Let’s be honest, finding the time to whip up a nutritious meal can often feel like more of a hassle than anything. Yet, for those of us committed to our fitness goals, ensuring our bodies receive the right amount of protein is a priority. Whether you’re looking to build muscle, shed some extra pounds, or simply maintain a healthy lifestyle, protein-rich meals are your best friend. For those of us who are super busy high protein meal prep ideas are a godsend. So that’s what we have today for you – 23 delicious recipes you can use during your busy seasons to keep pursuing your goals.
Picture this: you spend a few hours in the kitchen on a Sunday afternoon, and voila! You’ve got a week’s worth of protein-packed meals ready to go. No more scrambling for dinner ideas or grabbing unhealthy takeout when time is short. In this high protein meal prep recipe roundup, we’ll not only satisfy your taste buds but also help you meet your nutritional goals. From savory breakfast options to mouthwatering dinners and everything in between, we’ve brought you a collection of recipes that are easy to prepare and bursting with protein.
1. Easy Keto Peruvian Chicken
Keto Peruvian Chicken is a keto-friendly take on a beloved Peruvian classic, featuring crispy skin, juicy meat, and zesty green sauce. Since this dish is chicken focused, you get over 50 grams of protein per serving and the delicious Peruvian spices keep it from being bland, boring meal prep. Keep it low carb by serving it with an array of vegetables.
2. High Protein Meal Prep: Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken
Simple and easy is what you need when looking for high protein meal prep recipes, and this one is your new go to. Just five ingredients and a slow cooker will result in a delicious, high protein option you can eat all week. The slow cooker does all the work for you!
3. Healthy Slow Cooker Balsamic Pot Roast
Another slow cooker recipe that will become a staple in your house is this healthy balsamic pot roast. There’s no reason to reserve pot roast for Sunday lunches only, when you can use this shredded meat for your lunch meals all week. As a high protein meal prep option, this pot roast is amazing over a baked potato or baked sweet potato. It can go over cooked rice or cauliflower rice.
4. High Protein Meal Prep: Ground Beef Korean Bowls
Ground beef bulgogi makes a budget-friendly high protein meal prep option that can be made in under 30 minutes. No need to slave away for hours in the kitchen! This ground beef bulgogi is normally served over rice and can be topped with a variety of fixings. So to make lunches or dinners for the week, place it in individual portions and you’ve got ready-to-eat meals with very little effort.
5. Sheet Pan Chicken Shawarma
If you love quick and easy chicken meals, this Chicken Shawarma is for you! It is a simple sheet pan dish that is amazing and Weight Watchers points friendly. You can make large batches on just one sheet tray – enough for the whole week. The blend of spices keeps things flavorful without adding unnecessary calories.
6. High Protein Meal Prep: 30 Minute Beef and Broccoli
We love thirty minute meals for high protein meal prep because no one likes to spend hours in the kitchen on a weekend trying to prepare for the week ahead. Flank steak is lean and tender and is perfect for beef and broccoli. It can be frozen for 30 minutes to make it easier to slice. You will need simple ingredients such as soy sauce, honey, garlic, orange zest, ginger, and sesame oil to make this dish flavorful.
7. Pinchos de Pollo (Grilled Puerto Rican Chicken Skewers)
This recipe for homemade grilled pinchos de pollo is surprisingly easy to make and a heart-healthy choice for your family. These skewers are perfect for spring and summer grilling since their neutral taste allows the flavors of your food to stand out. The BBQ sauce on each skewer gives it a sweet, tangy taste and keeps the chicken moist.
8. High Protien Meal Prep: Jamaican Jerk Chicken
This Jamaican Jerk Chicken recipe is a juicy flavor bomb exploding with complex smoky, spicy yet sweet, fragrant, aromatic notes and tantalizing crispy charred crust that will transport you to Jamaica year-round. Chicken is high in protein, and when it’s packed with flavor like this, is perfect for meal prep throughout the week. You won’t get tired of it.
9. Fiesta Lime Chicken with Avocado Salsa
This Fiesta Lime Chicken is bathed in aromatic Mexican spices spiked with olive oil, lime juice, and lime zest and served with bright, creamy, crunchy avocado salsa. When this chicken is made in advance and allowed to marinade, the flavor is even more intense. It’s perfect for a salad meal prep in the summer, or over roasted potatoes in the winter.
10. Roasted Mediterranean Chicken
This herb roasted Mediterranean chicken is a full meal in one, and it’s absolutely perfect for high protein meal prep. Each serving gives a whopping 43 grams of protein, and only 27 grams of carbs and 12 grams of fat. Even when high in protein like this, it’s not sacrificing flavor.
11. High Protein Meal Prep: Easy Ground Turkey Stir Fry
If you need a switch up from chicken, give this ground turkey stir fry a try. You only need 7 ingredients (water being one of them!) and you get a delicious, flavorful ground turkey that can be served in a variety of ways. Each serving is under 200 calories and has 30 grams of protein. Pair it with your favorite veggies or put it over cauliflower rice for a low carb, high protein meal prep lunch.
12. Honey Garlic Chicken Meal Prep
You can have all the convenience of takeout and eat healthily by making a meal prep dish like this Honey Garlic Chicken Meal Prep. It takes 20 minutes to prepare and is pretty simple to make too. They are sweet and sticky with an amazing honey garlic glaze. They keep your chicken from being dry and help keep it’s flavor all week long.
13. Orange Chicken Meal Prep
This orange chicken high protein meal prep is paleo, whole30, and AIP friendly. Even if you don’t need any of those restrictions, this is a yummy option for lunches or dinners. The savory orange sauce is made with orange juice, coconut aminos, coconut sugar, and orange zest – all natural ingredients so you can feel good about what you’re eating.
