20 TIPS FOR MEAL PREPPING FOR THE WEEK
If you want to enjoy more freedom in the kitchen, learning how to meal prep can expand the variety of healthy dishes you make each week. Explore these meal prep tips to harness the power of your countertop appliances while you experiment with new recipes and techniques for everyday meals and snacks.
WHAT IS MEAL PREP?
There are two types of meal prep that can help you enjoy flavorful and nutritious meals every day: prepping the ingredients for meals you’ll cook later and fully preparing meals to eat later. You can learn how to do both types of meal prep using your countertop appliances and following these tips.
Whether you’re brand new to meal prep, trying a different diet or simply looking to add variety to your cooking, learning how to meal prep for the week opens a world of possibilities for your cooking adventures. You can focus on one or both of the methods below to get familiar with planning and prepping meals for exciting eating options throughout the week.
Prepping Ingredients to Cook Later: Prepping your ingredients ahead of time can streamline busy weeknight cooking. When all your ingredients are pre-cut and measured, all you have to do is focus on crafting a delicious meal to put on the table.
- Prepping Complete Meals to Eat Later: You can enjoy fresh, homemade meals no matter how tight your schedule is by preparing larger batches of new recipes and old favorites, then portioning them out to store in the fridge or freezer. Double a recipe and save extra so you can grab pre-portioned meals—such as rice pudding—when you’re on-the-go. These meals reheat for an effortless breakfast, lunch or dinner.
20 TIPS FOR MAKING MEAL PREP FASTER & EASIER
Follow these meal prep tips to discover useful food preparation and storage habits. Meal prepping can also help you expand your palate by giving you the time to explore different flavors and delicious new recipes you haven’t tried before.
1. CHOOSE YOUR INGREDIENTS
Plan the dishes you want to make for the week and shop for the ingredients you need. Select fresh foods that will be at the peak of ripeness when you plan to meal prep and be sure to eat or prepare ingredients that are dated within the best-by date.
2. SCHEDULE PREP TIME
Meal prep requires a time commitment that will vary depending on your planned dishes. If you have a traditional 9-to-5 lifestyle, Sunday meal prep is a typical time to plan and prep ahead for the week. No matter what day works best for your schedule, developing a routine and sticking to it will help you feel successful, so you’ll enjoy the process week after week.
3. USE THE RIGHT CONTAINERS
Portioned meals for the freezer should be stored in freezer-safe plastic containers or freezer bags. You can store meal portions in the fridge in whatever style containers work best for your space, though soups, overnight oats, blender salsa and grain salads keep especially well in mason jars.
4. FOLLOW FOOD SAFETY GUIDELINES
It’s important to wash all fresh ingredients like vegetables and fruits, as well as some meats, before prepping. You should have a separate cutting board for raw meat and be sure it doesn’t come into contact with your other ingredients. Always wash the board and knife immediately after use with hot soapy water and sanitize the countertop with a surface cleaner or diluted bleach. Before you continue prepping the other ingredients, make sure to wash your hands thoroughly. Learn more from the FDA about safe food handling and meal prep.
5. MAKE STORAGE ROOM IN YOUR FRIDGE & FREEZER
Before beginning meal prep, make sure you have the right amount of space in your fridge and freezer to hold your prepped ingredients and portioned meals. A freestanding freezer can give you more room to store soup, breakfast burritos and veggie burger patties, or you can pre-marinate raw meats for future dishes. Learn more about how to organize your refrigerator to simplify your meal prep.
6. LABEL & DATE PREPPED INGREDIENTS & MEALS
To help ensure you don’t waste food or grab the wrong ingredient when it’s time to cook your pre-prepped meal, label all portions, ingredient containers and bags with the contents and the date it was prepared. You can use a piece of masking tape or label, then peel it off your container before washing. This FDA guide outlines how long you can safely store most food in the fridge or freezer.
