Meal prepping is a great way to save time and eat healthier. Meal prepping involves preparing individual ingredients and full dishes ahead of time in order to make mealtimes easier.

If you are new to meal prepping, you may find yourself wondering what foods can be meal prepped and what foods should not be meal prepped. Even after regularly meal prepping breakfast, lunch and dinner, there may still be some lingering questions. One food that raise a lot of meal prepping questions are eggs.

The simple answer is eggs can be meal prep. Just like prepping any other food, there are guidelines that are recommended. Make sure to always cook eggs thoroughly and store them correctly when using them for meal prep. Take the right steps to avoid cross contamination when preparing recipes.

Best way to prep and store meal prepped eggs

Eggs can be served scrambled, over easy, sunny side up, coddled, poached, and hard boiled. Some of the common ways eggs are meal prepped are,

• Breakfast bowls with eggs, ham, cheese and potato
• Egg breakfast burrito
• Deviled eggs
• Frittatas
• Egg muffins

That’s just the tip of the iceberg, there are many other preparations for eggs. One of the easiest ways to meal prep eggs is to boil them. To keep hard boiled eggs fresh, try submerging them in an ice bath immediately after cooking. Avoid leaving cooked eggs at room temperature for more than two hours.

The best way to store hard boiled eggs is with the shell intact. If you do decide to peel them before storing, remove as much moisture as possible and store them in airtight container. Hard boiled eggs can be stored in the fridge as a snack, or they can also be used as ingredients in other recipes.

Recipes with scrambled eggs are also easy to prep and store. These can be stored in the fridge or the freezer. Make sure that eggs are fully cooked before you refrigerate or freeze them.

Potential pitfalls to avoid when meal prepping eggs

There are a few pitfalls that you will want to make sure to avoid when meal prepping eggs. First, you want to avoid under-cooking or overcooking your eggs. Keep in mind that you will often be reheating egg dishes in the microwave or in the oven. Overcooked eggs will be especially tough and chewy when reheated. You also want to avoid making food safety mistakes.

Avoid cross contamination during the prepping process. Always use clean containers to store meal prepped egg dishes. Do not attempt to meal prep dishes that feature runny egg yolk.

When meal prepping eggs, it is also important to remember to always season them adequately. Eggs can be a little bit bland if they are not seasoned with salt and pepper. Recipes can be seasoned before or after cooking them.

Ideal egg dishes to meal prep

If you are looking for some healthy, simple, egg dishes to meal prep, check out some of the ideas below. You just might discover a new favorite breakfast, brunch, or lunch delight.

 Vegetable Quiche

Ingredients

1/2 cup chopped spinach

1/4 cup chopped white onion

1/4 cup roasted red peppers

1/4 cup diced tomatoes

8 eggs

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

1/4 cup cream

1 premade pie crust

Fresh basil

Dried oregano

Dried thyme

Salt and pepper

Preparation Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 375 F

2. In a large mixing bowl, crack 8 eggs. Remove any shells from the bowl.

3. On a cutting board, chop spinach leaves, white onion, roasted red peppers, and tomato.

4. Add cream to the eggs and whisk the mixture until fully combined.

5. Shred cheese directly into the bowl.

6. Add chopped vegetables to the bowl. Add salt, pepper, and dried herbs.

7. Gently fold ingredients together with a spatula.

8. Prepare a pie crust for baking.

9. Pour mixture into the pie crust.

10. Bake at 375 F for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the center is fully cooked.

11. Garnish the quiche with fresh basil.

12. Allow the quiche to cool, then cut it into slices.

13. For meal prep, wrap the slice of cooled quiche in plastic wrap and store in the fridge for 2-3 days. Gently warm your slice of vegetable quiche in the oven, toaster oven, or microwave. Serve with a cup of soup or a side salad.

 Southwestern Mini Egg Cups

Ingredients

1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper

1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion

1/2 cup spicy ground sausage

1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese

1 dozen eggs

Salt and pepper

Preparation Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

2. On a cutting board, finely dice red bell pepper and yellow onion. Allow to cool, then set aside in a bowl.

3. Shred pepper jack cheese and set aside in a bowl.

4. Cook spicy ground sausage in a pan. Allow it to cool and set it aside in a bowl.

5. Gently spray a nonstick mini muffin pan with cooking spray.

6. Crack an egg into each compartment of the mini muffin pan.

7. Add meat and vegetables to each cup, then top with shredded cheese.

8. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until set.

9. For meal prep, allow egg cups to cool, then put then into a plastic bag. Refrigerate or freeze the egg cups and microwave them before serving. Try serving mini egg cups with fruit salad or a small side salad for a healthy brunch.

 Cobb Salad with Boiled Egg

Ingredients

1 head romaine lettuce

4 slices of bacon

1 chicken breast

1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 avocado

1/2 cucumber

1/2 tomato

3/4 cup croutons

3 hard-boiled eggs

Blue cheese dressing

Instructions

1. Prepare hard boiled eggs. The best way to do this is by adding eggs to a pot of cold water, heating the pot to boiling, and then letting it sit off of the burner covered for about 10 minutes. Finish the process by shocking the eggs in a ice bath and peeling them.

2. Cook 4 slices of bacon in a pan. Set to the side to cool and allow grease to drain.

3. Cook a chicken breast in the remaining bacon grease. Set to the side to cool.

4. Coarsely chop cooked bacon, hard boiled eggs, cucumber, tomato, and avocado.

5. Slice chicken.

6. Rinse, drain, and chop lettuce.

7. Add all of the prepared ingredients on top of the lettuce. Add shredded cheese, croutons, and blue cheese to taste. When meal prepping this salad, reserve the dressing in a small cup or bag to prevent the salad from getting soggy.

 Healthy Avocado Egg Salad

Ingredients

4 hard-boiled eggs

1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise

1 large ripe avocado

1/2 a lime

1-2 tbsp chopped jalapeno pepper

1/4 cup diced red onion

Fresh cilantro

Salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Prepare hard boiled eggs. The best way to do this is by adding eggs to a pot of cold water, heating the pot to boiling, and then letting it sit off of the burner covered for about 10 minutes. Finish the process by shocking the eggs in a ice bath and peeling them.

2. Chop, peel, and cool your hard-boiled eggs.

3. In a separate bowl, juice 1/2 of a lime.

4. Peel your avocado, mash it with the lime juice, then fold in the vegan mayonnaise. Add salt and pepper.

5. On a cutting board, finely dice red onion and jalapeno peppers.

6. Gently fold together the diced vegetables, eggs, and avocado mixture.

7. Top with freshly chopped cilantro.

8. Add egg salad to a tightly closed plastic container and store for use on sandwiches, salads, croissants, and bagels for the next 2-3 days.