I’m an enormous fan of meal prepping. By cooking meals upfront, it makes it a lot simpler to eat wholesome all through the week, even once you’re pressed for time. It may additionally assist prevent cash, particularly if you happen to get takeout regularly, and guarantee much less meals goes to waste in your kitchen. Plus, with the best meal prep necessities — and my free weekly meal plans — it’s simple to prepare dinner a variety of wholesome recipes upfront.
I’ve been meal prepping for years, and there are a number of instruments I all the time attain for to make the duty sooner and simpler. I’ve listed 12 of my must-have meal prep necessities beneath, together with my favourite meal prep containers, must-have freezer trays, the very best meals scale, and a number of other different useful instruments that make cooking a breeze.
My Prime Picks
- Greatest Meal Prep Containers: Ello Glass Meal Prep Container Set – $31.22 at Walmart
- Greatest Meals Scale: OXO Good Grips 11-Pound Meals Scale – $55.95 at Amazon
- Greatest Freezer Trays: Souper Cubes – $34.99 at Amazon
- Greatest Salad Dressing Containers: Salad Dressing Containers – $12.99 at Amazon
- Greatest Vegetable Chopper: OXO Good Grips Vegetable and Onion Chopper – $22.95 at Amazon
Evaluations of Meal Prep Necessities
1. Greatest Meal Prep Containers: Ello Glass Meal Prep Container Set
In the event you’re going to prepare dinner meals upfront, the meal prep containers are important. I’ve tried out a number of choices over time, and my present favourite are the Ello Glass Meal Prep Containers, which are available in a set of 5. They’re made out of sturdy glass with colourful silicone sleeves to guard the fabric, and the lids are hermetic and leak-proof, making it doable to take your meal on the go if wanted. Plus, the entire thing can go proper within the dishwasher for simple cleansing.
Nevertheless, if you happen to want to maintain the components of your meal separate, you would possibly like these 3-compartment containers from Bentgo. They’re cheap and are available in a set of 10, and the BPA-free plastic may be put within the microwave, freezer, and dishwasher safely. The containers have one massive compartment in your predominant dish, in addition to two smaller sections the place you’ll be able to put sides, snacks, or dressings.
For common meals storage, I additionally love this glass container set from Pyrex. It comes with 9 completely different class containers of various sizes which are nice for saving leftovers and can be utilized to prep completely different elements in your meals for the week. Plus, the colourful lids are freezer, microwave, and top-rack dishwasher protected.
Purchase the Ello Glass Meal Prep Container Set:
Purchase the Bentgo Prep 3-Compartment Meal-Prep Containers:
Purchase the Pyrex Meal Prep Merely Retailer Glass Rectangular and Spherical Meals Container Set:
2. Greatest Meals Scale: OXO Good Grips 11-Pound Meals Scale
It may be tough to eyeball equal parts once you’re meal prepping, so I all the time prefer to have my kitchen scale close by to ensure each container will get the identical quantity of meals. I personally love the OXO Good Grips Meals Scale, which has a big measuring plate and easy-to-read show. It may measure in ounces, kilos, grams, or kilograms, and the show really pulls away from the bottom to make it simpler to learn if you happen to’re measuring into an enormous bowl or container.
3. Greatest Freezer Trays: Souper Cubes
Each time I make certainly one of my soup recipes or a bunch of rice, I like to avoid wasting the leftovers utilizing my Souper Cubes. These silicone trays are extremely helpful—they’ve pre-portioned trays that maintain a single cup of meals, and you’ll put the entire tray proper into the freezer. The lids are sturdy plastic, permitting them to be stacked on prime of one another, and once you need to take a serving out, the versatile silicone makes it simple to come out the frozen meals and reheat it.
4. Greatest Salad Dressing Containers: VITEVER Salad Dressing Containers
Salads are a fast and straightforward meal to make upfront, however I don’t advocate placing on the dressing, as it might make the substances mushy. As an alternative, I prefer to hold the dressing separate, and these cute salad dressing containers are the proper dimension. They’re made out of dishwasher-safe chrome steel with silicone caps, and so they every maintain round 2.4 ounces. You’ll be able to simply tuck the little cups into your meal prep containers, and so they’re additionally nice for condiments like mayonnaise or ketchup.
5. Greatest Vegetable Chopper: Cuisinart Core Customized 4-Cup Mini Chopper
Some meal prep recipes, equivalent to my Rainbow Quinoa Salad, require fairly a little bit of chopping, and if you wish to pace up the method, the Cuisinart Core Customized 4-Cup Mini Chopper is a useful software to have within the kitchen. As an alternative of dicing the substances along with your chef’s knife, you’ll be able to merely place them inside this small meals processor and whirl away for completely sized items. It’s a must have software to avoid wasting time if you happen to like making chopped salads, sauces, salsa, or any dishes with a number of chopped greens.
