Hi, I’m Rachel, the Recipe Development Manager at Thermomix®. Have you ever heard the cliché that chefs don’t really cook at home? It’s true. At least for the chefs I know. After a full day of cooking, coming home and cooking dinner is the last thing I want to do. Plus, I love using my nights to do something for myself like going for a walk or going to Pilates.
This means I’ve become known as being a bit of a batch cooking fanatic. Batch cooking or meal prep as some like to call it, is a game-changer for anyone looking to simplify their mealtime routine. Imagine spending less time in the kitchen while still enjoying delicious, home-cooked meals every day. With batch cooking, you can prepare multiple meals at once, saving you time, reducing food waste, and ensuring you always have a healthy option on hand.
Each weekend I spend a few hours in the kitchen with my Thermomix® and Firra cookware to get ahead on the week’s meal preparations. When I do this I feel so much better heading into the week ahead knowing I’ve already made a start on my dinner prep. It also has meant I’ve cut down on my weekly food bills by becoming more organised and skipping stops to the supermarket midweek and “I can’t be bothered cooking” takeaway orders.
I’ve put together a playlist of my 10 best batch cooking recipes from Cookidoo®, the Thermomix® recipe platform. You can click this link on your mobile phone and it will open up in the Cookidoo® app where you can save these recipes into a collection.
Rachel's favourite easy batch cooking recipes.
Click this link on mobile to download Rachel's batch cooking recipes to your Cookidoo® account.
To see how I use these recipes, keep reading below.
Silverbeet Dahl
This slow cooked recipe makes a huge 2L. I also cook a batch of Basmati rice using the Rice Cooker mode on the TM6. Freeze portions of cooked dahl and rice for emergency lunches or dinners. Keep half for dinners during the week or serve straight away. I also like to stir around 300g dahl through a batch of Pumpkin soup to add some extra protein, fibre and flavour.
Lentil Bolognese
This batch cooking recipe is so easy to warm through and serve with freshly cooked pasta or layer up with lasagne sheets and bechamel sauce to make a vegetarian lasagne. It's really filling and so cost effective too.
Meatballs with tomato sauce
I would usually double the meatball mixture in this recipe to make 2 batches of meatballs. Form into balls and then place meatballs in the freezer. Use half to make the meatballs with tomato sauce. I make the sauce fresh and steam the defrosted meatballs above the sauce. Or use this recipe which cooks the meatballs in the sauce using the Thermomix® Blade Cover. With the other batch of meatballs make our Cheeseburger tray bake. This recipe is perfect for those nights when you have no time to cook. Just pop everything on an Extra Large Rose Gold Baking Tray and stick into the oven to cook.
Bechamel sauce
I use this in the week to top steamed broccoli and cauliflower for side dishes with grilled or steamed protein, or use to make a lasagne using the Lentil Bolognese recipe. I like to store my Bechamel sauce in a Vac U Seal container as it keeps it fresher for longer and stops a skin from forming on the top. Sometimes I stir the Bechamel sauce through cooked pasta with grated cheese, bacon pieces, steamed or leftover roasted veg, 1/4 tsp mustard powder. Pop it all in the Firra Cast Iron Baking Tray then place into the oven to bake until everything is warmed through and the top is nice and golden.
Turmeric and ginger-infused chicken broth
Having this in the fridge or freezer is a shortcut to a quick and healthy dinner. Reheat and pour over some pak choy, cooked protein and noodles for a nutritious midweek meal.
When making this recipe I always increase the temperature to Varoma and steam some protein like chicken or eggs over the top in the Varoma dish. Another option is to steam veggies like potatoes which I then either roast or turn into a potato salad later in the week.
Make your meals stretch further by using the leftover chicken carcass from the Peruvian roast chicken to make the chicken broth.
LCHF Chicken Kievs
Did you know that you can adjust the servings sizes of recipes within Cookidoo®? This recipe is available in 4,6 and 8 portions. Even though I usually just cook for two, I always choose 6 or 8 portions. These freeze beautifully after step 10 making them the perfect batch cooking freezer meal. Just pull out of the freezer and cook from frozen, increasing the cooking time by 5-10 minutes or until they are cooked through.
Chicken and spinach enchiladas
Enchiladas are the ultimate batch cooking meal. You can follow the recipe for Chicken and spinach enchiladas or do as I do and just throw in any leftover rice, protein and vegetables you have on hand. Adding a can of black beans is also a great way to make this dish go further. I assemble the enchiladas directly in the 2.7L Vac u Seal container. I LOVE this glass batch cooking container as it can go from freezer, to fridge, to oven. It’s available as an exclusive Host Reward when you host a Cooking Demo and is a must have accessory in my kitchen.
Marinades
I like to make a heap of marinade and once cooled, place my choice of protein in either our Vac U Seal containers, or Ziplock bags placed in the freezer. My current fav is a chicken which has been spatchcocked/butterflied. You might like to store the chicken in the 1.2L Vac U Seal container (depending on size of the chicken) and makes cooking a whole chook really fast and easy midweek. I give this job to my hubby who cooks it on the BBQ while I pull together a side dish.
Some of my favourite marinades are:
Boiled eggs
This isn’t a recipe, but there’s not a week that goes by where I don’t put some boiled eggs on to cook using the Thermomix TM6’s Boiled Egg mode. You can cook up to 6 eggs at a time and choose how you’d like them cooked from soft to hard boiled (I’m a medium girl). No more standing over a pot with a timer. I use the eggs for breakfast (smashed with avocado is my favourite), snacks, or chop them up to add to salads during the week.
Want even more batch cooking ideas? We’ve developed two ‘Cook once, eat twice’ meal plans in the NEW Winter edition of our Thermomix® Everyday Magazine. You can find it in your local supermarket, newsagents, or order a copy at TheMix Shop.