I Was Terrible at Meal Prep—These Kitchen Tools Finally Made It Easy

One of my friends is really into meal prepping. She’ll take a day to cook proteins, steam rice, and saute vegetables, putting together neat little containers of lunch for the week. Me? I’m a rustle through the leftovers or make a box of mac and cheese for lunch kinda gal. But this year, one of my New Year’s resolutions is to eat more vegetables, whole grains, and protein. Meal prepping is a great, easy way to do it. Here are 10 kitchen tools that have helped me finally understand the hype and become a meal prepping aficionado.

I recently followed a recipe that required blanching broccoli before searing it in a pan. But blanching involves hauling out a pot and bringing water to a boil, which is just entirely annoying and extra. So instead, I turned to these Anyday microwave containers to steam a few heads' worth of florets. Now, anytime I need a hit of green, all I have to do is take the container (which doubles as a food storage container) out of the fridge.

I’ve long been a proponent of petty knives because they’re like a combo of a paring knife and a chef’s knife: Agility meets versatility. They’re fantastic for meal prep, making it easy to slice, dice, and mince loads of produce. Their petite frame easily slips between broccoli florets and deftly cores peppers and minces shallots. This one from Victorinox is not only sharp and nimble, but it’s also under $50—it just might become your go-to blade.

Part of my goal this year is to eat more whole grains (like, literally whole: farro, barley, bulgur, etc). And my rice cooker has become integral to this: It helps me cook up a big batch of grains before freezing them for future use. Now I can make a quick pilaf on a busy weeknight without simmering farro for 20 minutes.

I use my Instant Pot all the time for spontaneous weeknight cravings (beef stew in an hour? Heck yeah!). Pressure cooking decreases cook time by a significant amount, making it a great tool in a meal prepper’s arsenal: You can cook a whole bag of dried beans in 30 minutes, have tender grains in a flash, and even whip up a big batch of polenta to portion out for the week.

Salad spinners are great for bulk cleaning all kinds of greens: kale, broccolini, butter lettuce, and even tender herbs like parsley. The one I have from OXO has been essential for my meal prep goals, letting me sort and clean whole heads of lettuce or bunches of kale in one go. No more sad, wilted greens still held together by their twist ties!

If you’re a newbie to meal prepping (like me), arguably the first step is getting some actually good meal prep containers. They should stack easily, seal tightly, and be able to hold single-serving portions or large amounts of prepped foods. I prefer glass ones, like this pretty set from Williams Sonoma, because, unlike plastic, they don't hold onto stains or odors.

Okay, this is less of a meal prep hack and more of a way to entice me to eat more vegetables. I wish I were the kind of person who was like, “yay, vegetables!” but it takes a lot to make me feel excited about a plate of greens unless it’s covered in cheese. One way I’ve become enthusiastic about meal prepping hearty, vegetable-forward meals is by using ingredients that bring out the best in green things, like a good, fresh extra-virgin olive oil. This fantastic olive oil from Peru has a bell pepper freshness and rich olive taste— a lashing of it makes even the most plain pile of steamed kale pop (paired with a good sprinkle of Maldon salt). 

While I find mincing and dicing therapeutic, it’s not exactly the most efficient batch cooking or meal prepping method. If you’re looking to have a mirepoix or sofrito on hand for adding depth to weeknight meals, a food processor is a lickety-split way to do it: Just add everything and press pulse a few times. You’ll need a good one (check out our review) to pulverize hardy root vegetables and slippery alliums, but it’s a worthwhile investment (I foresee creamy homemade hummus batched out for snacks). A mini food processor is another handy consideration; it’s great for making dressing or pulverizing smaller foods, like garlic. 

If you’re cooking grains and steaming vegetables for meal prep at an alarming rate, consider a vacuum sealer for easy freezer storage. A good one sucks out all the air from the bag, leaving you with perfectly preserved contents—no freezer burn to be found. 

Kitchen scales are not only essential for bakers who measure everything in grams, but they’re also great for evenly divvying up meals. No one can complain that so-and-so got the bigger portion when you’ve weighed each scoop of rice and beans! Plus, it’ll help reduce food waste. I love my OXO kitchen scale because it can weigh items up to 11 pounds, and it has a pull-out screen for easy viewing. 

Why We’re the Experts

• Grace Kelly is a senior editor at Serious Eats.
• She is a former prep cook and bartender. 
• Her goal this year is to meal prep so she can meet her fiber and protein goals.