Do you want to get started with batch cooking? Batching cooking is great for saving both time and money in the kitchen.

What Is Batch Cooking?

Batching cooking is the process of preparing and cooking lots of meals in one go. These can then be put in the fridge to be eaten throughout the week or frozen to be eaten at a later date.

Why Is Batch Cooking Helpful?

There are lots of great reasons to give batch cooking a try.

Batch cooking can help if you have a busy life but want to eat plenty of healthy, home-cooked meals.

Batch cooking meals ahead of time means there’s always dinner in the fridge or the freezer that just needs to be defrosted and reheated. It can help you to avoid takeaways on busy days.

Batch cooking also helps to save money. You can buy ingredients in bulk, knowing they’ll get used up and because you’re cooking in large batches, it can save on energy costs as well.

Does Batch Cooking Mean Eating The Same Meal All The Time?

No, batch cooking doesn’t mean eating the same meal over and over again. Typically, people who batch cook will batch cook one or two different meals each week until they have a range of options in their freezer that can be spread out over the week.

What Do I Need For Batch Cooking?

Before you start batch cooking, there are some things you’re going to need.

• A big cooking pot or saucepan
• Freezer safe containers
• Labels & Sharpies
• Space in your freezer

Optional

• Slow cooker

How To Get Started With Batch Cooking: Which Meals Can I Batch Cook?

There are a huge variety of meals that can be batch cooked. You can also batch cook sauces and other parts of meals that can be used as and when you need them.

My favourite thing to batch cook is Chilli Con Carne, just because it’s so versatile. It can be made into burritos, chilli and rice, enchiladas, nachos, tacos, chilli jacket potato, it can even be mixed through pasta instead of bolognese in a pinch.

If I’ve got chilli in the freezer then I’ve almost certainly got something in the cupboard it can be paired with.

Chilli aside, here are some of the most popular dishes you can batch cook and freeze:

• Cottage Pie
• Shepards Pie
• Lasagne
• Bolognese
• Stew
• Curry
• Pie Filling
• Soup

Batch Cooking Vs Meal Prep

Is there a difference between batch and meal prep?

Essentially they are the same thing.  For me personally, when I say batch cooking, I refer to cooking lots of meals in one go to keep in the fridge or freezer. These tend to be hot meals that are then defrosted and reheated or cooked frozen.

Meal prep, to me, is meals that are usually the same and are all eaten over the same week with small variations in protein. These tend to have fresh ingredients that you wouldn’t freeze, such as salad and are kept in the fridge rather than frozen.

Both of these methods are great for getting organised and saving time in the kitchen!

How To Get Started With Batch Cooking

There are several different approaches you can take when it comes to batch cooking. Some people like to choose the double up method where they double up a meal they’re already cooking and then freeze half for another day.

You could do this every night of the week until you have a good stash in the freezer.

Another approach is to set aside one day per month to have a batch cooking day. This is where you would batch cook several different dishes all in one go on the same day. For example, you could make stew in the slow cooker, while making chilli and bolognese on the hob and a lasagne in the oven.

It’s a lot of effort but it could easily see you make a months worth of meals in one go. You can then make a meal plan based on what you’ve cooked, spreading the various meals out across the month.

When you first get started with batch cooking, try recipes that you’re already familiar with, as this will make things much easier. You can also get the family to help with all the cutting and chopping.

Before You Start Batch Cooking

Before you start batch cooking, make sure that you have plenty of freezer-safe containers for the food to go in. Foil trays with lids are great for dishes that go in the oven for cooking such as lasagne and cottage pie.

Plastic containers are better for things like chilli and bolognese that will just need reheating.

The next step is to get all your ingredients ready. I like to get everything out to make sure I’ve not forgotten anything!

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Get Batch Cooking!

Cook the recipes you’ve chosen just as you usually would but make double or triple portions. Taste as you go to make sure everything is seasoned as you like it to be. If it’s your first-time batch cooking you might want to try and do just one or two dishes to start and see how you get on.

You could also cook parts of dishes so you have them in easy reach. I do this with cheese sauces and mashed potatoes.

Some things don’t freeze particularly. I don’t like to freeze rice, so I would make a curry and just add microwave rice when reheating.

You can freeze pasta, but as a personal preference, I don’t like it as it does go a bit soggy on reheating. The exception to this is Lasagne.

Tip For Batch Cooking Lasagne: When batch cooking lasagne, I would typically cook the lasagne sheets in warm water for a few minutes before putting the lasagne layers together. This means you can skip the oven baking step and go straight to freezing and the lasagne won’t dry out when you reheat it.

Tip For Batch Cooking Cottage / Shepherds Pie: With this dish, I would cook the mince and mashed potato and put them together, but not bake in the oven.

This can then be cooked in the oven either defrosted or frozen. If you’re making smaller portions to microwave later then you could give it a quick blast under the grill to colour the mash.

Portioning Up Your Batched Cooked Dishes

Once everything is cooked, it’s time to get it into dishes and into the freezer. Remember, most things will keep for 3-4 days in the fridge, so if you get low on freezer space, keep a few things in the fridge to use in the coming days.

Once everything is portioned up, it’s important to allow it to fully cool before placing it in the freezer. Putting food in the freezer before it’s cool can allow bacteria to breed and could reduce the overall temperature of your freezer.

Make sure each dish is labelled with the date that it was cooked, what it is and if you want to be super organised, some cooking instructions too.

Different dishes can be frozen for different lengths of time. www.freezethatfood.com is an excellent resource on how long dishes can be frozen. Just pop your dish in the search bar.

Reheating Batch Cooked Dishes

There are three main ways to reheat your batch cooked dishes: In the microwave, on the hob, and in the oven. Some dishes can be cooked from frozen.

Ideally, dishes should be removed from the freezer in the morning and allowed to defrost throughout the day, before being reheated at dinner time.

However, some dishes, like lasagne or cottage pie can be cooked from frozen, you’ll just need to add around 40 minutes to their cooking time. You may also want to cover them with foil to prevent the top from burning.

Chilli and Bolognese can easily be defrosted and then reheated in the microwave or in a pan.

For me, batch cooking is all about making dinner easier, so I try to keep cooking times as minimal as possible. For a curry, I might add microwave rice for quickness, and for bolognese, I’ll often use fresh pasta as it cooks in just a few minutes.

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Whichever dish you are cooking, you’ll need to make sure it’s fully up to temperature before cooking. Use a digital food thermometer to check the internal temperature of food cooked from frozen or defrosted is over 75°c for at least 30 seconds or 80°c for at least 6 seconds. If the food hasn’t reached this temperature, cook for a further few minutes.

And that’s everything you need to know about getting started with batch cooking.