Over the past four years of leaning into clean eating, I have figured out some of the very best kitchen tools and gadgets that make meal prepping easier.
Of course, you have to have knives and storage containers, but there are a few other items that I use week in and week out that are worth sharing. My top favorite kitchen tool lately has got to be my Instant Pot! With the Instant Pot, you can totally speed up your cooking and retain more nutrients than slow cooking! Are you new to the Instant Pot? You have to download my FREE10 Easy Instant Pot cookbook !
Read on for all my top meal prepping tools!
A simple slicer!
A slicer is a must have for sure. I use the simple slicer from Pampered Chef for so many things. I shred Brussels Sprouts when I meal prep on a Sunday and that way they cook way faster when I need a quick veggie during the week! Slice all kinds of things with ease – cucumbers, peppers, even tomatoes! The blade adjusts to three thicknesses and bonus – it is dishwasher-safe. A safety lock on the handle raises the body so the blade isn’t exposed when stored. Always use the food holder – the blades are super sharp!
The Instant Pot
I am in love with the Instant Pot. To be honest, though, I was scared at first. I didn’t know one thing about pressure cooking! To help out the newbies, I put together a FREE10 Easy Instant Pot cookbook – download it here! Every week, I am using the Instant Pot for hard boiled eggs, quinoa, rice, cauliflower rice and more! Check out my Instant Pot Ribs and Instant Pot Lasagna Soup recipes too. There’s a bit of a learning curve, but how else can you make 1 minute asparagus and it’s perfect every time??
A Masher
This is so useful for so many things! When I first got the Pampered Chef Mix and Chop, it sat in the drawer unused for a long time. Mainly because I wasn’t making mashed potatoes that much. (oh, plus those are easier in the Instant Pot too!) When I realized that the Mix and Chop Masher was also perfect for breaking up ground meat, it was a total light bulb moment. Now, I wish I had two of these so there would be less chance of having to dig it out of the dishwasher. My favorite recipe that I use the Mix and Chop for is my Turkey Taco Bake!!
Food processor
When I began learning about clean eating and meal prepping, I was hand cutting all my food. I love the slicer for sure, but it became pretty time consuming and my knife skills just aren’t that great. By that I mean I keep band aids in the kitchen drawers! I started out with a manual food processor from Pampered Chef – it’s really great!
Eventually, I realized that there were some foods that the manual processor just couldn’t handle and, well, I wasn’t interested in an arm workout while I was meal prepping either. I was lucky that a family member had a small Cuisinart that she wasn’t using and she sold it to me on the cheap. I know there are amazing food processors out there – bigger, better and badder, but I love the smaller options so I can put them in my cabinet when they’re not in use. That’s another great benefit of meal prepping – you can put all the tools away!
Blender
A blender is a must have for sure! You want one that will keep up with your recipes. I have a lower end Nutri Ninja that I use everyday for my superfoods shake – and also every time I meal prep! It came with three screw on cups in three different sizes. The blades are sharp and it’s super powerful! Again, there are more powerful options, but this totally does the trick for me.
Steamer Basket!
A steamer basket is another must have, especially if you’re using the Instant Pot for cauliflower rice, hard boiled eggs or 1 minute asparagus! The basket fits inside your pot to steam veggies to the perfect amount of crispness. Oooh! Also great for steaming shrimp.
There you have it! My meal prep must have hot list. Of course, I have a ton of other go-to gadgets and tools in my meal prep toolbox – these are the ones that I highly recommend for you to make sure you have!