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The best way to save time on cooking is to meal prep, no matter what size your family is! This list is full of homemade food prep ideas, and every recipe makes at least SIX servings! From dinners that make the best lunch leftovers, to easy freezer meals for large families, to batch breakfast prep, here are 25 Bulk Meal Prep Ideas for Large Families!
Lots of meal prep recipes on my site make four portions, but what if you have six people in your family? Obviously you need recipes that make more servings so you can feed everyone.
I’ve compiled 25 recipes that would work meal prep wonders for large families. Here’s what these recipes have in common:
- They make at least SIX servings, but most make more!
- They can be doubled or tripled easily. Cook once, eat multiple times!
- They can be prepared ahead and frozen, OR they make the best leftovers! (both saving you time later in the week
- They will save you time during the week!
All of these meal prep recipes can be prepared ahead and stored in the freezer so they're ready to go when you are! Stocking the freezer with ready to cook food is the best way to have weeknight dinners for large families ready without spending too much time in the kitchen. Perfect for Meatless Monday, the entire family will love these black bean burgers! These burgers are so delicious and packed with onions and peppers. Plus, they're SO easy to prepare ahead, freeze, and reheat whenever anyone in the house needs a quick meal! These Salsa Verde Chicken Tacos are delicious and perfect for Taco Tuesday! The best part is this recipe can be prepped raw and frozen for later. Hello easy weeknight dinner! - from Meal Plan Addict This Healthier Taco Casserole can go straight from the freezer to the oven for the easiest kind of weeknight meal! Kids and adults alike will love the flavors of this lightened up, freezer friendly casserole. - from Sweet Peas & Saffron This recipe requires minimal prep and can be cooked in the Instant Pot or Slow Cooker! Instructions are also included for beef chuck or top sirloin. There are so many ways to serve this meal, everyone in the house is bound to love it! - from Pinch of Yum Double or triple this recipe and have freezer friendly salmon cakes on hand for the whole family. It's a healthy and delicious dinner starter that will definitely save time on a weeknight! - from Cotter Crunch It's lasagna, but it's in individual portions and totally freezer friendly! These roll ups are a fun twist on classic lasagna and they're loaded with veggies like zucchini and carrots. Perfect for the whole family! - from Meal Plan Addict Cooked taco meat is so versatile, and when you've already got some ready to go in the freezer, the dinner possibilities are endless. This version has a simple homemade taco seasoning and plenty of ideas for easy dinners! - from Meal Plan Addict This Simple Baked Salsa Chicken Thighs main dish makes weeknight dinner a breeze. Make tacos, salads, enchiladas, burritos, and save time by prepping the protein ahead. Freezer friendly, paleo, and super easy to make. This freezer meal is perfect for anyone who follows a gluten free or vegetarian diet. Instructions are included for both Instant Pot and slow cooker! Prep everything ahead, throw it in the freezer, and cook from frozen! - from Pinch of Yum Freezer friendly main dish meal prep at its finest! Load up your freezer with these drumsticks and skip all the prep on weeknights. This recipe will please the whole family, so make extra! These recipes will be a hit for dinner, but they also make the BEST leftovers! If you've got a lot of mouths to feed, making (or doubling!) any of these recipes would be a great way to create lots of lunches for the week. Cook once, eat many times! This recipe has been top 5 on Project Meal Plan for a couple years now, and readers agree - it tastes even better as leftovers! Browse the comments for how people prepare and reheat this meal for their family. Making a double batch isn't a bad idea! Cheesy layers, sauce, chicken, and even better leftovers. This casserole is SO easy to make, and only 5 ingredients. It's like, how can dinner even be this easy? Everyone will be wanting more! - from Pinch of Yum This lightened up version of a chicken pot pie is full of veggies and all those classic pot pie flavors, but with way less work! This casserole will feed a crowd or stock you up for a few days of lunch and dinner. It makes wonderful