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0151 522 5800
Call us:
0151 522 580019th May 2025
Eating healthy and nutritious meals is low on the list of priorities when you head to university. But eating right can make a big difference in how you feel and your ability to focus on your studies.
Preparing some meals ahead of time each week ensures that you always have balanced meals on hand. It also prevents you from picking up a takeaway, eating another packet of noodles, or grazing throughout the day.
With that in mind, we’ve put together a list of student meal prep ideas to keep you eating all week. These ideas include breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack options that will keep you nourished and full while you head to lectures, seminars, or spend countless hours studying.
Student meal prep ideas aren’t just about preparing three full meals for the week ahead. There are many ways you can use meal preparation tactics to get ahead and feel organised when it comes to eating each week.
Try these methods for student meal prep:
Write a weekly meal plan for breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks. Planning helps you avoid making impulse purchases and reduces food waste.
Make a shopping list based on your meal plan. Organise it by sections to help save time in the supermarket and ensure that you don’t miss anything.
It’s worth spending a small amount of money on airtight containers in different sizes; these will help with student meal prep.
It’s always a good idea to have a rotation of freezer-friendly meals in your repertoire. Soups, stews, curry, and chilli all freeze well. You can even freeze fruit for smoothies.
Plan meals that share ingredients. A roast chicken goes a long way in making evening meals, as well as leftovers for salads and wraps for lunches on the go.
Allow hot food to cool before sealing containers and putting them in the fridge or freezer.
Label your containers with the meals and the date they were made so you don’t get them mixed up. It’s amazing how similar things can look after they’ve been frozen.
Preparing meals using affordable staples such as pasta, rice, lentils, tinned tomatoes, eggs, and frozen vegetables can save you money.
You don’t need to become Gordon Ramsay; keep it simple with easy, affordable recipes you enjoy.
Cook with flatmates, try new recipes, or listen to a podcast while you meal prep for a small portion of each week.
Meal prepping might seem tricky at first, but it gets easier the more you do it. Start by making just a couple of meals a week, and then build up from there.
Mix porridge oats with milk or yoghurt in a jar, and add your favourite toppings (e.g., fruits, nuts, honey). Get ahead for the week and make a few days’ worth at a time for a grab-and-go breakfast that will keep you full for hours.
Crush two Weetabix in a bowl and add a splash of milk. Press the mixture down to create an even layer. In a separate bowl, combine Greek yoghurt with the protein powder flavour you prefer. Pour the yoghurt mixture over the Weetabix. Allow it to set in the fridge overnight, then top it with your favourite fruit in the morning. It’s a delightful, high-protein breakfast that tastes like dessert and will keep you satisfied for hours.
Layer Greek yoghurt in a tub with berries, and top with granola if you wish. It’s another great breakfast you can make ahead and eat quickly in the morning, especially if you have lectures.
Breakfast burritos are a great option for a delicious, filling breakfast that can be made ahead and stored in the freezer. Fill the wraps with cooked eggs, sausages, peppers, and onions; don’t use wet ingredients like mushrooms. Let the filling cool before wrapping it in a tortilla. Individually wrap the burritos and place them in the fridge for up to four days or in the freezer. Reheat them in the air fryer for a crispy tortilla wrap.
Mix bananas, peanut butter, oats, flour, seeds, and blueberries to make delicious breakfast cookies. These are ideal for on-the-go eating and can be frozen for a morning treat.
Whisk eggs, cheese, veggies, and cooked bacon or ham. Pour the mixture into a muffin tin or reusable cupcake cases and bake. On busy mornings, they’re easy to reheat. If you’re after something more filling, pair it with a tin of baked beans to add fibre and protein to the meal.
Make mini pancakes and store them in the fridge or freezer. Heat them and top with fruit, nut butter, or syrup.
Soups are a great way to use up ready-to-turn vegetables in the fridge. For a filling option, make minestrone soup with pasta and beans, or stick to classic recipes like leek and potato, tomato and chicken, and sweetcorn. Investing in a Thermos is ideal for the colder months when you’ll be out of the flat all day; it will help keep your soup warm until lunchtime.
