We love pizza in all its forms, but we also love convenience too, and sometimes we are short on time and making homemade pizza from scratch isn’t feasible.
Instead of making homemade pizza every single time we wanted pizza, we decided to try to meal prep homemade pizza for the week. And it was a big success.
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What is Meal Prepping?
Meal prepping is when you plan your meals and prepare everything in advance. There are a few different ways to meal prep, and they all work. It just depends on your own preferences and what works for your household.
One common way to meal prep is batch cooking. Batch cooking is when you take a few hours and prepare two or three different dishes to eat during the week. You can freeze half and use the other during the week. Batch meal prepping is a good idea if you get bored easily and prefer to have a few options.
The other popular way to meal prep is to make the same dish and place it in containers for the week. This is a popular way to meal prep if you don’t mind eating the same food for a few days in a row. It’s a great way to save money on lunches if you work from an office and make sure you are making healthy choices.
Lastly, there is a more flexible meal prep option for those that like to mix it up and don’t always know what they want to eat. Flexible meal prep is just prepping ingredients that you can throw together.
For example, shredded chicken, rice, and vegetables all prepared separately can be thrown together to make a burrito, stir fry, salad, or whatever else you can throw those ingredients into.
Why Meal Prep?
The main reasons people meal prep comes down to time and money. It saves time because your meals are already organized and thought out. People make so many decisions all day long, and decision fatigue is real, so having something set that you don’t have to think about is very appealing.
Plus, meal prep saves money. Instead of grabbing an expensive lunch out or spending money on dinner because you don’t know what to make at home, it’s already planned and prepared.
If saving time and money hasn’t convinced you, maybe this will; it’s healthier because you can control all the food, like how much salt or butter go into your meals and make sure you are getting your daily dose of vitamins and minerals.
So since meal prepping saves time, money, and brain power, we thought about how to meal prep our favorite food, homemade pizza, and here are some ideas.
How to Meal Prep Homemade Pizza
Ok, so first, you want to plan out what you are making. You can use homemade pizza dough and par-bake and freeze individual pizza rounds or whole pizza crusts.
Or you can make it super easy with premade pizza crusts like flatbread or Naan. Once you have your pizza bases ready for the week, then you can start planning the rest. Think of it like pizza Lunchables. For adults.
Ideally, you should batch cook some marinara sauce and freeze half, and put half in the refrigerator. We like to have pesto, Alfredo sauce, and barbecue sauce, too, so we have some options.
Next, chop your veggies. This just depends on personal preference. We like to slice up some onions, mushrooms, peppers, zucchini, and eggplant. The zucchini and eggplant get roasted with olive oil. The fresh sliced mushrooms go in a container.
Make sure to wipe your mushrooms with a damp paper towel instead of washing them under water to keep them fresh longer. The same is true for spinach and arugula, which also wilts when wet.
Now choose your proteins. We like to have Italian sausage, pepperoni, and grilled chicken set aside. Cured and smoked meats last longer in the refrigerator so keep that in mind when choosing which meats to use first. We use the grilled chicken first for a yummy Thai pizza or barbeque chicken pizza.
Most cheeses freeze well. So you can grate some low moisture mozzarella and keep some in the refrigerator and freeze the rest. Parmesan Reggiano is always a good choice to have on hand. Crumbly blue cheese and Feta come already ready. If you are using fresh mozzarella, use it within a day or two since it doesn’t last long once opened.
So now you have all of the ingredients prepped and can easily throw together a quick pizza any time of the day. We also like to make one whole pizza and freeze slices for a quick and easy slice on the go.
With a little pizza planning and preparation, you can meal prep homemade pizza and enjoy it all week long.
Meal Prep Homemade Pizza Ideas
- Pepperoni and mushroom
- Feta, Greek olives, and artichokes
- Prosciutto and arugula
- Roasted zucchini and eggplant with blue cheese
- Spicy Thai pizza with grilled chicken and peanut sauce
Pro Tips For Meal Prepping with Homemade Pizza
- Invest in good glass containers and reusable silicone freezer bags.
- Listen to music or podcasts and enjoy the process.
- Get creative and try new things. Mix up your veggies and change your proteins for something new and flavorful.
- Leave any wet ingredients like sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, olives, and pineapple in their original container until ready to use, and always squeeze out the moisture on a paper towel to avoid a soggy mess of a pizza.
- Don’t make it feel like a chore. Sip your favorite coffee, tea, soda, wine, beer, or whatever you enjoy. Taking care of yourself by preparing your own healthy versions of your favorite foods, like pizza, is part of self-care.
What is your favorite way to meal prep homemade pizza?
