Batch Cooking is a great fit if you’re low on time during the week. You can cook multiple batches of the same recipe (think doubling or tripling recipes) and freeze to eat later on. It also allows you to buy food in bulk which can save you money and time from having to shop multiple times per week.
Before getting started:
1) Create a menu and make a shopping list of the food you want to prepare.
2) For variety during the week, keep foods that are cuisine-neutral so they can easily be combines with other ingredients.
3) Foods like soups, stews and casseroles last 3-4 days in the refrigerator and freeze well.
4) Schedule your batch cooking time, and block this time on your calendar (I’m serious!). For example: block off 1-2 hours on Sunday afternoon to cook, so that you have food ready to eat Monday – Wednesday (or longer if you freeze some meals).
5) Make sure you have enough room in your refrigerator and freezer for the amount of food you are going to cook/store.
6) Find recipes you enjoy and double or triple them.
How long will it stay fresh?
Most frozen food will be good for 3-6 months.
When stored in the refrigerator, freshness will vary depending on the food:
Cooked chicken: 3-4 days
Cooked dishes with meat: 3-4 days
Hard-boiled eggs: 5-7 days
Roasted veggies: 3-4 days
Chopped veggies: 5-7 days
Cut fruit: 4-5 days
Cooked beans: 3-4 days
Cooked grains: 3-4 days
For maximum freshness, store food in airtight containers (see link for an example). Label every meal or ingredient with the date cooked.
Make sure you let the food cool to room temperature before you store it. And make sure it is refrigerated or frozen no longer than 2 hours after the food has been cooked.
Batch Cooking Tips
Batch cooking can be very time consuming when you are just starting out. Here are some tips to cut down on some time:
- Purchase 2-3 cooking sheets so you can bake/roast all of the food at once.
- Buy precut vegetables when you can so you don’t waste any time cutting.
- Marinate your meats before you store them in the freezer.
- For Crockpot/slow cooker meals, place all ingredients in freezer safe bags. Therefore, the contents are ready to go, or it can be frozen for later use.
- Prepare all your veggies, fruits, grains and herbs and store in air tight containers.
- Instead of grilling/frying chicken breast, boil it or cook it in a instapot and then shred it. This way the chicken will be easy to throw on top a salad or in a wrap.
- Hard boiled eggs, canned fish, tofu, and cottage cheese are nice options to have as protein sources towards the end of the week so you don’t have to worry about cooking as much midweek.
Batch cooking meal examples
Chicken Tacos
shredded chicken
salsa
lettuce
corn tortilla
cheddar cheese
Shredded chicken will last in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Add toppings when ready to eat.
Chicken Fried “Rice”
shredded chicken
riced cauliflower
peas and carrots
coconut aminos
avocado oil
salt and pepper
sesame seeds
Freezes well for 3-6 months