When you come home from a long day at work, the last thing you want to do is spend time in the kitchen making a complicated dinner. It’s easy to order unhealthy takeout and call it a night, but that’s not the only way to take the pressure off cooking a homemade meal. By preparing one of these make-ahead healthy meals the night before a long work day, you can enjoy a nutritious dinner with minimal cooking when you arrive home from work!
White Chicken Stew Brew
This White Chicken Stew Brew recipe from Oxmoor House is super easy to make and takes only a few minutes to reheat after a long day’s work. All you have to do is sauté the carrot, onion and garlic in a pot, stir in the chicken, broth and spices, let it simmer and then add the green beans. Once the recipe is finished, allow to cool before covering the stew and placing in the fridge until you’re ready to enjoy. To reheat, simply stir the stew over low heat until it’s warm and creamy.
Make Ahead Spaghetti
Pasta fans, rejoice! This Make Ahead Spaghetti recipe from Kitchen Sanctuary is a delicious way to prepare dinner the night before, and it’s also a great way to sneak a large serving of vegetables onto the kitchen table. The sauce is so flavorful that kids won’t even notice the mushrooms, celery, bell pepper and tomato. To make it ahead, stir the noodles into the sauce and refrigerate overnight to allow the flavor to develop. When you get home hungry from work the next day, all you have to do is reheat and eat!
Coconut Curried Cauliflower Soup
Now that autumn is on the way, you may find yourself craving something warm and comforting when you get home from work. This Coconut Curried Cauliflower Soup from The Endless Meal is filled with hearty, delicious ingredients including carrot, ginger, garlic, onion and cauliflower and it doesn’t take long to prepare at all. Once your soup has cooled, cover it and place it in the fridge. Since it makes 10 cups, you’ll have enough leftover to take to work for lunch!
Vietnamese Chicken Salad With Rice Noodles
This combination of spicy-cool, tangy-salty flavors will have you looking forward to dinner from the moment you finish prepping this Vietnamese Chicken Salad with Rice Noodles from Pinch of Yum. You can’t go wrong with a base of shredded carrot, cabbage, chicken and rice noodles, especially when it’s topped with a flavorful Asian dressing and garnishes of mint, cilantro and green onions.
White Bean, Spinach & Turkey Stuffed Bell Peppers
This Italian-inspired Stuffed Bell Peppers recipe from Ambitious Kitchen has lots of fiber and protein and is filled with beans, spinach, turkey, brown rice and a savory tomato basil sauce. They take only 10 minutes to prepare, and when you come home from work, all you have to do is pop a pepper in the oven for 30 minutes.
Next time you’ve got a busy week on the horizon, whip up one of these make-ahead recipes over the weekend. You’ll love coming home after a long day of work knowing you’ve got a healthy dinner waiting for you with minimal prep.
Image Credits: Soloviova Liudmyla / Shutterstock.com, Olga Sapegina / Shutterstock.com, Dani Vincek / Shutterstock.com, The Endless Meal, Pinch of Yum, Ambitious Kitchen