These 20 Best Meal Prep Dinner Ideas for Weight Loss are all low in calories and high in nutrition and protein! I’ve included vegan and vegetarian meal prep recipes, as well as meaty meal prep dinners with chicken, beef, and even turkey.
20 Best Meal Prep Dinner Ideas for Weight Loss
1. Teriyaki Turkey Meatball Meal Prep Boxes
These 345 calorie dinner meal prep recipes for the week are great for both dinners and lunches. This gluten-free meal prep dinner has 42.3g of protein. And you can easily lower carbs and more calories by using Cauliflower Rice or our yummy Cauliflower Fried Rice in place of brown rice. These healthy meal prep dinners for weight loss are packed with metabolism boosting ingredients to help you lose weight fast!
2. Meal Prep Taco Salad
This 364 calorie easy dinner meal prep weight loss meal has 34.2g of protein and can be prepped in just 15 minutes! You can make these weight loss dinners with beef, chicken, pork, or even our Crispy Baked Taco Tofu Recipe! I even found you some protein chips to use place of tortilla chips. Great for those who want to cut carbs and boost protein more. (Link to chips in recipe).
3. “No Cook” Vegetarian Meal Prep Salads
These 293 calorie weight loss healthy dinners can be made vegetarian, or not. With 15.1g of protein (before adding any extra protein) this healthy salad meal prep dinner is a great option for those looking to limit meat. But you can also adding some shredded chicken or leftover steak to this salad. They both go great in these easy meal prep dinners!
4. Chicken and Rice Soup with Lemon
You can have 2 cups of these meal prep dinners for just 173 calories! And 4 cups is just 346 calories, making these fantastic dinners for losing weight. This yummy meal prep chicken and rice soup is packed with “good for you” ingredients! I always keep some meal prepped in my freezer for sick days. Rice tends to soak up excess liquid when meal prepping. So when you reheat these meal prep chicken recipes, add 1 cup of water for every 2 cups of soup when reheating.
5. Caprese Vegetarian Meal Prep Bowls
These vegetarian dinner meal prep recipes to lose weight are just 297 calories with over 15g of protein. You can easily boost protein with some Shredded Chicken or Baked Tofu, and you’d still have healthy recipes for weight loss dinners! These dinner meal prep ideas are packed full of flavor, and make great meal prep dinners as well as lunches.
6. Low Calorie Mississippi Pot Roast Sandwiches
This is one of my favorite dinner meal prep ideas! You meal prep the Mississippi Pot Roast in the slow cooker, then you have weight loss meal prep dinners recipes all week long. Just 411 calories each (I do something sneaky with the bread and cut 1/2 the carbs!) And best of all, these low calorie sandwiches have 35.5g of protein. These easy meal prep dinner recipes for weight loss cut lots of carbs by hollowing out the rolls. This allows for more protein and less carbs and calories.
7. Chicken Taco Meal Prep Bowls
These easy meal prep chicken breast recipes are just 333 calories and are packed with 39.4g of protein! You can easily cut calories and carbs with my yummy Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice Recipe, use it in place of rice in these meal prep weight loss dinner ideas. Great for lunch or dinner, these meal prep healthy recipes are filling and packed with flavor. And so low in calories you’ll have some leftover calories for a Skinny Margarita!
8. Skinny Shepherd’s Pie Casserole
This 215 calorie Shepherd’s Pie is the ultimate meal prep casserole! Just cut off a slice and pop it in the microwave for a healthy and low calorie meal prep dinner! You can use ground beef, chicken, or turkey to make these meal prep recipes healthy. And vegan meat crumbles also work quite well!
9. Hearty Vegan Buddha Bowls
These filling vegan bowls make great weight loss meal prep dinners! At 439 calories, they are the perfect fat burning dinner! I have included some protein add-ins in the recipe card (below) and you can always cut the amount of avocado by 1/2 to lower the calories to accommodate the added ingredients. And while we are talking about avocado, don’t add the avocado to your meal prep boxes/bowls until you’re ready to serve. This will stop them from browning.
10. Meal Prep Beef Stew in an Instant Pot
Picture this, you come home from a hard day of work, and you have beef stew waiting for you. But it’s low calorie beef stew (just 172 calories per cup) so you can basically have as much as you want. Sounds heavenly, right? Well, this recipe is. And it’s whipped up so fast for meal prep dinners, you’ll want to make it every week! With 17.3g or protein per cup, this hearty meal prep dinner can be reheated in the microwave or on the stovetop. And if you’re not concerned with carbs, it’s great with a piece of bread or a dinner roll.
11. Greek Chicken Meal Prep Boxes
These quick meal prep recipes with chicken are just 308 calories, and packed full of flavor and 36.1g of protein! You can swap out the rice for Cauliflower Rice to save even more calories and lots of carbs too! These weight loss meal prep ideas are great for both dinner and lunch. And so filling and flavor packed, you’ll forget that it’s a weight loss dinner recipe.
12. “Copycat” Burrito Bowls
These meal prep dinners for weight loss are just 399 calories and are packed with 34.8g of protein. The healthy weight loss dinner ideas are easily meal prepped, and taste just like Chipotle Burrito bowls, but cost significantly less. And you can swap out the rice for Homemade Cauliflower Cilantro Lime Rice to cut more carbs and calories. I don’t mind “cooking” the lettuce when I reheat the meal prep bowls. But you can always chop the lettuce on meal prep day, and place it in its own container. Then add to the top of the healthy weight loss dinner recipe when you’re ready to serve.
