September 18, 2021

The 36 EASIEST College Student Meal Prep Recipe Ideas

Completely change your life with meal prepping! These easy college student meal prep recipes are going to save you so much time and money!

Cooking in college shouldn’t feel like an impossible task. With the right tools, recipes, and skills, it can become a piece of cake. In this article, I am covering all the BEST college student meal prep recipes that are going to make cooking a whole lot easier.

This post is all about college student meal prep recipes!

Should you meal prep in college?

Meal prepping, especially in college, is not for everyone. If you are living in a dorm and have no access to a kitchen, meal prepping is probably not for you. If you have a dining plan and eat all or most of your meals there, meal prepping is probably not for you either.

BUT, if you are living in an apartment or somewhere with access to a kitchen, meal prepping IS for you. If you are looking to save money and eat healthier, meal prepping is definitely for you.

How do college students meal prep for a week?

start slow

Unfortunately, you aren’t just going to wake up one day and decide to meal prep 3 meals per day for 7 days every week. It’s just not realistic.

The best way to introduce yourself to meal prepping is to start slow and work your way up. I like to start with just lunch meal prep and go from there. You might find that meal prepping isn’t for you or that you only want to meal prep certain meals for certain days.

And that’s completely fine. Meal prepping is going to be different for everyone!

meal plan

The easiest way to get into meal prepping is to have some sort of plan before you start. Instead of waking up and deciding to that day what you want to meal prep, sit down on a Sunday or Monday and figure everything out for the whole week at once. This is a perfect task to add to your Sunday Reset.

You are going to save a lot more money this way, because you are only going to be buying the groceries you are going to be using.

Budgeting tips for meal prepping

Speaking of grocery shopping, I want to tell you that meal prepping doesn’t have to be expensive. In fact, one of the biggest pros of prepping your meals is that it will SAVE you money in the long run.

If you want the best budgeting tips and shopping hacks for the grocery store, I’ve got the perfect article for you.

Breakfast meal prep recipes

Smoothies

Smoothie freezer packs

As far as college student meal prep recipes goes, this one is pretty darn perfect. Smoothies are great to have for breakfast because they always taste super delicious and are one of the easiest things to make. You can literally throw in whatever leftovers from you have, blend it up, and it always tastes good!

You can find the recipe for Smoothie Freezer Packs from XoxoBella.

Overnight Oats

Overnight oats with yogurt

This article not only gives you a super delicious breakfast meal prep recipe, but also goes over exactly what overnight oats are! They literally cannot be any easier to prepare.

You can find the recipe for Overnight Oats With Yogurt from Healthy Recipes 101.

Blueberry overnight oats

This is another overnight oats recipe with a blueberry twist! These blueberry overnight oats can be prepped in 5 minutes and ready for breakfast all week.

You can find the recipe for Blueberry Overnight Oats from Maple and Mango.

Coffee overnight oats

This is the third and final overnight oats recipe, this time coffee flavored. This one is also vegan and gluten free, so it’s the perfect meal prep breakfast for everyone!

You can find the recipe for Coffee Overnight Oats from Home-Cooked Roots.

Breakfast Sandwiches & Muffins

Make ahead scrambled egg muffins

This is a personal recipe of mine and one of my most-cooked breakfasts! These muffins are customizable, easy to make, and absolutely delicious.

You can find the recipe for Make Ahead Scrambled Egg Muffins from Simply Life By Bri.

English muffin egg sandwich

These muffins look so freaking delicious! They are prepped super fast and can be customized with whatever’s your favorite topping.

You can find the recipe for English Muffin Egg Sandwiches from Chef Savvy.

Frozen breakfast sandwich

This is another egg sandwich option for an easy meal prep recipe. One of the best things about this recipe is that they go in the freezer, so they can be made for a whole month of breakfasts and stay fresh!

You can find the recipe for Frozen Breakfast Sandwiches from Nourish.

Breakfast Burritos

Breakfast burritos are such an easy and delicious college student meal prep option for breakfast. I couldn’t pick between two different breakfast burrito recipes so I am just giving you them all!

You can find the recipe for Breakfast Burritos from Fannetasticfood and Spend with Pennies.

Lunch & Dinner meal prep recipes

While I was going to split up the college student meal prep recipes for lunch and dinner, I decided to combine them all into one section. Although some of these may specifically be for lunch OR dinner, most can be applied to both, with just different portion sizes! It’s completely up to you which course you want to eat these meals for!

Chicken

Breaded chicken cutlets

This is by far my most cooked chicken recipe. My favorite thing about these easy cutlets is that they are perfect to mix and match with other toppings throughout the week. Check out some of my favorite combinations here!

You can find the recipe for Breaded Chicken Cutlets from Simply Life By Bri.

Tex-Mex chicken bowls

If you want to add some fun flavors to basic chicken, check out these Tex-Mex bowls. These are perfect to customize throughout the week with your favorite ingredients.

You can find the recipe for Tex-Mex Chicken Bowls from Valerie’s Kitchen.

Honey garlic chicken

Ok just that picture makes me want to dig into this meal prep chicken bowl (anyone else!?). This one is so easy to make and super high in protein too!

You can find the recipe for Honey Garlic Chicken from All Nutritious.

Spicy pineapple chicken

This one is packed with protein, potassium, and Vitamin C. Plus, it looks delicious 🙂

You can find the recipe for Spicy Pineapple Chicken from All Nutritious.

Spinach and Feta Stuffed Chicken Breasts

First of all, look how good this chicken looks in that picture. Ok now that that’s out of the way, this recipe is so customizable so you can stuff your chicken with whatever’s your favorite!

