Brown the meat over medium heat and drain the grease.
- Add taco seasoning and water according to the packet instructions.
- Simmer for 15 minutes.
- Warm up the beans on the stove and the taco shells in the oven.
- Chop some lettuce.
- Serve with sour cream, cheese, and salsa.
Italian Sausage Soup [Crockpot Recipe]
This crockpot recipe is perfect for fall and winter days. It takes about an hour to prepare and clean up, and it cooks while you are gone to work.
Ingredients:
- 2 Pounds Italian Sausage [$6.00]
- 3 Pound Bag Yellow Potatoes [$2.50]
- 1 Bag Fresh Spinach [$2.00]
- 1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream [$2.20]
- 1 Yellow Onion [$0.50]
- 3 Cloves Garlic [$0.50]
- 8 Ct Pkg Knorr Cube Bouillon Chicken [$0.80]
- Water
Instructions:
- Brown the meat over medium heat and drain the grease.
- Add the chopped onion and minced garlic and cook for five minutes.
- Wash potatoes and cut them into chunks.
- Transfer the meat and potatoes into the crockpot.
- Add water until you cover the meat and potatoes, and add 2 or 3 cubes of chicken bouillon.
- Cover and cook in high for 6 hours.
- Add the heavy whipping cream and two bunches of chopped spinach.
- Cook for another hour.
- Serve and enjoy!
Chicken Enchilada Soup [Crockpot Recipe]
This is another of my favorite crockpot recipes and one that’s perfect for any season of the year. My kids love to take leftovers to school in their Thermos soup container.
Ingredients:
- 2.5 Pounds Chicken thighs [$3.50]
- 1 Can Black Beans [0.60]
- 10 Oz Can Enchilada Sauce [$1.60]
- 15 Oz Can Diced Tomatoes [0.80]
- 1 Diced Onion [$0.50]
- 4 Oz Can Green Chiles [$0.80]
- 15 Oz Can Kernel Corn [$0.50]
- 1 Cup Instant Rice [$2.50]
- 2-3 Cubes Chicken Bouillon
Instructions:
- Rinse chicken and remove the skin.
- Drain and rinse the beans.
- Drain the corn.
- Chop the onion.
- Place the chicken, diced onion, beans, corn, green chiles, and enchilada sauce in the crockpot.
- Add chicken broth and cook on high for 6 hours.
- Add one cup of rice and cook for another 30 minutes.
- Serve and enjoy!
Spaghetti With Meat Sauce
I used to make spaghetti using only ground beef. But, when I started using a mix of ground beef and Italian sausage, this recipe got an instant upgrade. You can try it either way, but believe me, the latter is delicious!
Ingredients:
- 16 Oz Box Spaghetti [$1.00]
- 1 Pound Italian Sausage [$3.00]
- 1 Pound Ground Beef [3.50]
- 2 Cans Spaghetti Sauce [$2.00]
- 1 Package Parmesan Cheese [$2.00]
Instructions:
- Brown the meat over medium heat and drain the grease.
- Add two cans of spaghetti sauce and cook in medium-low heat for 15 min.
- Cook the spaghetti according to the directions.
- Serve with parmesan cheese and garlic bread.
Jambalaya With Smoked Sausage
This dish is perfect for meal prepping and packaging individual portions for lunch or dinner. It’s made with two types of meat, but if you want to keep it simple, the smoked sausage will be more than enough.
Ingredients:
- Two 12 Oz Zatarain’s Jambalaya Rice Dinner Mix [$4.50]
- 14 Oz Package Skinless Smoked Sausage [$3.00]
- 1 Pound Ground Chicken [$3.00]
- 8 Oz Can Tomato Sauce [0.50]
- 1 Diced Onion [$0.50]
Instructions:
- Chop the Sausage and onion.
- Brown the chicken, Sausage, and onion over medium heat.
- Add Jambalaya rice mix and water according to the directions in the box.
- Add tomato sauce.
- Bring to a boil and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Beef & Beans Burritos
These beef and beans burritos are so easy to make, and the best part is that you can also eat them on the go, for those really busy days!
- 12 Count La Abuela Flour Burrito Size Tortillas [$2.60]
- 1 Pound Ground Beef [$3.00]
- 1 Packet Taco Seasoning [0.50]
- 1 Can Refried Beans [$1.00]
- 2 Cups Mexican Blend Cheese [2.00]
- Water
Instructions:
- Brown the meat and drain the grease.
- Add taco seasoning and water and cook according to the packet instructions.
- Warm-up the beans on the stove.
- Warm-up a pan or tortilla grill on medium heat.
- Cook the tortillas on both sides, then layer the beans, meat, and cheese and roll the burritos up.
- Cook on both sides until the tortilla is slightly brown.
- Garnish with salsa and sour cream.
As I mentioned earlier, you can buy all these ingredients for about $100. I usually buy generic brands to keep my grocery budget under control. After much testing, I have found no difference between most generic and name-brand ingredients.
Recommended Reading: How Much To Spend On Groceries Per Month
7 Easy Meal Prep Recipes For Dinner
What do you think about these seven meal prep recipes? I sure hope you find the yummy and easy enough to make.
Remember that for meal prepping to work in your favor, you need to create a meal plan first and then schedule a time to cook the several dishes of your choice.
Meal planning and meal prepping have really been life-changing for me as a busy working mom. I hope these ideas help you reduce the everyday overwhelm while still having a good answer for the often-dreaded question of “Mom, what’s for dinner?
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