Family Weekly Meal Prep (Kid-Friendly Recipes & Ideas)

Steal my easy family weekly meal prep that is super kid-friendly with simple ideas you can prep on a Sunday!

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Per your requests on Instagram, I’m continuing my Weekly Meal Prep series, sharing a roundup of recipes and ideas you can prep on a Sunday for the family. 

It totally feels like there’s so much to know and it can be overwhelming when you just want to try something that will make your life easier!

But luckily you’re in the right place to learn my doable ideas for a Sunday meal prep session, making food your family actually wants to eat!

Let’s get started! 

What are some ways to meal prep and plan family meals?

How do you actually prep food in advance with a toddler wanting to “help” and a baby who doesn’t want to be set down (and maybe even a dog or two under your feet).

While it may not be realistic to spend 5 hours in the kitchen making a bunch of food, it’s probably doable to double a recipe you’re already making, just prep components, or spend 30 minutes writing out a meal plan and prepping a few things while your kids watch a show.

• I’ve had my kids in the kitchen helping out in different ways since they were little and it’s fun to see some of the skills they’ve learned over the years.
• Of course, it’s not always easy or practical to have extra little helpers and often it is faster to do a meal prep session on your own
• When it is semi-convenient, I do recommend getting your kids in the kitchen to help (and investing in a good baby-wearer).

Family Weekly Meal Plan

This is the meal planner I am currently using and I’m obsessed with it!

Can’t beat the price ($7!) and I love that I can write the grocery list on one side, and my meal plan on the other. 

Easy meal prep ideas for busy families 

I think a common misconception is that we need to be putting together whole meals in advance or prepping a component of every single meal we plan to serve that week. 

At least with my family, I find it easier to have snacks or grab-and-go foods like energy balls, mini muffins, hard-boiled eggs, and taquitos prepped in advance rather than something like a whole casserole. 

I also like to prep individual components that aren’t necessarily for any particular meal, such as: washed & chopped fruit or veggies, shredded cheese, chicken in the slow cooker, etc. 

Really take a minute and consider what would be most helpful to you in your current season of life with your kids:

• Make smoothie packs
• Wash & prep fruit
• Prep a batch of quesadillas
• Make ranch dip for veggies
• Wash & prep cucumbers & carrots
• Make energy bites

These are all simple tasks, some that kids can help with too, that will free up some precious time during a busy week when you’re running around and everyone is starving.

Freezer-Friendly Meal Prep Recipes You’ll Love:

• SO Easy 3 Ingredient Taquitos 
• Mini Waffle Maker Omelets (so fun!!)
• Healthy Kid-Friendly Chicken & Broccoli Meatballs
• Back-to-School Freezer-Friendly Family Meal Ideas
• Muffin Pan Meal Prep Challenge

Easy Weekly Meal Prep (Kid-Friendly Recipes & Ideas)

Healthy meal ideas that are picky-eater-friendly & budget-friendly

Find all of my meal prep kitchen essentials here

First & Foremost: how to properly freeze the food you’re prepping (if that’s what you want to do)

What is the best way to store food in the freezer?

1. When it comes to the freezer, air is really the enemy, and that’s the main way you’ll get freezer burn.
2. To avoid that, make sure all the air is pressed out of your freezer bags before sealing tightly. 

Here are a few more helpful freezer food tips that have worked well for me:

• Store food in glass containers
• Wrap food in plastic wrap and then wrap in foil
• Use blue tape (painter’s tape) to label freezer meals & write the date + contents or quick instructions
• Flash freeze items like pancakes, waffles or muffins so they don’t stick together

How to flash freeze food:

• Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper
• Add food in a single layer
• Freeze until set
• Store in a glass container or freezer-safe bag

Weekly Meal Prep: Healthy Family-Friendly Recipes

Cheesy Spinach Egg Cups 

These silicone muffin pans are a must for making egg cups (like a Starbucks copycat) at home.

Muffins

If there’s one thing I prep every week, it’s muffins! 

I use the same silicone muffin pan (below) for egg cups and regular muffins. 

My kids also love mini muffins, which I make in this pan.

