This recipe is sponsored by ZenChef. All opinions are 100% my own.
A flexible air fryer meal prep recipe with Brussels sprouts, sweet potato and two easy, blender sauces will keep things interesting all week long!
You might think that working from home makes lunchtime a lot easier, but it totally doesn't. I can't tell you how many workday "lunches" have involved me scrounging through the fridge, only to end up eating hummus and crackers while standing at the kitchen counter.
Not ideal, y'all. It was time for a change, and this super easy recipe was the first meal prep that I truly loved eating.
I've been making this air fryer meal prep a lot lately. I love how quickly the veggies come together in the air fryer. And having two sauces on hand lets me mix up my flavors throughout the week.
Choosing Your Grain
This recipe has some flexibility in the grain department. Choose your favorite grain! Here are the ones I've been using with links to cooking guides, where necessary:
If you only need two or three days of meals, you can also skip the whole grain situation, and just eat the veggies and sauce.
Air Fryer Meal Prep
I love sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts together, and they are perfection in the air fryer!
Start by chopping your sweet potato. Spray it with oil, sprinkle on some garlic powder, and get that going in the air fryer.
Halfway through cooking time, you add your sliced brussels sprouts, spray again with oil, shake on some more garlic powder, and keep on cooking.
You'll want to shake the veggies a few times during cooking, because the basket is pretty loaded up. I also like to add a sprinkle of soy sauce about halfway through cooking the Brussels, to keep things from getting dry.
The air fryer that I used to make this recipe is the ZenChef PRO XXL Air Fryer from ZenChef, who is sponsoring this recipe. Thank you, ZenChef!
I’ve had this air fryer for over a year, and it is hands-down my favorite that I've ever owned. The basket is nice and large (5.8 quarts!), and I love the way it’s designed.
As you probably know, I am extremely picky about air fryers, and this basket design is the kind I like. It pops out for easy cleaning, and it has holes at the bottom (rather than mesh) to allow air flow and prevent sticking.
My favorite feature on this air fryer, though, is the little S button. The S stands for start and for stop. I've never seen another air fryer with a stop button, and it feels so much safer than unplugging it while it's running, if I need to end a cooking cycle early.
Making the Sauces
While the veggies and grains are cooking, you have plenty of time to make both of the blender sauces:
You don't have to thoroughly clean your blender between sauces, since the flavor profiles are similar. Just give it a good rinse, and you'll be fine.
You can halve the peanut butter sauce recipe, but don't halve the tahini dressing. That recipe is the bare minimum you need to get it to blend properly.
Both of these sauce recipes are pretty small-batch, but you will have leftovers, since you're only using two servings of each one in your meal prep containers. The leftovers are great over veggie bowls or salads, so serve them up at dinner throughout the week. Think of it as another time-saver!
Because we only season the veggies with garlic powder, you can really mix things up in the sauce department. Any of these easy vegan sauces would work great with this meal prep recipe, so if peanut sauce or tahini dressing aren't your jam, choose your own sauce adventure instead!
By now, the veggies and grains are probably ready, and it's assembly time! Divide the veggies and grains between four containers, add a dollop of sauce to each, sprinkle on some green onion, and you've got four days of meal prep lunches, ready to rock.
📖 Recipe
Air Fryer Meal Prep with Sweet Potato and Brussels Sprouts
Ingredients
For the Veggies
- 6 cups diced sweet potato - You're going for 1" pieces.
- spray oil
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder - divided
- 4 cups brussels sprouts - sliced lengthwise into ¼" thick pieces. That could be halves, thirds, or quarters, depending on the size of your Brussels.
- 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
For the Sweet Potato Meal Prep Containers
- 4 servings grain of your choice - See post above. I used quinoa in the video.
- 1 batch 5-Minute Peanut Butter Sauce - You can do ½ batch, if you prefer - that will still make plenty.
- 1 batch Magical Tahini Dressing - DO NOT halve this recipe - it won't blend properly with any less.
- ¼ cup green onion - chopped, optional
Instructions
Make the Veggies
- Add the sweet potatoes to your air fryer, and spray them with oil, shaking to coat. Sprinkle on 1 teaspoon of the garlic powder, and shake again. Cook at 400F for 15 minutes, shaking after 8 minutes.
- Add the Brussels sprouts to the basket, then spray again with oil and sprinkle on more garlic powder. Shake well, and cook for 5 minutes at 400F.
- Open the air fryer, and sprinkle on the soy sauce, shaking to coat the veggies. Set the air fryer to cook for another 5 minutes, but check in at 2 minutes and 3 minutes, shaking each time. Cooking times can vary! Your veggies are done when they are browned and tender.
Assemble Your Sweet Potato Meal Prep Containers
- Gather 4 meal prep containers, and divide the grains and the veggie mixture between them. Add 2-3 tablespoons of peanut sauce to two each of the containers, and add 2-3 tablespoons of the tahini dressing to each of the other two. Sprinkle a tablespoon of chopped green onion over each meal.
- Your food will keep for 4 days in the fridge.
Equipment
Video
Notes
- Calorie calculations used quinoa as the grain and 2 tablespoons of sauce per container.
- If you want to make this even more filling, add a sprinkle of nuts or seeds to the mix. I like to add roasted cashews or pumpkin seeds to mine, when I'm very hungry.
Sarah De la Cruz
I tried potatoes in my air fryer last week after seeing your video on FB and they are my new favorite thing! SO good! I love the idea of meal prepping, even when you work from home. My go to is microwave rice and a veggie sausage! I can definitely do better than that! This looks awesome!
Becky Striepe
I'm always so glad when I push myself to do it. Last week I didn't, and it was such a hungry week! You are smart to keep quick stuff around like microwave rice - I may need to start doing that!
Cadry
What a great meal prep idea, Becky! Healthy, fast, and so much flavor. You know I'm all about using the air fryer whenever possible - especially at lunchtime.
Becky Striepe
Haha yes - the air fryer has really upped my work-at-home lunch game, too. I love it!
Dianne
Sweet potatoes and brussels sprouts are truly wonderful together, especially when tahini and peanut sauce are involved! I love this recipe!
Becky Striepe
Thank you, Dianne!