Batch Cooking Meal Prep Recipes

In just a few hours time, batch cooking can fill your freezer and make getting a homemade meal on the table easy, even on the busiest nights.

What is batch cooking?

Let’s talk about batch cooking. If you’re not familiar with what that is, it’s basically making a large “batch” of something, packaging it up in either individual or family size portions and freezing it to use later.

It’s also sometimes called freezer cooking, because you’re making recipes for the purpose of freezer them for later use.

It does take some effort up front, but in the long run, there are a lot of benefits to batch cooking. With your freezer full of food, you can whip up a meal in a short amount of time. 

So on those nights that you get home from work late, or are running all over the place to get your kids to all of their activities, a homemade dinner is not going to take a lot of effort to get on the table. In the long run, this will save you money and will help you avoid turning to fast food in desperation.

 The best recipes for batch cooking:

My favorite things to make in quantity are marinara sauce, meatballs,  breaded chicken breasts, chicken noodle soup and roasted chicken. I love having all of these foods in my freezer because they are all pretty versatile. 

The chicken noodle soup is not so much versatile as it is easy. It is one of those meals that you can have on the table very quickly.  All you have to do is put it in the microwave to defrost then heat it up and dinner is ready.  Pair it up with a salad or some crusty bread, if you have any on hand, and dinner is done!

There are a lot more things you can do with the rest of the items. You can whip up spaghetti and marinara sauce, chicken parmigiana, spaghetti and meatballs, meatball hoagies, roasted chicken quesadillas, chicken caesar salad, homemade pizza, chicken breasts with baked potatoes and a vegetable, chicken breast sandwiches.  You get the idea, the list goes on.

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If you want to give batch cooking a try, there is some kitchen equipment that can make this easier, but you can most likely make it work with whatever equipment you already have. I have been doing this for a long time and have only recently added some of this equipment.  

Make batch cooking easier using this equipment:

Easiest Ever Tomato Basil Marinara Sauce

This sauce is super simple to make, but it is delicious and extremely versatile. A single batch will make about 1 1/2 quarts of sauce. 

If you want more, double or triple the recipe (this is where the big stockpot comes in handy). I then divide the sauce into quart size plastic containers (you could use freezer bags if you prefer) and put them into the freezer.

Easy Baked Meatballs

Freezer Friendly Panko Breaded Chicken

Homemade Weeknight Chicken Noodle Soup

Roasted Chicken 

You can find the recipe below in the recipe card

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Yield: 4-8

Roasted Chicken

Print

Roasting a chicken is so easy and the cooked, shredded meat is so versatile.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1-2 whole chickens, about 5 lbs each
• olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• chicken rub, if desired. (see notes)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Remove neck and any giblets from the cavities.

Coat chickens with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Place chickens in a roasting pan or cake pan, breast side up.

Roast in preheated oven for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, until juices run clear.

Notes

• My favorite seasoning to use is Chicken Rub which you can find at Hey Grill Hey
• Cooking time will vary depending on the size of your chicken. If your chicken is close to 5 lbs, it will likely take the full 1 hour and 15 minutes. If the chicken is 3-4 lbs it will take closer to 1 hour.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 300Total Fat: 40gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 25gCholesterol: 249mgSodium: 305mgCarbohydrates: 0gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 77g

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