7. HARNESS YOUR SMALL APPLIANCES
Streamline meal prepping and shorten chopping time by using your countertop appliances to efficiently prep a variety of ingredients for multiple dishes. Use a food processor or chopper to chop, slice, dice and shred ingredients for dishes like cauliflower rice. An immersion or countertop blender can also help you purée soups for quick meals. Turn your KitchenAid® stand mixer into your meal prep partner with accessories or attachments1 that let you spiralize, sheet or rice veggies, purée or juice fruits and vegetables, shred cooked chicken and even make fresh pasta. You can even use select KitchenAid® countertop ovens as a dehydrator to make dehydrated bananas and other toppings.
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8. CHOP, SLICE, SHRED, RICE & DICE INGREDIENTS WITH A FOOD PROCESSOR OR CHOPPER
Set yourself up for meal prep success with a little up-front effort. Prep a wide variety of ingredients using KitchenAid® food processors and choppers. Chop ingredients for salsa or rice cauliflower and other veggies for healthy side dishes. Use the slicing disc to easily prepare vegetables for snacks and the shredding disc to prep vegetables like lettuce for slaws and cheese to add to soups, salads and casseroles. If you have a KitchenAid® stand mixer, you can achieve similar results with the Fresh Prep Slice/Shred Attachment.
Use the KitchenAid® Food Processor Attachment with Commercial Style Dicing Kit to dice vegetables like onions that you can keep in containers or bags in your fridge for topping salads, pasta, pizza, omelets and more. For prepping extra-large quantities of ingredients, there are larger-capacity food processors like the KitchenAid® 14-Cup Food Processor.
9. USE A SPIRALIZER OR SHEET CUTTER TO MAKE VEGGIE NOODLES
If you want to add low-carb alternatives for pasta such as spaghetti, fettuccine and even manicotti to your dinner rotation, your stand mixer can help you make spiralized or sheeted veggie noodles for a variety of recipes. Make healthy noodles using sweet potatoes, carrots, turnips, parsnips, zucchini, summer squash, beets and butternut squash.
The KitchenAid® Fruit & Vegetable Spiralizer and Vegetable Sheet Cutter attachments let you prep thin and wide noodles that can be cooked immediately or stored in the fridge for up to five days.
10. USE A MEAT GRINDER TO GRIND & MINCE MEAT FOR MEATLOAF, SAUSAGE, MEATBALLS & MORE
Perfect meatballs, meatloaf and sausage all start with the freshest meat and the right balance of seasonings. The Metal Food Grinder attachment for your KitchenAid® stand mixer lets you grind meat that you can season and shape into meatballs or assemble into loaves that you can either cook immediately to portion for meals or store uncooked in the freezer to cook later.
SHOP APPLIANCES TO MAKE MEAL PREP EASY
KitchenAid brand helps Makers meal prep all kinds of scrumptious recipes with a wide array of powerful appliances and attachments. Learn more about how you can make your KitchenAid® stand mixer the heart of your meal prep routine with attachments that serve a variety of ingredient prep purposes.
11. USE A SLOW COOKER FOR STEWS & ROASTS
One of the most convenient countertop appliances for prepping make-ahead meals is a slow cooker like these models from KitchenAid brand. These come in different capacities and allow you to create large batches of recipes like pot roast, chili and pulled pork for sliders that you can enjoy now, or portion and store in the fridge or freezer to enjoy later.
12. MAKE PRE-PORTIONED SALADS
Use BPA-free plastic or glass containers or even wide-mouth mason jars to portion out salads for the week. When assembling green salads, put the heavier ingredients that might add moisture on the bottom of the container and the washed and spun-dry greens on top.
For vegetable, legume, pasta or grain-based salads you can mix the dressing with all of the ingredients, but keep any crunchy toppings like nuts, seeds or croutons portioned in snack baggies or small containers at room temperature to add later.
Fresh homemade dressings for green salads can be made ahead and stored in a refrigerated jar or container, or even in small 2-4 oz. individual serving containers ready to grab and go.
13. MAKE A FRESH BATCH OF PASTA FOR THE WEEK
When considering what to make for meal prep, fresh pasta for the week is a great choice even if you won’t cook it right away. Most noodles take just a few minutes in well-salted water at a rolling boil to come to perfect al dente, making it an easy addition to a busy week meal plan. Tools like the Pasta Roller & Cutter and Gourmet Pasta Press attachments for your KitchenAid® stand mixer1 can help you prep a variety of noodles to store for later use.
