Batch cooking is for anyone and all types of households and is a great way to maximise your kitchen efforts and minimise food waste effortlessly.

In this blog we’ll explore the beauty of batch cooking, how it can help save time, save money, and reduce food waste with key tips and meal ideas to get you started!

The ultimate time-saver

One of the most significant advantages of batch cooking is its time-saving benefits. Instead of spending precious minutes each day preparing meals from scratch, dedicate a few hours on a weekend to cook in bulk. Imagine coming home after a hectic day to find a freezer stocked with ready-to-go meals. A quick reheat, and voila! Dinner is served. Perfect for those with busy schedules, as it ensures that you get the most out of your kitchen efforts.

Budget-friendly bliss

Batch cooking can help you stretch your dollars further while having the satisfaction of a well-balanced, home-cooked meal. Buying ingredients in larger quantities often comes with cost savings, and preparing meals in batches allows you to take advantage of sales and multi-buy discounts. It is also a chance to use up the ingredients before they pass their use by date or before the veggies start to become wilted.

Compleating at it’s finest

We love meal planning to help reduce food waste and one of the other beauties of batch cooking is the utilisation of the whole ingredient. Batch cooking encourages you to plan your meals efficiently, using up every bit of each ingredient. This not only minimises waste but also showcases the resourcefulness of creating delicious meals from the entirety of your grocery haul. No more wilted greens, forgotten herbs, sprouting potatoes, half-opened packets of pasta, languishing in the back of the fridge or pantry.

Packing your food away

Batch cooking encourages more organisation in the kitchen from meal planning, to keeping track of food items, and effective storage including packing and labelling the food.

When packing food away we recommend cooling before putting in the fridge otherwise they will raise the temperature of the fridge and this may be a food safety risk. Always remember to get your meals in the fridge within two hours of cooking. Then transfer into the freezer once cooled from the fridge, putting hot food in the freezer may cause foods around it to defrost which may also cause a food safety risk.

Looking for more information on maximising the use of your fridge? Find it all, plus our 10 tips to make the most of your freezer’s superpowers here.

Meals that work well for batch cooking

Ready to try out batch cooking? You may already be cooking meals that work well cooked in bigger batches such as casseroles, chilli mixes, or spaghetti Bolognese, here are a few more ideas to get the meal planning started.

• Stews and Soups: Chicken stew, potato and leek, gumbo, lentil and coconut soup, or minestrone are all excellent options.
• Curries: Butter chicken, beef rendang, vege stalk and kumara, rogan josh, Thai green or red curry, a massaman curry, whatever your favourite is, they are great versatile options that can be made in large quantities and frozen.
• Casseroles and slow cooked meals: Whether it’s a sausage casserole, shepherd’s pie, a Moroccan chicken casserole, casseroles are perfect for batch cooking.
• Chowders: Corn chowder, fish or seafood chowder are all comforting options that freeze and reheat well.
• Rice or Grain Bowls: Prepare a large batch of rice or your choice of grain such as quinoa and pair them with different proteins and vegetables. Just be sure to cool your rice quickly so it’s safe to eat. Risotto and jambalaya is also another great rice dish that suits batch cooking.
• Baked Pasta Dishes: Make a big tray of lasagna, macaroni and cheese, or your favourite pasta bakes, and portion into smaller servings.
• Stir-Fries: Cook up a variety of stir-fried vegetables and proteins, and pair them with rice or noodles.