13. Thai Curry Lentil Soup
These vegan meal prep dinners are just 166 calories per cup. So you can have 3 cups for just 498 calories! You cook the meal prep soup in a slow cooker, making it extra easy. Then portion it out and you’re set for the week. This meal prep dinner recipe also freezes well! Each cup of the weight loss soup has 8.2g of protein. Now if you’re not a vegan, you can add-in protein like shredded chicken, but vegans can double or triple the serving size to double or triple the protein.
14. Strawberry Spinach Salad with Chicken
When the weather is warm and berries are on sale, I love making weight loss healthy dinner ideas with fresh seasonal ingredients. At just 188 calories for 1.5 cups you can easily double the servings and have a 3 cup salad for just 376 calories and 29.6g of protein! This meal prep dinner salad is fantastic with blue cheese. But you could swap that out for feta, goat cheese, or even avocado if you prefer to avoid dairy.
15. Chicken Quinoa Meal Prep Boxes
These 355 calorie weight loss meal prep dinners can be made in just 30 minutes, no matter how many servings you want to prep ahead for. I love these recipes for weight loss meal prep, and often enjoy them for both dinner (with a healthy dose of Sriracha) or for lunch at work. So you may want to make extras for both, I think you’ll love them that much. These meal prep bowls have 8.2g of protein per bowl. But you could easily double the amount of chicken and nearly double that amount, without going over 450 calories per meal prep dinner.
16. Vegan Rice Bowls
These vegan rice bowls make great dinner recipes for weight loss. Packed full of healthy grains and fats to keep you full until breakfast. These meal prep weight loss dinners are 438 calories per serving, and can be stored for up to 5 days in the fridge. I always recommend holding the avocado during meal prep, then just adding it fresh before serving your meal prep dinners. This will stop them from browning.
17. Creamy Chicken Stew
This slow cooker chicken stew is one of our favorite meal prep dinner ideas. It’s just 138 calories and has 17g of protein per cup, so you can have 2-3 cups and still consider it a weight loss dinner recipe. Two cups will be 276 calories and 34g of protein, and three cups will have 414 calories and 51g of protein. This protein packed chicken stew is also great served with a fresh salad and a dinner roll. Or top it with some crackers if carbs is not a concern for you.
18. “No Cook” Vegetarian Protein Salad
This vegetarian salad is just 462 calories for 3 cups (that’s a HUGE portion) and has 17.8g of protein. No cooking is required for this yummy meal prep salad recipe, and it can easily be whipped up while you meal prep other weight loss dinner recipes. If you want to add more protein to this weight loss dinner recipe, Shredded Chicken or our Honey Sriracha Baked Tofu both work great with this salad.
19. Meal Prep Greek Gyros with Chicken
These Greek Gyros are also a great meal prep dinner recipe. Simply cook the chicken, make the dip, and chop up the veggies as we have done in the photo below. Then when it’s time to enjoy dinner, all you need to do is assemble this weight loss meal prep recipe. These 326 calorie chicken gyros have 29.4g of protein and makes great healthy dinners for weight loss.
20. Teriyaki Chicken Meal Prep Bowls
These meal prep weight loss dinners are just 392 calories and have 41.7g of protein! Best of all, you can make these meal prep recipes for weight loss dinner in just 30 minutes, no matter how many you want to make! Packed full of good for you ingredients that help burn more fat, these weight loss dinners are perfect for any diet. And if you prefer fewer carbs and calories, swap out the rice for Cauliflower Rice or our yummy Cauliflower Fried Rice Recipe.
20 Best Meal Prep Dinner Ideas for Weight Loss
You can click on the links below and collect all 20 of these free printable recipe cards! And you can find Low Calorie Crockpot Dinners here should you prefer to come home to a ready made meal. And click here for more Low Calorie Dinner ideas.
20 Weight Loss Meal Prep Dinners
Ingredients
- Teriyaki Turkey Meatball Meal Prep Boxes
- Meal Prep Taco Salad
- "No Cook" Vegetarian Meal Prep Salads
- Chicken and Rice Soup with Lemon
- Caprese Vegetarian Meal Prep Bowls
- Low Calorie Mississippi Pot Roast Sandwiches
- Chicken Taco Meal Prep Bowls
- Skinny Shepherd's Pie Casserole
- Hearty Vegan Buddha Bowls
- Meal Prep Beef Stew in an Instant Pot
- Greek Chicken Meal Prep Boxes
- "Copycat" Burrito Bowls
- Thai Curry Lentil Soup
- Strawberry Spinach Salad with Chicken
- Chicken Quinoa Meal Prep Boxes
- Vegan Rice Bowls
- Creamy Chicken Stew
- "No Cook" Vegetarian Protein Salad
- Meal Prep Greek Gyros with Chicken
- Teriyaki Chicken Meal Prep Bowls
Instructions
- Pick 3-5 meal prep dinners you want to try.
- Click the link and print out (or save) the recipe card.
- Meal prep and enjoy your yummy weight loss dinners.
Nutrition
About the Author
Hi, my name is Audrey Johns and I am a 4 time best selling cookbook author! All 4 of my low calorie cookbooks are published by HarperCollins (the oldest publishing house in the US!) and have been featured on prominent TV shows like The Today Show, Rachael Ray and The Doctors. I am a low calorie and healthy recipe authority and my delicious recipes are tried and loved by thousands of readers.
After a one year 150 pound weight loss (and I’ve kept it off for 13 years!) I started sharing all of my low calorie recipes with the world. They are always all-natural and geared around weight loss and weight management. I have even made some of these recipes with my Biggest Loser pal Bob Harper! Check out my weight loss story, my best selling cookbooks, and my numerous TV appearances by clicking here.
More Weight Loss Recipes:
Lose Weight By Eating Cookbooks
Share these Low Calorie Recipes:
Article History:
- Originally written and published September 12, 2022 by Audrey Johns
- Most recent update on November 29, 2023 by Audrey Johns
