Meals You Can Batch Cook Now (so You Don’t Have To Cook Later)

We’re going to get cracking with cooking now - when you’re probably beginning to get bored of the waiting game.

This week, we’re trying our hand at being Jamie Oliver. Imagine we’re in a light, airy kitchen on your telly. We’ve casually got a tea towel thrown over our shoulder and we’re telling you that cooking should be delicious and easy, with all-natural ingredients.

Unlike Jamie, we won’t chuck out your Turkey Twizzlers. Your household is probably about to get a little chaotic, so we won’t insist on you taking ✨ just thirty minutes ✨ to cook a new meal every day. Instead, we’re going to get cracking with cooking now - when you’re probably beginning to get bored of the waiting game.

These are the best meals you can batch cook now… so you don’t have to cook later (when you’ve got a newborn taking up most of your time!)

If you eat meat…

Spaghetti bolognese

The classic, ol’ reliable. We always think that spaghetti tastes better after being reheated the next day. Plus, you can never go wrong with a big bowl of bolognese. The bells and whistles of this recipe can be changed to your tastes (and your cupboards) but the backbone of it stays the same. This particular recipe serves twelve, or two very hungry baby-looker-afterers for five days on the trot.

Butter bean & chorizo stew

With only four ingredients, we really hope you like the taste of chorizo. Otherwise, this stew probably isn’t for you. Get some crusty bread involved (we’d suggest a hearty baguette, but tiger bread is also an acceptable alternative) and you’ll be made up.

If you eat fish…

Pesto salmon & bean gratins

Delicious and super simple to make, this pesto salmon and bean gratins is comfort in a bowl. The best part? This dish can live in your freezer for up to two months. Knock it up a couple of weeks before your due date and your baby will be smiling by the time this salmon starts to go bad!

One-pot prawn & lentil curry

Undoubtedly, the worst part of cooking is the washing up. That’s why one-pot recipes are our absolute favourite. You can easily freeze the dhal base on this curry and then add your prawns, veggies or meat when you’re ready to eat. It only takes five minutes to fry up and tastes amazing - the extra step is worth it, we promise!

If you’re a veggie…

Five-bean chilli

We’ve dabbled with a veganuary or two in our time, and there’s one thing we know for sure: we have an absolute excess of canned beans knocking around. This recipe is fantastic because all you have to do is chuck ingredients in a pot and make sure they don’t burn. It’s that easy! If you can make cereal, you can make this five-bean chilli.

Pesto and goat’s cheese risotto

The thing with risottos is… they’re actually dead easy to make. You just have to be prepared to do a lot of stirring. If you don’t have goat’s cheese hanging around in your fridge, we’re confident that any cheese you’ve got would work just as well. We like to look at recipes as a loose guide. A suggestion. A piece of advice from a wine-drunk friend. Use your discretion.

If you’re vegan…

Vegan mushroom soup with porcini

Delicious? Check. Easy to make? Check. Totally freezer-able? Check. In its own words, this recipe is creamy and deliciously rich. Sounds good to us! The dried porcini mushrooms used in this dish give it a massive flavour boost (because, contrary to popular belief, vegan food is actually really yummy.)

Vegan chilli con carne

Disclaimer: this recipe includes fake meat. It’s divisive - some vegans love it, some hate it. Personally, we’re team love. But if you’re not a fan, try out this recipe instead. Same vibe, different ingredients. Only fake meat lovers here now? Great. We love this recipe because it’s so versatile. Fancy a rice bowl? Or maybe some tacos? On top of a jacket potato? You can use this chilli con carne to satisfy any cravings you’re having.

We hope that you have enough freezer space for all these tasty recipes! (And we hope your microwave doesn’t go on strike from all the overtime it’s going to be doing.)

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