leftovers! - from Fit Foodie Finds Feed a crowd or have yummy leftovers for the week’s lunches with this Chicken Bacon Ranch Potato Bake! This hearty main dish is baked in just one pan and loaded with bacon and chunky ranch flavored chicken breast all over roasted potatoes! The Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Bake has all the best flavors of buffalo chicken in casserole form, lightened up with Greek yogurt and baked to perfection with veggies and quinoa! It's a hearty casserole that makes wonderful leftovers, and enough for everyone! This Cheesy Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole is delicious pasta bake loaded with hearty chicken, bacon bits, shredded kale, and a creamy protein-packed Greek yogurt base! Big enough to feed the family or prep ahead for your week’s lunches! Delicious pizza flavors morphed into a not-that-bad-for-you casserole with a spaghetti squash base, smothered with traditional meat lover’s toppings! This casserole is a favorite for leftovers around my house! This casserole is a one dish meal that's easy to make, family friendly, and makes wonderful leftovers. This casserole recipe is made with flank steak, tons of veggies, and a homemade Asian sauce that's savory and a little sweet. - from Fit Foodie Finds Breakfast needs to be quick, especially if you've got more than yourself to feed. Anything that's premade, grab and go, or ready to heat up will save you some time in the mornings. Bulk breakfast prep in individual servings is the way to go! Skip drive through and make your own breakfast sandwiches - it's easy! These are made with eggs, cheese and bacon, but of course you can customize them based on you and your family's likes. This recipe makes 8 breakfast bars but you can easily double it to feed everyone in the house. Who doesn't love the classic peanut butter banana combo? These bars make a quick grab and go breakfast for both kids and adults! These are by far the Best Ground Turkey Breakfast Sausage Patties I’ve ever had! Super easy to prepare ahead and reheat during busy weekday mornings. These patties stay juicy thanks to a tiny bit of applesauce - great for the whole family. Fried rice makes the best leftovers, and breakfast fried rice is no exception. Loaded with Swiss chard, broccoli, red bell pepper, and of course eggs & bacon, this Veggie Packed Breakfast Fried Rice makes a delicious meal that you can customize based on what veggies your family likes! These muffins have a sneaky secret - lentils and carrots! Muffins are the best grab and go breakfast or snack and these ones are kid-friendly while packing healthy nutrients at the same time. They're freezer friendly, so you can make lots ahead of time! - from Sweet Peas and Saffron Breakfast, snack, whenever you want it. This Super Clumpy Nut-Free Snack Mix Granola is full of classic snacks like pretzels, sunflower kernels, and dried cranberries. Great for kids and adults alike! Plus, no nuts! If breakfast sandwiches aren't your thing, then how about breakfast burritos? Freezer friendly, grab & go, and oh so easy to customize. Get the family together so everyone can make their own!Bulk Meal Prep Ideas for Large Families
Freezer Friendly Dinner Meal Prep Ideas
Best Leftovers for the Week
Batch Breakfast Meal Prep Ideas
If you’re brand new to meal prep, here are some articles I would recommend:
- How to Meal Prep for Beginners
- How to Meal Prep and Eat Different Meals Every Day
- The Best Containers for Meal Prep
Using the freezer for meal prep can seem intimidating, but you get used to it, I promise. The ease of having homemade meals available is always worth the prep ahead trouble, but especially if you have a larger family!
Here are some tips for freezer meal prep from some of my favorite bloggers:
- Freezer Meal Do’s and Don’ts from Sweet Peas & Saffron
- How to Reheat Freezer Meals from Large Family Table
- Plastic-Free Freezer Storage Ideas from Sweet Peas & Saffron
How do you manage meal prepping for a large family? What are your go-to recipes? Share with me in a comment below or by tagging @projectmealplan on social media!!
Chinazor says
Staying in isolation with my family members has been fun so far but its quite a task to make meals at this period. Thanks for sharing these ideas and helping me to make this period bearable.
Danielle says
So glad this has helped! I’ve been cooking a lot more lately as well. Meal prep is still helpful even when you’re stuck at home! Thanks for your comment 🙂