This Restaurant Hack Cuts My Weekly Meal Prep Time In Half

Meal prep can be a drag, especially when Thursday rolls around and you can’t fathom reheating yet another serving of the same dinner you’ve been eating all week. Luckily for you, I’ve got a restaurant-style hack to keep things interesting and different every day of the week with all of the ease that meal prep allows. It's called "component prepping," and it's easier and faster than preparing seven servings of full meals. I'd even say it cuts my weekly meal prep time in half. You may have heard of it thanks to a few viral TikToks, but what you don’t know is my foolproof formula for jazzing up plain ingredients to create a different combo of flavors every night.

What Is Component Prepping?

Before I give away the secret, let's talk about component prepping. Instead of making a fully composed meal (like maple pecan-crusted chicken or Tuscan tortellini skillet bake), you prepare a set of ingredients—like roasted sweet potatoes, grilled steak, and sauteed zucchini—and add different toppings to create a new flavor profile every night. Easy, right?! Keep the main components stored separately, so you have a somewhat blank canvas for adding new flavors.

Bookmark this list of flavor bombs to transform simple ingredients (i.e., the components you meal-prepped) into a variety of different cuisines:

A pickled or fermented thing - pickled onions, olives, capers, jalapenos, peperoncini, kimchi, sauerkraut, relish, giardiniera, etc
A soft herb - parsley, cilantro, dill, mint, basil, chives
A sauce, condiment, or dip - tzatziki, salsa, marinara, alfredo, remoulade, chili crisp, sriracha, honey mustard, tomato chutney, chimichurri, gremolata, bbq sauce, teriyaki sauce, whipped feta, etc
A seasoning mix - taco seasoning, Greek seasoning, Italian seasoning, Old Bay, Cajun seasoning, garam masala, ranch seasoning

Bonus: If you want to crank things up a notch, add a cheese (think Parmesan, pepper jack, feta, goat, cheddar, or mozzarella) and a crunchy thing (chopped nuts, French-fried onions, breadcrumbs) that fits your flavor profile.

How Can I Use Component Prepping To Make Flavorful Meal Combos?

The easiest way to make combinations that taste good is to consider the toppings' region of origin. For example, chopped olives, fresh dill, tzatziki, and Greek seasoning would make a delicious pairing, because they all hail from the Mediterranean.

So let’s say it’s Sunday, and you need to make enough food to get you through a busy week. You made (or bought) a pot of orzo, crispy roasted potatoes, seared steak bites, rotisserie chicken, roasted broccolini, and smashed cauliflower. Here are some examples of combinations you can make throughout the week.

Monday

Chicken Orzo Alfredo: Orzo with rotisserie chicken, sauteed capers, Italian seasoning, alfredo sauce, and broccolini.

Tuesday

Cajun Steak & Potatoes: Pan-seared steak bites topped with Cajun seasoning and butter, crispy potatoes topped with pickled onions and remoulade, and smashed cauliflower topped with melty Cheddar and chives.

Wednesday

Chicken & Potato Taco Bowl: A crispy potato base topped with chopped rotisserie chicken tossed with taco seasoning, spiced cauliflower, melted pepper jack cheese, salsa, pickled jalapenos, and cilantro.

Thursday

Greek Orzo Steak Bowl: An orzo base tossed with Greek seasoning and topped with steak, chopped broccoli, whipped feta, Greek marinated olives, and fresh dill.