Feeling overwhelmed by the thought of meal prepping? We’ve got you covered! Here are 12 easy-to-follow Meal Prep Menus + Grocery Lists.
We know meal prepping can be overwhelming, especially if you’re just getting started. So that’s why we did some of the work for you by taking on the task of creating 12 easy-to-follow meal prep menus. Each menu includes 5 simple and delicious recipes plus a grocery list so that you know exactly what you need. Below you will see the menus separated into 3 categories including Real Food, Paleo and Whole30. Before you get started, we recommend you read our Top 10 Tips for Meal Prepping and if you’re looking for more guidance with meal planning and prepping we highly recommend Real Plans. There you will be able to customize a meal plan based on your needs and preferences AND you’ll have the option to have access to over 225 of our very own recipes. Learn more here!
New to meal prepping and not sure how to get started? Here are 12 easy-to-follow Meal Prep Menus + Grocery Lists. Click To Tweet
It’s time to purchase your groceries, get your glass containers washed and ready to be filled, turn on some tunes and start cookin’.
For each menu, just click on the link or the photo which will take you to the recipe links and weekly grocery list. Also a quick note, the menus are not in order numerically but rather grouped under Real Food, Paleo or Whole30.
Real Food Meal Prep Menus (Gluten-free)
Real Food Weekly Meal Prep Menu No. 1
ON THE MENU: One-pan Balsamic Chicken Veggie Bake, Sweet Potato & Kale Chili, Turkey Apple Sausage Patties, Green Goddess Quinoa Salad, 4-Ingredient PB & J Bites
Real Food Weekly Meal Prep Menu No. 3
ON THE MENU: One-pan Roasted Chicken & Vegetables, Chipotle-Chocolate Sweet Potato Chili, Sweet Potato Hash with Bacon, Easy Garlic Hummus, Cinnamon Raisin Paleo Breakfast Bread
Real Food Weekly Meal Prep Menu No. 5
ON THE MENU: Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos, Sausage & Cabbage Sheet Pan Dinner, Blackberry Sage Breakfast Sausage, Greek Quinoa Salad, Paleo Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies
Paleo Meal Prep Menus (Grain-free, Dairy-free)
Paleo Weekly Meal Prep Menu No. 2
ON THE MENU: Slow Cooker Chicken Chile Verde, Lemon Butter Seared Salmon, Caramelized Onion Butternut Squash Crustless Quiche, Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, Cauliflower Rice, Banana Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins
Paleo Weekly Meal Prep Menu No. 4
ON THE MENU: Grain-free Spaghetti Pie, Easy Lemon Garlic Chicken Thighs, Asian Stir Fry Frittata, Brussels Sprouts Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette, Key Lime Pie Energy Bars
Paleo Weekly Meal Prep Menu No. 7
ON THE MENU: Instant Pot Sweet Potato Curry, Shepherd’s Pie with Sweet Potato Topping, Apricot Basil Breakfast Meatballs, Cauliflower Rice, Lemon Blueberry Paleo Muffins
Paleo Weekly Meal Prep Menu No. 10
ON THE MENU: Easy Tuna Cakes with Roasted Red Pepper Mayo, Slow Cooker Hawaiian Shredded Chicken, Southwest Breakfast Casserole, Chipotle Lime Butternut Squash Home Fries, Dark Chocolate Cherry Energy Bites
Whole30 Meal Prep Menus (Grain-free, Dairy-free, Whole30 friendly)
Whole30 Weekly Meal Prep Menu No. 6
ON THE MENU: BBQ Meatloaf Muffins, Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili, Brussels Sprouts Sweet Potato Sausage Hash, Lemon Butter Sautéed Kale, Thai Curry Cashews
Whole30 Weekly Meal Prep Menu No. 8
ON THE MENU: Asian-Style Turkey Lettuce Wraps, Slow Cooker Greek Chicken, Mushroom Medley Frittata, Cauliflower Sweet Potato Salad with Bacon, Chili Rosemary Roasted Nuts
Whole30 Weekly Meal Prep Menu No. 9
ON THE MENU: Buffalo Chicken Stuffed Spaghetti Squash, Beef & Broccoli Stir Fry, Sausage Sweet Potato Veggie Skillet, Thai Kale Salad, Paleo Ranch
Whole30 Weekly Meal Prep Menu No. 11
ON THE MENU: One-pan Chicken Fajita Bake, Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes, 3-Ingredient Breakfast Skillet, Blueberry Chicken Salad with Rosemary, Roasted Cinnamon Hazelnut Almond Butter
Whole30 Weekly Meal Prep Menu No. 12
ON THE MENU: Garlic Roasted Potatoes, Asparagus Frittata with Spicy Sausage and Leeks, Blackberry Sage Breakfast Sausage, Arugula Strawberry Salad, Cauliflower Hummus, Mocktail
Looking for more menu planning assistance? We recommend Real Plans!
