:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/meal-prep-hack-GettyImages-1357539082-f90a8eaa81f34021ad1beafe81307f3c.jpg?w=780&resize=780,470&ssl=1 "12 Meal Prep Hacks That Will Save You So Much Time")
Cooking at home has its perks—it can be more cost-efficient than dining out or ordering in and can be much healthier for you, too. However, cooking can be time-consuming and not always enjoyable, especially after a long day.
Meal prep can help save you time in the kitchen and even some money along the way. Here are some simple meal prep hacks to help make cooking during the week (or any time) a cinch, including some ideas our editors swear by.
Change Things Up With Pre-Made Sauces
Sam Saunion, Real Simple’s senior social media editor, says everything is better with the right sauce. “If I’m eating the same meat all week, like chicken breasts, I buy different pre-made sauces and season portions with different sauces so it doesn’t feel like I’m eating the same thing every day. (Which I hate!).” Saunion says. Try chimichurri sauce, sweet Thai chili sauce, honey garlic, or buffalo sauce to help switch things up each day.
Put Your Air Fryer to Good Use
If you’ve only been using your air fryer to make chicken wings, it’s time to rethink this appliance for meal prepping. An air fryer can make just about anything you’d create in the oven in less time and with little cleanup thanks to everything in one basket. Make meatballs, pizza, or some of these air fryer recipes to switch up your weekday rotation with ease.
Cook in Bulk
“Any sort of rice made in bulk is perfect for the week,” says Real Simple lifestyle editor Ria Bhagwat. “I especially love making chicken fried rice (which can be substituted with tofu or fish, depending on your dietary restrictions) because it’s so easy to make in a large batch.”
Utilize Your Slow Cooker
Speaking of large batches, slow cooker meals are hearty, comforting, and easy to put together. Dump everything into the slow cooker and the appliance does all the work for you. This is one of the most useful tools in your meal prep arsenal, especially because they tend to make a good amount of food all at once so you can enjoy it for multiple meals.
Keep Your Fridge Organized
A well-organized fridge can help make your life so much easier when it comes time to cook. Organize the shelves right away after bringing your groceries home, and you can then keep an eye on the items you have as the week goes on so they don’t go to waste.
Try a Meal Planning App
While a solid grocery list and recipe schedule can make for better meal prepping, there are also plenty of apps that can do the trick. These handy meal-planning apps can help with determining what groceries you need to buy and how to create simple recipes for the week that won’t have you in the kitchen for longer than needed.
Prep Your Veggies Ahead of Time
Jenna Helwig, Real Simple food director, says getting veggies ready ahead of time helps you quickly cook fresh meals each day without having soggy containers of three-day-old leftovers. “Washing and chopping broccoli, halving Brussels sprouts, and cubing squash saves so much hands-on time during the week” she explains. “And I still get the flavor of freshly cooked veggies.”
Shop Smarter for Groceries
Grocery shopping can be overwhelming and expensive, especially when trying to buy for the whole week at once. Focus on key grocery staples that won’t cost a lot but can be added to a variety of meals. Think jarred items, beans, frozen fruits and veggies, and fresh produce that doesn’t spoil as quickly like bananas, potatoes, and melons.
Put Common Household Items to Good Use
Meal prep is all about cutting corners where you can in the kitchen to make for a streamlined process. Reuse common household products to help with the prep work later, such as reusing a clean ketchup bottle to hold your pancake batter or sealing two zip bags together to double in size when needed.
Enjoy Low-Effort Sheet Pan Meals
Sheet pan meals are great for meal prepping because all you need is a protein, vegetables, and herbs to have several dinners ready in about a half hour. Plus, you can have multiple sheet pans cooking at once on each oven rack for four times the food.
Make Extra for Leftovers
Leftovers are the easiest way to meal prep since all you need to do is make more of what you’re already cooking. Get creative with your ingredients to mix things up each day, like shredding up some of the chicken thighs you made last night to put over a salad.
Freeze Your Food Properly
Keeping food on-hand in the freezer helps make for quick and easy meals on busy nights without another trip to the grocery store. Try freezing food in small portions in freezer-safe containers and storage bags to ensure that it tastes fresh once you’re ready to de-thaw it.
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