What are easy meal-prep recipes that satisfy fast-food cravings?
When you're craving burger bowls, chicken burrito bowls, loaded baked potatoes, crispy chicken wraps, homemade pizzas, or seasoned fries with a protein, just add a handful of spices or your favorite sauce, along with a variety of textures. These recipes are quick to heat up or easy to eat on the go, making them ideal for meal prepping.
Fast-food-style meals for meal prep
The most simple dishes to make often involve some elements of what you like most about fast food: bold seasoning, familiar flavor pairings, portable quantities, and crunchy or smooth textures. Additionally, you can make sure everything is made from clean ingredients, and even batch-cook multiple meals at once.
Burger bowls
Brown some ground beef, turkey or a veggie substitute, seasoning as you prefer. Top with roasted potatoes, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, cheese and some sort of burger-type sauce. Store the sauce (and any other wet ingredients) separately if you want your veggies to remain crunchy.
Chicken burrito bowls
Cook your chicken or beans ahead of time, then just layer them with rice, corn, salsa, cheese, avocado or whatever other toppings you'd like. You can switch up the sauce each day, giving you the taste of a new meal without having to make something totally new.
Crispy chicken wraps
Cook the chicken pieces in the oven or an air fryer. Put the chicken in tortillas along with some lettuce, cheese, and sauce. Ideally, store the chicken away from the tortillas and veggies when you can. Make the wraps close to meal time to avoid sogginess.
Loaded potatoes
Baked potatoes and sweet potatoes are a great match for chili, shredded chicken, beans, cheese, Greek yogurt or salsa. They reheat well too. You can vary the flavor with different seasonings and toppings.
Homemade pizza portions
Make some easy homemade pizzas on flatbread, naan, English muffins or prepared dough. Layer with tomato sauce, cheese, veggies and meat. Bake a few at a time and refrigerate or freeze.
Pick a sauce or dip that you actually like, and make sure to season every component. If texture is important, store the crunchy elements separately and re-heat using an oven, toaster oven, or air fryer whenever possible.