You can find the recipe for Spinach and Feta Stuff Chicken Breast from Yummy Addiction.

Low carb Greek chicken

Of all the college student meal prep recipes, this one definitely looks like one of the best. These bowls have delicious grilled chicken, plus some Greek salad! They are super quick and easy to put together and taste great all week!

You can find the recipe for Low Carb Greek Chicken from Wholesome Yum.

Greek chicken bowl

For another delicious Greek recipe, try these chicken bowls. They are filled with chicken, cheese, veggies, and a delicious dressing.

You can find the recipe for Greek Chicken Bowl from Budget Delicious.

Cranberry chicken salad

This is such a fun and delicious spin on typical chicken salad. This is great to have prepped and ready for easy meals or snacks.

You can find the recipe for Cranberry Chicken Salad from Fifteen Spatulas.

Fish

Shrimp fajita bowl

4 college student meal prep bowls on a marble counter

For something with a protein other than chicken, try these delicious fajita bowls with shrimp. They are super healthy and are the perfect way to mix up some boring lunches.

You can find the recipe for Shrimp Fajita Bowls from Summer Yule.

Mexican tuna salad

This is a fun Mexican twist on your typical tuna salad. Have this with crackers, on a sandwich, or on its own for a quick and easy lunch!

You can find the recipe for Mexican Tuna Salad from Cook at Home Mom.

Other

Meatloaf Muffins

These muffins are perfect for whenever you need a microwaveable lunch or dinner. Once they are made, they can stay in the fridge or freezer and last all week!

You can find the recipe for Meatloaf Muffins from Simply Life By Bri.

Mediterranean bowl

College student meal prep bowl in the middle of towels and ingredients on table

This is a veggie and rice based protein bowl perfect for quick lunches. With only a few ingredients, prepping these bowls cannot be any easier!

You can find the recipe for Mediterranean Bowls from The Darling Kitchen.

Mix and match bowl

A plastic container filled with rice, eggs, broccoli

How cute are these mix and match meal prep lunch bowls!? You can choose your favorite toppings and ingredients and mix it up each day of the week.

You can find the recipe for Mix and Match Bowls from Amanda’s Cookin’.

Bean and rice burrito

burrito halves filled with rice and beans

These are full of delicious foods and can be prepped and cooked in under 30 minutes. They are the perfect on-the-go lunch when you are short on time.

You can find the recipe for Bean and Rice Burritos from Plant Based on a Budget.

Protein snack pack

Like the mix and match lunch bowls, these protein snack packs are perfect for picky eaters! YOU pick whatever you like and add them to your snack pack for a protein filled lunch.

You can find the recipe for Protein Snack Packs from The Forked Spoon.

Pasta Salad

Caprese pasta salad

Let me just say this pasta salad is so damn good. Once it’s prepped, it lasts all week in containers for a quick and easy on-the-go lunch.

You can find the recipe for Caprese Pasta Salad from Simply Life By Bri.

Italian pasta salad

This recipe is gluten free, vegan, and allergy free, so I think it’s safe to say it’s good for almost everyone! Filled with pasta, veggies, and homemade dressings, this is a perfect pasta salad!

You can find the recipe for Italian Pasta Salad from Strength and Sunshine.

Quinoa pasta salad

This is another delicious vegan pasta salad. This quinoa pasta salad is an explosion of flavors and colors and perfect for prepped lunches.

You can find the recipe for Quinoa Pasta Salad from Nutriciously.

Mexican pasta salad

For some Mexican flavor in a pasta salad, try this delicious recipe! It can literally be made in under 10 minutes and be ready for a week’s worth of lunches.

You can find the recipe for Mexican Pasta Salad from Strength and Sunshine.

Salad

Cajun chicken salad

Tell me I’m not the only one that wants to eat this recipe after just looking at that picture. This one’s filled with all sorts of fruits and veggies, with chicken as the main protein.

You can find the recipe for Cajun Chicken Salad from Yummy Addiction.

Greek mason jar salad

Ok how cute are these mason jar salads!? Fill up a mason jar with your favorites and you have the perfect to-go salad for wherever you are eating.

You can find the recipe for Greek Mason Jar Salad from Wholesome Yum.

Healthy Snack meal prep recipes

If you thought you were only getting breakfast, lunch, and dinner college student meal prep recipes, I’ve got some more up my sleeve! Here are some delicious and healthy snacks that you are going to love.

Fruit skewers

These rainbow fruit skewers are a beautiful and easy snack to eat on the go. Just load up a skewers with your favorite fruits (and even veggies if you want) and it’s all prepped!

You can find the recipe for Fruit Skewers from Simply Life By Bri.

Trail mix bars

Whether you want a mid-day snack or post workout pick-me-up, these trail mix bars are perfect! These are super easy to make and such a healthier alternative to pre-packaged granola bars.

You can find the recipe for Trail Mix Bars from Bucket List Tummy.

Adult lunchables

Mini Cheese plate in a take out container.

Who wouldn’t want an adult lunchables!? Just that name gets me excited. These are healthy and fun snacks that can be substituted with all your favorites.

You can find the recipe for Adult Lunchables from Smack of Flavor.

Chocolate peanut butter energy balls

Delicious Energy Balls Coated with Cocoa Powder on a Plate

Ahh these energy balls look so delicious!! These are the perfect guilt free, energy boosting snack.

You can find the recipe for Chocolate Peanut Butter Energy Balls from Happy Kitchen.

Almond joy energy bites

Here’s another energy ball recipe if a lot of chocolate isn’t your thing! These energy bites are filled with healthy ingredients to make for a great snack.

You can find the recipe for Almond Joy Energy Bites from Chef Savvy.