Fall meal prep essentials

Meal Prep Season is Here!

Baking, roasting, and soup making season is upon us and I want you to have all the tools you need to meal prep and cook with ease!

Fall produce, like winter squash, root veggies, and hearty greens, generally take longer to cook compared to the ‘no cook’ veggies of summer. This makes meal prep so important so that you can cut down the amount of time it takes to get dinner on the table.

Many of you might already have these items, but incase you don’t, I’ve linked my favorite brands and models below.

(You can find all of my recommended cooking tools and more here)

Fall Meal Prep + Cooking Tool Essentials

Vitamix: Other than smoothies, I use this all the time for meal prep. The one I have isn’t available, but Vitamix has tons of models, so you can shop around. Just choose a 64 oz blender with a wide base which makes it much easier to finely chop veggies or grind up nuts, seeds, or oats for baking. A food processor also works great for this. 

Metal vitamix container: I often blend hot or warm things, so I finally bought this metal vitamix container. It’s definitely pricey but I think it’s worth the investment! Note that it’s only 48 ounces, which works fine for me — I’ll use my larger one if I need to for chopping, etc…

Instant Pot: I used to just use this to pressure cook beans and bone broth, but now I use it often for cooking big batches of grains. I’ve also been testing more soup recipes in the Instant Pot and love the “set it and forget it” way of cooking!

8” Chefs Knife: a good and sharp chefs knife makes chopping a lot easier and safer.

Large wooden cutting board: having a big cutting board makes such a difference when prepping veggies for the week. This one is the best budget-friendly option.

Large non-plastic lightweight cutting board: I have all three sizes of this and use them mostly for cutting fruit or raw meat. It could also serve as your large all-purpose board instead of the wooden one above. It’s a great alternative to plastic because you can throw them in your dishwasher.

Bench scraper: one of my most used underrated meal prep tools. It’s essential for baking bread, but also great for transferring chopping ingredients to your pot without making a mess. I also use it to scrape any food bits from my counter or cutting board into the sink.

Best Mandolin: this changed the game for me for thinly slicing my red onions for pickling and for getting consistent thinly sliced cabbage, fennel, radish, and cucumber.

Fish spatula: the only spatula I ever use, a must have!

Y Peeler: don’t get a fancy peeler, these simple Y peelers are the best for peeling carrots, potatoes, ginger, etc…

1/2 sheet pans: rimmed baking sheets are a must for sheet pan dinners! These are my fav.

1/4 sheet pans: these small baking sheets allow you to cook multiple things at once in the oven. I can roast nuts, veggies and salmon all at the same time! I also love using them to organize my ingredients or to cool off a batch of cooked grains.

If You Care Parchment Paper: the best non toxic parchment paper.

Rectangular Cake Pan: my favorite 9×13-inch baking dish for casseroles, pasta bakes, etc…

Square Cake Pan: a smaller 9×9-inch version of the above, perfect for smaller bakes, cakes, and brownies!

Loaf pan: a necessity for baking banana bread, pumpkin bread, or my Seedy Buckwheat Veggie Loaf for something savory.

Muffin Pan: a fall baking essential!

Digital kitchen scale: a baking essential! Also useful for weighing veggies, etc…

8 oz wide mouth jars: best size for freezing small amounts of sauces, etc…

16 oz wide mouth jars: best size for freezing individual sized portions of soups, etc…

Glass food container set: I used to have the plastic ones below, but upgraded to the glass version. They’re more pricey than the plastic, but worth the investment. They stack beautifully and are leak proof!

Plastic food container set: I used these for my personal chef clients and now I have way more than I need and use them for storing prepped veggies, leftovers, etc… They are BPA-free, light-weight, stack beautifully, and have really high quality leak-proof locking lids. They also come in glass at a higher price point.

4 quart food storage container: this is the bin I keep on my counter when I’m cooking or prepping to throw any scraps or trash into. Makes a huge difference in keeping your space clean and not having to open the trash can all the time.

Disclosure: these links are affiliate links but they are all products that I personally use and love.