What to cook in September: 20 meal prep recipes for busy weeks

Transitioning from summer to fall can feel hectic. But spending an afternoon or evening meal prepping can bring ease to weekday mornings, take the sad desk lunch off the menu and help you have dinner ready in a flash — no expensive takeout required. Plus, getting together to share the work with friends or family can help lighten the load and transform what might feel like grunt work into quality time this September.

Below, we've got plenty of ideas from our recipe archives for make-ahead breakfasts, lunches, dinners and desserts to set you up for mealtime success. For instance, start your day off with baked oatmeal cups, have a farro and mushroom salad for lunch, pull some of Jackie Kai Ellis's dumplings from the freezer for a quick dinner, and enjoy a brown-butter spelt brownie for dessert.

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Many of these recipes can also be enjoyed warm or cold, making them perfect to take on the go, while others are easy to freeze and reheat, like classic pancakes that can be popped into the toaster on chaotic mornings. Some can even be incorporated into different dishes throughout the week, like big-batch meatballs and Steve Sando's signature beans. 

And don't worry: we haven't forgotten about snacks. Having a batch of harissa cottage cheese dip in the fridge or baking a big pan of orange-scented date bars will mean you'll always have a delicious bite on hand.

Here are 20 time-saving recipes to make — even in double and triple batches — in the weeks ahead.

Baked oatmeal cups

Classic pancakes

Farro and mushroom salad

Brown rice, chicken and butternut squash salad

Beet fennel soup

Red lentil soup

Big batch meatballs

Red wine beef stew

Master recipe for pot beans

Lentil shepherd's pie

Sheet pan chicken cacciatore

Make-ahead eggplant borani

Delicata squash and Italian sausage bake

Dal aur sabzi

Spatchcock chicken and rice

Pork and chive dumplings

Kale stem pesto

Harissa cottage cheese dip

Orange scented date crumb bars

Brown butter spelt brownies