By Benoît Descary · June 14, 2026 · Guide

Meal prep for beginners: a guide to getting started

Meal prep (preparing meals in advance) means cooking several portions in a single session to cover the week. To get started without getting discouraged, start small: prep 2 or 3 meals on Sunday rather than seven. Here is how to go about it.

What is meal prep?

Meal prep groups the cooking of several meals into one session. You can prepare complete dishes, or simply “components” (cooked protein, chopped vegetables, sauce, a grain base) to assemble during the week.

Start small (the rule of 3)

Do not try to prep the whole week at once your first time. Choose 3 meals, a single session, and adjust from there. A modest meal prep you stick to beats an ambitious plan you abandon.

Choose recipes that keep well

Favour dishes that reheat well: stews, chilis, curries, legume salads, grain bowls. Avoid foods that go soggy (fries, leafy salads already dressed).

Cook in parallel

Start the oven and the pasta water while you chop the vegetables. Group similar tasks (chop everything at once) to move faster.

Store and label

In the fridge: 3 to 4 days in airtight containers.
In the freezer: up to 2-3 months; label with the date.
Cool dishes before sealing the containers.

Plan first, cook second

Meal prep starts with a menu and a grocery list. Olivi takes care of it: Olive picks recipes suited to your week and generates the grocery list automatically: all that is left is to cook.

The basic equipment for meal prep

You do not need expensive gear to start. The essentials come down to a few containers and a bit of organization:

Airtight containers (ideally glass, microwave-safe), preferably stackable.
A few single-portion containers for lunches.
A large sheet pan, a large skillet and a saucepan to cook in parallel.
Labels (or an erasable marker) to note the contents and the date.

A sample one-hour meal prep session

Here is what an efficient first session looks like, start to finish:

0-10 min: preheat the oven, slide in a sheet pan of chicken and vegetables, get the water boiling.
10-25 min: while the oven works, cook a grain base (rice, quinoa) and chop the raw vegetables.
25-45 min: prepare a plant protein (chili or chickpea salad) that keeps all week.
45-60 min: cool, portion into containers, label with the date, store in the fridge and freezer.

Frequently asked questions

Where should a beginner start with meal prep?

Start small: prep only 2 or 3 meals in your first session, not the whole week. Choose recipes that keep and reheat well (stews, chilis, grain bowls), then build up gradually once the habit is in place.

How long do meals prepared in advance keep?

In the refrigerator, count on 3 to 4 days in airtight containers. In the freezer, most dishes keep 2 to 3 months: always label with the date. Cool dishes before sealing the containers, for quality and food safety.

How long does it take to do your meal prep?

A first session of 2 or 3 meals takes about an hour. By cooking in parallel (oven, sheet pan and saucepan at once) and grouping tasks like chopping all the vegetables at once, you prepare several days of meals in a single session.

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