The Best Meal Prep Cookbooks for Make-Ahead Eats

Best Overall

The Ultimate Meal Prep Cookbook: One Grocery List. A Week of Meals. No Waste.

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It’s no surprise that America’s Test Kitchen has expertise to share when it comes to meal prepping. This book boasts 25 weekly plans—plenty to keep meals from feeling redundant. Keeping budget in mind, the weekly grocery lists provided have a maximum of 12 items, and active cook time is limited to 45 minutes, so you’ll be in and out of the kitchen relatively quickly.

For weeks when you can't visit the grocery store, there's an entire chapter devoted to pantry meals. And if your pantry isn’t as robust as it should be, the cookbook's introduction includes tips on safe food storage, reheating, ingredient prep, and equipment necessities. Recipes including herb-poached salmon with cucumber-dill salad as well as sun-dried tomato and white bean soup with parmesan crisps keep dinner exciting.

Price at time of publish: $30

Number of Recipes: 100+ | Pages: 336 | Date Published: 2021

Best New Release

Fridge Love: Organize Your Refrigerator for a Healthier, Happier Life—With 100 Recipes

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Hello Nutritarian blogger Kristen Hong breaks down how to organize your way to meal prep success in her debut cookbook "Fridge Love." Eco- and budget-conscious home cooks will appreciate Hong’s advice on how to minimize one’s food waste and grocery bill. Additional useful info includes fridge setup, cleaning, and setting suggestions right in the introduction before transitioning to meal prep, plus food storage tips via simple instructions and as full-color photos. The last section of the book is a roundup of her go-to plant-based recipes, such as Greek salad jars, chipotle red lentil soup, and make-your-own condiments.

Price at time of publish: $20

Number of Recipes: 100+ | Pages: 352 | Date Published: 2022

Best Paleo

Quick Prep Paleo

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Prioritizing home-cooked meals over takeout is a more realistic goal once this cookbook is in hand. All of the recipes, once prepped, take only five to 15 minutes to make. This minimalist hands-on approach allows “the oven, stove, slow cooker or Instant Pot [to] do all the work while you enjoy extra free time at home,” according to the author and Mary’s Whole Life blogger Mary Smith. Even recipes typically associated with longer cook times can be done quickly, such as cheeseburger bowls, Mexican breakfast lasagna, “better-for-you” Mississippi pot roast, and asparagus and mushroom risotto.

Price at time of publish: $22

Number of Recipes: 75 | Pages: 176 | Date Published: 2020

Best for Families

Good Housekeeping Easy Meal Prep: The Ultimate Playbook for Make-Ahead Meals

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The team at Good Housekeeping shares its expertise on meal prep in this book, and we love how comprehensive it is, covering everything from batch cooking and freeze-ahead meals to ready-to-serve dinners and grab-and-go breakfasts and lunches. With over 100 recipes and four weeks of meal plans, there’s something for everyone in your family.

Recipes include call-out icons to make it super clear which ingredients pull double-duty (meaning they need to be prepped for that recipe, as well as the secondary recipe you'll need in the future). For example, to make butternut squash and white bean soup, the recipe calls for you to use 1/4 of the prepped squash for this soup and reserve the remainder for the butternut mole enchiladas you’ll make later in the week.

As a bonus, this book includes cooking and storage tips, and there are also vegan, keto, and gluten-free recipes provided.

Price at time of publish: $25

Number of Recipes: 100+ | Pages: 224 | Date Published: 2021

Best for Couples

Meal Prep for Two: 8 Weekly Plans & 75 Recipes to Get Healthier Together

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If you're meal prepping for yourself and a partner or roommate exclusively, this cookbook tackles eight weekly plans (75 recipes) tailored for two. It includes helpful “budget hacks,” step-by-step meal prep instructions, and detailed shopping lists, as well as storage tips and nutritional information. You’ll keep coming back to this book after tasting recipes such as the zucchini cheddar scones and sheet pan ratatouille with roasted salmon.

Price at time of publish: $17

Number of Recipes: 75 | Pages: 190 | Date Published: 2019

Best Plant-Based

Plant-Based Meal Prep: Simple, Make-Ahead Recipes for Vegan, Gluten-free, Comfort Food

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If you're interested in plant-based meals because you are vegetarian or vegan (or you simply want to eat less meat), you don't have to sacrifice delicious food. Recipes including mac and cheese, creamy pasta with broccoli, and lentil and black bean nachos will ensure you’re not sacrificing cravable, satisfying favorites.

This book of over 60 recipes covers breakfasts, mains, snacks, and desserts, as well as labeled recipes that are soy-free, grain-free, and paleo-friendly for those following more specific diets. Nutritional information is provided for every recipe, and a helpful introduction covers the benefits of plant-based eating, basic plant-based definitions and tips, a pantry and equipment checklist, and plenty more.

Price at time of publish: $20

Number of Recipes: 60+ | Pages: 224 | Date Published: 2019

Best Gluten-Free

Cook Once, Eat All Week: 26 Weeks of Gluten-Free, Affordable Meal Prep to Preserve Your Time & Sanity

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For those following gluten-free diets, rest assured you, too, can meal prep efficiently, thanks to this popular cookbook. A comprehensive collection of 26 weeks of meals (including mouthwatering sloppy joe stuffed potatoes, spinach pesto spaghetti squash boats, and chicken bacon ranch casserole) will ensure you have plenty of recipes to choose from so meals will never get redundant. A thorough introduction section explains the meal prep methodology, storage best practices, pantry stocking tips, ingredient swap ideas, and more.

Price at time of publish: $35

Number of Recipes: 100+ | Pages: 400 | Date Published: 2019

Best Keto

Keto Meal Prep Cookbook for Beginners: 600 Easy, Simple & Basic Ketogenic Diet Recipes

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Whether you’re new to the keto diet or consider yourself a pro, this massive collection of 600 recipes will ensure you’re constantly trying new dishes and will keep mealtime exciting. The book includes a 21-day meal plan to get you into a routine. It also includes all the keto basics a beginner should learn, such as the benefits, tips, and which foods should be eaten versus avoided.

If you’re apprehensive about starting the keto diet and meal prepping on top of that, rest assured this cookbook will be a trusted guide. Recipes like Brie-stuffed meatballs, cheesy salmon dip, and Belgian waffles will make the keto diet feel like no diet at all.

Price at time of publish: $11

Number of Recipes: 600 | Pages: 219 | Date Published: 2019

Best for Kids' Lunches

Little Bento: 32 Irresistible Bento Box Lunches for Kids

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Bento boxes have become the cool new brown bag, the perfect vessel for kids’ lunches with small, separated compartments to keep their meal fun, organized, and portion-controlled. This book includes over 100 bento recipes and 32 photos of already assembled boxes, so you’ll be inspired to go beyond the standard PB&J, and your kids will be more excited for lunchtime than ever before. It also includes a weekly meal planning worksheet, along with ingredient lists to help you prepare food safely for kids with food allergies or sensitivities.

Organized by season, this creative organizational structure will ensure you’re eating the best produce for the time of year. The introduction includes packing tips and explains the history of bento boxes and their variations. Best of all? These plans don’t just have to be for kids’ lunches; with recipes like herbed parmesan popcorn and crispy chicken strips, adults will certainly enjoy these meals, too, so feel free to meal prep using this bento inspiration for office lunches, as well.

Price at time of publish: $17

Number of Recipes: 100+ | Pages: 178 | Date Published: 2016