Busy weeks get the best of all of us, and cooking can seem like a hassle. Instead of giving into the temptation of takeout, a simple recipe with little prep can make all the difference. Casseroles are the perfect go-to meal when you don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen.
Easy recipes and weekly meal plans for nourishing, ready-to-go food
Preparing meals ahead of time means you never have to ask what’s for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. In Smart Meal Prep for Beginners, prep expert Toby Amidor makes it easy to start (and stick with) a weekly meal prep routine. With these recipes and beginner plans, you’ll have delicious, healthy meals on hand every day—no takeout required!
6 weekly prep plans—Start simple with two recipes for the week, and work your way up to prepping breakfast, lunch, and dinner for every day.
Meal prepping 101—Get the rundown on meal prep dos and don’ts, prep-day guidance, shopping lists, storage and reheating info, and more.
Diet-friendly dishes—Find nutrition facts on every recipe, along with handy labels to point you to nut-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan options.
Set yourself up for mealtime success, not stress, with Smart Meal Prep for Beginners.
These vegetarian slow-cooker soup recipes are built for busy days when you need something warm, reliable and hands-off. What starts as a few simple ingredients like beans, lentils and chopped vegetables becomes a comforting, flavorful and filling soup hours later when it’s time to lift the lid.
This collection includes easy vegetarian soups that are quick to prep and have a range of flavors and textures, from chunky to velvety-smooth. We selected these recipes because they’re hearty without being heavy and, of course, turn out perfectly when simmered in a slow cooker. Most use a combination of pantry-friendly ingredients and fresh vegetables, with some frozen ingredients, so you can start cooking without a special trip to the store.
Many recipes can be doubled and frozen for future meals or eaten throughout the week. Just be sure not to fill your cooker more than two-thirds full, one of our top slow cooker safety tips. These easy vegetarian soups are often a full meal in a bowl, but a vegetable side dish or crusty bread makes a great, easy accompaniment. So grab your slow cooker, gather your favorite veggies, and let’s get simmering.
Whether you’re looking for a sweet treat or a delectable, giftable goodie, fudge is always a great choice. This easy Oreo fudge is one of our best fudge recipes for white chocolate lovers. It’s a nice departure from traditional recipes made with a milk or dark chocolate base. The five-ingredient fudge is made with sweetened condensed milk, white chocolate baking chips, butter, vanilla and plenty of Oreo cookie pieces, creating a sweet and creamy fudge with crunchy, chocolaty cookie bits.
Aside from its decadent taste and easy preparation, we love that this cookies and cream fudge recipe is endlessly versatile. As written, this fudge will be a guaranteed winner amongst anyone who adores cookies and cream recipes. But there are dozens of different Oreo flavors (including off-brand Oreos), so don’t feel limited to traditional chocolate cookies for this Oreo fudge recipe.
As the air turns crisp and the leaves change, no meal is quite as cozy as a bowl of warm, hearty soup. The best fall soup recipes capture the richness of fall vegetables like sweet carrots, nutty parsnips, rich winter squash, earthy mushrooms, creamy sweet potatoes and more.
Like our favorite fall desserts and harvest party fall drinks, the best fall soups highlight comforting spices and flavors that will warm you from the inside out. Think aromatic herbs, the subtle warmth of ginger and cinnamon, or cozy, cheesy and indulgent flavors.
In this collection, you’ll find all kinds of recipes that capture the essence of fall. Whether you’re craving a hearty stew, a velvety puree, a brothy noodle soup, or a spicy chili, each spoonful is like a warm embrace. You can even get started with a big batch of homemade chicken broth or vegetable broth as a base. Pair your soups with other easy fall recipes, or just enjoy a bowl with crusty bread for dipping.
Anytime I make a potato soup recipe, I’m instantly taken back to my days of waitressing at various steakhouses in my 20s—probably because I ate a cup of potato soup at least four times a week before, after or during my shift. It wasn’t just an affordable option for a college student (like these other budget-friendly soup recipes), it was a filling and tasty one too.
This easy potato soup recipe is just like one you’d find on a steakhouse menu. Its rich and velvety base is loaded with cubes of tender potato, pieces of salty bacon, a healthy dose of melty cheese and a final flourish of green onions for color. Once you learn how to make this potato soup, it will become your go-to comfort food dinner anytime the weather is chilly or you’re feeling a little under the weather.
Potato Soup Ingredients
Bacon: Smoky and salty bacon infuses this recipe for potato soup with tons of umami flavor. Here are the best bacon brands to mix in.
