The COOK Guide to Batch Cooking

As the nation’s experts in batch cooking for the freezer, COOK shows you how to save time and money by making healthy, nutritious home-cooked frozen meals.

If you’re looking for a healthier, quicker and slightly cheaper way of enjoying delicious home-cooked food, then batch cooking for the freezer could be for you. It involves cooking larger batches of meals and then freezing some for later, ideally in separate portions. Buying ingredients in bulk is invariably cheaper. Having meals to hand in the freezer means you don’t have to cook from scratch every night, saving you time. And keeping your recipes healthy and nutritious means you’re not tempted by takeaways, or speedy unhealthy options. So, batch-it-up to save money and time while ensuring a healthier diet for you and your family.

At COOK, we’ve built an award-winning business on the back of batch cooking. So, if you want to know how to batch-it-up, you’ve come to the right place. Twenty-five years of practice means there’s nothing we don’t know about batch cooking for the freezer.

In fact, the inspiration for the business came from Anne Perry – the mother of COOK co-founder, Ed. As a busy working mum with four children, she was always pushed for time but also determined to get the family round the table for a home-cooked meal every night. The solution was batch cooking at weekends, making enough for one supper then freezing the extra for another day. It meant, even when she was in a rush, there was always a home-cooked meal at hand in the freezer.

Ed took that idea and, with his co-founder Dale, turned it into a business. Their founding statement in 1997 was: to COOK using the same ingredients and techniques as a good cook would use at home, so everything looks and tastes homemade. That principle remains to this day, with nearly 100 COOK shops nationwide.

So, here’s everything we know about batch cooking for your freezer ...

Download Guide to Batch Cooking

How To Approach Batch Cooking

1. Be prepared

• Create some space in the freezer.

• Make sure you’ve got pans big enough for larger quantities.

• Make sure you have the correct bags or containers to freeze the food in. Not all plastic is freezer proof – some kinds go brittle at low temperatures and can shatter. So check you’ve got either glass or good quality plastic containers that can be reused. Reusable freezer bags are great for sauces – freezing them flat also helps with space as you can stack them on top of each other. Muffin trays are also useful if you want to defrost smaller portions at a time.

• Cool the food quickly after cooking and before freezing. One way of doing this is to split the food out into smaller portions.

2. Choose your “base” recipes

• One of the simplest ways to approach batch cooking is to make one base recipe which can be adapted into different dishes. There’s no need to eat the same thing all week – you can freeze the base in portions and then defrost and use in different dishes.

• Take a classic Bolognese, with minimal effort it can be used for: a Cottage Pie, a Chilli, a Lasagne as well as a good old Spag Bol.

 

BATCH COOKING RECIPE: BOLOGNESE SAUCE

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, trimmed and finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 600g mince – we like 2/3 (450g) beef mince and 1/3 (150g) pork mince. A higher fat content will always give more flavour too
• 800g chopped tomatoes
• 1 small pack basil, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp tomato purée
• 180g sundried tomato paste
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 beef stock cube
• 235ml red wine
• Salt & cracked black pepper, to taste

Method: 

1. Put a large saucepan on a medium heat and add 1 tbsp olive oil.

2. Add the onions, carrots and garlic cloves and fry on a medium heat for 10 mins, without colouring. Stir the veg regularly until it softens.

3. Increase the heat to medium-high, add the mince and stir often for 3-4 mins until the meat is browned all over.

4. Add the chopped tomatoes, sundried tomato paste, bay leaves, tomato purée, beef stock and red wine. Bring to the boil, reduce to a gentle simmer and cover with a lid. Cook for 1 hr stirring occasionally until you have a rich, thick sauce. If the sauce is overly thick add a little water to loosen. Season with salt and pepper to taste and add the freshly chopped basil.

Tips

• For a Spaghetti Bolognese, simply cook up some spaghetti, dish the sauce on top, some grated parmesan, a sprinkle of extra chopped parsley and some warmed, crusty garlic bread.

• To make a chilli, simply add 2tsp of chilli powder, 2tsp smoked paprika, 2 tsp ground cumin to the vegetables once softened. Substitute the red wine with water and remove the sundried tomato paste. Substitute the chopped basil with chopped coriander. Drain and rinse a 410g can of red kidney beans in a sieve and stir them into the sauce 10 minutes before the end of the cooking time. To make the chili extra special, stir through 25g of dark chocolate at the end. Serve with soured cream, a jacket potato and sliced fresh chilies.

• To make a lasagne, you’ll need to make a cheese sauce as well. To do this, bring 1 litre of milk to the boil in a thick bottomed saucepan and then switch off. Melt 100g of butter in another saucepan, then add 100g of plain flour. Stir continuously until a paste forms – this is called a roux. Continue cooking for 2 mins. Add the milk to the roux gradually, stirring as you go, until you get a smooth sauce. Add 50g of grated mature cheddar, 1tsp of English mustard and the juice from half a lemon, mixing well through the sauce. Cook for 5-10 mins, stirring continuously, until the sauce has thickened.

• To assemble your lasagne, spread a third of the bolognese sauce into the bottom of a large ceramic baking dish followed with a drizzle of cheese sauce. Put a layer of dried lasagne sheets on top and repeat twice. Finish with a thick layer of cheese sauce evenly spread across the dish. Sprinkle with enough grated mature cheddar to cover the top. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/Gas 6. Bake the lasagne in the oven for 35-40 mins or until bubbling and golden brown. Allow to stand for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with a fresh green salad and some crusty garlic bread.

