Meal Prep Portions Calculator

Meal prepping saves time, money, and helps maintain consistent nutrition. The key to successful meal prep is calculating the right portions so you have exactly enough food for the week without waste.

The basic formula: Total servings = Number of meals per day x Number of days

For a typical weekday meal prep:

• 5 lunches + 5 dinners = 10 meals
• Each meal needs: 1 protein portion + 1 carb portion + 1 vegetable portion

Standard portion sizes per meal:

• Protein: 4–7 oz (113–200 g) cooked weight, with 4 for a light eater and 7 at the top end for someone eating to gain. Raw weight is about a third more, because of the water cooking drives off.
• Carbs/grains: 1/2–1 cup (90–180 g) cooked. Dry rice roughly triples in volume when cooked; dry pasta roughly doubles. Buy accordingly, because the two are not the same and confusing them is how you end up with a pot of rice nobody can finish.
• Vegetables: 1–2 cups (150–300 g). Aim for variety and color.
• Cooking fats: 1–2 tablespoons (15–30 ml) per batch, not per serving.

Protein shrinkage guide: Chicken breast loses about 25% of its weight when cooked. Ground beef loses 20–30% depending on fat content. Fish loses about 20%. Always buy raw weight that accounts for this loss.

Losing a quarter and adding a quarter are not the same thing, and this is where meal-prep guides most often go wrong. If 8 oz of raw chicken comes off the pan at 6 oz, it lost 25%. To land on 6 oz cooked you have to buy 6 ÷ 0.75, which is 8, not 6 × 1.25, which is 7.5. The gap is only half an ounce a meal, but across a fortnight of prepping twice a day it is the better part of a pound of chicken you did not buy. This page divides.

Storage and safety: Meal-prepped food lasts 3–4 days refrigerated and up to 3 months frozen. Divide into individual containers while hot, then refrigerate within 2 hours. Glass containers are better than plastic for reheating.

Money savings: Cooking in bulk costs a small fraction of eating out, and the gap is wide enough to survive whatever prices you face. Any dollar figures you read on the subject, here or elsewhere, are rough US averages that date quickly, so price a week of your own prep against a week of your own takeout rather than trusting a table.

Tip: Cook proteins and grains in bulk but keep sauces and dressings separate to prevent sogginess. Add fresh toppings (avocado, herbs, nuts) at serving time for better texture.