Dinner

Meal Prep Recipes

Browse 30 meal prep recipes with photos, prep and cook times, full ingredient lists, and step-by-step instructions.

Dinner

Salmon Patties with Creamy Lemon-Garlic Drizzle

These salmon cakes can be eaten as three smaller dinners. I make the sauce for the salmon cakes while cooking them. It takes 25 minutes to make dinner. A side sauce can be offered to diners, and lemon wedges can be offered with meals.

25 minOct 26, 2026

Dinner

Spinach Chicken Burgers with Oozing Cheddar Pockets

These spinach chicken burgers are simple to make: Preparations tips include precooking the chicken patties and buns just before serving to ensure fresh spinach pieces in the patties and melted cheese in the buns when the burger is sliced open (sliced hot cheese tastes better).

25 minOct 26, 2026

Breakfast

Fluffy Pancake Recipe with Homemade Buttermilk

I cook this pancake recipe, which serves four, for breakfast and another day of breakfast. I eat the pancakes with maple syrup and berries. This recipe calls for letting the batter sit before cooking the pancakes; the pancakes are thick, fluffy, and browned on the edges (I like the browned edges).

25 minOct 25, 2026

Dinner

Ratatouille Soup with Eggplant and Zucchini

Ratatouille soup makes six servings. I make it ahead of time for meals I want to serve as a side dish with other foods at different times. Eggplant and zucchini in the soup become tender in the tomato broth. A short blending period near the end of cooking adds pieces of vegetables to the soup (my favorite feature of this soup).

60 minOct 25, 2026

Dinner

Grilled Salmon with Mango Salsa: Make-Ahead Dinner

This grilled salmon with mango salsa recipe feeds four people if I make the mango salsa in advance for immediate use and grill the salmon fillets before serving. I can make the salsa in advance and garnish it with pieces of mango, lime, red onion, and cilantro. I like big pieces of mango on my grilled salmon fillets.

25 minOct 24, 2026

Dinner

Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Bake with Homemade Alfredo Sauce

This chicken and broccoli Alfredo casserole makes eight servings. The recipe is simple to make and prepare. I cook the pasta and broccoli at the same time in one pot and cook the Alfredo sauce in a separate pot while they cook. I include cooked chicken in the casserole when baking and top it with mozzarella cheese to heat the sauce and brown the cheese.

40 minOct 23, 2026

Dinner

Chicken Piccata with Lemon Butter Sauce and Capers

This chicken piccata yields four servings: I thin the cutlets and measure the pan sauce first, then cook it right before serving, while the chicken still has a crisp coating with the glossy lemon-butter sauce. Capers add a salty brine to the lemon dish, contributing considerably to the overall flavor (they do a lot here).

30 minOct 22, 2026

Lunch

Cajun Shrimp with Pale Orange Sauce

Cajun shrimp fit into my dinner preparation when I measure the spice mix carefully before I start with leaving the skillet work until the end. Four portions are made from within one 12-inch pan. Then, I complete all of those portions with a pale orange sauce in addition to the toppings while the shrimp stay hot (I like the sauce cool).

20 minOct 22, 2026

Dinner

Crockpot Beef Stew with Red Wine Gravy

Make this 8-serving crockpot beef stew when you want dinner ready for now while having extra bowls for later in the week. I make with the full pot. I then let the slow cooker turn the beef chuck tender while the Yukon Gold potatoes hold together, while the red wine gravy thickens at the end.

500 minOct 21, 2026

Dinner

Yellow Curry Poached Cod with Watercress and Chili Oil

I prepare four portions at once whenever I want dinner plated and also ready on the table, with each cod fillet placed in its own shallow bowl that has room for the curry (I prefer the yellow sauce in a shallow bowl). The yellow coconut curry evenly coats the fish, and I systematically spoon on the watercress along with the infused oil just before serving.

25 minOct 21, 2026

Lunch

Sweet Potato and Red Lentil Patties with Cilantro and Smoked Paprika

Medium sweet potatoes give these sweet potato and red lentil patties a soft center and mild sweetness, while pan-frying creates the outside crisp and browned. I create those when I want to prepare a vegetable-based main dish that still feels quite substantial. Smoked paprika adds to the mixture a warm edge, while I particularly like it with the sweet potato.

40 minOct 20, 2026

Dinner

Parmesan Crusted Chicken with Garlic Cream Sauce

Parmesan crusted chicken with garlic cream sauce makes four dinner portions when I want the breading along with chicken prepared before the pan goes on and I finish it just before the meal. Thick slices rest above a shallow pool of sauce, with toasted panko lying on dry top.