14. Spicy Pineapple Chicken Meal Prep
The chicken is tender and extra flavorful, with a nice balance of sweetness, savory, and heat. This Spicy Pineapple Chicken is packed with protein and Vitamin C, so it’s a perfect post-workout meal. You can serve your chicken with rice or cauliflower rice. Prepackaged cauliflower rice paired with this chicken makes it a super easy meal prep recipe!
15. Sheet Pan Protein Pancakes
Protein pancakes are a great high protein meal prep recipe, but pancakes can sometimes take time to make. This recipe for sheet pan pancakes solves the time issue! It’s all baked at once, and easily gives you breakfast for the week. It’s made of a mixture of all purpose and whole wheat flour, and a vanilla whey protein powder. You can swap for 100% all purpose or 100% white whole wheat flour, and maple syrup may be substituted for honey or brown sugar.
16. Fajita Breakfast Egg Cups
Egg cups are another fantastic high protein breakfast recipe. The great thing about these fajita breakfast cups is you can easily adjust them to your diet and taste preferences. Make them dairy free, or switch up the veggies so they fit what you like. Either way, they’re easy to make and are perfect for breakfast on the go.
17. High Protein Meal Prep: Baked Mushroom Chicken
The beautiful baked mushroom chicken dish keeps high protein meal prep easy. It all bakes together in one dish and then can be served over your preference of carb or veggies. It can even double as a weeknight dinner option if you don’t want to make it for meal prep.
18. Skewerless Chicken Kabobs
Chicken skewers are naturally high in protein because they mostly consist of just chicken or meat, but they can be time consuming to make. Individually putting each little piece on the skewer takes up valuable time that you’re trying to save by actually meal prepping. These skewerless chicken kabobs give you all the flavor and protein without requiring effort and time.
19. Cochon de Lait (Cajun Pulled Pork)
Let’s take another quick break from chicken and look at this pulled pork recipe. Cochon de Lait is a delicious pulled pork from Louisiana, traditionally cooked all day. But this version is made in the instant pot – saving you time and giving you a yummy high protein meal prep option.
20. High Protein Meal Prep: Healthy Turkey Chili
During the cold months, you want something comforting, easy to make, and healthy. This turkey chili is high in protien and perfect for a cold evening. It is packed with spices, veggies, beans, and lean ground turkey to give it the perfect thickness and flavor. It’s made with diced or crushed tomatoes and chicken broth so it’s got the classic tomato base without being too heavy.
21. Dominican Stewed Chicken
Dominican stewed chicken is going to be your new favorite high protein meal prep dish! It takes just 45 minutes to cook, but the flavors are simmered together so it’s very tender and absolutely flavorful. For a classic Dominican dish, serve the stewed chicken over white rice, but it goes great with vegetables as well.
22. High Protein Meal Prep: Teriyaki Chicken Bowl
Authentic teriyaki chicken is one of my favorite ways to prepare chicken. The meat is tender, the skin is crispy, and the sauce is sticky and scrumptious. It’s classic meal prep for a reason – it’s healthy, high protein, and delicious even after a few days in the fridge. This rice and chicken recipe is straightforward and takes about 10 minutes to prepare. You can also streamline the recipe by using store-bought bottled teriyaki sauce.
23. Steak Fajitas for Meal Prep
Fajitas are a Tex-Mex dish made with sauteed/grilled peppers, onions, and meat cut into strips served in a flour or corn tortilla. This recipe uses flank steak, homemade fajita seasoning, bell peppers, onion, garlic, and avocado oil. Feel free to use any color of pepper you want, and feel free to swap for olive oil. Served over rice in bowls, this a fantastic meal prep lunch.
Whether you’re a seasoned meal prep pro or just dipping your toes into this time-saving practice, we’ve got something for everyone. Get ready to discover a world of flavors, all while fueling your gains and staying on track with your fitness objectives. It’s time to transform your meal prep routine and elevate your protein intake to new heights.
And I’ll leave you with my favorite meat lovers chili recipe!
Meat lovers chili
Ingredients
- 2- 28 oz cans diced tomatoes
- 1 5.5 oz can tomato paste
- 1 cup reduced fat tomato sauce
- Red pepper, diced
- Green pepper, diced
- Red onion, diced
- 1 lb raw extra lean ground beef
- 4 chicken sausages, I used the Al fresco (picture below, incl nutri info to compare)
- 10 pieces back bacon, the brand and nutri info I used pictured below, info is per 5 pieces
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 1.5 Tbsp chili powder
- 1 Tbsp dried oregano
- Dash of salt & pepper
- 1 Tbsp franks hot sauce, optional
Instructions
- In a frying pan brown your ground beef, drain.
- Cook your back bacon in a pan for 2 minutes turning over once, you can also brown your chicken sausages, they are pre-cooked but I still like to brown them for a few minutes in pan.
- Turn your crock pot on to high.
- Add in your diced tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, diced peppers and diced onion. Mix well.
- Cut up your chicken sausages and bacon into small pieces. Add to your crock pot along with your cooked ground beef.
- Stir in your chili powder, crushed red pepper flakes, oregano, salt & pepper and franks sauce.
- Cook on high for 2 hours then turn to warm. Serve when ready.
- Makes 9- 1.5 cup serving. 5 smart points per serving (5PP) Store in fridge for a few days, chili will freeze well.
- Nutritional info per serving (not including peppers/onion) Calories 192…Fat 6.2g…Sat fat 1.9g…Carbs 10.4g…Fiber 2.7g…Sugars 5.3g….Protein 23.2g
- *optional to top with little shredded cheese and bacon crumble, add 1 point for this.