We believe that spending time meal planning and prepping during the weekend is important for setting you and your family up for a healthy and energized week ahead. In addition, it will help you reduce food waste, save money, save time, and you’ll always have an answer to the ‘what’s for dinner?’ question.
And now there’s a solution to make meal planning fast-and-easy!! Real Plans is an online menu planner that’s highly customizable to fit your busy schedule, family size, and food preferences. With just a few clicks, you’ll have your menu created for the week in a matter of minutes. Amazing! We have been using Real Plans in our own lives and through our own trial, we discovered that it’s truly the best online meal planning service available.
Here’s what you get:
- Access to all meal plans including:
- Traditional (Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free options available)
- Paleo (Primal and Autoimmune Protocol options available)
- Vegetarian (Ovo-lacto)
- Keto
- Access to over 1,500 delicious recipes to suit every taste and occasion PLUS the option to add on recipes from some of the most well-known food blogs including Nom Nom Paleo, Fed + Fit, Autoimmune Paleo, The Paleo Mom, Well Fed with Melissa Joulwan and more.
- Option to exclude certain foods. This is a nice option for those with a food allergy or sensitivites!
- Adjustable portion sizes and serving sizes to fit your family size. Whether you’re cooking for 2 or 6, this meal planner will work for you.
- Easily customizable menus that allow you to move/add/delete meals to fit the week’s schedule.
- Automatically generates grocery lists (sorted by store) and prep ahead instructions to go along with each weeks menu.
- Detailed nutrition data to support macronutrient counting.
- Mobile app so you can have your menu and grocery list with you at all times – no need to use up all of the ink in your printer.
- Whole30 menu option add-on which includes some of our very own recipes – yes, our recipes!
- 30-day 100% money back guarantee for all Real Plans products. If you don’t love it, they’re refund your money.
You can read more about Real Plans and why we’re fans here!
This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.
I am wanting to lose 30 ponds. I’m 57 years old and exercise. I’m not ready to tackle whole30. So you have a plan that you believe would help me with my goal.
Hi Pam,
These meal prep plans aren’t necessarily designed for weight loss but rather to help you create delicious, healthy meals with less fuss.
I love the Whole 30 meal plan!! I’m on day 4 of my second Whole 30 and this meal plan has made my week a breeze so far!! I would love to see more! Thanks!
Hi Tracy,
Thanks so much for your feedback – we’re glad this has been so helpful!
I went through your Week 1 plan, and going by the serving size of these recipes, if you are using this grocery list for 2 people, it has:
– Chicken – Mon, Tues (4 servings)
– Chili – Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat (8 servings)
– Salad – Sun (2 servings)
– PBJ Bites – dessert for 7 days (approx 2.5 pieces daily per person)
This doesn’t include food for lunches, and it only includes 12 sausage patties for breakfast, so we would have to add more groceries for those meals or eat out. They look like good recipes, and my husband and I don’t mind eating leftovers if the food is good, so I think I will give this a try. I’m hoping the serving size estimates are low so I will have extra leftovers for lunches, or else I’ll end up eating fast food every day, which will undo any good done by eating healthy at night.
Hi Lola, you are right. These meal prep menus will need to be supplemented with additional food. We use meal prep as a way to get a good amount of our cooking done before the week even begins. So while they won’t fulfill your entire nutritional needs, they will definitely reduce the amount of kitchen time needed during the busy week. Hope that helps!