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 might additionally assist prevent cash, particularly if you happen to get takeout ceaselessly, 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 straightforward to cook 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 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, one of the best meals scale, and a number of other different useful instruments that make cooking a breeze. 

My Prime Picks

1. Finest Meal Prep Containers: Ello Glass Meal Prep Container Set – $31.22 at Walmart
2. Finest Meals Scale: OXO Good Grips 11-Pound Meals Scale – $55.95 at Amazon
3. Finest Freezer Trays: Souper Cubes – $34.99 at Amazon
4. Finest Salad Dressing Containers: Salad Dressing Containers – $12.99 at Amazon
5. Finest Vegetable Chopper: OXO Good Grips Vegetable and Onion Chopper – $22.95 at Amazon

Critiques of Meal Prep Essentials

1. Finest Meal Prep Containers: Ello Glass Meal Prep Container Set

When you’re going to cook 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 a set of 5. They’re constructed 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, if you happen to want to maintain the elements of your meal separate, you would possibly like these 3-compartment containers from Bentgo. They’re cheap and are available a set of 10, and the BPA-free plastic might 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 basic 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. Finest 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 wish 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 might 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. Finest Freezer Trays: Souper Cubes

At any time when I make considered one of my soup recipes or a bunch of rice, I like to save lots of 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 prime of one another, and once you wish to take a serving out, the versatile silicone makes it straightforward to come out the frozen meals and reheat it. 

4. Finest Salad Dressing Containers: VITEVER Salad Dressing Containers

Salads are a fast and simple meal to make upfront, however I don’t advocate placing on the dressing, as it may possibly make the components mushy. As a substitute, I wish to hold the dressing separate, and these cute salad dressing containers are the right measurement. They’re constructed from dishwasher-safe chrome steel with silicone caps, they usually every maintain round 2.Four ounces. You may simply tuck the little cups into your meal prep containers, they usually’re additionally nice for condiments like mayonnaise or ketchup. 

5. Finest Vegetable Chopper: Cuisinart Core Customized 4-Cup Mini Chopper

Some meal prep recipes, reminiscent of 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 instrument to have within the kitchen. As a substitute of dicing the components together 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 vital instrument to save lots of time if you happen to like making chopped salads, sauces, salsa, or any dishes with loads of chopped greens. 

6. Finest In a single day Oats Containers: Ball Common Mouth Mason Jars

I really 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 good for portioning out single servings. These cheap jars, which are available a pack of two, maintain Eight 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 in addition they look tremendous fairly!

7. Finest Storage Luggage: Stasher Reusable Silicone Storage Bag

When you like to cut up veggies upfront or portion out snacks to seize and go, Stasher’s silicone storage baggage are an amazing different to single-use plastic baggage. They’re constructed from a thick layer of silicone that is available in a rainbow of colours, they usually kind a good, 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. Finest 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. When 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. Finest 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 — very best 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 straightforward to function due to its non-slip backside and huge pump button. It has a brake that may cease the inside bowl from spinning immediately, and the lid comes aside so you possibly can clear it simply. The outer bowl can even double as a salad bowl!

10. Finest Strain Cooker: On the spot Pot Duo 7-in-1 

A few of my favourite meal prep recipes, reminiscent of Baked Oatmeal Bars and Hen Noodle Soup, might be made in an On the spot Pot. These versatile stress cookers are capable of cook dinner recipes tremendous quick in comparison with different cooking strategies. It’s additionally purposeful and has different cooking features, together with a sluggish cooker, rice maker, steamer, and extra. The On the spot 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. Finest Egg Cooker: Sprint Fast Egg Cooker

Arduous-boiled eggs are supply of protein once you’re meal prepping, and I wish to eat them for breakfast, add them to my salads, or use them to make Egg Salad. There are a number of methods which 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 cook dinner them to smooth, medium, or laborious boiled firmness in just some minutes. It might additionally make different varieties of eggs, together with scrambled, poached, and even omelets. 

12. Finest Mixing Bowls: Pyrex Good 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 a set of Four that nest collectively, they usually vary in measurement from 1-quart to 4-quart. The lids and bowls are colour coordinated, so you possibly can 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 might be put within the microwave, freezer, and dishwasher. 

13. Finest Sheet Pans: Nordic Ware Three Piece Baker’s Delight Set

Bulk roasting greens in the beginning 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 might 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, entire meals. Along with posting my newest recipes, I additionally publish free weekly 7-day meal plans that may 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 good for meal prepping — particularly you probably 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 really like that they make meal prepping quicker, simpler, and extra handy. The gadgets I haven’t personally examined are highly-rated choices that come really useful by different cooking professionals and hundreds of evaluations. 

Costs have been correct at time of publication.