Batch Cooking and Meal Prep

Cook Once, Eat All Week

🔄 Recall from our previous lesson the smart grocery list organized by store section. You’ve planned your meals and bought your ingredients. Now, instead of cooking from scratch every night, you’ll prep strategic components that assemble into different meals throughout the week.

Batch cooking is the biggest time-saver in the meal planning system. A 2-3 hour Sunday session replaces 5-7 individual cooking sessions during the week.

Two Approaches

Approach 1: Component Batch Cooking

Cook large quantities of versatile base components:

Component	Make This Much	Uses All Week
Grains (rice, quinoa)	6-8 cups cooked	Bowls, stir-fries, fried rice, sides
Protein (chicken, ground meat)	3-4 lbs cooked	Tacos, salads, wraps, pasta
Roasted vegetables	2-3 sheet pans	Sides, grain bowls, omelettes
Sauce/dressing	2-3 cups	Salads, grain bowls, marinades
Beans/legumes	4-6 cups cooked	Soups, burritos, salads, sides

The mix-and-match magic: Monday: Chicken + rice + roasted vegetables + teriyaki sauce = chicken teriyaki bowl Tuesday: Chicken + beans + salad + dressing = chicken and bean salad Wednesday: Ground meat + rice + beans + salsa = burrito bowls Thursday: Roasted vegetables + eggs + cheese = vegetable frittata

Same components, different meals.

Approach 2: Full Meal Prep

Cook complete meals and portion into individual containers:

Cook 4-5 complete meals on Sunday
Portion into labeled containers
Grab-and-go for lunch or reheat for dinner

Best for: People with consistent schedules who eat the same meals daily

The Sunday Prep Session

Total time: 2-3 hours What you produce: 8-12 meals worth of food

The Prep Order

Order matters for efficiency. Start with what takes longest:

Hour 1: Start the slow items

Start rice/quinoa on the stove (20 min passive)
Put chicken or protein in the oven (30-40 min)
Prep vegetables while those cook (washing, cutting)

Hour 2: Active cooking 4. Sheet-pan roast vegetables (25-30 min in oven after protein) 5. Cook ground meat on stovetop (15 min) 6. Make sauces or dressings (10 min) 7. Cook beans if using dried (or open cans)

Hour 3: Assembly and storage 8. Let everything cool slightly 9. Portion into containers 10. Label with contents and date 11. Refrigerate (3-5 day items) or freeze (beyond 5 days)

✅ Quick Check: Look at your meal plan for next week. Which components could be batch-cooked on Sunday? Try to identify at least 3 items you could prepare in advance.

AI-Powered Batch Cooking Plans

“Create a batch cooking plan for Sunday afternoon. I want to prep components for these 5 dinners: [list meals]. Tell me exactly what to cook, in what order, and how long each step takes. Optimize for parallel cooking (using oven and stovetop simultaneously). Include storage instructions and how each component is used during the week.”

Storage and Food Safety

Refrigerator Storage

Food	Container	Lasts
Cooked grains	Airtight container	4-6 days
Cooked chicken/meat	Airtight container	3-4 days
Roasted vegetables	Airtight container	4-5 days
Soups and stews	Sealed container	3-5 days
Fresh sauces	Glass jar	5-7 days
Raw prepped vegetables	Container with damp paper towel	3-5 days

Freezer Storage

Food	Container	Lasts
Cooked grains	Freezer bag (flat)	2-3 months
Cooked proteins	Freezer bag or container	2-4 months
Soups and stews	Freezer-safe container (leave headspace)	3-6 months
Sauces	Ice cube tray then bags	3-6 months
Assembled meals	Labeled freezer containers	2-3 months

Freezer tips:

Label everything with contents and date
Freeze in flat bags (thaw faster, stack easier)
Leave 1 inch headspace in containers (food expands)
Cool food completely before freezing

Batch Cooking Recipes That Scale Well

Not everything batch-cooks well. These categories excel:

Excellent for batch cooking:

Soups and stews (often taste better the next day)
Grain bowls with separate components
Chili and curry (reheat perfectly)
Burritos and wraps (freeze individually)
Meatballs (freeze in portions)
Pasta sauces (make a large batch, portion and freeze)

Not great for batch cooking:

Fried foods (get soggy)
Delicate salads (wilt)
Dishes with crispy elements (lose texture)
Seafood (best cooked fresh)

Exercise

Plan your first batch cooking session:

Review your meal plan and identify shared components
Use AI to generate a parallel cooking schedule
List all containers and storage materials you need
Execute the plan and note what worked and what to adjust
Track how much time you save during the week

Key Takeaways

Batch cooking consolidates 5-7 cooking sessions into one 2-3 hour prep session
Component batch cooking (grains, proteins, vegetables) is more versatile than full meal prep
Cook in parallel: use the oven and stovetop simultaneously for maximum efficiency
Refrigerated items last 3-5 days; freeze anything needed beyond that
Label everything with contents and date for food safety
AI can generate optimized prep schedules that minimize total cooking time

Up next: In the next lesson, we’ll dive into Dietary Accommodations to plan for any restriction or preference.