23 Must-Try Breakfast Meal-Prep Ideas

POPSUGAR Photography | Jenny Sugar
POPSUGAR Photography | Jenny Sugar

Your mornings are short on time and stressful enough! Make breakfast a cinch by taking some time over the weekend for these meal-prep ideas. A healthy, delicious, and filling breakfast will be ready in minutes.

Overnight Oats
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Overnight Oats

Prep all the dry ingredients for a week's worth of overnight oats. Every night before bed, just pour in the almond milk, and breakfast will be waiting for you come morning.

Breakfast Bars
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Breakfast Bars

Ever crave cookies for breakfast? Then make a batch of these chewy oatmeal protein bars. A 176-calorie square offers 8.4 grams of hunger-satiating protein.

Slow-Cooker Steel-Cut Oatmeal
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Slow-Cooker Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Cooking steel-cut oats from scratch takes too long on a busy morning, so make a big batch of steel-cut oats in your slow cooker and you'll have a warm breakfast to look forward to all week long.

Freeze Cooked Whole Grains
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Freeze Cooked Whole Grains

Cook up a batch of whole grains, such as quinoa, barley, or brown rice, and freeze them in one-cup servings. Microwave them in the morning with your favorite toppings, just as you would a bowl of oatmeal.

Make Protein Bars
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Make Protein Bars

If you love the ease of grabbing a protein bar, but you don't want to pay tons of money per bar and don't love some of the odd ingredients you find in them, make a big batch of your own. These chocolate almond protein bars are vegan, gluten-free, and offer almost 13 grams of protein per 166-calorie bar.

Smoothie Freezer Packs
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Smoothie Freezer Packs

Chop everything at once, especially produce that involves a little more prep, like pears, avocado, and mango, and make a week's worth of smoothie freezer packs all at once.

Freeze Bananas
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Freeze Bananas

Peel, slice, and freeze bananas in freezer-safe baggies so they're ready for smoothies in the morning. You can also throw them in your oatmeal.

Protein Muffins
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Protein Muffins

For a quick breakfast, whip up a batch of these lemon blueberry protein muffins. For just 300 calories, two muffins offers 12 grams of protein and almost five grams of fiber.

Steel-Cut Oatmeal
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Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Forty minutes is way too long to wait for steel-cut oats to cook on busy mornings, so make frozen steel-cut oatmeal ahead of time. Then in the morning you can microwave a few for a chewy, hearty bowl of oats ready in minutes.

Protein Balls
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Protein Balls

If you're not feeling a protein smoothie, grab a few protein balls for breakfast. These coconut-covered chocolate protein balls are 53 calories and offer 2.6 grams of protein.

Freeze Pureed Beans
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Freeze Pureed Beans

These can be used to add a little extra protein and fiber to your spinach smoothies or oatmeal. Puree any type of cooked beans in a food processor and freeze in BPA-free freezer trays. Pop them out when you need them — one cube is 26 calories and offers 1.3 grams of fiber and 1.6 grams of protein, but won't affect the taste of the dish.

Carrot Cake Steel-Cut Oatmeal
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Carrot Cake Steel-Cut Oatmeal

If you love pastries and scones for breakfast, this is a healthier option. Make a big batch of carrot cake oatmeal, and then warm up a bowl each morning, topped any way you like.

Egg Muffins
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Egg Muffins

Make a big batch of turkey sausage egg muffins or egg and veggie muffins in advance, freeze them, then microwave a couple in the morning.

Protein Banana Bread
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Protein Banana Bread

If you have ripe bananas lying around, bake a batch of this protein banana bread that offers 8.2 grams per 188-calorie serving.

Freeze Coconut Water
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Freeze Coconut Water

Instead of adding plain ice cubes to the blender, make a batch of frozen cubes made of coconut water. Add these to your smoothies to increase the potassium and sweetness.

Breakfast Quinoa
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Breakfast Quinoa

Bored with oatmeal? Cook up some quinoa! This recipe for slow-cooker apple pie quinoa makes a week's worth of breakfast all at once.

Quinoa Egg Bake
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Quinoa Egg Bake

Pair eggs with whole grains for a filling breakfast, and prepare a quinoa egg bake ahead of time. Microwave while brewing your coffee, and you'll have a hot breakfast served in minutes.

Pancakes
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Pancakes

Bisquick, as the name suggests, might be quick, but it's not the healthiest. DIY your own healthy pancake mix using whole wheat flour for added fiber. You can even add protein powder to your jar. Save even more time by making and freezing pancakes to warm up in seconds.

Freeze Greens
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Freeze Greens

Save time measuring greens for smoothies by storing two-cup servings in freezer bags or puree your greens and freeze them in ice cube trays. No more wilted greens!

Egg Casserole
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Egg Casserole

Take 20 minutes for prep the night before, set your slow cooker to low while you sleep, and wake up to the smell of eggs and bacon cooking in the kitchen. Store the rest of the servings in the fridge in separate containers so breakfast is easy to grab the next morning, re-heat, and enjoy.

Quinoa Bake
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Quinoa Bake

For a twist on oatmeal, cooked quinoa offers more protein. Make a quinoa breakfast bake before bed, and you can eat a square warmed up with a dollop of yogurt. Save the rest and re-heat throughout the week.

Freeze Grated Zucchini
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Freeze Grated Zucchini

Aside from zucchini bread, you can use frozen shredded zucchini to make zoats.

Freeze Almond Milk
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Freeze Almond Milk

For colder, creamier smoothies, freeze almond milk and use these instead of regular ice cubes. It's also a great way to use up almond milk before it goes bad.