I started meal prepping when I was single and working 7am – 7pm trying to climb the corporate ladder as fast as I could. In order to have healthy meals that didn’t break the bank, I had to put a little advanced planning into action. This worked great, but it meant having the same meal almost every night of the week.
The catalyst to finding a better solution was really moving to a larger place where I had more storage space, most importantly, room for a chest freezer. I’ll get into the wonders of a chest freezer at a later time, but know that freezer space is the key to batch cooking.
What is Batch Cooking?
Batch cooking is pretty much what it sounds like, you cook in batches, bigger batches than you need for a single meal. The idea is that you cook one meal for now and freeze at least one meal for later. Over time you have built up a freezer full of ready to reheat meals great for busy nights.
The Benefits of Batch Cooking
- Less Effort. With meal prepping, you usually aim to do all your cooking in one big push, usually taking up a couple of hours on the weekend. With batch cooking, you are just doubling up on recipes which usually adds a minimal amount of extra work and time.
- Variety. Since you are freezing the meals, you can eat leftovers at your own pace. With many meals lasting from a month to six months in the freezer, there is no need to trudge through the same meal for 4 days.
- Works well with bulk shopping. If you are also bulk shopping to save some cash, batch cooking matches really well with the quantities you are made to purchase. No need to portion out that extra-large package of ground beef if you simply cook it up into 4 meals at one time.
- Reduce food waste. Grocery portions of food seldom align with recipe portions of food. Batch cooking gets you comfortable with your kitchen math skills and you will find yourself expanding your meals to match your ingredients. More meals + less waste = happy wallets.
- Save Money. In addition to the two money-saving tips above, simply having ready-made meals at home curbs the urge to turn to DoorDash or a night out. After you have built your freezer stock, you’ll enjoy small grocery bills when you just shop for fresh ingredients.
Partial Batch Cooking
Batch cooking works best with meals that freeze well, but since not everything falls in that category, you could find this limiting at first. Get creative and batch cook as much as you can. For example, I cook up 4-5 portions of taco meat to be used in a variety of dishes. Preparing the fresh ingredients for taco salad can be done in the same amount of time it takes for the meat to reheat.
Batch Cooking Favorites (So Far)
Here’s a quick list of meals or components that are on rotation in our home.
- Soups and Stew. Chili, pozole, and minestrone are on constant rotation but most soups and stews are perfect candidates for batch cooking.
- Ground Meats. Most pre-packaged portions of ground meat are too much for two people so I usually cook it all at once and freeze some for later. Most times I season it, but it’s totally optional.
- Pot Pies. If I’m making pie crust, I’m only doing it once. This freezes especially well and helps make use of leftovers.
- Indian Food. We love Indian food but it requires a lot of small amounts of ingredients, so we batch cook and enjoy for months.
- Rice & Beans. Both these ingredients take a bit of time to cook up from scratch, even with the Instant Pot. Split big batches into meal-sized portions.
