Meal prepping doesn’t necessarily mean cooking seven completely different meals in one day.
One of my favourite ways to make meal prep easier is to prepare a selection of fillings, carbohydrates, vegetables and sides and then mix and match them to create different meals throughout the week.
That’s exactly what I did with this meal prep.
I prepared several different fillings, cooked rice, pasta and couscous and added things like wraps, salad and vegetables. Once everything was ready, I could put together lots of different meal combinations.
These can work for lunch, dinner, lunchboxes or even those moments when somebody is hungry and you don’t want to start cooking from scratch!
Step 1: Prepare Your Fillings
I started by making four different fillings:
- Spiced lamb mince
- Tandoori chicken
- Fried chicken pieces
- Mixed bean, potato and carrot filling
Having several options means you can use the same rice, pasta or wraps without every meal feeling exactly the same.
Spiced Lamb Mince
Ingredients
- Lamb mince
- A little oil
- Garlic and ginger paste
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp turmeric
- Chilli powder, optional
Method
Heat a little oil in a large frying pan and add the lamb mince.
Brown the mince thoroughly. If there’s a lot of excess liquid, either drain it or continue cooking until it has evaporated.
Add the garlic and ginger paste followed by the salt and spices.
Cook everything together and your first filling is done.
Tandoori Chicken
For my second filling I used two boneless chicken thighs. I prefer thighs for this because the meat stays lovely and tender, although you could use chicken breast instead.
I made a simple marinade using Greek yoghurt, tandoori masala, paprika and seasonings.
Coat the chicken thoroughly and, if you have time, leave it to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
Heat a little oil in a frying pan, add the chicken along with its marinade and cook thoroughly until the chicken is cooked through and the oil begins to separate from the mixture.
Simple Fried Chicken Pieces
I used my remaining two boneless chicken thighs to make some fried chicken pieces.
Make a simple batter using:
- Plain flour
- 1 egg
- Salt
- Coarse black pepper
- Milk
Cut the chicken into small pieces and coat them thoroughly in the batter.
Heat some oil in a pan. You can test whether it’s ready by dropping a tiny amount of batter into the oil – if it rises to the surface, the oil is hot enough.
Fry the chicken until beautifully golden on both sides and completely cooked through.
Caramelised Onions
I also sliced one large onion and slowly cooked it in a little oil until soft and caramelised.
Set this aside and you’ve got another easy ingredient that you can add to your wraps and meal combinations.
Mixed Bean, Potato & Carrot Filling
I wanted at least one meat-free option, so I made this really simple filling.
Ingredients
- Potatoes
- Carrots
- 1 tin mixed beans
- Ketchup
- Salt
- Coarse black pepper
Peel and chop the potatoes and slice the carrots.
Place them into a saucepan, sprinkle with a little salt and cover with cold water.
Bring to the boil and cook for around five minutes, or until they’re soft enough.
Drain and add them to a mixing bowl with the mixed beans.
Add some ketchup, salt and coarse black pepper and mash everything together using a potato masher.
It might not be the prettiest filling in the world, but it tastes good!
I also had some potatoes and carrots left over, so rather than wasting them I added a little olive oil, salt and pepper and cooked them under the grill.
Step 2: Prepare Your Carbohydrates
Next, I prepared several different bases for the meals.
I chose:
Rice • Pasta • Couscous • Tortilla wraps
You could obviously change these depending on what your family enjoys.
Creamy Tomato Pasta
I cooked the pasta as normal and then made it a little more interesting using ingredients I already had in the house.
I added some double cream and soft cheese, processed a couple of tomatoes and added those along with some salt.
This gave me a simple creamy tomato pasta rather than plain pasta shells.
Easy Couscous
For the couscous I used:
- 1 cup couscous
- 1½ cups boiling water
- Olive oil
- Lime juice
- Fresh coriander
Add the boiling water to the couscous and leave it for around 10 minutes.
Add a little olive oil, lime juice and coriander and fluff everything up with a fork.
I used lime because that’s what I had, but lemon juice would work perfectly too.
Step 3: Add Vegetables & Extras
I also prepared some mixed peppers and had plenty of other ingredients ready to add to the meals, including salad, cucumber, olives and spring onions.
And this is where this method of meal prepping really comes together.
Rather than deciding that every container has to contain exactly the same meal, you can mix and match everything you’ve prepared.
Step 4: Build Your Meals
Once everything was laid out, I started putting together different meals.
I made several wraps and burritos, changing the fillings in each one.
Then I prepared individual portions of pasta. One might have minced meat, another chicken and another the vegetable filling with peppers.
I did exactly the same thing with the couscous and rice.
Suddenly, the relatively small number of things I’d cooked had turned into lots of different meal combinations.
The Mix-and-Match Meal Prep Method
This is what I really like about this way of meal prepping.
Instead of thinking:
“I need to cook seven meals.”
Think:
Proteins + Carbs + Vegetables + Extras
For example, from one batch-prep session you could have:
| Base | Filling | Extras |
| Rice | Tandoori chicken | Peppers & salad |
| Pasta | Spiced mince | Vegetables |
| Couscous | Chicken | Cucumber & peppers |
| Wrap | Mince | Caramelised onions & salad |
| Wrap | Mixed bean filling | Peppers & salad |
| Rice | Vegetable filling | Mixed vegetables |
You don’t need dozens of recipes. You just need enough different components to stop the meals becoming boring.
Make Meal Prep Work for Your Family
This method worked particularly well for us as a large family because there was always something ready when somebody needed lunch, dinner or even a substantial snack.
It’s also a useful approach for packed lunches. Prepare everything ahead, portion it up and you can simply choose what you need throughout the week.
And remember to label your containers, particularly when you’ve made several different combinations!
Meal prep doesn’t have to mean spending the entire day cooking elaborate meals. Preparing a few versatile ingredients in bulk can take away a lot of the work later in the week.
I hope this gives you some ideas for your next meal prep!
