Fall Meal Prep: 5 Recipes That Save Your Meals

Outside, the air is getting cooler and the craving for fall flavors is growing, but during the week there never seems to be enough time to cook. That’s where meal prep comes in: with a little organization, you can get a head start on some of your meals and find yourself with something already prepared in the days that follow. These 5 recipes help you manage the week better without giving up the pleasure of good food.

Turkey stew is a delicately flavored main course, with bite-size pieces of meat gently cooked with tomato puree, broth, and potatoes. The result is a tender stew, wrapped in a rich sauce scented with thyme and rosemary. You can also make it ahead and enjoy it the next day, when the flavors have had even more time to meld.

White lasagna is a tomato-free variation on classic lasagna, designed to bring rich, creamy layers to the table. In this version, fresh pasta alternates with an enveloping sauce, creating a hearty and inviting first course to serve piping hot when you’re craving something satisfying and full-flavored.

Lentil and potato meatballs in sauce are a soft and flavorful vegetarian variation, made even more inviting by being cooked in tomato sauce. Lentils and potatoes form a delicate, firm mixture, while the sauce coats each meatball and gives it even more flavor. A simple, hearty main course to bring to the table when you’re in the mood for something warm and comforting.

Savory radicchio and gorgonzola pie plays on the contrast between the pleasantly bitter flavor of radicchio and the intense creaminess of gorgonzola, enriched with speck and walnuts. The filling is enclosed in puff pastry and finished with a lattice decoration that makes it even more inviting. You can enjoy it warm or at room temperature and also make it ahead, so it’s ready for meals in the days that follow.

Fall rice salad brings all the color of the season to the plate, with squash, red cabbage, quartirolo, and borlotti beans. It’s a rich and practical first course, also designed to be taken to the office, where different ingredients come together in a hearty and inviting mix. It’s one of those recipes you can make ahead and find already waiting for you when lunchtime comes.