What is batch-cooking and why should I do it?
Batch-cooking is basically cooking a big batch of food in one go, so you’ve got homecooked meals ready in the fridge or freezer for when you need them. It can be a huge help in terms of saving time in the kitchen and relieving the worry of ‘what’s for dinner?’, plus it makes sticking to a budget easier, as you’re thinking ahead and making the most of the food you’ve got.
How to batch-cook meals from scratch
Batch-cooking may seem a little overwhelming, but it's totally customisable based on how much time you have, how many meals you want to cook and your personal tastes. You don’t need to make different dinners for every night of the week, neither do you have to eat the same meal several nights in a row. Cooking from scratch can be tailored to fit into your routine. You might want to cook everything from scratch or you might like to use some shortcut products, like a jar of pasta sauce or precooked chicken, to speed things along.
With our clever hacks and tips below, you can find out how to stretch ingredients further and transform your leftovers into a whole new delicious meal.
Batch-cooking from scratch tips
- Keep your cupboards and freezer well stocked with staple ingredients, like tinned tomatoes, beans and pulses and tinned or frozen fish, to flex across different meals.
- Frozen vegetables, like broccoli or peppers, have a long shelf life and are preprepared to save you time chopping.
- Embrace shortcut ingredients, like microwave rice or tinned vegetables, to speed up cooking times.
- Consider creating a weekly meal plan to organise your eating habits. See more about how to create a meal prep plan.
- Make the most of the equipment you have in your kitchen. Stock pots, chopping boards and food storage are key essentials that will help you batch-cook from scratch. Check out our batch-cooking kitchen essentials.
- Try cooking once and eating twice! Turn your leftovers into a different meal for variation throughout the week while stretching your ingredients further.
Batch-cooking ideas
The beauty of batch-cooking is that it can be as simple, or as involved, as you want it to be. Whether you have a busy routine and can’t find time to cook, or are just put off by the prospect of washing up, check out our best batch-cooking recipes below, including some delicious vegetarian batch-cooking recipes and vegan batch-cooking ideas:
Batch-cooking freezer meals
The best thing about batch-cooking is you can fill your freezer with meals ready to reheat whenever you need them. Check out our freezer tips and guidelines to help you make the most of your freezer.
Make a batch of these speedy veggie burritos and keep them in the freezer until you need them – you can even wrap them up before to save time later!
Curries and stews freeze nicely and are easy to batch up. Try this storecupboard-friendly vegan chickpea curry or our comforting sausage stew, which only takes 5 minutes to prep!
Try making sauces from scratch and freezing them to use in different ways. This spicy pepper and tomato sauce can be used for pastas, pizzas, curries or chillies. If you have any on-the-turn salad leaves, blitz them up into this freezable homemade pesto.
Quick batch-cooking recipes
Short on time and can’t find space in your schedule to cook? Our 30-minute recipes are a great place to get started.
Make a batch of these speedy green fritters, which are made with frozen and tinned veg. They taste delicious loaded into pittas for lunch or with a fresh salad.
Quickly marinate chicken or salmon using storecupboard ingredients, like spices and dried herbs, to keep for the week and enjoy with different sides, like rice, wraps or roasted veggies. If you’re following a plant-based diet, try the same with tofu.
Embrace shortcut ingredients to speed up the cooking process. You can use fresh ravioli to make a cheat’s lasagne, or swap long-grain rice for microwave rice to serve with a stew or curry.
You can’t go wrong with pasta, it’s quick and easy to take into work for lunch the next day. Try this creamy chicken and broccoli recipe, which uses tinned tomatoes and a little cream cheese to make a homemade pasta sauce. Or enjoy this incredibly simple 5-ingredient cacio e pea-pe.
Traybake and one-pot batch-cooking recipes
If you hate washing up or hands-on cooking, traybakes and one-pot recipes will be your new best friend – minimal cleaning up, guaranteed! Try making extra by doubling up the ingredients to enjoy for lunch or dinner the next day.
Recreate your favourite meals in traybake form. Throw all the ingredients in and let the oven do the hard work with this one-tray butter chicken pilaf. Is your family a fan of Mexican food? This fajita recipe is made in one tray – plus it uses freezer-staple peas to make a fresh ‘guac’. Or try this veggie version – which is made with frozen peppers and tinned kidney beans. Wrap any leftovers up in tortillas to take into work the next day.
Our simplest-ever lasagne is made entirely in one pan and makes enough for you to freeze any leftovers. Or try making a simple homemade pasta sauce (you can cook the pasta in with the sauce to save on using extra pans!).
Slow-cookers are great for hands-off cooking – add all the ingredients to the pot and let the slow-cooker work its magic. This vibrant vegan ratatouille makes enough for leftovers to freeze; or our shredded chicken korma is totally versatile – try it with rice today and loaded into jacket potatoes tomorrow.
Healthy batch-cooking ideas
Batch-cooking is a simple way to eat fresh, homecooked food – prepping ahead means you can be more mindful of your food choices and you’ll always have a healthy home-cooked meal waiting for you.
Your storecupboard is a perfect place to start for healthy batch-cooking ideas. Tinned beans are a useful, versatile ingredient; these 20-minute curried beans are high in fibre and taste great on toast for lunch or spooned into jacket potatoes for dinner. Try this peanut butter dhal, which will give you 2 of your 5-a-day and uses cupboard-friendly spices.
Try something new with tinned fish! Make a batch of these pea and crab fishcakes – they're a source of protein, which supports the maintenance of normal bones. Keep them in your freezer for a quick, healthy meal fix whenever you need it.
Stews are easy to double in quantity and an easy way to add in veggies. This big-batch lamb and pearl barley stew has 1 of your 5-a-day, or this storecupboard root veg stew is high in vitamin A, which supports the normal function of the immune system.
Cooking for the whole family? Kids will love these meatballs (the mince is bulked out with grated courgette) and they’re high in protein, which supports the maintenance of muscle mass. Or our simple one-pot tomato pasta has 2 of your 5-a-day – try adding in frozen veggies for extra plant points!
