7 Keys To Making Batch Cooking Part Of Your Routine
If you’ve been feeling like mealtimes can be stressful or simply impossible, then it’s clear something’s gotta be done. Throw out all the pots and pans and swear never to enter the kitchen again? Sure, you could do that. There is another possibility: batch cooking.
What is batch cooking?
Batch cooking means preparing meals in large quantities, often at once (which can mean it overlaps with meal prep). Normally, this allows for less cooking during the week and can include stocking your pantry and freezer to help your future self. Batch cooking can mean cooking savory dinner recipes like chili or TK, but making a big batch of breakfast staples like a TK or granola, counts as batch cooking, too.
Making batch cooking part of your routine is easier than it sounds, and when things are habitual, it takes less effort. These tips will make batch cooking easy to integrate into your daily life.
7 Keys to Making Batch Cooking Part of Your Routine
Break up the planning into stages
It might sound like a bummer if you’re not used to giving thought in advance to what you want to cook or eat, but making planning part of the routine is essential to making batch cooking doable. It doesn’t need to be a huge production and the steps can be done separately when you have a few minutes: Pick one or two recipes during the week to batch cook. Then or at another time, make the shopping list and decide when you’re going to cook. Separating these from the day you’re planning to cook the big batches takes pressure off the time in the kitchen.
Make sure you have the right pots and pans
Perhaps this goes without saying, but you’ll need equipment large enough to accommodate for double batches or particularly large quantities. Opt for your 5.5-quart deep sauté pan or 5-quart Dutch oven for soups and stews that serve up to 8, but for bigger batches, pull out your 7-quart deep sauté pan or 8-quart pot. Don’t forget your roasting pan! It’s a batch cooking hero, corralling a jumble of veggies or even pinch hitting for big batch frittatas.
Keep your most-used ingredients stocked
Filling your pantry, freezer, and fridge with the ingredients you use most often makes batch cooking much easier. As you start to build a repertoire of recipes, note which staples are long-lasting. Plan for a quarterly re-stock so all you have to buy on a weekly basis are the perishable items.
Consider working in little prep moments throughout the week
A routine is simply the things we do regularly. So, yes, your routine might be that you spend the day planning, shopping, cooking, and cleaning for a 12-hour stretch, but nobody wants that. Instead, build time for little prep tasks into your weekly schedule so that cooking the bigger batches happens more quickly. Here, the food processor is your friend, too. Chopping an onion can happen in few seconds, while slicing carrot is a matter of moments
Cook for your future self
Batch cooking doesn’t have to mean that you eat the same meal day in and day out. Part of making batch cooking part of your routine is cooking for your future self. Make a favorite recipe in a double or triple batch, then cool, cover tightly, and freeze for another day. Don’t forget to label and date it!
Strategically Multitask
No, we’re not talking about texting while chopping. (Please don’t!) Instead, consider choosing recipes that have some overlapping prep. Slicing onions for caramelized onion soup and for a pasta sauce saves time overall. If you’re worried about flavors being too similar, freeze one recipe entirely and save for a busy future week.
Try the pairing technique
If part of the problem with making batch cooking part of your routine is that it feels too much like a chore, consider the pairing technique. Save a favorite podcast or even a TV show for your batch cooking day. Then, cue it up in the background and get to chopping.
