We all need a few batch-cook recipes to fall back on when life gets hectic. And with a little forward planning, it’s easy to prepare food that stretches beyond just one meal. You’ll save money, reduce waste and be ahead for busy days. Our top tips and ideas will make the process easier and more efficient, from how to make the most of your freezer space to base recipes for several different meals and what dishes won’t keep well. Read on and be inspired!
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Sort out the freezer
You’ll need space in the freezer before embarking on a batch-cooking session. Thaw and use up as much as you can, or throw out any unknown items or those which have excessive freezer burn. Three open bags of oven chips? Now’s the time to consolidate them into one bag. If you have a chest freezer, it may help to invest in a few freezer baskets to help see exactly what’s in there. Be ruthless, then begin with a clean, organised slate.
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Tidy and clean the fridge
You’ll need space to store perishables before you begin to cook, so chuck or compost anything that’s gone off and check you have enough essentials like tomato purée. Organise the fridge so you can see everything and take the opportunity to give it a clean. Use a bicarbonate of soda solution or sterilising fluid or tablets, which are all odour-free.
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Organise the store cupboard
There is nothing worse for a cook than being halfway through a recipe and finding that essential spice which has been lurking at the back of the cupboard is two years past its use-by date. Have a really good sort out of the cupboard, then you’ll know what you have and what you need to buy. Organise it so that you can see clearly what’s in there.
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Check storage containers
When you’re batch-cooking, a good supply of plastic lidded boxes is a must. Check what you have – do boxes still have a lid which fits and what sizes are they? You may also want freezer bags (which are also space-savers) and some re-usable foil containers (bake and freeze dishes in the foil containers for extra ease too). “Pour and store” plastic freezer bags have a solid base so they are perfect for soups and sauces.
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Prep your equipment
If you’re planning a whole day in the kitchen, it’s time to channel your inner chef and be organised. Check all your knives are sharp enough – blunt knives slow you down and increase the chances of cutting yourself. Get out all the ingredients you need for the recipe, sort out the pans you’re going to use, then prepare all the ingredients before you begin. Clear and clean as you go.
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Love your food processor and blender
When you are elbows deep in chopping onions, carrots and celery, or making a large batch of curry paste or pesto, hand the job over to the workhorse food processor to do the job in minutes. Equally if you have lots of carrots or cheese to grate, use the grating plate attachment. Making soup or purées? An inexpensive stick blender will give a smoother result and you can blend it in the pan, to save time and washing up.
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Some flavours get stronger
A curry or a chilli con carne will usually taste better the day after you’ve made it, as all the spices have had time to really infuse into the sauce. Freezing also intensifies flavour which is, of course, a good thing. But it’s something to keep in mind when seasoning or adding heat. Salt and chilli will become stronger upon freezing, so you may want to reduce the amount, then add it later after reheating and tasting.
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Get rid of air
If you’re freezing food in plastic bags, get rid of as much air as possible by pushing and flattening the ingredients before sealing. This helps to prevent freezer burn – this is when ice crystals form on frozen food if air gets into it in the freezer. It isn’t harmful but will affect the texture, colour and flavour of the food. If you’re freezing in lidded boxes, a layer of baking paper over the surface of the food will also create an extra barrier.
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Cool thoroughly
Whether food is going into the fridge or freezer, it’s essential to cool it thoroughly beforehand. Putting hot or warm food in will increase the ambient temperature inside the fridge or freezer, which can cause other foods to spoil and may, in rare cases, encourage bacteria to develop. Cover food until cold or, on a hot day, place it over a bowl of ice cubes or freezer blocks to speed up the cooling process.
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Portion up before freezing
When you’re batch-cooking to freeze, divide food into portions before putting in the freezer. Try cutting a large frozen lasagne and you’ll see why! Think about portion sizes – single servings work when you have hollow-legged teenagers wanting food at 9pm, for example, or there’s just one at home for lunch.
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Re-freezing food
Only re-freeze food if you’ve cooked it before freezing again. So if you’ve defrosted minced beef to make burgers, you shouldn’t re-freeze the raw meat again or you risk bacterial contamination. But if you cook the burgers first, that’s fine. And if you use frozen raw prawns in a fish pie, then it’s fine to freeze the finished dish once cooked.
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Cook to a certain point: lamb stew
Whether you’re cooking for the freezer or making a dish in advance to store in the fridge, there are some recipes where the final ingredients are added once the dish is thawed on the day of serving. For example, things like fresh herbs or vegetables with a high water content. In this lamb stew, kale and tomatoes are added at the end for just 10 minutes, to complete the dish.
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Cook to a certain point: prawn curry
This aromatic, South Indian-style coconut curry is made in a slow cooker, although you could simmer the sauce on the hob very gently for around an hour. It’s an easy recipe to double up too. The slow cooking enables the aromatic spices to develop and intensify their flavours. Store or freeze the base sauce, then stir through prawns, lime, spinach and coriander when it’s piping hot and ready to serve.
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What doesn’t keep or freeze well?
There are some recipes which just don’t work for batch-cooking or making ahead of time. Stir-fries are a perfect example, where the whole point is the freshness and crunch of the vegetables. Noodles also become slimy if not served fresh. If your dish takes 15 minutes to get on the table, save your batch-cooking for meals which involve more prep and cooking time.
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Make a multi-use base: marinara sauce
Having multi-purpose base dishes in the freezer or fridge is always a bonus. A rich tomato sauce, such as a marinara sauce, can be used for meatballs, with pasta, to serve with schnitzel or as a dip for potato wedges. Make a large batch, then freeze into usable portions or keep in the fridge for an instant midweek meal. It will keep for up to five days in the fridge.
