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? Check out our range of 4-week dinner meal plans!

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

These Blueberry Almond Overnight Oats are naturally sweet without any added sugar, and provide plenty of flavor and texture to keep you happy and full all morning. BudgetBytes.com

Breakfast Meal Prep

Smoky Chicken and Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potato Meal Prep is an easy, delicious, filling, and healthy daily lunch or dinner. BudgetBytes.com

Chicken Meal Prep

Four cheese board lunch boxes lined up in a row

No Re-Heat Meal Prep

rectangular glass containers with Cajun Sausage and Vegetables lined up

Three glass meal prep containers full of cold peanut noodle salad, dressing containers on the side.

Vegetarian Meal Prep

Popular Meal Prep Recipes

Smoky Chicken and Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potato Meal Prep is an easy, delicious, filling, and healthy daily lunch or dinner. BudgetBytes.com

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 divided between meal prep containers, dressing being poured.

Cold Peanut Noodle Salad

$5.30 recipe / $1.33 serving

Three rectangular glass meal prep containers with Ground Turkey Stir Fry and Brown Rice

Ground Turkey Stir Fry

$7.41 recipe / $1.48 serving

Newest Budget Friendly Meal Prep

Overhead view of thanksgiving salad in two bowls.

Thanksgiving Bowls

$13.67 recipe / $2.73 serving

These Thanksgiving Bowls are the perfect salads for using up all your holiday leftovers. Fresh, healthy, and great for reducing food waste!

Overhead view of sweet potatoes and black bean skillet with napkin and wooden spoon on the side.

Sweet Potato Black Bean Skillet

$7.44 recipe / $1.86 serving

This Sweet Potato Black Bean skillet is a fun, budget-friendly, and veggie packed meal with lots of flavor and is perfect for meal prep!

Overhead view of air fryer baked potatoes in an air fryer basket.

Air Fryer Baked Potatoes

$3.10 recipe / $0.77 each

Air Fryer Baked Potatoes are a classic comfort food that’s budget-friendly, easy to customize, and made conveniently in the air fryer.

Overhead view of overnight oats with various toppings

Overnight Oats (Base Recipe plus Variations)

These easy Overnight Oats are the ultimate introduction to budget-friendly meal prep. They're no-cook, ideal for on-the-go, and customizable!

Overhead view of a plate of grilled vegetables.

Grilled Vegetables

$7.64 recipe / $0.95 serving

With just a few ingredients and my easy grilling method, these grilled vegetables are the perfect side dish for any summer BBQ!

3 stacked granola bars on a white plate.

Granola Bars

$7.42 recipe / $0.74 serving

Homemade Granola Bars are wholesome and healthy! Loaded with oats, dates, peanut butter, walnuts, and chocolate chips.

nicoise salad in a white bowl.

Niçoise Salad

$10.64 recipe / $1.77 serving

Niçoise salad is protein-packed, crunchy, and oh-so-satisfying-- perfect for meal prep to keep you full all week long.

Overhead view of sheet pan pancakes cut into squares with one slice being lifted out.

Sheet Pan Pancakes

$2.22 recipe / $0.55 serving

These sheet pan pancakes make breakfast on weekends a breeze! They’re easy to whip up and they’re freezer-friendly. Perfect for breakfast meal prep!

overhead view of buffalo beans and greens over white rice on a white plate with white sauce drizzled over top.

Buffalo Beans and Greens

$6.61 recipe / $1.65 serving

These Buffalo beans and greens are a little bowl of luxury on a shoestring budget. We just can't get enough!

overhead view of taco salad with creamy white dressing and corn chips in a white bowl.

Taco Salad

$17.26 recipe / $2.87 serving

This taco salad recipe is super customizable without compromising on its hearty and satisfying flavors. It's the ultimate meal prep salad!

Overhead view of chicken stir fry in a large skillet with sliced green onions on the side.

Chicken Stir Fry

$11.87 recipe / $1.98 serving

This Chicken Stir Fry recipe is perfect for a quick & easy dinner meal. It has lots of chicken and veggies and a super delicious stir fry sauce!

Cooked egg muffins lined up in a grid on a blue surface.

Egg Muffins

$2.01 recipe / $0.34 serving

These super easy and delicious high protein egg muffins are the perfect meal prep breakfast to make weekday mornings a breeze.