Potatoes: You can use just about any type of potato for the homemade potato soup recipe, depending on the taste, texture and consistency you are hoping to achieve. For chunky potato soups like this one, a red or white waxy potato is best. They’re lower in starch so they hold their shape well throughout the cooking process. For a creamy, pureed potato soup recipe, opt for russets. Their high starch content and low moisture allow them to break down easily and puree super smooth. For the best of both worlds, Yukon Gold potatoes are what you want. They have more moisture than russets, so they’re ideal if you want a potato that will mash easily to thicken the soup while leaving the rest in chunks for texture.
Aromatics: Like many other homemade soups, a simple combination of carrots and chopped onion makes a base and gives the easy potato soup some depth.
Herbs and spices: Parsley provides freshness and color, celery seed lends savoriness and black pepper adds a little bite. Add the salt to taste, depending on how much you like.
Flour: Working with the potatoes, the flour thickens the soup. Here are some of our other favorite ways to thicken sauces, which will also work to thicken soups.
Milk: Use 2% milk to add richness and creaminess to this recipe for potato soup.
Velveeta: If you don’t have Velveeta, cheddar or Colby Jack are good substitutes.
Green onions: Crisp green onions add a light onion flavor that complements the creaminess.
There’s no denying that a good slow cooker is a must for every home cook. Paired with a few reliable recipes it can handle weeknight chicken dinners, batches of chili and everyone’s favorite sweets. It’s a great way to cook ribs, cobblers and potato salad during the summer (without heating up your entire kitchen!) and, believe it or not, you can even bake a loaf of homemade bread in one. So, it should come as no surprise that your trusty slow cooker is ideal for healthy meals too. One of our favorites? This wholesome vegetarian dinner that can be eaten the day you make it—or stowed in the freezer for busy weeknights. Quartering the cauliflower, rather than cutting it into florets, allows this meal to simmer all day without it becoming mush.
Fresh, ready-to-go meals for people on the Mediterranean diet
Inspired by the wholesome, heart-healthy lifestyle of the Mediterranean region—and spotlighting regional ingredients like fresh seafood and produce—the Mediterranean diet has become one of the most popular methods of healthy eating. Packed with foolproof meal prep advice and deliciously balanced recipes, the Mediterranean Diet Meal Prep Cookbook makes starting and staying on the Mediterranean diet easy so you can reduce your total time in the kitchen—all while enjoying a lifetime of healthy eating.
Before you get cooking, dig into an overview of the Mediterranean diet principles and health benefits. Master the art of prep with the dos and don’ts of meal planning and helpful storage solutions before jump-starting your diet with 6 weeklong meal preps—each including easy-to-follow recipes and time-saving tips. You’ll find plenty of additional recipes to use as inspiration to customize your own meal prep menus, or even as a foundation for your own creative Mediterranean-style meals.
The Mediterranean Diet Meal Prep Cookbook includes:
Guess-free guidance—Take the guesswork out of what to eat with detailed shopping lists and colorful illustrations for essential equipment and grocery shopping tips.
Prepped for success—The 6 weeklong meal preps are simplified to keep your kitchen time down, including suggestions for every meal, as well as step-by-step cooking instructions.
Mouthwatering Mediterranean—Enjoy a taste of the Mediterranean with 95 delicious, nutritious recipes, including nutritional labels and storage tips.
With the Mediterranean Diet Meal Prep Cookbook, you’ll enjoy healthy, fresh, and fast Mediterranean flavors—without the labor.
Whether you’re a fan of comforting potato soup, creamy tomato soup, old-fashioned chicken noodle or something healthy and packed with vegetables, there’s truly no better way to warm up on a chilly day than with a bowl of homemade soup. Many can be made with very little fuss in your slow-cooker or Instant Pot—and stored in the freezer for whenever you need a quick and satisfying meal—making soup one of our go-to dishes year-round. Looking for a few recipes to get you started? We’ve got plenty right here (from bean soups to chowders), starting with an easy chicken soup that is filled with fresh homemade egg noodles. The key is to make a quick 5-ingredient pasta dough and then simply grate it directly into store-bought chicken broth using a box grater. Rounded out with some veg and shredded rotisserie chicken, it’s a perfect dinner.
America has many food and cooking competition shows, but none are as sweet and accented as The Great British Baking Show (or Bake Off for the Brits). From the early episodes with British treasure Mary Berry as a judge to Prue Leith joining Paul Hollywood, and Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond adding comic relief, the show keeps evolving in exciting ways. We’ve learned to make classic British desserts like a proper Victorian sponge and can now identify Northern and Southern English accents.
But honestly, we’re really here for the bakes. There have been some wildly incomprehensible technical challenges from Paul’s sinister mind (who can forget flaounes and dampfnudel?), but some are easy enough to make at home. These copycat recipes are inspired by the show, including one-offs from our favorite challenges and top bakers. No UK-to-American conversions necessary!
Good Food, Good Meat, Good God, Let's Eat! 