3 favorite muffin recipes:

• Mini Banana Oat Muffins (gluten-free)
• Spinach Chocolate Fudge Muffins
• Classic Blueberry Muffins 

Kid-Friendly Taco Meat

How to: 

• Saute chopped red bell peppers
• Add ground chicken or turkey
• Break up with a wooden spoon
• Add taco seasoning
• Mix in a can of drained & rinsed pinto beans
• Add a can of tomato sauce
• Simmer for about 15 minutes
• Taste and add more seasoning if needed

Full instructions and measurements in the recipe card below.

After cooking, let the taco meat cool, and then store in glass containers as shown below. Reheat in a saucepan on the stove before serving!

Cookie Dough Bark

Every week I like to prep a sweet treat to have on hand and bonus points if I can keep it in the freezer!

Oven Baked Spanish Rice

I love this recipe because it’s pretty hands-off and makes a whole casserole dish of rice!

I like to portion it out with the taco meat to have a “heat and eat” meal on hand. 

The recipe calls for brown rice, but I use white rice instead and it still comes out great!

Recipe, here. 

Oven-Baked Bacon

Bacon is something you may not think you can prep ahead of time but this actually saves me a lot of time during the week!

My kids like to have bacon sometimes for weekday breakfasts and this is the easiest way to make it ahead of time.

Easy Overnight Oats

I actually don’t like overnight oats!!

But my husband and my oldest daughter love them and it’s so much more economical to make them at home!

I buy a big bag of rolled oats (either One Degree or Bob’s Red Mill) at Costco and it ends up being a much better deal than buying ready-made overnight oats.

Here’s what you need:

• Glass jars with lids
• Rolled oats
• Milk of choice
• Real maple syrup
• Ground cinnamon
• Vanilla extract
• Chia seeds (optional)

Easy Component Prep Ideas:

1. Cube or shred cheese (ideas below!)
2. Wash and chop broccoli (store in this container)
3. Make a sheet pan of bacon

Shredded Cheese

• This is one new habit I picked up this year that I am actually enjoying.
• I buy a big block of cheese at Costco or Sam’s and grate it using my box grater. 
• You could also do this with a food processor attachment if you have one.

This definitely isn’t a new-baby-clingy-toddler-era task 🙂 at that point just buy the bag of shredded cheese and call it a day.

But in our current stage of life, I find this task to be doable and the results with melting cheese are so much better!

Sunday Meal Prep Game Plan

It’s great to have the recipes & ideas, but you know, it’s even better to have a plan.

Here’s a step-by-step flow you can follow for your Sunday meal prep to help you maximize on time and efficiency – since nobody has all day to be in the kitchen!

• Some things like the rice and the bacon just cook in the background.
• While those things are in the oven, you can prep something else while you wait for the rice to be done.

Remember: you don’t have to make all of these ideas, this is just a sample game plan.

1. Get the sheet pan of bacon in the oven
2. Put the oven-baked rice together and put in the oven as well. 
3. While the rice and bacon are cooking: prep the egg cups
4. Take the bacon out of the oven and put the egg cups in
5. While the egg cups and the rice are cooking: prep the cookie dough bark
6. While the cookie bark is in the freezer, prep the overnight oats
7. Once everything is done in the oven and the oats and cookie dough bark are prepped, make the taco meat.
8. Let the hot foods cool before storing in glass containers.

If you have time or want to prep more:

1. Make mini muffins
2. While those are baking, wash & chop broccoli or other veggies
3. Wash & prep fruit or shred a block of cheese

I hope these ideas were helpful to you! 

• Remember that it’s not about trying to meal prep a million things while being in the kitchen all day.
• Start by picking one or two ideas that would be really helpful for the week ahead and see how it goes!

Don’t forget I’ve saved all of my Meal Prep tools here (like my slow cooker, muffin pans, cookie scoops, and favorite glass storage containers). 

What to Read Next:

• What I Fed My Family This Week
• Muffin Pan Meal Prep Ideas
• Everything I Meal Prepped This Week
• Favorite Store-Bought Gluten-Free Snacks
• Make-Ahead Weekday Breakfasts
• My Sunday Home Reset Routine