Spaghetti Meal Prep

Hey guys! Long time no see! Okay, maybe it’s only been a week, but it feels like forever. I took last week off to celebrate the holiday and enjoy some time with an out of town guest, but now all that fun is over and it’s back to business! After all the holiday food and eating out with our guest I’m feeling super sluggish, so my number one goal for this week’s meal prep was TONS OF VEGETABLES. Number two goal was that it had to be easy because I’m not all about spending all day in the kitchen right after Thanksgiving. So, while this week’s Spaghetti Meal Prep may seem like more heavy comfort food, it’s actually hiding a lot of feel-good vegetable goodness!

To keep things simple I only combined two recipes this week: Spaghetti with Vegetable Meat Sauce and Oven Roasted Frozen Broccoli. Easy peasy with very little chopping. The spaghetti sauce is chock full of vegetables, but instead of chopping all of them I used a cheese grater to quickly and easily shred the carrot and zucchini (seriously, it takes about 30 seconds). I did use a store-bought pasta sauce for this, but sometimes you just need a short cut or two, you know?

I switched things up a little bit by using a slightly more expensive high-fiber, high-protein pasta, but the meal is still extremely inexpensive. I was also out of Montreal Steak Seasoning for the roasted broccoli, but I just used another seasoning blend I had in my pantry (Avec Tous, made by a friend of mine!). You can use just about any seasoning blend you like for roasted broccoli, which is why it’s my go-to side. :) Oh, also, I made an entire pound of frozen broccoli to divide between the four servings. It roasts in the same amount of time as the 1/2 lb. portion in the original recipe, as long as it’s spread out evenly on the baking sheet in a single layer. 👍

Of course, you could always add in some garlic bread for fun. ;)

Spaghetti Meal Prep

For more information about meal prepping, how it works, and why I do it, check out Meal Prep 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Prepping and Portioning Meals, or check out my entire Budget-Friendly Meal Prep Archive.

This Meal Prep Includes:

Spaghetti with Vegetable Meat Sauce (6 servings): $8.37

Oven Roasted Frozen Broccoli (double recipe for 4 servings): $2.46

2 Tbsp Parmesan: $0.21

Total Cost: $11.04

Cost per meal: $2.07

Cost of leftovers (2 servings spaghetti): $2.77

Notes:

• I definitely had two full-sized leftover portions of the spaghetti with vegetable meat sauce. They are freezable, but because the pasta is not swimming in sauce (more like “evenly coated”) it probably will get a touch dry after freezing/thawing, so keep that in mind. Luckily I have another belly in the house that I know will happily eat the extra two servings.
• Consider slightly under-roasting the broccoli so that it doesn’t over-cook when reheating the meal (roast for maybe 20 minutes instead of 30)
• Spaghetti is one of my favorite dishes to meal prep because I literally never get tired of eating it. This is one of those combos that I can eat for the four days in a row and then still want it again on the 5th day. :)
• Parmesan goes really well on the roasted broccoli as well, if you’re not concerned about adding extra cost!
• A small pinch of red pepper flakes also goes well in both the spaghetti and the roasted broccoli, if you like a spicy kick.

And because several people ask every time, here is the link to the glass meal prep containers used in the photos. :)

‘Till next week!

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