Find your next meal prep
Three complete meal preps under 600 listed calories with at least 50g protein. Compare steak, mustard chicken and lemon-garlic tilapia with their sides included.
A shorter list, with a reason for every pick
Keep the potatoes, rice and vegetables in the comparison. These three meals fit under 600 calories per listed serving without shrinking the recipe or leaving off its sauce. Choose steak with roasted potatoes, tangy chicken with Brussels sprouts, or buttery lemon fish with green beans.
How we chose: Three selected published, photographed four-serving recipes with more than zero and fewer than 600 listed calories and at least 50g protein per serving. The original sides, sauces and measured oils stay included. This is a shortlist based on current recipe estimates, not a daily calorie target, weight-loss promise or exhaustive ranking.
Garlic Balsamic Steak Bites pairs seared steak with gold potatoes and green beans. It has the lowest listed calories of these three, but the highest ingredient-use cost and the longest listed time: 75 minutes including at least 30 minutes of refrigerated marinating.
Spicy Honey Mustard Chicken keeps jasmine rice alongside the chicken and Brussels sprouts. Dijon and vinegar provide the tang, with a little honey in the marinade. Allow the listed 50 minutes and start the minimum 15-minute marinade first.
Lemon Garlic Butter Tilapia includes jasmine rice, green beans and its butter-and-oil sauce. Its listed 30 minutes is the shortest estimate here, assuming rice preparation and oven tasks overlap. Start the beans before adding the fish.
| Recipe | Protein | Calories | Cost est. | Listed time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garlic Balsamic Steak Bites | 58.6g | 499 | $9.32 | 75 min |
| Spicy Honey Mustard Chicken | 60.6g | 538 | $2.84 | 50 min |
| Lemon Garlic Butter Tilapia | 51.9g | 554 | $3.94 | 30 min |
Pick a flavor, then open the full recipe
01 · Steak, potatoes and green beans
Seared steak and a fresh balsamic glaze sit beside roasted gold potatoes and green beans. The sides stay separate, giving you a different texture from the rice-based choices.
Before you cook: Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Use two trays for the staggered vegetables and sear evenly sized steak pieces in batches. The 75-minute listing is an estimate, not a combined-session promise.
Get the recipe →
02 · Tangy chicken with rice and sprouts
Dijon, vinegar and a little honey flavor the chicken while Brussels sprouts roast separately. The listed nutrition includes the jasmine rice and both measured portions of olive-oil spray.
Before you cook: Allow at least 15 minutes for marinating. Use the separate measured oil-spray amounts for sprouts and chicken; spraying extra changes the estimate. Give the sprouts room to brown.
Get the recipe →
03 · Lemon-butter fish with rice and beans
Tilapia gets a lemon-garlic butter sauce with capers, green beans and jasmine rice. The sauce is part of the listed serving, so there is no need to omit it to meet this collection's criteria.
Before you cook: Start the rice alongside the oven work. Roast beans for 10 minutes before adding fish, then follow the written 12-15-minute fish stage and check doneness. Declared capers and parsley remain included in the estimates.
Get the recipe →Make the batch work for you
Each original batch makes four servings. Divide the protein, starch, vegetables and sauce across those four portions. Extra oil, more glaze, a different cut or a larger serving changes the estimate; the under-600 selection does not apply automatically after those changes.
For steak, roast the potatoes first and add the green beans for the final 12-15 minutes. For tilapia, give the beans a 10-minute head start before the fish joins them. Spread Brussels sprouts out for the chicken meal and watch the small leaves near the end so they brown without burning.
The steak recipe makes a fresh, separately measured balsamic glaze after searing. Do not use its raw-meat marinade as a finishing sauce. Keep the chicken marinade out of the serving stage too. Cook steak to at least 145°F with a 3-minute rest, chicken to 165°F and fish to 145°F; timing alone does not establish doneness.
These are not low-sodium selections, and the tilapia includes dairy from butter. Steak has the highest sodium of the three at 1,684 mg per listed serving. Compare the full nutrition label and packaged ingredients for your needs. The price column reflects historical ingredient-use estimates, not current store prices or full packages.
Compare the same serving, then make it yours
Protein and calories come from the current recipe labels and describe one listed serving. Brands, portions, and substitutions change the values. The totals include the recipe’s sides and sauces. These selections have at least 50g of protein per listed serving.
Times come from each recipe, rather than a separate timed cooking test. Prep speed, appliance preheating, pan size, and cooking in batches can change the time you need. Read the full recipe before you start.
Costs allocate the amount of each ingredient used, rather than every full package you buy. Optional ingredients and exclusions follow each recipe’s cost breakdown. Taxes, delivery, and membership fees are excluded; local prices and a first pantry shop can cost more.
These recipes’ cost records were checked September 21, 2026. Formula updates can retain earlier price observations. Open a recipe for its ingredient-level price sources and dates.
Reviewed November 9, 2026 · Selection and prep notes are based on the linked recipe ingredients and instructions · Cost methodology · Nutrition methodology
