Make Ahead Meat Meal Plan

This is seriously the easiest meal prep/plan I’ve ever made! We had a super busy week of sports last week, but I really didn’t want to be eating out. I had the idea to cook all of my meat for the week on Sunday and eat it Monday – Friday. The plan was a success! Here’s everything I did.

Make Ahead Meat Meal Plan

I started this make ahead meat meal plan with 10lbs of meat; 6lbs of chicken and 4 lbs of ground turkey. My family eats 2lbs at each meal, so feel free to adjust according to your family’s needs. Once the meat is all cooked, store in the refrigerator in 1 meal portions. This makes it really easy to grab and use.

Chicken: 

Place chicken in the crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours. This can be fresh or frozen. When it is done, use your hand mixer to shred the chicken. This is such an easy life hack!

Beef/Turkey:

You can use either of these you like for the recipes below. Simply brown in a large pan until cooked through. I did not add any seasonings.

Dinner #1: Shredded Chicken Nachos

I love making shredded taco chicken since it is so versatile. I just sprinkle taco seasoning over the chicken with some water and let heat up. We love nachos, but it works great for tacos, quesadillas or burritos too!

For nacho night, line your sheetpan with foil for easy cleanup. Cover with tortilla chips, then shredded chicken, cheese and black beans. Bake for about 6-7 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. Serve with shredded lettuce, sour cream or greek yogurt, guacamole, salsa, olives – whatever your family likes!

Dinner #2: Ground Turkey and Broccoli

This is a meal I make a lot already, but saved lots of time having the meat cooked. I have done this with both beef and turkey – both are delicious!

2 lbs ground turkey, browned

3-4 cups raw broccoli florets

Sauce ingredients: 

3/4 soy sauce (or coconut or liquid aminos)

1/2 cup beef broth

3 tsp apple cider vinegar

2 Tbsp honey

3 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp ginger

2 Tbsp corn starch

Place pre-browned meat into a pan (or you can brown raw meat until cooked through). Whisk together all sauce ingredients and pour over cooked meat. Scatter broccoli over the top and cover. Allow to cook over low-medium heat until broccoli is soft and meat is heated through, about 10 minutes. The sauce will thicken up slightly. Serve over rice or in lettuce cups.

Dinner #3: BBQ Chicken Sliders

This was my first time making these and the family loved them! I heated the chicken in a saucepan with BBQ sauce while I made the coleslaw. You can use any premade coleslaw, but I made this version and it turned out great.

Coleslaw

12 oz coleslaw mix

1/2 greek yogurt

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

2 Tbsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp honey

1/2 tsp salt

pepper to taste

Whisk all ingredients except slaw until combined. Toss with slaw until well coated.

Slice Kings Hawaiian rolls (or other type of rolls) lengthwise. Layer shredded BBQ chicken over rolls, followed by coleslaw mix, then a pickle over each single roll. Pull apart and serve immediately.

Dinner #4: Homemade Hamburger Helper

This is already a fast and simple recipe that my family loves, but the meat being cooked just shaves off more time. This one can be ready in about 15 mins with cooked meat and packs a ton of protein. It’s definitely one of my favorite sports night meals.

Dinner #5 – Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

I’ve been making this meal for several years now and it’s a great way to use shredded chicken. I do make only half of the sauce amount because my family doesn’t love it too saucy. I normally serve over rice, just pivoted for the boys who wanted french fries that night!

This meal plan brought a lot of calm to our crazy sports week and I’m hoping it can do the same for you!