Jump on the batch cooking bandwagon

Lacking weeknight motivation to cook up a healthy meal? Jump on the batch cooking bandwagon! Batch cooking is a method of preparing and cooking larger quantities of food at once, storing portions for future consumption. Here are 10 reasons and recipes to batch cook…

1. Time-efficiency

Batch cooking allows you to make the most of your time in the kitchen. By preparing multiple meals at once, you can save time on meal prep during busy weekdays. It’s especially helpful for those with hectic schedules, as they can cook once and have ready-to-eat meals for several days.

This BBQ Explorers Scottish Ale and Beef Chilli is the perfect batch cook. Make the most of a wonderful weekend BBQ by bulking up the ingredients so you can enjoy the dish again and again throughout the week!

2. Cost-effectiveness

Buying ingredients in bulk can often be more economical, as you can take advantage of discounts and reduce food waste. Additionally, cooking larger quantities can be more energy-efficient than preparing multiple smaller meals.

Ren Behan’s Turkey and Leek Meatballs with Tomato Tagliatelle is also a fab way to get kids involved in the kitchen and jumping on the batch cooking bandwagon too! Grating the cheese, or rolling the meatballs into fun shapes are both great activities for little chefs.

If you want to try another variation of meatballs, try our Swedish Meatballs too.

3. Convenience

Having pre-cooked meals on hand makes it easy to grab a healthy option when you’re busy or too tired to cook. This can prevent you from resorting to less healthy, fast-food options or skipping meals altogether.

Batch cooking isn’t just for whole meals; you can also bulk up side dishes! Maybe you want to cook up your protein from fresh but don’t have time to make a whole meal. Then why not consider batch cooking side dishes too!

Try our Sprouting Brocolli Gratin, a tasty alternative to Cauliflower Cheese! This serves 4-6 as a side dish so just double or triple the recipe as you need to. With a prep time of 5 minutes and a cooking time of 10-15 minutes, it’s also the epitome of convenient!

4. Healthier choices

Batch cooking enables you to plan and control your meals better. By preparing your own dishes, you can choose healthier ingredients, control portion sizes, and avoid added preservatives or unhealthy additives often found in pre-packaged foods. This Ultimate Chia Seed Pudding is full of antioxidants, omega 3, calcium, protein and fibre. You can soak the seeds overnight and make batches of the pudding in mason jars or bowls with different toppings! Check out our favourites below…

5. A souper way to reduce stress

Knowing that you have meals already prepared can alleviate mealtime stress and the pressure of having to figure out what to cook each day. This can be especially helpful for parents, students, or anyone with a busy lifestyle.

There are many fantastic things about soup… for one, it’s a great way to use up your off cuts, it’s also easy to bulk up and batch cook, or freeze for another day. Soup is a light weeknight meal and you will find lots of great recipes on our website for soups to suit all seasons.

6. Portion control

By dividing your batch-cooked meals into individual portions, you can avoid overeating and maintain better control over your calorie-intake. So, if you want to cook up something higher in calories and more filling, like this Shin Beef Stew with Dumplings, then batch cooking can help you control your portion sizes. A great slow-cook dish, it’s very low maintenance too!

7. Customization

Batch cooking allows you to tailor meals to your specific dietary preferences and nutritional needs. It’s easier to accommodate dietary restrictions or food allergies when you cook at home.

2016 Masterchef Champion Jane Devonshire has created some wonderful gluten free recipes for us. If you find it challenging to come up with a variety of gluten free recipes then definitely check out Jane’s recipes on our website. These recipes are all easy to whip up, with minimal effort, and easy to batch cook!

8. Minimize clean-up

Preparing one large batch of food usually means fewer dishes and kitchen cleanup than if you were to cook different meals every day. We recommend immediately handwashing and towel drying frying pans and milk pans with non-stick coating but all our other saucepans are dishwasher safe and have a lifetime guarantee. Regular batch cooking means you might even use the dishwasher less and save energy!

Check out our top tips for looking after copper cookware, stainless steel, and non-stick.

9. Experimentation and variety

Batch cooking doesn’t mean eating the same meal for days on end. You can batch cook different recipes, freeze some for later, and mix and match meals to keep things interesting. Why not try something different? Perhaps you love curries but want to change things up. We have lots of exciting curry recipes from our collaborators but here are three to get you started… click the links at the bottom of each photo for the recipe.

10. Family and community sharing

Batch cooking can foster a sense of community and family bonding when shared with others. You can cook together with family or friends, share dishes with neighbours, or donate excess food to those in need. After a trip to Texas, we threw a Texas-inspired Hog Roast. Cooking so much meat in one go meant that we had lots left over, and so did our families and friends.