6. Greatest In a single day Oats Containers: Ball Common Mouth Mason Jars
I like making Cinnamon-Raisin In a single day Oats or Apple Pie In a single day Oats for a simple, high-fiber breakfast on busy mornings, and Ball Mason Jars are excellent for portioning out single servings. These cheap jars, which are available in a pack of two, maintain 8 ounces every—good for one breakfast—and include screw-on lids that create a leak-proof seal. Additionally they can be utilized for different meal prep recipes, like my Watermelon Feta Arugula Salad.
I additionally like utilizing these thicker plastic lids for my mason jars as a substitute of the lids they arrive with. Not solely do I really feel that they’re extra sturdy, however in addition they look tremendous fairly!
7. Greatest Storage Luggage: Stasher Reusable Silicone Storage Bag
In the event you like to cut up veggies upfront or portion out snacks to seize and go, Stasher’s silicone storage baggage are a terrific various to single-use plastic baggage. They’re made out of a thick layer of silicone that is available in a rainbow of colours, and so they type a decent, leak-free seal to maintain the contents from dripping into your lunch field. The most effective half is the luggage are dishwasher-safe, so you’ll be able to simply wash them and reuse them each week.
8. Greatest Muffin Pan: Wilton Recipe Proper Muffin Pan
Muffin pans won’t look like a meal prep important, however they’re really fairly versatile. I take advantage of them to make handy single servings of recipes like Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal Cups, Loaded Egg Muffins, and Mini Quiche, all of that are easy, wholesome breakfast choices for busy mornings. In the event you don’t have already got a muffin pan, I like this set from Wilton, which incorporates two pans and has a nonstick end that ensures your meals comes out simply. Every of the trays holds six muffins, which is nice once you don’t must make a full dozen.
9. Greatest Salad Spinner: OXO Good Grips Massive Salad Spinner
I like to clean my lettuce after chopping it up, and the OXO Good Grips Salad Spinner can deal with massive portions — ultimate if you happen to’re prepping salad for the entire week. The bowl can maintain greater than 6 quarts (roughly 24 cups), and it’s simple to function because of its non-slip backside and huge pump button. It has a brake that can cease the internal bowl from spinning immediately, and the lid comes aside so you’ll be able to clear it simply. The outer bowl may double as a salad bowl!
10. Greatest Strain Cooker: Prompt Pot Duo 7-in-1
A few of my favourite meal prep recipes, equivalent to Baked Oatmeal Bars and Rooster Noodle Soup, may be made in an Prompt Pot. These versatile stress cookers are capable of prepare dinner recipes tremendous quick in comparison with different cooking strategies. It’s additionally useful and has different cooking features, together with a gradual cooker, rice maker, steamer, and extra. The Prompt Pot Duo has a 6-quart capability that may put together as much as six servings directly, and I nonetheless use mine on a weekly foundation, which makes it completely value it..
11. Greatest Egg Cooker: Sprint Speedy Egg Cooker
Arduous-boiled eggs are a great supply of protein once you’re meal prepping, and I prefer to eat them for breakfast, add them to my salads, or use them to make Egg Salad. There are a number of methods that you would be able to make boiled eggs, however the Sprint Egg Cooker is among the sooner and best choices. This cute little equipment holds as much as six eggs at a time, and it’ll prepare dinner them to comfortable, medium, or onerous boiled firmness in just some minutes. It may additionally make different varieties of eggs, together with scrambled, poached, and even omelets.
12. Greatest Mixing Bowls: Pyrex Sensible Necessities Mixing Bowl Set
If you wish to put together massive batches of meals to retailer within the fridge, these mixing bowls have tight-fitting lids. The goass are available in a set of 4 that nest collectively, and so they vary in dimension from 1-quart to 4-quart. The lids and bowls are colour coordinated, so you’ll be able to all the time discover the best one, and I like that the containers are see-through, so what’s inside. Plus, each the bowls and lids may be put within the microwave, freezer, and dishwasher.
13. Greatest Sheet Pans: Nordic Ware 3 Piece Baker’s Delight Set
Bulk roasting greens at the start of the week is tremendous useful for meal prepping. Afterward, you’ll be able to retailer them in containers and add them to grain bowls or salads for fast wholesome meals. I like this set from Nordic Ware, which comes with 1 / 4 sheet, jelly roll, and half sheet pan, and the number of sizes may be useful for various parts.
Why You Can Belief Me
I’m Gina, the creator and recipe developer behind Skinnytaste, which is devoted to sharing wholesome, family-friendly recipes made with seasonal, clear, entire meals. Along with posting my newest recipes, I additionally publish free weekly 7-day meal plans that can enable you to plan forward and make scrumptious recipes for your loved ones, together with choices for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Whereas you may make the meals as you go, the plans are additionally excellent for meal prepping — particularly in case you have a busy week developing.
I put collectively this record of meal prep necessities utilizing my very own experiences. Lots of the merchandise are ones that I take advantage of in my very own kitchen, and I like that they make meal prepping sooner, simpler, and extra handy. The objects I haven’t personally examined are highly-rated choices that come advisable by different cooking professionals and hundreds of evaluations.
Costs had been correct at time of publication.
