Meal prep can be a life saver during crazy weeks but it’s easy to get stuck in a rut and run out of ideas. Here are some meal prep tips and recipe ideas to keep you inspired.
How do you Meal Prep gluten free?
Carefully Choose Your Meal Prep Recipes
I say carefully because if you go on Pinterest and choose random recipes, you can end up with a 3-4 hour meal prep session. That’s just exhausting and not fun.
Pick recipes that are around 20 minutes to cook so you can cook 3-4 recipes and have enough variety without wasting away your weekend.
Another thing to look out for when you choose your recipes is to pick ones with different cooking equipment that fits what you have in your kitchen.
I like to pick one slow cooker dish, one oven dish and then one no cook or stovetop dish. That way the slow cooker and oven dishes cook while I chop up stuff for a salad or stir a one-pot meal on the stove.
Meal Prepping Without Recipes
If you aren’t picky, enjoy winging it, and like simple meals then you can just cook big batches of a gluten-free grain, vegetables, and beans or meat. Then mix and match with different sauces and combinations throughout the week.
An example of this would be to make a big batch of brown rice in a pot, basic shredded chicken in a slow cooker, and roast your favorite vegetables on a sheet pan in the oven. Then you can use these cooked ingredients in different combinations. Use salsa and tahini dressing to give different flavors to the chicken and rice bowls.
I don’t like randomly mixing and matching because I get bored easily and want a plan with recipes so I know I have enough variety and flavor.
Gluten-Free Meal Prep Base Ingredients
Here is a list for those creative cooks who like to wing it and want to meal prep without recipes. Just choose a meat or meatless protein, your favorite veggies, a grain from this list, and a few sauces and you’ll be set!
Gluten-Free Grains To Meal Prep
- Quinoa (the texture holds up a little bit better as leftovers than rice does)
- Brown & White Rice
- Buckwheat
- Oats (good for breakfast meal prep)
Pre-made Gluten-free Sauces That Speed Up Meal Prep
Pre-made sauces can help speed up meal prep and reduce the number of ingredients you have to buy. Let me know if I missed one of your favorite pre-made sauces and I’ll add it to this list!
- Pesto
- Ranch dressing
- Salsa
- BBQ sauce
- Hummus (might not count as a “sauce” but it adds a lot of flavor and can replace the need for a sauce)
- Buffalo wing sauce
- Gluten-free asian sauces – more and more stores are offering gluten-free teriyaki and other sauces for your asian meal prep.
Easy Gluten-Free Meal Prep Recipes For Lunch & Dinner
Fresh 15-minute Tomato Soup
This soup will make it tough to go back to canned tomato soup ever again. It’s best during the summer when tomatoes are perfectly in season.
Lemon Pepper Ground Turkey Meal Prep Bowls
Double the rice and broccoli servings to use those ingredients for other meals throughout the week to save some time.
Healthy Orange Beef & Broccoli
Delicious take-out inspired meal prep!
Slow Cooker Quinoa Enchilada Casserole
This creamy dish is perfect for meal prep because you just dump everything in the slow cooker and let it cook while you prep other recipes.
Gluten-free Mini Ranch Turkey Meatloaves
These mini meatloaves are a lightened up and quick version of meatloaf. They use ground turkey but are still moist and savory. They bake much faster than regular meatloaf because they are mini ones baked in a muffin tin.
Gluten-free Beef Stew
This cozy comfort food is great to throw in the slow cooker for a big batch to eat on throughout the week. It also freezes nicely.
5 Ingredient Slow Cooker Italian Beef
This big batch of flavor packed Italian beef is great for meal prep. Serve over rice, cauliflower rice, or as a sandwich on gluten-free bread.
Gluten-Free Breakfast Meal Prep Recipes
These awesome make-ahead breakfasts will give you something to look forward to when you crawl out of bed.
Meal Prep Egg Muffins
The perfect grab and go breakfast for busy mornings.
Peanut Butter Overnight Oats From Minimalist Baker
Overnight oats are especially perfect for the summer time when you want a break from hot breakfasts. This quick 5 minute meal prep makes breakfast a breeze.
Gluten-Free Sheet Pan Pancakes From Faithfully Gluten Free
This is so much faster than the traditional way of making pancakes and makes it easier to prep for the week.
Vanilla Chia Seed Pudding from The Simple Veganista
This basic vanilla chia seed pudding is the perfect base for any flavor. You can meal prep a big batch for the week and then add different fruits so you get a different flavor each day.
How To Keep Your Gluten-Free Meal Prep Fresh
Here are some tips to keep your food fresh in the fridge for as long as possible!
- Remember to store any sauces or dressing separately.
- Cut apples, avocados, pears and foods that brown right before eating or make sure to coat them with lemon or lime juice to reduce browning.
- Store lettuce at the very top of your containers so the heavier ingredients don’t crush and wilt the lettuce.
- Store food separately that you want to reheat in the microwave (ex: if you want to reheat your chicken and quinoa to have a warm bowl, store it separately from the lettuce).
Happy Prepping!