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Make a multi-use base: shredded chicken
Having shredded chicken in the fridge or freezer will work for so many recipes. Use in stir-fries, salads, sandwiches, soups, burritos, noodle dishes and tacos. Poach a whole chicken then pull apart the tender meat – you’ll also end up with a really tasty chicken stock to freeze. You could even freeze the chicken bones to use when making more stock in the future.
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Make a multi-use base: chilli con carne
A really good chilli con carne takes time to cook, so it’s definitely worth making a large quantity to keep some in the fridge for the week ahead and some for the freezer. Serve it with rice, sour cream and guacamole; as a filling for jacket potatoes; or with nachos. Our recipe serves eight and it doubles up easily, although the cooking time will be longer.
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Make a multi-use base: pulled pork
Great pulled pork is a labour of love. The meat needs marinating, then slow-cooking for up to eight hours. You need a large piece of pork too, usually a pork shoulder weighing about 2kg (4.5lb), so unless you’re feeding a small army, it’s a perfect dish to batch-cook and freeze. Use it for burgers, stir-fries, nachos, tacos, sandwiches and quesadillas.
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What freezes well: soups
Hearty soups make a perfect midweek meal, but can involve a lot of chopping and slow sweating of vegetables. This makes them a perfect candidate for a batch-cooking session, especially if you use your food processor to do a lot of the hard work. A classic French onion soup is a great choice, as it takes some time to get the onions to the sweet, caramelised stage. With all soups, add the final flourish – herbs, cream or cheese – just before serving.
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What freezes well: meaty stews
The tastiest stews always involve long, slow cooking. Cheaper cuts of meat, such as shin or short rib, deliver big on flavour, but do take time to become meltingly tender. If the oven’s on, you may as well double up the recipe or cook two different stews. They freeze perfectly or will keep for up to three days in the fridge. Try our rich beef in red wine which you can double up, although the cooking time will be a little longer.
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What freezes well: curries
Curries which are made in advance or frozen taste even better on reheating. There’s often quite a lot of prep to do, with chopping and making a curry paste. With fish curries, add the fish to the base just before serving, rather than freezing the whole thing. Meat curries, however, can be cooked to the end of the recipe, bar adding any herbs and toppings. Our sweet, mild Burmese pork curry is perfect for freezing.
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Batch-cook: breakfast granola
Granola takes around 30 minutes to bake and put together, but it’s hardly the thing you want to be making in the morning. It’s the perfect batch-cook breakfast, as it will keep for around two weeks in an airtight container. Plus, making your own means you know exactly how much sugar is in there, compared to shop-bought granola, and you can add your favourite dried fruits and nuts. Our recipe is easily doubled.
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Batch-cook: pancakes
Having a batch of pancakes in the freezer makes breakfast easy on the cook. Reheat from frozen in a very hot oven for around five minutes, then serve everyone at the same time, rather than having to cook in batches. Freeze pancakes between sheets of baking paper so you can extract however many you need. Our recipe is for American-style pancakes which are light and fluffy.
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Batch-bake: cinnamon buns
What a weekend treat to have sweet and sticky cinnamon buns ready in the freezer! It’s not a recipe you can rustle up in minutes, due to the long rising time, so all the more reason to batch-bake. Pack them in boxes between sheets of baking paper before putting in the freezer. When you want to eat the buns, thaw overnight in the fridge, then flash them in a very hot oven for a few minutes to warm them up.
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Batch-bake: scones
Having some baked goods and snacks in the freezer is so handy, and scones, a British afternoon tea favourite, are delicious. You usually need to eat freshly-baked scones on the day they are made, but they freeze very well. Freeze them once baked, layered in boxes between baking paper, or flash-freeze them on a tray, then bag them up. Warm through in a hot oven for a few minutes to serve.
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Batch-bake: brownies
Brownies are a great batch-bake – they keep for up to three days in an airtight container and they freeze well, so it’s worth making a few batches. Who wouldn’t want brownies always on standby? You can either store them in boxes between sheets of baking paper, or open-freeze on a tray then bag up. Our rich, fudgy peanut butter caramel brownies are definitely worth a try.
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Batch-bake: granola bars
It’s always worth having some healthier snacks to hand, whether to enjoy with a mid-morning coffee or to pop in a lunchbox. Granola bars really fit the bill, as they keep for up to a week in an airtight container. They also freeze well, so make one batch for the cupboard and another for the freezer. You can adapt the recipe to incorporate your favourite nuts, dried fruits and seeds.
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Batch-bake: banana bread
Our banana bread recipe, flavoured with coffee and cocoa nibs, is perfect for easy batch-baking. It keeps for three days in an airtight container and freezes well. It’s worth freezing it in individual slices, so you can take one as you want. We love it lightly toasted, with butter or peanut butter too.
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Great pasta bake: creamy mushroom
Pasta bakes, such as macaroni cheese, are pretty straightforward to make and are a perfect batch-cook meal for midweek. Make a large quantity – you can double up most recipes quite easily – then portion and freeze. Reheat in a microwave or for around 20 minutes in a medium oven. Try our creamy pasta bake with mushrooms, bacon and peas, coated in a rich cheese sauce.
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Great pasta bake: Parma Ham and fennel
Here’s a rather elegant pasta bake, with braised fennel, a creamy white sauce and strips of sweet and salty Parma Ham, topped with Parmesan. It serves four, so it’s worth baking two in foil containers and freezing the whole thing for an easy supper. Thaw overnight, then reheat in the oven or microwave.
