Budget Friendly Meal Prep Ideas

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 over a hundred 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

Meal Prep Ideas for an Easy Breakfast

Newest Budget Friendly Meal Prep Ideas

Sheet Pan Doner Kebab

$11.05 recipe / $2.76 serving

This Sheet Pan Doner Kebab is an easy oven shortcut for thin, crispy beef served gyro-style in soft pita with tzatziki and fresh vegetables.

Mississippi Chicken

$10.44 recipe / $1.74 serving

This easy Mississippi Chicken is made in the slow cooker with five ingredients for tender, juicy shredded chicken in a tangy, buttery, savory sauce.

Pizza Burgers

$10.27 recipe / $1.71 serving

This easy Pizza Burgers recipe tops toasted English muffins with saucy meat, vegetables, mozzarella, and pepperoni. Ready in about 30 minutes!

Overhead view of sliced teriyaki chicken on a bed on rice on a plate.

Easy Teriyaki Chicken

$7.07 recipe / $1.41 serving

This Easy Teriyaki Chicken is perfect for quick weeknight dinners, and has the most delicious salty, sweet, and savory flavor!

Sweet Potato and Ground Turkey Skillet

$9.07 recipe / $2.27 serving

This easy Sweet Potato and Ground Turkey Skillet cooks turkey, sweet potato, kale, and Parmesan-coated orzo in one pan for a practical weeknight dinner!

Vegetable Fried Rice

$4.22 recipe / $1.06 serving

Vegetable Fried Rice is a fast, easy, delicious, and budget-friendly meal that you can whip up with ingredients on hand at any time!

Overhead view of a BBQ chicken foil packet.

BBQ Chicken Foil Packs

$10.45 recipe / $2.61 serving

These easy BBQ Chicken Foil Packs are a complete grill-or-oven dinner with chicken thighs, potatoes, peppers, onions, and tangy BBQ sauce!

Lentil Salad

$7.29 recipe / $1.22 serving

This easy Lentil Salad is bright, flavorful, and infused with bold flavors like garlic and lemon. Eat it as a side dish, meal prep it, or make it a meal!

Overhead view of a bowl of slow cooker chicken ramen with a soy marinated egg.

Slow Cooker Chicken and Vegetables Ramen

$12.03 recipe / $1.50 serving

This Slow Cooker Chicken and Vegetables Ramen transforms a couple of ramen packs into a big-batch dinner with tender chicken and fresh vegetables.

Overhead view of a selection of packed bento lunchboxes with a childs hand taking some cheese.

5 Back-to-School Lunches

Need fresh lunch ideas? These 5 Back-to-School Lunches feature simple, affordable bento box ideas packed with kid-friendly foods they'll actually eat!

Skillet Pizza Casserole

$12.31 recipe / $2.05 serving

This cheesy Skillet Pizza Casserole recipe combines saucy pasta, Italian sausage, veggies, pepperoni, and melty mozzarella in one easy pan dinner!

Easy Kale Salad

$5.90 recipe / $1.48 serving

This easy Kale Salad is tangy, sweet, and crunchy with Granny Smith apples, walnuts, raisins, and a homemade Dijon vinaigrette.