Use a dozen eggs, vegetable fillings, and cooked meats like ham, chicken, sausage, or bacon. Pour the mixture into a casserole dish and bake it in the oven. Once cooked and cooled, portion the frittata into tubs for a delicious lunch. You can eat it as is or add some salad to help bulk it out.
Prep salad boxes ahead of time with your favourite fillings. If possible, keep sauces separate so things don’t get soggy. Focus on a variety of ingredients, such as leaves, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, pickles, sweet corn, and olives, and mix them with protein sources like mixed beans, eggs, ham, or chicken.
Prep a couscous salad for a few days. It can be eaten for lunch or as a side for your evening meal. Mix cooked couscous with roasted vegetables like peppers, courgette, and red onion, sun-dried tomatoes, and crumbled feta cheese.
Fill tortilla wraps with chicken, lettuce, cucumber and your favourite dressing. Wrap tightly in foil and store in the fridge. Chicken wraps are great for a packed lunch when you’re heading to campus all day.
For a delicious and filling salad, use pasta as a base and add ingredients like tuna, sweet corn, peppers, and red onion.
Cook a simple curry with chicken, chickpeas, lentils, coconut milk, and a variety of spices. Curry is a great meal for batch cooking multiple portions and freezing for later use.
Cook a big batch of rice or noodles with stir-fried vegetables and protein (chicken, tofu, and prawns work well). Add soy sauce, chilli, or teriyaki for an authentic flavour.
Make a large pot with turkey mince, kidney beans, tomatoes, and spices. Chilli is a versatile base that goes well with rice, jacket potatoes, and burrito wraps.
Bulk out spag bol with lentils to make your mince go further, and portion it out for the freezer for a comforting meal any day of the week.
Cook meatballs in a tomato or creamy sauce to be served with pasta, rice or potatoes.
Cottage pie requires some effort to prepare, with the mashed potato topping and mince mixture underneath, but the payoff is worth it. Portion the pie into individual servings and freeze them, ready to be cooked when you want something comforting.
When you’re prepping your cottage pies, make extra mashed potatoes to use for fishcakes. Mix with tinned fish to keep costs down, and add cooked veggies like broccoli or peas. Dip in mixed eggs and top with breadcrumbs. You can freeze the fishcakes individually and cook them in the oven when you wish. Chips and curry sauce are optional, but they make a cheap fakeaway meal.
Roast chicken thighs with a mix of vegetables, such as carrots, broccoli, and tomatoes, for a fuss-free dinner that can last for several nights.
Precut apples in small tubs, then dip them in your favourite nut butter. Sprinkle cinnamon on the apples to add more flavour.
Use freezer bags to portion out your favourite fruit and vegetables for smoothie bags that can be used quickly. Add them to your blender with milk, water, coconut water and maybe some protein powder for a quick and delicious snack.
Spread Greek yoghurt on a tray lined with baking paper. Top with fruit, granola, and melted chocolate. Freeze and break into pieces.
Toast the quinoa in a pan on the hob. Once toasted, mix it with melted chocolate and lay it on a sheet of baking paper. Top with dried fruit, chopped nuts, or seeds, and let it set in the fridge. Cut it into bite-sized pieces and try not to eat it all at once.
Blend oats, peanut butter, honey, and chocolate chips. Shape the mixture into balls and refrigerate.
Make a mix of nuts, seeds, dried fruit, and chocolate chips for an easy grab-and-go snack.
Top rice cakes with peanut butter, banana slices, cream cheese, or cucumber. Perfect for the afternoon slump.
These student meal prep ideas are a great starting point. They provide delicious and nutritious meals and snacks that you can rotate. With these wallet-friendly meal prep ideas, you can keep yourself fuelled for your studies and take care of your wallet, too.
Looking for great student housing to go with your meal prep routine? Check out our Liverpool student properties at Luxury Student Homes – all in prime Liverpool locations and fully furnished with high-end kitchens.