 

BATCH COOKING RECIPE: CHICKEN, HAM & LEEK PIE

Serves 6-8

 Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp rapeseed oil
• 800g boneless skinless free range chicken breasts, diced
• 60g butter
• 1 medium leek, trimmed, washed and finely sliced
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 60g plain white flour
• 100ml white wine
• 400ml chicken stock
• 300ml double cream
• 300ml semi-skimmed milk
• Salt & cracked black pepper, to season
• 1 lemon, juice only
• 1 small bunch of fresh parsley, chopped
• 4 slices of thick cut cured ham, cut into strips or chunks

Method: 

1. Heat half the oil in a large frying pan and cook the chicken for about 10 mins until cooked. Set aside.

2. Heat the remaining oil and butter and add the onions. Soften for 2-3 mins. Add the leeks and cook for a further 2 mins. Add the wine and reduce by half, then stir in the flour.

3. Slowly pour in the chicken stock, milk and cream and bring up to the boil, stirring continuously. Take off the heat, stir in the lemon juice, chopped parsley and season to taste.

4. Add the chicken and ham into the sauce and mix well.

 

More Tips

• If making a pie, unroll 500g pastry and cut off a small strip for any decorations. Roll the remainder to fit a pie dish. Put the filling in the dish and place the pastry on top. Use a fork to crimp the edges and press the pastry to the edge of the dish. Make a small hole in the centre to allow the steam to escape (no one likes a soggy pastry lid!). Brush with a beaten egg and sprinkle over some chopped thyme (optional). Bake in a 200C/180C fan/Gas 6 oven for 20- 25mins or until golden and piping hot (this will take longer if cooking from chilled).

• It’s easy to switch this up by using different pastry – shortcrust and puff are very traditional, but for a lighter twist, use filo pastry and scrunch on top of the pie. Just brush lightly with rapeseed oil instead of a beaten egg.

• Alternatively, make a potato topped pie. Chill the mix and top with mashed potato. Fork the top and bake in a 200C/180C fan/Gas 6 oven for 25-30mins or until golden and piping hot.

• If serving with pasta, simply cook the desired amount of pasta and add to the bubbling hot chicken, ham and leek mix.

 

VEGETARIAN BATCH COOKING RECIPE: HEARTY VEGGIE CASSEROLE

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 2 sticks of celery, washed & roughly chopped
• 4 tbsp tomato puree
• 4 tbsp sundried tomato paste
• 300ml vegetable stock
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 glass of dry white wine (approx. 200ml)
• 800g tin chopped tomatoes
• 100g kale, washed and roughly chopped
• 2 large red peppers
• 2 large yellow peppers
• 800g cannellini beans, drained
• 1 small bunch of parsley, roughly chopped
• Salt and cracked black pepper, to taste

Method: 

1. To roast the peppers, heat the oven to 200ºC and line a large, flat baking tray with baking paper. Cut the peppers into 1cm thick slices, toss in a little oil and arrange on the tray. Roast for 20-25mins and set to one side.

2. Whilst the peppers are roasting, heat a tbsp of oil in a large casserole dish over a medium heat. Add the onions and bay leaf, sauté for 2-3 mins, then add the garlic and celery. Cook for a further 5 mins until the vegetables start to soften.

3. Stir in the wine and bubble for 2 minutes. Add the oregano, chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, sundried tomato paste, vegetable stock and simmer for 20 mins until thickened. Stir in the drained beans and lightly simmer for a further 10 mins.

4. Once the casserole is cooked, stir through the kale and roasted peppers and cook for a further 3-4 mins until the kale has slightly softened. Add ¾ of the chopped parsley, salt and pepper to taste, mixing well. If the casserole is overly thick, add a little water to achieve the desired consistency. Sprinkle the remaining parsley across the top and serve.

 

Even More Tips

• Go Greek! Add ½ tsp dried chilli flakes when adding the white wine plus a handful of green olives and 1tbsp of capers when adding the kale. Before sprinkling the parsley, cut 2 x 225g packs of halloumi into ½ cm slices and evenly spread across the top of the casserole dish and grill until golden brown. Sprinkle with the remaining chopped parsley and the zest of half a lemon and drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil.

• For a Spanish vibe, add a large can of butterbeans, 2-4 tsp of smoked paprika and 2 tsp of ground cumin when adding the white wine to the casserole. Cover the cooked casserole with a lid to keep warm.

• Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Cut a medium sourdough loaf into thick slices, removing the crusts. Cut the crustless slices into large rustic cubes. Crush and finely chop two cloves of garlic, zest half a lemon and combine with a large glug of olive oil. Toss the bread in the garlicky oil and sprinkle with salt and cracked black pepper. Scatter the pieces on to an oven tray and bake for 8-10 mins or until the croutons are browned and crunchy.

• Once cooked, add the remaining chopped parsley to the piping hot casserole and scatter the croutons on top before serving.

• Turn it into a show stopping pie with a crunchy filo topping. Follow the steps above but don’t cook the kale or top with parsley. Preheat the oven to 200ºC and unroll six sheets of filo pastry. Lightly brush one side with oil, scrunch up and lay on top of the casserole, covering completely. Bake for 10-15 mins in the middle of the oven until the pastry is golden and crisp all over. Once cooked, drizzle with virgin olive oil and sprinkle across the remaining chopped parsley.