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 while you’re pressed for time. It could additionally assist prevent cash, particularly in case you get takeout regularly, and guarantee much less meals goes to waste in your kitchen. Plus, with the appropriate meal prep necessities — and my free weekly meal plans — it’s straightforward to prepare dinner a variety of wholesome recipes upfront.
I’ve been meal prepping for years, and there are a number of instruments I at all times attain for to make the duty quicker and simpler. I’ve listed 12 of my must-have meal prep necessities under, together with my favourite meal prep containers, must-have freezer trays, the perfect 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 produced from 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.
Nonetheless, in case you 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 to your foremost dish, in addition to two smaller sections the place you possibly can put sides, snacks, or dressings.
For normal meals storage, I additionally love this glass container set from Pyrex. It comes with 9 totally different class containers of various sizes which can be nice for saving leftovers and can be utilized to prep totally different elements to your meals for the week. Plus, the colourful lids are freezer, microwave, and top-rack dishwasher secure.
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 Food Scale
It may be tough to eyeball equal parts while you’re meal prepping, so I at all times prefer to have my kitchen scale close by to verify 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 could measure in ounces, kilos, grams, or kilograms, and the show truly pulls away from the bottom to make it simpler to learn in case you’re measuring into an enormous bowl or container.
3. Greatest Freezer Trays: Souper Cubes
At any time when I make one in all 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 may put the entire tray proper into the freezer. The lids are sturdy plastic, permitting them to be stacked on high of one another, and while you need to take a serving out, the versatile silicone makes it straightforward to come out the frozen meals and reheat it.
4. Greatest Salad Dressing Containers: VITEVER Salad Dressing Containers
Salads are a fast and simple meal to make upfront, however I don’t suggest placing on the dressing, as it could make the elements mushy. As an alternative, I prefer to hold the dressing separate, and these cute salad dressing containers are the right dimension. They’re produced from dishwasher-safe stainless-steel with silicone caps, and so they every maintain round 2.4 ounces. You may 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 Custom 4-Cup Mini Chopper
Some meal prep recipes, comparable to my Rainbow Quinoa Salad, require fairly a little bit of chopping, and if you wish to velocity 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 elements along with your chef’s knife, you possibly can 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 in case you like making chopped salads, sauces, salsa, or any dishes with a whole lot of chopped greens.
6. Greatest In a single day Oats Containers: Ball Regular Mouth Mason Jars
I really like making Cinnamon-Raisin In a single day Oats or Apple Pie In a single day Oats for a straightforward, high-fiber breakfast on busy mornings, and Ball Mason Jars are good for portioning out single servings. These cheap jars, which are available in a pack of two, maintain 8 ounces every—excellent 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 an alternative of the lids they arrive with. Not solely do I really feel that they’re extra sturdy, however additionally they look tremendous fairly!
7. Greatest Storage Baggage: 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 different to single-use plastic baggage. They’re produced from a thick layer of silicone that is available in a rainbow of colours, and so they kind a decent, leak-free seal to maintain the contents from dripping into your lunch field. The very best half is the baggage are dishwasher-safe, so you possibly can simply wash them and reuse them each week.
8. Greatest Muffin Pan: Wilton Recipe Right Muffin Pan
Muffin pans won’t appear to be a meal prep important, however they’re truly fairly versatile. I exploit 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 while you don’t have to make a full dozen.
9. Greatest Salad Spinner: OXO Good Grips Large Salad Spinner
I like to clean my lettuce after chopping it up, and the OXO Good Grips Salad Spinner can deal with massive portions — very best in case you’re prepping salad for the entire week. The bowl can maintain greater than 6 quarts (roughly 24 cups), and it’s straightforward to function due to its non-slip backside and enormous pump button. It has a brake that may cease the internal bowl from spinning immediately, and the lid comes aside so you possibly can clear it simply. The outer bowl may double as a salad bowl!
10. Greatest Strain Cooker: Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1
A few of my favourite meal prep recipes, comparable to Baked Oatmeal Bars and Hen Noodle Soup, may be made in an Immediate Pot. These versatile strain 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 Immediate Pot Duo has a 6-quart capability that may put together as much as six servings without delay, and I nonetheless use mine on a weekly foundation, which makes it completely value it..
11. Greatest Egg Cooker: Dash Rapid Egg Cooker
Onerous-boiled eggs are a superb supply of protein while 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 could make boiled eggs, however the Sprint Egg Cooker is without doubt one of the quicker and best choices. This cute little equipment holds as much as six eggs at a time, and it’ll prepare dinner them to tender, medium, or arduous boiled firmness in just some minutes. It could additionally make different forms of eggs, together with scrambled, poached, and even omelets.
12. Greatest Mixing Bowls: Pyrex Smart Essentials Mixing Bowl Set
If you wish to put together huge 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 coloration coordinated, so you possibly can at all times discover the appropriate one, and I like that the containers are see-through, so you realize 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 initially of the week is tremendous useful for meal prepping. Afterward, you possibly can 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 writer and recipe developer behind Skinnytaste, which is devoted to sharing wholesome, family-friendly recipes made with seasonal, clear, complete meals. Along with posting my newest recipes, I additionally publish free weekly 7-day meal plans that may assist you plan forward and make scrumptious recipes for your loved ones, together with choices for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Whereas you can also make the meals as you go, the plans are additionally good for meal prepping — particularly you probably have a busy week developing.
I put collectively this listing of meal prep necessities utilizing my very own experiences. Most of the merchandise are ones that I exploit in my very own kitchen, and I really like that they make meal prepping quicker, simpler, and extra handy. The objects I haven’t personally examined are highly-rated choices that come really helpful by different cooking execs and hundreds of opinions.
Costs had been correct at time of publication.
Supply: Skinny Taste