We’d all love to cook a delicious meal from scratch every single night, but unfortunately it’s just not always possible with busy schedules – that’s where batch cooking comes in.
We asked our Facebook Group for their top 10 favourite batch cooking recipes and here they are!
When you’re batch cooking, planning ahead is absolutely key. Try and cook double batches of meals or bulk recipes out with plenty of veg to make the meal go further.
If you can, try to put aside a few hours each weekend to batch cook your meals for the week ahead – some extra effort on a Saturday or Sunday can save you loads of hassle during the week.
These plastic containers with lidsare the perfect reusable option for freezing loads of meals and they’re suitable for use in the microwave and dishwasher too.
Some recipes are particularly good for batch cooking as they can be used in several different ways, for example a basic bolognese recipe can be used as it is, in a lasagne, a bolognese pasta bake or adapted into a chilli!
Don’t forget to freeze your batch cooked meals in portions – there’s no point defrosting 5 litres of soup if you’re only going to eat 1!
Freezing our recipes
Not all food freezes well and to make it super simple, if one of our recipes can be frozen you’ll see this ‘suitable for freezing’ icon.
If you do freeze one of our recipes, there are some really important things that you need to make sure you do in order to keep you and your family safe;
– Freeze it as soon as it is cold enough
– Use a container or bag that is suitable for freezing.
– Defrost thoroughly before reheating.
Make sure it’s piping hot before serving!
As always, make sure you follow the NHS guidelines around storing, freezing and reheating food.
Our Top 10 Batch Cooking Recipes
Loads of our recipes are suitable for batch cooking, but these are our top 10 recipes as voted for by our Facebook Group!
Chicken Balti Curry
Our Chicken Balti Curry is a family favourite as you can alter the amount of spice used – perfect for catering to little mouths!
Campfire Stew
Perfect for using up all of those leftover veggies, our Campfire Stew is a Facebook Group favourite!
It’s so easy to make and, as it’s cooked in the slow cooker, you can get on with your day while it cooks.
Chilli
Our Chilli recipe is a super versatile dinner option and can be served with a jacket potato and salad, or loads of rice and veg.
It can also be adapted into a variety of different dishes including our Chilli Pasta Bake – a tasty twist on two classic meals.
Or, use it in our Chilli Cheesy Nachos for a delicious, indulgent dinner that feels much naughtier than it actually is!
Dirty Fried Rice
Our take on a classic ‘dirty rice’ dish, our Dirty Fried Rice is the perfect combination of Cajun and Chinese and it’s absolutely delish!
Worried about freezing rice? The recipe includes all of the advice you need to safely freeze and reheat rice.
If you’re after a more traditional ‘dirty rice’ recipe, then our Cajun Dirty Rice is a fantastic alternative to our Dirty Fried Rice, and is another great way to use up any leftover veg that you have lying around.
Spaghetti Bolognese
Another favourite, our Spaghetti Bolognese recipe is the perfect thing to have on hand for quick mealtimes and is so versatile!
If you’re not a fan of spaghetti, then it can also be adapted into our Pasta Bolognese Bake – melted, crispy cheese, what’s not to love?!
Cottage Pie
Cottage Pie is a truly classic dish and is just the thing to warm up on those cold, winter nights! Our slimming friendly version of this comfort food has all of the flavours without the additional calories.
Caribbean Jerk Stew
Stews are a fantastic option for batch cooking and this Caribbean Jerk Stew recipe is a tasty, alternative to the more classic dishes.
Packed full of flavour and simple to make, it can easily be bulked out with extra veg as well.
Slow Cooker Sausage Casserole
Our Slow Cooker Sausage Casserole is a super comforting, warming dish that’s perfect for those cooler nights. Packed full of veg, it’s the perfect way to make your sausages go a little bit further.
Lasagne
This Lasagne is a batch cooking classic and can be frozen as one large dish or divided into individual portions.
This is another great dish to use up any extra veg that you have lying around, which means that, not only is it packed full of healthy food, but your meat goes further too!
Fish Pie
Our Fish Pie is such a tasty, comforting meal that it’s well worth having a few tucked away in the freezer for a rainy day! Not a fan of fish? You can easily adapt this recipe to use chicken and mushrooms as the filling instead.
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