Wondering what to buy for meal prep? All the food prep materials and list can intimidate you. Here I share the best meal prep supplies you can get from Amazon.
Having a meal prep plan in place is a great way to save time, money and prepare for the busy days when you don’t feel like cooking from scratch.
However, choosing your recipes and planning is only half of a successful meal prep system. The other half is cooking method and storage.
The more efficient you can wash, cut and cook the ingredients, the quicker you will get done with meal prepping. Also, storage containers play an important part on keeping the meals safe and easily available for when you need them.
But then what are the best meal prep supplies?
That all depends on your needs. While you won’t need every single item, if you are ready for easy prep and to become an efficient meal prepper then you should check the meal prep kitchen essentials below.
In this post I will show you a comprehensive list of amazing products and discuss a few tips on how to choose the correct ones to add to your list of meal prep essentials. All of them you can get on Amazon!
Best Meal Prep Supplies
What equipment do you need to meal prep?
Here are the essential food prep supplies that everyone should have at home.
Kitchen Meal Preparation Tools
These are some of the meal prep necessities we use every day for mixing, washing, cutting and dicing ingredients for various meals.
I show you the best and budget options, but I tell you where you actually need to invest more money. Most often, the inexpensive equipment will do just fine!
1. Cutting Board
Cutting boards are obviously essential tools for meal preparation. The best chopping boards materials are the ones that you can easily clean but also the ones that don’t damage the knives’ edge.
Wood cutting boards are often of superior quality but they aren’t the easiest to clean. Other common options are plastic, rubber or bamboo.
I love this large board that helps contain all the juice from vegetables and meat, and doesn’t dull your knife..
Ready to start meal prepping? Check out my How To Meal Prep Guide For Beginners.
2. Knives Set
You want knives that will make slicing, dicing and chopping a breeze.
The best cutting meal prep knives come in sets of sharp blades and sizes that you can use to fillet a fish as well as it can chop a vegetable.
Here are my recommendations:
3. Measuring Cups
Measuring cups are one of the best meal prep gadgets to have. And the best thing, they are so inexpensive everyone can afford.
I love these ones from Amazon:
4. Kitchen Scale
The kitchen scale comes in handy with all the food prep, specially when measuring cups won’t do the job.
It’s best to look for a digital kitchen scale, these days they are super affordable.
Honestly you don’t need a state of art scale, with high-precision sensors that gives the exact weight down to the last gram. Just something affordable and durable for everyday use will do.
5. Salad Spinner
One of the most underrated meal prepping tools, the salad spinner is an absolute necessity!
It’s best to use a spinner to get rid of most of the moisture after washing your greens. This will ensure a longer-lasting fresh salad stored in your fridge.
6. Mixing Bowls
I recommend having at least 5 mixing bowls (with lids) ranging from small to large size.
They will help during the pre-prep time during the washing and cutting of ingredients, while you cook the food and after as you store some ingredients, be them raw or seasoned.
These staple items often come in sets. They are inexpensive, durable and lightweight and fit inside each other taking less space in your cupboards.
7. Meal planner
This is not a kitchen tool but still a supply that you certainly need to make your meal prep easier.
The best meal planning printables have at least a week’s worth of meal plan ideas and space for your grocery list.
Meal Prep Equipment
8. Sheet Pan
Sheet pan are some of my favorite kitchen tools, and I think they should be part of everyone’s meal prepping kit.
9. Slow Cooker
Slow cookers can be of great help when food prepping. I always ask myself when meal prepping; what meals take the longest amount of time to prepare or cook? Then I throw the ingredients in a slow cooker, turn it on, and let it cook while I prep other meals.
I love slow cooker meal prep because it keeps the mess limited since for the most you can cook the whole recipe using only one equipment. It’s perfect for family freezer meals and meal pots.
Related article: The Advantages Of Meal Prepping
10. Instant Pot
Use the pressure cooker or instant pot for smart meal preps. This is a fantastic food prep equipment to have in your kitchen.
Perfect to cook meats, poultry, hardboiled eggs and veggies. It is one of the best meal prepping gifts I can think off.
11. Air Fryer
The air fryer is not an essential meal preparation tool but one that you can count on if you want to fry food with (hardly) no additional oil.
I use my air fryer as a mini oven to grill healthier fried foods, like fries and potatoes or other vegetables, chicken, nuggets or sausages and to warm up frozen pies.
12. Food Processor
If you want to increase the amount of healthy eating you have in the week then you must add more veggies and salads to your meals.
However, vegetable meal prepping includes a lot of chopping and dicing. If it takes too much time and energy you might skip adding these healthy ingredients to your meals. In this case you really need a food processor! Your vegetables will be done in no time!
If you don’t have the budget for a food processor, the very least you should get is a vegetable chopper. Not as convenient as the food processor but will still save you plenty of time!
13. Blender
Smoothies and soups are healthy meal prep ideas that you should try and include in your weekly plan whenever possible. For this reason, a blender is simply a must in this list.
I love using my individual cup Nutri bullet blender to quickly come up with a healthy snack for the afternoon. I shop for seasonal fruits, make individual bags of chopped fruits and store everything in the freezer.
When I need a smoothie I simply grab one of those bags, add water, juice or milk depending on the fruit mix and the drink is ready in under 30 seconds
Best Meal Prep Containers & Meal Prep Storage Supplies
How to store meal prep? This is a very important part of the whole process.
And here quality matters! Remember that the meal containers will help keep your food safe and fresh as well as store food for on-the-go.
Below I give you the best meal prep containers and bags, mason jar ideas and meal prep plates.
14. Food Prep Bags
Bags for meal prep are a great storage solution for meals with sauce that you intend to freeze.
You can have either reusable or disposable meal planning bags, both of them work well (though I prefer the reusable option whenever possible!).
Just remember to look for the highest quality you can afford, these are typically the best meal prep bags.
Cheap meal prep bags can burst or not be 100% airtight and end up creating a big mess for you to clean, in addition to not keep the food prepped as fresh as it can be.
15. Meal Prep Storage Containers
For those who want to make meal-times even more convenient, then the meal planning containers are a must have in your meal prepping list.
Always look for containers that have airtight, leak-proof lids. There are containers for every budget and preference, but I like to stick with the glass containers.
With glass containers you have no worries about toxic materials that sometimes are present in plastic getting in contact with the food you ingest through the heating process.
Glass meal prep containers also come in so many shapes, sizes and even with different portion compartments, making it super simple to keep your foods fresh, avoid mixing all while helping your portion control. I am sure you will find a set that will suit your needs.
16. Mason Jars
Mason jars are perfect for breakfast or snack options such as oatmeal and smoothies.
They are reusable, easy to clean and their lids are typically snug keeping whatever you store in them fresh in the refrigerator for at least a couple of days.
You can also use them in the microwave.
17. Meal Prep Plates and Bento Boxes
Focusing on packing your own lunch is a great step towards a healthier lifestyle and it is so much easier when you have the right storage supplies.
For meal prepping lunches you usually need disposable meal prep plates or reusable bento boxes because oftentimes you are at work or not at home while eating it.
These plates and boxes help you pack and transport the food but also, they become the utensil that you use to eat.
Best Meal Prep Tools
The right tool is half the job, and this expression holds true for meal prepping too.
With the right tools and supplies your meal planning and prepping will be much easier to accomplish!
Remember that sometimes it is cheaper in the long run to purchase quality meal prep supplies.
