📦 Meal Prep Calculator
Calculate portions and shopping lists for weekly meal prep planning
Enter Meal Prep Details
Understanding Meal Prep
What is Meal Prep?
Meal prep is the practice of planning and preparing meals in advance, typically for a week at a time. It involves calculating ingredient quantities, shopping efficiently, and cooking multiple portions of the same meal to save time and reduce stress during busy weekdays.
Why Meal Prep?
Meal prepping saves time, reduces food waste, helps maintain a healthy diet, and cuts costs by buying ingredients in bulk. It eliminates daily cooking decisions and ensures you always have nutritious meals ready to eat.
How This Calculator Works
Our calculator multiplies your single-meal ingredient quantities by the total number of meals you're preparing. It automatically calculates how much of each ingredient you'll need to buy for the entire week, creating a comprehensive shopping list.
Tips for Successful Meal Prep
Start with simple recipes, invest in quality storage containers, prep ingredients in batches, and consider food safety - most prepped meals last 3-4 days refrigerated or can be frozen. Label containers with dates and vary your meals throughout the week to avoid monotony.
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter the number of days you want to meal prep for in the "Days to Prep" field (typically 5-7 days)
- Enter how many meals you'll prepare per day in the "Meals per Day" field (e.g., 2 for lunch and dinner)
- List all ingredients for one meal in the text area, one ingredient per line with quantities and units
- Click the "Calculate Shopping List" button to see your total ingredient quantities for the entire week
- Check off items as you shop using the checkboxes, or copy the entire list to your notes app
- Use the generated quantities to purchase ingredients and prepare your meals for the week
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the meal prep calculator work?
The calculator multiplies your per-meal ingredient quantities by the total number of meals (days × meals per day) to generate a complete shopping list. This ensures you buy exactly what you need for the week.
Is this tool free to use?
Yes! This tool is completely free with no hidden costs, subscriptions, or limitations. Use it as often as you need.
Do I need to create an account?
No account needed. The tool works entirely in your browser without requiring signup or personal information.
Does this work on mobile devices?
Yes, this tool is fully responsive and works on smartphones, tablets, and all desktop browsers.
Is my data private?
Absolutely. All processing happens locally in your browser. Your meal plans and data never leave your device and are not stored on any server.
Can I meal prep for different recipes each day?
This calculator works best when meal prepping the same recipe for multiple days. For varied meal plans, calculate each recipe separately and combine the shopping lists.