How to Food Prep in Just 1 Hour!

Meal prep doesn't need to take an entire weekend. Learn how to food prep in just 1 hour with this time-saving method – it's a game changer!

Meal prep vs food prep

Contrary to popular belief, you only need an hour to food prep in order to get organized for the week ahead. That's right – just 60 minutes over the weekend can make a massive difference in helping you stick to cooking healthy and homemade meals during the week.

So what's the difference between food prep and meal prep?

Meal prep is cooking everything ahead of time. Check out my top meal prep ideas for more inspiration.

Food prep is prepping ingredients and sauces only. It sometimes also includes cooking some meat or some rice/quinoa ahead of time as well. Check out my Food Storage post to discover how to make your ingredients last the longest.

Watch my food prep tutorial video

How do I start food prepping?

Start by downloading my 7-day meal plan and watching my Youtube video embedded in this post. It will take you through food prep step-by-step. Take a look at the food prep checklist to help follow along with the video, then you will be good to make the recipes in the 7-day meal plan using all of your prepped ingredients.

DOWNLOAD YOUR 7-DAY MEAL PLAN HERE.

Why should you food prep?

The best part of food prep is that you are essentially dividing your tasks up to make them more manageable and sustainable. Food prep is the best of both worlds, because you don't need to take up an entire afternoon of your weekend cooking food ahead of time and making a huge mess, and you also don't need to spend an hour cooking each night.

Plus, when you have taken the time to prep ahead on a weekend, you are more likely to follow through with cooking during the week, because you know that it won't take you a long time to cook and you won't want to waste the ingredients you spent time preparing. You're invested in following through to the finish line, and then that cycle becomes reinforcing because you will feel so good eating a homemade meal and feel so proud of yourself for sticking to it.

What are the best foods to meal prep?

• Proteins such as chicken, steak, legumes, tofu, boiled eggs, bacon, etc.
• Grains such as rice, quinoa, oats, pasta, etc.
• Vegetables that you can chop up ahead of time such as onions, garlic, ginger, bell peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, etc.
• Sauces, dressings and dips such as a stir fry sauce recipe, salad dressing, special sauce for burgers, etc.
• Spice blends made from spices in your spice drawer
• Grating cheeses or other little kitchen shortcuts

BONUS

• Making breakfasts such as overnight oats or breakfast sandwiches
• Making lunch bowls such as mason jar salads, rice bowls, etc. – this is advanced though, so only if you have time

How to food prep

Follow the instructions below to prep your ingredients for 5 meals that you will eat during the week from Monday to Friday. You'll see me prep everything in order in my YouTube video tutorial, and you can find the recipes in your free meal plan PDF download.

Here are the recipes that we will be prepping ahead for:

1. Pizza Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
2. Olive Garden Chicken Scampi
3. Bibimbap-Inspired Beef Stir Fry
4. Chicken & Kale Caesar Wraps
5. Hasselback Jalapeno Popper Chicken

Step 1 – Grains

• Cook 1 cup of rice with 2 cups of water for the Bibimbap-Inspired Beef Stir Fry.

Step 2 – Proteins

• Cook 1 lb. of chicken breasts in a large pot of boiling water for the Chicken & Kale Caesar Wraps, then shred the cooked chicken.
• Cook 1 lb. of ground beef for the Pizza Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms.
• Mix 1 tbsp. of Italian seasoning with 1 cup of flour in a large bowl, then coat 1 lb/ of chicken tenders in the mixture for the Olive Garden Chicken Scampi. Store in a container and cook fresh the night of.
• Slice the beef thinly for the Bibimbap-inspired stir fry and toss with 2 tsp. of baking soda

Step 3 – Cheeses

• Grate 2 cups of mozzarella cheese for the Pizza Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms.
• Grate 1 cup of parmesan cheese (1/2 cup for the Olive Garden Chicken Scampi and 1/2 cup for the Chicken Kale Caesar Wraps).

Step 4 – Sauces

• Mix together 1 cup of light mayo, 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese, 2 tbsp. of lemon juice, 1 tbsp. of Worcestershire, 1 tbsp. of Dijon mustard, 1 tbsp. of minced capers, 3 cloves of minced garlic and 1/2 tsp. each of salt & pepper for the Chicken & Kale Caesar Wraps dressing.
• Microwave half a block (about 4 oz.) of cream cheese, then stir in 4 minced jalapenos and 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese to make the filling for the Hasselback Jalapeno Popper Chicken.

Step 5 – Vegetables

• Remove the mushroom stems and scrape out 8 portobello mushrooms for the Pizza Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms.
• Dice 1 green pepper and 1 small red onion for the Pizza Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms and store both in the same container.
• Slice 1 red pepper, 1 yellow pepper, 1 green pepper and 1 red onion for the Olive Garden Chicken Scampi.
• Slice 1 cup of shiitake mushrooms, and cut 1 carrot and 1 zucchini into matchsticks for the Bibimbap-Inspired Beef Stir Fry.
• Thinly slice 1 red onion and wash/chop kale for the Chicken & Kale Caesar Wraps.

Step 6 – Put it all in the fridge and relax!

Download your free 7-day meal plan

Download your PDF 7-day meal plan that accompanies the video in this post. It comes complete with breakfast, lunch and dinner for the entire week. Watch the video to learn how you can prep your ingredients ahead for the week, then make the recipes fresh each night in just 15 minutes using your PDF meal plan. Click here to download your free meal plan.

More meal prep resources

• The Best Meal Prep Containers
• How To Meal Prep For A Week
• Meal Prep Lunch Ideas For Work
• 17 Low-Carb Meal Prep Recipes

Food prep containers and tools 

• Grab some glass meal prep bowls.
• I get all my free-range chicken from Butcher Box, conveniently delivered to me frozen.
• Use these Ziploc bag holders for marinating and freezing protein.
• Freeze your recipes in glass microwave-safe bowls for up to 3 months.