High-protein meal prep
High-protein meal prep on a budget
The cheaper proteins are eggs, chicken thighs, canned tuna, dry lentils, and yogurt on sale. Buy the one with the lowest price per pound that you will actually eat, then cook it once for several meals.
Training · 4 min read · Updated 2026-11-05
In the portions written below, protein is about 26–30 g, calories about 280–520, and sodium about 220–250 mg. Those are rounded kitchen estimates before extra cheese, bread, or a heavy pour of sauce.
A cart full of protein bars usually costs more than the eggs and oats that would have done the job.
How to run it
- Start with mild chickpea and spinach curry. Plan on about 30 minutes. Cook the onion, garlic, ginger, and curry powder in a little oil until the onion is soft.
- Next, rice, beans, and eggs. This is the single-person dinner that uses what is already cooked. Two eggs are doing more work than one.
- Keep eggs and soft greens for the meal that needs to feel different. Best immediately. Fridge overnight is acceptable. Do not freeze scrambled eggs and expect them to be pleasant.
- Cool anything you will not eat right away within two hours. For eggs and soft greens: Best immediately. Fridge overnight is acceptable. Do not freeze scrambled eggs and expect them to be pleasant.
Cook these
Mild chickpea and spinach curry
30 min · serves 4
- Protein
- 30 g
- Sodium
- 220 mg
- Calories
- 470
Protein, sodium, and calories are rounded kitchen estimates, not a lab test or a medical plan.
Curry powder, not a salty curry paste, is how this stays mild and lower in sodium. Taste before you decide it needs salt.
Ingredients
- 2 cans no-salt-added chickpeas, rinsed
- 14 ounces firm tofu, cubed
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 1 can no-salt-added tomatoes
- 1 can light coconut milk
- 4 cups spinach
- 2 cups plain Greek yogurt, for serving
Method
- Cook the onion, garlic, ginger, and curry powder in a little oil until the onion is soft.
- Add chickpeas, tofu, tomatoes, and coconut milk. Simmer 15 minutes. Stir in the spinach to wilt.
- Serve each bowl with 1/2 cup yogurt. The yogurt is in the protein count.
Fridge 4 days. Freezer: best quality within 3 months (curry without the yogurt). If you serve it hot, reheat to 165°F with a food thermometer.
Storage times are general guidance, not a lab test of this recipe. A shorter package or recipe instruction governs. Freezing and reheating do not rescue food left out too long, or a heat-stable toxin that already formed. USDA FSIS: Leftovers and Food Safety and USDA FSIS: Freezing and Food Safety.
Also used in A planned favorite inside the week, A training snack log, Budget weeknight dinners.
Rice, beans, and eggs
15 min · serves 1
- Protein
- 30 g
- Sodium
- 250 mg
- Calories
- 520
Protein, sodium, and calories are rounded kitchen estimates, not a lab test or a medical plan.
This is the single-person dinner that uses what is already cooked. Two eggs are doing more work than one.
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked rice
- 1/2 cup no-salt-added beans, rinsed
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- hot sauce or salsa, optional
- a handful of spinach
Method
- Warm the rice, beans, and spinach in a small pan with a splash of water.
- Fry or scramble the eggs in the oil.
- Put the eggs on the rice. Add hot sauce only if you want the sodium and you know the bottle.
Cook and eat. Rice and beans can sit in the fridge 4 days; cook the eggs when you eat. If you serve it hot, reheat to 165°F with a food thermometer.
Storage times are general guidance, not a lab test of this recipe. A shorter package or recipe instruction governs. Freezing and reheating do not rescue food left out too long, or a heat-stable toxin that already formed. USDA FSIS: Leftovers and Food Safety.
Chill cooked rice promptly. Vomiting-type Bacillus cereus illness is generally tied to rice and other starchy foods, and that emetic toxin can survive heat that kills the bacteria. FDA Bad Bug Book: Bacillus cereus.
Also used in A leftovers plan for single cooks, Budget weeknight dinners, Cooking for one on a budget.
Eggs and soft greens
10 min · serves 1
- Protein
- 26 g
- Sodium
- 220 mg
- Calories
- 280
Protein, sodium, and calories are rounded kitchen estimates, not a lab test or a medical plan.
Egg whites raise the protein without much sodium or richness. The yolks are there so it still tastes like eggs.
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup liquid egg whites, or 2 more egg whites
- 2 handfuls spinach or other soft greens
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- black pepper
Method
- Wilt the greens in the oil with a spoon of water.
- Add the eggs and whites. Stir gently until just set, still a little glossy.
- Eat from the pan or put it on toast if chewing bread is comfortable.
Best immediately. Fridge overnight is acceptable. Do not freeze scrambled eggs and expect them to be pleasant.
Storage times are general guidance, not a lab test of this recipe. A shorter package or recipe instruction governs. Freezing and reheating do not rescue food left out too long, or a heat-stable toxin that already formed. USDA FSIS: Leftovers and Food Safety.
Also used in Cooking for one with a freezer, Cottage cheese prep ideas, Dinner for one in about 20 minutes.
Details that matter
- The night before a long workout, keep the meal familiar: protein you already digest well, plus a starch, and not a new spicy experiment.
- Label the lid with the meal and the date. A stack of identical containers is how Thursday's fish gets ignored.
- Sauce, lemon, and herbs ride on the side. Food that sits in dressing for three days tastes like the dressing gave up.
Easy mistakes
Cooking only dry breasts
Use thighs, a sauce on the side, or fish. Breasts that were perfect on Sunday are chalk by Wednesday.
Calling a snack a meal
A string cheese and an apple are not 30 grams of protein. Look at the portion in the recipe, not the headline.
Grocery starter
- 2 cans no-salt-added chickpeas, rinsed
- 14 ounces firm tofu, cubed
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 1 can no-salt-added tomatoes
- 1 can light coconut milk
- 4 cups spinach
- 2 cups plain Greek yogurt, for serving
- 1 cup cooked rice
- 1/2 cup no-salt-added beans, rinsed
Questions
How should I store mild chickpea and spinach curry?
Fridge 4 days. Freezer: best quality within 3 months (curry without the yogurt). If you serve it hot, reheat to 165°F with a food thermometer.
How much protein is in a serving?
Mild chickpea and spinach curry is about 30 g; Rice, beans, and eggs is about 30 g; Eggs and soft greens is about 26 g. These are kitchen estimates, not a lab analysis.
What is the easy mistake here?
A cart full of protein bars usually costs more than the eggs and oats that would have done the job.