32 Healthy Indian Meal Prep Recipes (under $3 per serving)

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If you want to change up your meal prepping to include some more flavor, these 30+ healthy Indian meal prep ideas are perfect for you.

Indian food is fantastic for meal prepping. High in protein, lots of veggies, and healthy carb sources like rice. Most protein sources are covered in sauces and curries that are great for reheating and keeping it moist.

If you haven’t ready our meal prep for beginners guide, it’s the perfect way to get started!

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What Is Meal Prep?

Meal prep involves preparing meals in advance for eating throughout the week. While you can use different results for meal prep, the result is always a delicious meal.

Meal prep is a great way to ensure you eat healthy meals for up to a week! It works great for salads, burrito bowls, quinoa dishes, stir-fries, soups, and overnight oats. Meal preps are a lifesaver for working women and men who are short on time and want to stay healthy throughout the week.

To meal prep, you don’t have to follow a single “right” way; you can mix and match methods that work for you. Here are the most common methods used for meal prep.

Batch Cooking and Portioning Indian Meals

For working women and men, batch cooking and portioning meals are a great life saver to make meal prep work easier and save energy and money.  You can meal prep large quantities of food during the week and store them in portions for quick and easy meals.

Mixing and Matching

Plan your Indian meals around a few items that can be combined differently. This is a great way to easily create a variety of meals without making multiple recipes. 

Dump-and-Go Meal Kits

If you’re looking for an effortless way to prepare a delicious Indian meal plan, pre-measured ingredients are the answer! With pre-measured ingredients, simply follow the instructions, and you’re good to go! 

Meal-swapping

Exchanging pre-made meals with friends or family to save time and money. Meal-swapping also encourages socialization and allows people to exchange recipes and cooking tips.

Condiment Meal Prep

Doing meal prep work in advance is a great way to save time and add flavor to your meals – a lifesaver for busy working women and men. For example, I usually make a batch of my favorite dressing and sauce or spread and store meal prep in the fridge overnight or over a week. That way, I’ll have it on hand when I need it, and I’ll never have to worry about running out.

Ingredient Prep

Prepping ingredients is a great way to save time and energy before cooking. Prep work, such as chopping, slicing, and dicing ingredients beforehand, helps you quickly and easily assemble Indian meals during the week.

What Are the Benefits of Meal Prep?

While meal planning might seem complicated, it doesn’t have to be. With a bit of meal preparation, meal planning can become an easy way to create healthy meals that are convenient and delicious.

Here are some of the benefits of having a meal plan:

Saves you Time

Meal planning eliminates daily meal planning and cooking all the weekly meals, saving you time. I no longer worry about what I’m going to eat or having to take time in meal preparation. I can just grab my prepped meal and be on my way.

Saves you Money

Making meals ahead of time allows you to use the same ingredients for multiple meals, avoiding food wastage. This can help you budget your money more effectively and save on meal costs.

Eat Healthily 

A meal plan allows you to create meals with healthier, nutrient-dense ingredients. By planning and preparing meals in advance, you can also easily portion out meals and snacks, making it easier to control your overall calorie intake. 

Relief Stress 

When you meal prep, you reduce the stress of coming up with a meal on the spot, making it easier to stick to your meal plan. Before, I used to feel overwhelmed by the idea of coming up with a meal at the last minute and often resorted to unhealthy takeout options. Meal prepping has been a great way to stay on track with my diet and ensure I eat healthily every day of the week.

Eat Greater Variety

Meal prep provides an opportunity to try new food and explore different meal ideas. This can help you expand your palate and explore new flavors. In addition, when you prep a weekly meal plan, it allows you to create meals with various ingredients and flavors. This can help keep your diet balanced.

How to Meal Prep up to a Week

Meal prepping over the weekend can make the weekly meal-cooking process less time-consuming. Try some of these tasks to prepare Indian food at home:

Pre-Chop Vegetables

Wash and dice salad ingredients and vegetables like onions, bell peppers, and tomatoes and store them in the refrigerator. There are many meals you can make with them all week long.

Prepare Marinades or Curries

Make marinades or curries on the weekend and store them in the refrigerator or freezer. This will help you make quick meals as desired in the coming weekly meal plan. 

Make Snacks

Make snacks like samosas, pakoras, or cutlets that can be frozen and used as needed during the coming week.

