Yes – batch cooking style! I know, I know – you didn’t even know there were styles!

Have you been hesitant to dip your toes into the batch cooking waters? Although the idea of having a bunch of home-cooked meals at the ready is very tempting, there is a widespread misconception that you have to spend your whole weekend in the kitchen to enjoy the privilege.

I’m here to tell you that simply isn’t the case. Although that is indeed one way to approach it, it’s certainly not the only way – nor is it necessarily the best way for you and your family.

The best batch cooking style for you will depend on your schedule, the size of your family, the type of meals you like to eat, and other factors. Here’s a look at some of the different ways you can batch cook and make mealtime easier for yourself throughout the week.

Which batch cooking style is for you?

1. The once-a-week batch cooker

Let’s go ahead and discuss this batch cooking style first because it’s the one you’re probably most familiar with. This is the person who devotes a chunk of time on the weekend to cooking – perhaps not the whole weekend, but maybe a few hours on Sunday morning – and then has four or five meals already made for the week.

When dinnertime rolls around on weekdays, all you have to do is pop your pre-made meal into the microwave or warm it on the stove and you’re all set! If you’re eating it within four or five days, you won’t even have to freeze most of it too.

This is best for those who like to get in the kitchen once and get it all over with for the week and those who get home from work very close to dinnertime, work long hours, or have a four-day week. And it’s just a matter of preference too.

2. The batch prepper

This batch cooking style is a variation on batch cooking that focuses on prep work rather than logging hours in front of the oven. You’ll look at your recipes for the week and batch prepare the ingredients you’ll need.

For example, you might determine you’re going to need a total of 4 onions, 3 carrots, and 2 stalks of celery chopped for all your meals during the week, so you’ll go ahead and do all the peeling and chopping now and portion them out into baggies or containers. You’ll still have to do some cooking at dinnertime, but it will go a lot faster.

This is great for those who plan to make lots of foods like fish that don’t keep well when cooked in advance and for those who enjoy the routine of cooking each evening but just wish it didn’t take so long!

3. The extra portion batcher or batch stasher

The extra portion batcher won’t get a whole week’s worth of meals in one go, but it can give you a day off here and there. Any time you’re making something that can easily be doubled, tripled or even quadrupled – whether it’s a chili or stew, pasta, or casserole – you’ll go ahead and do it with the idea of saving the other portions for a future date, even if it’s the next day’s lunch!

If it’s something freezable, you might save it for a day later in the month when you know you’ll be pressed for time, or you might just save it for the day after tomorrow to avoid eating the same thing twice in a row. Either way, it’s a win!

This is especially useful if you don’t have to same schedule each day or you like the idea of batch cooking but aren’t ready to devote hours to it on the weekend. You’re cooking anyway, so why not make extra?

4. The combo batcher

The combo batcher is a more advanced batcher who uses a combination of the other methods. For example, you might spend some time on Sunday making complete meals for earlier in the week, and while those are in the oven or on the stove, you might start chopping up all the vegetables you’ll need for the rest of the week.

When Wednesday rolls around and you need to cook again, you’ll have all your ingredients ready to go, and perhaps you’ll double the recipe and then eat the second portion on Friday. There are so many different ways you can approach it!

This is me. I’m a batch stasher all the way, but I’ll batch prep and have a go at once-a-week-batching once in a while!

No matter how you slice it, batch cooking can be incredibly valuable. There may be a time commitment up front with many batch cooking style methods, but doing so enables you to do your cooking when you have some time to spare and avoid those crazy weeknight dinner rushes.

What’s your batch cooking style?

Would you like to learn more?

Go check out my online program, called Dinner in a Flash! It is the busy mama’s step-by-step guide to cooking less, but serving more!

It’s a fab program, but don’t take my word for it! Go here and read the student testimonials and more about the program.