Budget Friendly Meal Prep

Planning, preparing, and portioning your meals ahead of time is one of the most effective tools for keeping your food budget in check. We have 80+ Budget friendly meal prep ideas to keep your taste buds happy, your belly full, and your budget on track! New to meal prepping? Check out our Meal Prep 101 before you begin.

Looking for pre-made meal plans? With a Budget Bytes+ membership, you’ll get a brand-new meal plan every week—designed to save you time, money, and stress in the kitchen (plus more)!

This Cheeseburger Meatloaf Meal Prep is an easy American classic meal that you'll look forward to each day. Toss the TV dinners and make your own! Budgetbytes.com

Popular Meal Prep Recipes

Smoky Chicken and Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potato Meal Prep

$9.43 recipe / $2.36 serving

Four glass meal prep containers lined up with roasted vegetable couscous. Two with chicken and two with chickpeas

Roasted Vegetable Couscous Meal Prep

$12.01 recipe / $4.00 serving

Three glass containers filled with hummus lunch box ingredients

The Hummus Lunch Box

$8.04 recipe / $2.01 serving

Cold Peanut Noodle Salad

$5.30 recipe / $1.33 serving

Ground Turkey Stir Fry

$8.05 recipe / $1.61 serving

Newest Budget Friendly Meal Prep

Summer Lentil Salad

$8.10 recipe / $1.35 serving

A simple and satisfying Summer Lentil Salad with fresh veggies, feta, and a tangy lemon vinaigrette. Perfect for meal prep or as a colorful potluck side!

Overhead view of grilled teriyaki skewers on a platter.

Grilled Teriyaki Chicken Kebabs

$6.60 recipe / $1.65 serving

Grilled Teriyaki Chicken Kebabs made easy with a quick homemade sauce, juicy chicken, and big flavor. Perfect with rice or grilled veggies!

Tomato Butter

$3.58 recipe / $0.18 serving

Use up your garden tomatoes with this budget-friendly Tomato Butter! It’s easy to make, packed with flavor, and perfect for meal prep.

Overhead view of a bowl of pulled chicken.

Pulled Shredded Chicken

$8.43 recipe / $1.05 serving

This easy shredded chicken recipe makes moist, tender chicken that's perfect for meal prep, quick dinners, or adding to your favorite weeknight meals.

Dry rubbed grilled chicken drumsticks and thighs on a grill.

Dry Rubbed Grilled Drumsticks and Thighs

$7.51 recipe / $1.07 serving

This easy Dry Rubbed Grilled Drumsticks and Thighs recipe makes flavorful grilled chicken with minimal effort. Great for cookouts or weeknight dinners!

Alabama White Sauce

$1.74 recipe / $0.15 serving

Learn how to make Alabama White Sauce at home with mayo, vinegar, horseradish, and spices. Perfect for grilled chicken, pork, veggies, and more!

Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad

$10.21 recipe / $1.02 serving

This light and fresh Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad is perfect for summer BBQs and potlucks, or your weekly meal prep.

Strawberry Cookies

$5.91 recipe / $0.37 each

Strawberry cookies are tender, sweet, and full of fresh strawberry flavor. These cookies are the real deal-- no artificial colors or flavors!

Homemade Lemonade

$6.31 recipe / $0.70 serving

This easy Homemade Lemonade recipe uses fresh lemon juice, homemade simple syrup, and water for a perfectly balanced, sweet-tart batch of lemonade!

Cherry Blondies

$5.82 recipe / $0.64 serving

These easy Cherry Blondies are loaded with white chocolate, almonds, and cherry pie filling for a sweet treat that’s simple to make and hard to resist.

Grilled Chicken

$9.02 recipe / $2.25 serving

I brine large chicken breasts, then coat them in a sweet and savory spice rub to create the juiciest grilled chicken you've ever tasted!

Ditalini Pasta Salad

$8.67 recipe / $1.08 serving

This easy Ditalini Pasta Salad is packed with roasted summer veggies, tossed in pesto, and finished with a sprinkle of feta. Delicious & meal prep friendly!