Meal Prep Roti Dough During the Weekend

Making roti dough over the weekend allows you to make fresh roti quickly during the week. 

Store Dry-Roasted Sooji in Air-Tight Meal Prep Containers

You can also dry roast sooji and preserve it in individual air-tight meal prep containers. This step eliminates the need to roast the sooji each time you make roti. 

Prepare Paratha Stuffing or Sandwich Stuffing

Additionally, you can make paratha or sandwich stuffing in advance and preserve it in the refrigerator. This helps make the process of making parathas and sandwiches during the week simpler.

Make a Batch of Coriander Chutney

Lastly, you can make a big batch of coriander chutney and store it in an air-tight jar in the fridge. 

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32 Healthy Indian Meal Prep Recipes       

A lot of these are very budget-friendly recipes making grocery shopping a whole lot better! 

Indian Meal Prep Ideas for Breakfast

1. Vegetable Semolina Porridge

Rava Upma is a traditional breakfast in south India, prepared with sooji (Rava), spices, and various vegetables. This Vegetable Semolina Porridge is served with coconut chutney & coffee, but it tastes great even without it. Adding lots of vegetables makes this vegetable upma which is filling and a wholesome meal for the day.

2. Veggie Packed Dosa

This easy dosa recipe is perfect for an Indian-inspired healthy breakfast meal prep. It’s packed with veggies and uses fresh flavors from the south. You can cook the dosa’s and quickly reheat them in the microwave or prep the batter and leave it in the fridge, so they’re ready to cook.

3. Bathua Paratha (Flat Breads) 

Bathua Paratha is one of the most popular parathas (flat-breads) of Indian cuisine. Try adding some greens to get some morning vegetables in. They’re also freezer-friendly, so they’re perfect for double batching and freezing for later down the line.

4. Savory Dosas with Coconut Chutney

This Dosa with Coconut Chutney recipe is a classic southern Indian breakfast that’s very traditional and delicious. It’s gluten-free and only requires a few ingredients. You can also try a homemade coconut chutney to mix in some tropical flavors.

5. Kara podi kozhukattai (Rice Flour Dumplings)

These Kara podi kozhukattai spiced rice-based “dumplings” are a delicious, flavourful breakfast idea. They’re freezer-friendly once prepared or cooked, so you can easily double batch them for next week!

Healthy Indian Seafood/Meat Recipes for Meal Prepping

6. Traditional Chicken Rogan Josh

In northern Indian (Kashmir) where rogan josh originates, tomatoes aren’t added to a rogan josh. Traditionally it’s also made with lamb or goat, but this Chicken Rogan Josh takes all the traditional spices and sauce and combines it with chicken. 

This recipe is super healthy and a great source of antioxidants, probiotics, and proteins. The great thing about this recipe is that the flavors intensify the next day, making it perfect for meal prepping.

7. Beef Kheema (Indian Ground Beef with Peas)

The beef Kheema is packed with delicious spices and vegetables. It’s an ideal choice for your meal plan because it only takes 10 minutes to make and uses common fresh ingredients you will most likely use in another recipe. If you’re looking for easy ground beef meal prep ideas, this one is perfect for you!

8. Instant Pot Chicken Vindaloo

An insanely delicious Instant Pot Chicken Vindaloo made with chicken thighs and toasted spices. All the warm, smokey spices combine to create a silky smooth sauce packed full of flavor. This is one of our favorite instant pot meal prep recipes!

9. Mangalorean Prawn Curry

This Mangalore shrimp or prawn curry is made with a coconut base. It is deliciously spicy and goes very well with boiled rice. Perfect for tropical lunch or dinner meal prep.

10. Spicy Indian Pan-Fried Salmon

This spicy Indian pan-fried salmon is quick and easy to make, spicy, and ridiculously tasty! It’s loaded with flavor and great for weeknight dinners and meal prep! This is a unique take for a pescatarian meal prep idea!

11. Keto Coconut Chicken Curry

Have you been missing your favorite Indian takeout meal? Then this keto coconut chicken curry recipe is for you! It’s surprisingly easy to make at home. 

Coconut curry chicken is rich and warming, with a little spice and a whole lot of coconut cream curry flavor. I serve this keto chicken curry recipe over cauliflower rice for a classic taste, but it would also be fantastic over zoodles!

