10 Best Kitchen Tools For Meal Prep — Because We’re Working Smarter, Not Harder, In 2025
These products practically do the work for you.
New Year, new you? If you’re trying to change your eating habits — whether that means cutting down on your weekly takeout orders or just adding more veggies to your daily intake — meal prepping is often the solution. But when it comes down to it, meal prepping does take a big chunk of time. That’s why having the best meal-prepping tools on hand is really helpful. Not only does it help shorten the amount of time you’re standing in your kitchen dicing yet another red onion, but it will also help you maintain this new habit for longer by making the whole process just a little bit easier.
My husband and I don’t have a set meal-prepping time, but it’s something that keeps us sane throughout our busy weeks. When we get home from the grocery store, we wash and cut up all the produce we just bought — cleaning and drying it helps it stay fresh longer, and storing it ready to eat means we actually reach for it when we’re hungry. And if we’re in the kitchen cooking one meal on the stovetop, we tend to pop another in the oven, just to have it for lunches and quick dinners. And let me tell you, having the right gizmos to reach for in the kitchen is so nice when you’re trying to get done cooking and back to playing with your kid (who is actively shoving himself between your legs and the counter trying to get your attention).
These must-haves are some of the best meal-prepping tools — my personal favorites, as well as some recommended by the internet.
A big ass sheet pan
Sheet pan dinners are kind of the bomb for meal prepping. Throw on a podcast, dice up a bunch of veggies, and slap your protein of choice next to them before roasting. And boom: nutritious lunches or dinners for the next few days. Having one very large sheet pan to hold it all is really nice, and this one has lots of good reviews.
A salad spinner
When I get home from the grocery store, one of the big tasks I tackle all at once is washing and storing all our fresh produce. Putting berries and quick-perishing items in storage containers or mason jars helps them last so much longer in my fridge. A salad spinner is crucial to getting them as dry as possible — which helps their longevity — without using a million paper towels or dish towels to dry all that produce. With more than 12,000 reviews on Amazon and a 4.5-star rating, this one seems like a safe bet.
Collapsible meal prep containers
These food storage containers get a lot of love on meal-prepping Reddit, and honestly, I get why. I have stacks of meal prepping containers, and you know what they take up? A whole lot of space in my kitchen cabinets. But this brand collapses when not in use, so you won’t have to dedicate an entire cabinet just to Tupperware. They get bonus points for being BPA-free and safe to use in the oven, microwave, freezer, and dishwasher.
Silicone freezer trays
Another way to store broth, soup, or sauces in individual portions? Silicone freezer trays. This set has a steel-reinforced frame to ensure no smooshing or sloshing while your homemade goodies freeze within. You can buy silicone freezer trays in so many shapes and sizes, including smaller ones like this set from Souper Cubes, to store minced garlic, herb butter, or smoothie cubes.
A lot of prep bowls
When you’re tossing veggies in seasonings and oil to roast over here and mixing together quiche ingredients over there, you need a bunch of good bowls. This set comes with five stainless steel mixing and prep bowls with airtight lids, so you can also use them to store your ingredients as needed.
An easy breezy chicken shredder
Hear me out: Shredded chicken is kind of a great base protein to keep on hand. You can add sauces to make it feel like you’re always eating something new. You can season and cook a few in the Crock-Pot and shred them all, then turn your shredded chicken into barbecue sliders, a buffalo wrap, enchiladas, you name it. Having a chicken shredder like this makes the process so much faster than trying to pull six breasts apart with two forks.
Gallon Ziploc stands for prepping freezer meals
If you like to have a big freezer stash of soups, chili, meatballs, or pre-diced ingredients, you know you spend a lot of time awkwardly spooning things into storage bags. These little racks have nonslip bases to grip onto your counters, and they hold open a variety of bag sizes so you can pour your prepped meals right into multiple bags — no mess or awkward juggling of heavy cookware involved. They have nearly 20,000 reviews, so they seem to be worth the $10 if you’ll use them often.
A veggie slicer (or something similar)
Exactly what kind of slicing or dicing tools will be most helpful to you, well, it depends on what you’re chopping. If you want to keep cut veggies ready to go in the fridge so you’re more likely to reach for them as snacks, or pack them in adult Lunchables for office lunches, a gadget like this one will make your life a lot easier. Or maybe a strawberry slicer or apple corer would be the way to go. This is just a whole product category to consider if you’re trying to cut down the time you spend prepping.
A food processor, or similar attachments for something you already own
A food processor that grates, chops, and slices is invaluable when you’re meal-prepping big batches of food, and there are a ton to choose from for all different budgets. But if you already own a KitchenAid, I can personally attest that this attachment set is the bomb. I use it to grate fresh cheese and to slice carrots and other veggies for pickling.
A slow cooker, of course
If you ask me, slow cookers are an essential part of the meal-prepping team. There are a million different slow cookers on the market these days at every possible price point, but if you just want something simple and big that you can make big batches of food in, this CrockPot will do just fine.
Sure, meal prepping takes time, but a little effort here goes a long way toward making your weeks run smoother. And since these products make the whole process even easier, what have you got to lose?