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14. USE A BLENDER TO MAKE SOUPS
A great make-ahead meal idea is soup that can accompany a portioned salad, sandwich or wrap. Use your KitchenAid® countertop blender or hand blender to create individual or family-size portions of your favorite soup recipes like broccoli cheddar soup or a roasted vegetable soup. If you make a large batch, you can store portions in the fridge for the week, and tuck extras in the freezer to make future meal prep easier.
15. MAKE DAILY SMOOTHIES FOR THE FREEZER
Blend up batches of your favorite smoothies to store in containers in the freezer. Move one to the fridge the night before you intend to drink it to begin thawing. Or you can chop and portion all of the ingredients for smoothies to grab and blend with your milk or juice of choice first thing in the morning. Freeze portioned chopped fresh fruit and veggies and dry ingredients such as chia seeds and protein powder in labeled bags or containers.
By incorporating a regular meal prep session into your week, you can give yourself room to try new recipes and techniques while enjoying nutritious meals every day. You can also learn more about how to organize your kitchen to set yourself up for success with your meal prep by using the practice of mise en place, or gathering your ingredients and tools and organizing them before you begin. With your refrigerator and freezer filled with delicious options to eat immediately or serve up effortlessly—like a pre-prepped meal kit—you can find time to explore even more creative cooking ideas.
16. KEEP MEAL PREP FOOD STAPLES ON HAND
Keeping your favorite meal prep staples on hand is a smart and time-saving strategy for maintaining your meal prep routine. By having essential ingredients readily available, such as grains like rice or quinoa, proteins like chicken or tofu, and a variety of fruits and vegetables, you can easily whip up a meal without the stress of last-minute grocery trips. Additionally, stocking up on pantry staples like spices, oils and canned goods ensures that you have the necessary extras to enhance your dishes.
17. REPURPOSE LEFTOVERS
Repurposing leftovers is a creative and practical way to minimize food waste and create new meals with existing ingredients. There are numerous ways to transform leftovers into delicious dishes that can be enjoyed for another meal. For example, leftover vegetables can be used in soups, stir-fries or omelets, while cooked meats can be repurposed into sandwiches, salads or tacos. Leftover grains like rice or quinoa can be turned into flavorful fried rice or grain bowls. By repurposing leftovers, not only do you reduce food waste, but you also save time by making the most out of the food you already have on hand.
18. COOK LARGE BATCHES
Making large batches or doubling recipes for meal prep is a practical way to save time and effort in the kitchen. By preparing larger quantities of meals, you can have ready-to-eat options for multiple days or even freeze some portions for future use. This allows you to take advantage of bulk buying and cooking in one go. Additionally, doubling recipes ensures that you have enough leftovers to repurpose or enjoy as quick and convenient meals throughout the week.
19. ROTATE YOUR MENU
Rotating your menu for meal prep is a great way to keep your meals interesting. By planning a variety of dishes each week, you can enjoy a diverse range of flavors in your diet. Additionally, rotating your menu allows you to take advantage of seasonal produce and try out new recipes or cooking techniques. By keeping your meal prep menu fresh and exciting, you’re more likely to stick to your meal prep goals and enjoy the process of preparing and eating your meals.
20. EXPERIMENT WITH HERBS AND SPICES
Experimenting with herbs and spices for meal prep can elevate your dishes and add depth of flavor. Herbs like basil, thyme, rosemary and cilantro, along with spices such as cumin, paprika, turmeric and cinnamon, can transform a simple meal into a culinary delight. Whether you’re looking to add a kick of heat, enhance the natural sweetness of ingredients or create a unique blend of flavors, herbs and spices offer endless possibilities. By exploring different combinations and ratios, you can discover your own signature tastes and tailor your meals to suit your preferences.
EXPLORE KITCHENAID® TOOLS TO STREAMLINE MEAL PREP
Food prep is quick and easy with food processors and choppers designed to help you fall in love with making. Explore stand mixer attachments and blenders that can provide the flexibility you need for weekly meal prep and beyond.