12. Chicken Tikka Masala

This Chicken Tikka Masala Recipe is so easy to make and meal prep right at home using simple and delicious ingredients like fragrant spices, tomato sauce, onion, garlic, ginger, cream, and butter. Filled with tender, juicy, marinated chicken pieces swimming in a rich, aromatic, and creamy curry sauce, the whole family will love this restaurant-quality chicken tikka masala recipe. This is one of our favorite healthy chicken meal prep ideas!

13. Keto Butter Chicken

This easy keto butter chicken recipe features a simple, quick marinade and rich butter chicken sauce! Learn how to make butter chicken for an Indian feast at home. This is one of our favorite one pot meal prep ideas!

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Easy Indian Meal Prep Recipes for Lunch and Dinner

14. Whole Masoor Dal (Brown Lentils)

Lentils are an incredible way of eating a high fiber and protein diet! Masoor Dal is one of the easiest, most flavorful dump-and-go vegan lentil recipes that can be made stove top or in an Instant Pot. It pairs well with rice, naan, paratha, or by itself with vegetables.

15. Mix Vegetable Daliya

Mix Vegetable Daliya / Dalia khichdi – Bulgur Pilaf is a savory, easy recipe to make for breakfast, lunch, or dinner! These healthy grains are so delicious; you will forget you are eating a healthy meal. Loaded with nutrients like protein, fiber, and vitamins, this is truly an Indian superfood that you’ll love feeding to your family.

16. Instant Pot Chana Masala (Chickpea Curry)

This Instant Pot Chana Masala (also called Punjabi Chole Masala or Chickpea Curry) is a spicy, flavor-packed dish of chickpeas, tomatoes, and spices that takes less than 30 minutes. This is a great freezer meal prep idea because of how well the curry reheats.

17. Traditional Sarson Ka Saag

Sarson ka saag or spicy mustard greens is a traditional North Indian saag to cook. Mustard greens are cooked along with onion, ghee, and other leafy vegetables. Making this in an instant pot makes it very easy to make and takes under 30 minutes. With an aromatic tempering of garlic, cumin seeds, and ghee, this Punjabi Sarson da saag is a winter delicacy.

18. White Urad Dal Recipe {Instant Pot & Stovetop}

Instant pot split white urad dal is mild spicy Indian lentil curry pair with white rice. Cooked with basic spices, this white urad dal tadka is gluten-free & vegan.

19. Vegan Baingan Bhartha

Baingan Bhartha (mashed eggplant) pronounced bane-gun baar-tuh is generally associated with North Indian food. It is usually prepared by roasting a whole Baingain (eggplant) with skin and stem intact over an open fire or charcoal imparting a delicious smoky flavor. It is then cooled, peeled, mashed and roasted with spices. 

This recipe is made easier by using an oven to bake the eggplant. You can eat it naan or as bruschetta over Italian bread for a fusion Indian twist. It’s vegan, gluten-free and delicious! This is one of our favorite healthy vegan meal prep recipes! This is also great if you’re trying to find vegan keto recipes!

20. Savory Aloo Tikki’s (Potato patties)

It’s easily made with spices right in your kitchen pantry. Savory Aloo Tikki is so versatile as you can eat it traditionally or with a fusion Indian twist.

21. Kalan biryani (mushroom biryani)

Don’t miss this one-pot mushroom Kalan biryani to share with friends and family over your dinner gathering or a lunch treat. The guests for sure will be wowed, and for you, an easy peasy recipe.

22. Vermicelli Upma (Noodles) 

This vermicelli upma is a hearty Indian dish. Made with veggies and spices, it is nutritious and a tasty Indian meal prep recipe.

23. Eggplant Coconut Curry

Spicy coconut curry with creamy chickpeas, warm spices, and roasted eggplant, the Eggplant Coconut Curry is so flavorful.

24. Instant Pot Aloo Matar (Potato and Pea Curry)

Aloo Matar is a delicious Indian Potato and Peas Curry. This easy and scrumptious Indian Vegetable Curry is made with basic pantry staples. Paired with steamed white rice, this vegan curry makes an ideal meal prep dinner choice.

25. Sweet Potato Chickpea Curry

Sweet potato chickpea curry makes a delicious and nourishing lunch or dinner. It’s easy to make and can be made ahead, perfect for meal prep.