35 minOct 20, 2026

Dinner

White Garlic Pizza Sauce with Parmesan and Black Pepper

Prepare this white garlic pizza sauce ahead of time for pizza night. Allow it to cool a bit before topping the pizza with cheese and other raw ingredients to avoid making the sauce too wet from contact with the cheese. Makes 8 servings. Each serving includes garlic and coarse pepper (see photo).

25 minOct 19, 2026

Lunch

Hot Honey Chicken Bowls with Sweet Potatoes and Broccoli

These bowls of hot honey chicken are enough to serve four people as meal prep meals. All components except the sauce (the rice, chicken, sweet potatoes, and broccoli) can be cooked ahead of time and portioned into serving sizes. The sauce can be cooked ahead of time and added when serving the chicken.

40 minOct 15, 2026

Dinner

Crispy Oven-Baked Dumplings with Peanut Sauce

I use this recipe to make one 9x13 pan of dumplings to feed four people if I plan to eat some right away and have leftovers for later meals. I add frozen dumplings to a 9x13 pan and cover them with peanut sauce to flavor the pleats. This is a simple one-dish meal.

35 minOct 15, 2026

Breakfast

Mocha Chia Pudding with Coffee and Cocoa

I make this mocha chia pudding for meal prep so I can have breakfast in the fridge. Make the chia pudding ahead of time and chill single servings as needed. The rich mocha taste of coffee and chocolate is present in the pudding, and the chia seeds help the pudding set to a spoonable consistency.

245 minOct 14, 2026

Side Dishes

Mexican Street Corn Salad With Charred Corn and Cotija

Dressings and corn have been made ahead of time. Other vegetables have been added to the Mexican-style salad at serving time. Six servings: A buffet or lunch or dinner side dish; grilled corn kernels have been combined with a cold chili-lime dressing (my preference).

25 minOct 13, 2026

Side Dishes

Moroccan Cauliflower with Cumin and Cinnamon

Roast a whole cauliflower for four servings and cut some roasted pieces to eat throughout the week. Serve the meal on the first night with the baking pan. The cumin spice blend on the cauliflower has a smoky flavor and a touch of cinnamon. I like the darker parts of the cauliflower.

40 minOct 11, 2026

Side Dishes

Crispy Parmesan Polenta Rounds with Golden Charred Edges

I bake polenta rounds ahead of time as part of meal planning and serve them hot with browned and crispy Parmesan and other toppings. Slicing polenta from a tube can make it easier to serve. Baking polenta rounds in a heavy baking pan makes a gritty, crunchy center (tip for serving tube polenta).

40 minOct 11, 2026

Desserts

Vegan Tiramisu Cheesecake with Espresso and Cocoa

This vegan tiramisu cheesecake is a layered baked dessert that you chill before serving. Layers in this recipe include crust and filling layers, topped with a whipped layer and a chocolate layer. The final dessert includes clearly defined layers, including a coffee-flavored biscuit crust and filling. I insert an espresso bean into the center of the cheesecake just before serving.

40 minOct 11, 2026

Lunch

Cottage Cheese Tuna Cakes with Lemon White Sauce

This cottage cheese and tuna recipe makes four patties that can be eaten for lunch or dinner. I fry all four patties at once and make lemon sauce to serve on the side. Tuna bits can be seen in the patties, and the panko crust is crunchy. Hot patties are topped with pepper and lemon sauce.

Oct 10, 2026

Dinner

Chicken Sausage and Broccoli Orzo: A Creamy One-Pan Dinner

Chicken sausage and broccoli orzo is a dish I cook at home to eat for dinner and leftovers for lunch the next day. I can quickly separate leftovers of cooked orzo, chicken sausage, and broccoli after dinner for lunch. The sauce for orzo is creamy, like risotto. I like firm broccoli in this dish.

35 minOct 9, 2026

Dinner

Sun-Dried Tomato Cream Sauce: 20-Minute Pasta Sauce

Make this sauce ahead of time to serve with pasta. Stir in basil just before serving. Some of the characteristics of this sauce are helpful for meal planning. Sun-dried tomatoes provide a tangy flavor contrast to the cream and Parmesan cheeses in the sauce (I like small bits of tomato in the sauce). This recipe yields enough sauce for 1 pound of cooked pasta.

20 minOct 9, 2026

Lunch

Stuffed Sweet Potatoes with Southwest Black Bean Filling

Stuffed sweet potatoes are a good option when meal prepping. The sweet potato and black bean mixture can be prepared ahead of time and kept separate from the sweet potatoes until serving to make it easier to pack. Sweet potatoes and black beans make a great lunch or dinner. Serving size for this recipe is four people.

60 minOct 9, 2026

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