College life is busy and there isn’t always a ton of time for cooking. With these meal prepping tips for college students, you’ll be able to whip up nutritious meals in 20 minutes.
6. Chop Garlic and Onion
So many recipes require garlic and onion and those that don’t garlic and onion will only make them better. Keeping a Tupperware filled with these two vegetables prechopped in the refrigerator will make your life much easier. Plus you will only have to cry onion tears once a week!
5. Roughly Chopped Herbs
Chopped garlic and onion isn’t one of the only meal prepping tips for college students that suggests pre-cutting your ingredients. Herbs like basil and particularly parsley are perfect to keep in your fridge because they brighten almost any meal you add them to and they meld well with most flavors.
4. Lemon Juice
Squeezed lemon juice kept in the fridge is one of my favorite meal prepping tips for college students. Squeezing lemons is a total pain, but if you do a ton at the beginning of the week you’ll be all set. My favorite lemon juicer is this Dual Citrus Juicer with Measuring Cup from Crate and Barrel.
3. Marinate your Meat
Marinating your meat ahead of time not only makes your chicken or beef taste better, but it also makes your life easier. At the beginning of the week marinate your meat of choice in big ziplock bag and keep it in the fridge for 1-4 days. When you are ready to cook, all the prep is already done and you just have to toss the meat in a pan or on a grill for a quick cook.
2. Have Two Cutting Boards
Having a designated cutting board for meat and vegetables will make cooking much quicker. This way you don’t have to wash your cutting board a ton of times while cooking and you can simply go back and forth between the two. This tip isn’t just one of the meal prepping tips for college students, but a great cooking tip in general.
1. Invest in a Good Knife
There is nothing worse in the kitchen than a dull knife. If there is one thing that is going to slow you down in the kitchen it is going to be a dull knife. Knives can be expensive, but a good one is worth it and so is a knife sharpener. Having a good knife that cuts through anything easily makes all the difference when meal prepping. I use this Brod and Taylor Professional Knife Sharpener which is on the pricier side, but totally worth the investment.
3 Easy Recipes That Can Be Meal Prepped
3. Sausage and Pepper 20 Minute Pasta Dinner
This is dinner you can meal prep by cutting the onions and pepper before hand and even cooking them a day ahead and then just adding the sausage and pasta when you are ready to eat.
2. No Anchovy Caesar Dressing
One of my favorite meal prepping tips for college students is this recipe. Make this dressing in the beginning of the week and throw it on your salads each day. This dressing goes with any green so mix it up and get creative. Even if you don’t make a huge batch of this in the beginning of the week it only takes 5 minutes so it can easily be made each day.
1. No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bites
These No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bites are perfect to have as a meal prepped snack. Make these in the beginning of the week, pop them in the refrigerator, and enjoy a nutritious satiating snack throughout the week.