26. Kadhai Paneer

Kadhai Paneer is prepared by cooking Cubed cottage cheese and bell peppers in a delicious onion-tomato curry flavored with special Kadhai Masala.

27. Instant Pot Rajma Masala

Rajma masala is a delicious Indian curry made by slow-cooking red kidney beans in a rich and flavorful vegetable gravy called curry masala. Tender, melt in your mouth kidney beans give hearty and comforting texture to this sultry Indian Curry. 

28. Instant Pot Yellow Moong Dal Tadka Fry

This recipe of Moong Dal Tadka Fry is one of the most popular and easy-to-make recipes. It forms an excellent accompaniment for the staple roti, sabzi (Indian bread with veggies). And it tastes great with rice. It is one of the recipes you think of when you think Ghar ka khana (home-cooked meal).

29. Air Fryer Vegetable Seekh Kebab

Veg Seekh Kabab is a vegan/vegetarian adaptation of famous minced meat kababs. This is made by making cylindrical logs from veggies and soya chunks/jackfruit with spices. These logs are then air fried or baked or fried. This is one of our favorite air fryer meal prep ideas!

30. Curry Vegetable Quinoa

This curry vegetable quinoa is a healthy vegetarian lunch or light dinner. Curry vegetable quinoa has colorful vegetables with delicious Indian curry spices.

31. Instant Pot Dal Tadka (Creamy Lentil Dahl)

Creamy Lentil Dahl also known as Dal Tadka is a popular Indian yellow lentil curry. This wholesome, comforting lentil recipe is vegan and gluten-free. It is easy to make in Instant Pot or stovetop pressure cooker.

32. Aloo Methi Tamatar Sabzi (Potato Curry)

Aloo Methi Tamatar is delicious Indian Fenugreek, Potato, and Tomato delicacy. It is considered a special winter medicine, and it is a well-suited natural help for basic cold because of its solid antiviral properties.

6 Indian Meal Prep Tips

Growing up my family never ate Indian food, but for the last two years I’ve been trying out a bunch of different Indian restaurants where I live. Every time I go out I come away with new recipe ideas to make at home.

I’m a huge fan of making Indian food for meal prepping. It’s the perfect cuisine for so many reasons.

Here are 6 tips I have to offer after making hundreds of different recipes.

1. Make and freeze curries in a big batch – The most time consuming part of making Indian food is slowly prepping whatever curry or stew base the recipe calls for. This usually requires a lot of chopping, a number of seasonings and spices, and slowly layering in the different ingredients. I recommend making a big batch of whatever your favorite sauce is and freezing extra servings. Then whenever you want you can pull one out and reheat it and toss in your protein of choice.
2. Use a food processor to chop vegetables – Indian recipes call for loads of different vegetables – usually chopped up. Doing all of this by hand with a knife is time consuming so I recommend using a food processor or blender to chop your vegetables.
3. Buy premade pastes – Nothing is better than truly homemade Indian food, but it can take forever to prep. Also, some recipes may call for ingredients that are hard to find or aren’t common in grocery stores. Buying premade pastes and curries may not be as good, but it’s a hell of a lot faster for meal prepping.
4. Use low fat coconut milk – Many curry recipes call for coconut milk to add a creamy texture. Using low fat coconut milk is a great way to reduce your fat content and make your Indian meal prep recipes healthier!
5. Sneak in some beef if you aren’t against it – Cows are considered sacred animals in India so it’s very rare to ever see an Indian recipe with beef. If you aren’t morally against eating beef, then swapping out steak or ground beef into some of these recipes can be super tasty!
6. Use an air fryer – A lot of these Indian meal prep ideas call for you to cube up your chicken and add it into the stew or curry base. If you air fry your chicken first to make it crispy, it can create a great texture in your recipe!

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Frequently Asked Questions About Indian Meal Prep

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Need More Meal Prepping Inspiration?

Indian food is now a staple in my rotation of meal prep ideas. Nothing is better than a plateful of chicken tikka masala over a bed of rice after a hard leg workout. Sop it up with some naan and it’s the perfect high protein meal prep idea for gaining muscle.

If these healthy Indian meal prep recipes aren’t enough for you and you need more recipe suggestions check out our list of Asian meal prep recipes or these Paleo meal prep ideas.