Batch Cooking Challenge – Feb 2026!

It’s the next installment of my monthly batch cooking challenge and this time I’m trying to do it in even less time than before! 

As with all my videos, I’m a home cook and mum and by no means a chef! I love to experiment with recipes and tailor the portion sizes and meal to our family size – therefore you might find you need to adapt to suit your personal taste / portion size! 

Meals this month:

• Sweet Potato & Halloumi Satay Curry with Rice / Noodles
• Butterbean & Butternut Squash Mac n Cheese
• Spinach and Butternut Squash Pasta Bake
• Creamy Chicken Pie & Wholegrain mash 
• Veggie & Lentil Bolognese Dump Bag
• Honey Soy Chicken Dump Bag & Rice / Spring Onion
• Satay Chicken Dump Bag & Rice
• Marry Me Chicken Dump Bag & Pasta
• Sardine / Mackerel & Tomato Orzo Bake Dump Bag
• Beef & Lentil Cottage Pie & Wholegrain Mash
• Beef & Lentil Lasagne
• Spinach, Basil & Butterbean Pesto with Tomatoes
• Tuna Pasta Bake 
• Bean Burgers with Salad / Chips

Ingredients / Shopping List: 

1kg Sweet Potatoes	700ml milk	4x 400ml cans coconut milk
15 Carrots	1.1kg cheddar	4 tins chopped tomatoes
14 Onions	1x 250g block of unsalted butter	8 tin of butterbeans
2 Red Peppers	4x 200g pot cream cheese	3 tins black beans
2 bag frozen butternut squash	200g parmesan	3 tins of lentils
4 leeks	300ml single cream	2 tubes of tomato puree
32 cloves garlic	2 blocks halloumi	3.25l passata
2.5-3kg Maris Pipers	1 whole chicken	2 jars sundried tomatoes
4 celery sticks	3.6kg chicken thigh	2 boxes dried lasagne sheets
1 bag parsnips	1kg steak mince	500g dried orzo
150g basil	4 tins mackerel / sardines in tomato sauce	2kg dried pasta
1 large bag fresh spinach	3 tins tuna	500g dried macaroni
4 large sweet potatoes	1 bag frozen chips (to serve)	1 pack spaghetti
2 bags mixed frozen veg	8x brioche burger buns (to serve)
1 bag frozen peas	1 large back of rice (to serve)

Storecupboard Items

200g Peanut Butter	Dijon Mustard	300g Oats
1 Bottle – Soy Sauce	Wholegrain Mustard	Olive Oil – 250ml
300g Honey	Lemon Juice	4 Limes (to serve)
1 jar Mild Curry Paste	Mixed Herbs	Pine nuts (optional)
3x Chicken Stock Cubes	Dried Oregano	Dried Chilli Flakes (optional)
4x Beef Stock Cubes	Ground Ginger	Mustard Powder (optional)
4x Veg Stock Cubes	Smoked Paprika	Salt & Pepper
Plain Flour	Cumin

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Sweet Potato & Peanut Satay Curry

We love the satay flavours and in this case the sauce is really creamy and comforting! This is a great one to batch cook as it can gently simmer whilst you get on with making all the other things. I’ve served it with both noodles and rice – I think rice is extra good with this as it soaks up the tasty sauce!

Ingredients:

• 1kg sweet potatoes – peeled & diced
• 4 carrots – grated
• 2 onions – diced
• 2 red peppers – sliced
• 6 heaped tbsp peanut butter 
• 4 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp honey
• 2x 400ml cans coconut milk 
• 200ml veg stock 
• 4tbsp mild curry paste

To serve

• Halloumi x2 blocks (to account for both meals in the month) 
• Lime juice (optional) 

Method: 

1. Saute the onions and carrots in a pan until softened, then stir through the curry paste and cook for 1 minute until fragrant. 
2. Add in the peanut butter, soy sauce and honey and combine.
3. Add in the veg stock and coconut milk, followed by the sweet potatoes. 
4. Leave to simmer for 25-30 minutes until the potatoes have softened and the sauce has thickened, then add in the red peppers. 
5. Store in freezer bags and defrost thoroughly before reheating. We like to serve ours with some dry fried halloumi chunks and either noodles or rice with a squeeze of lime juice. 

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Butternut Squash & Butterbean Mac n Cheese

Ingredients 

• 600ml milk
• 1 bag frozen butternut squash
• 1 tin butter beans
• 300g cheddar (grated) 
• 100g cheddar (to serve)
• 40g butter
• 40g flour
• 1 heaped tsp mustard powder (optional)
• Salt / pepper

Method:

1. Add the butter, flour and mustard powder (if using) to a pan and heat until bubbling – keep stirring to avoid lumps
2. Slowly add the milk in a bit at a time and keep stirring
3. Once all milk added, add the grated cheddar
4. Microwave the butternut squash until soft and then blend with the butter beans
5. At this point you can either portion off some of the cheese sauce for the lasagne, or mix the butterbean / butternut squash puree into the pan and use across the mac n cheese and the lasagne. 
6. Store the mac n cheese sauce in a freezer safe container and defrost thoroughly before stirring into cooked pasta. We like to grill ours with a little grated cheese & breadcrumbs on the top for added texture. 
7. Save the rest for lasagne assembly. 

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Butternut Squash Pasta Bake

This recipe was a bit of an experiment and you’ll notice there are 2 suggestions for the method, depending on how much time you have! The kids absolutely loved this sauce as it was quite sweet but also really creamy from the soft cheese and the butterbeans.

Ingredients:

• Frozen butternut squash – 1kg bag
• 2 onions – diced 
• 1ll passata
• 2 tins butter beans
• 1x 200g pack of cream cheese 
• 1x veg stock cube 
• 500g Dried Pasta
• 100g cheddar to serve
• Mixed Herbs
• Salt & Pepper

Method:

1. Prepare the butternut squash – you have 2 options here. You could either put it on to roast in the oven at 200 while you make the sauce (drizzle with a little oil), or you could soften it up in the microwave following the same method as used for the mac n cheese sauce. 
2. Cook the pasta al dente – it’s important to not over cook this to prevent the pasta from going a bit mushy when reheated.
3. Fry off the onions in the pan until softened.
4. Meanwhile, take half of the passata and blend with the butterbeans.
5. Once the onions have softened, add in the tomato puree, followed by the vegetable stock cube and the other half of the passata. Stir to combine and then add the cream cheese, followed by the blended butterbeans mix.
6. Stir in the herbs and seasoning and check the taste – if it’s too tart, you could add a squeeze of honey. I quite liked the taste so didn’t add this!
7. Pour the sauce over the drained pasta and freeze.
8. Defrost thoroughly before topping with grated cheese and cooking in the oven at 200 for 25-30 minutes until golden. 

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Creamy Chicken Pie & Wholegrain Mustard Mash

This recipe was adapted from a Gousto meal we had once! In case you didn’t know this, you can look up Gousto recipes online for free via: https://www.gousto.co.uk/cookbook In my version, I cooked up a whole chicken that I had picked up on offer. This was a great way to use up this meat, and I was left with enough leftover meat for sandwich fillers for lunch.

Ingredients:

• 1x Whole Chicken
• 4 carrots – grated
• 4 leeks – finely sliced
• 4 cloves of garlic – chopped
• 1 heaped tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1x chicken stock pot / cube
• 1x 200g pot of cream cheese
• 3kg maris piper potatoes (depending on how much your family likes mash!)
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 30g butter
• 100ml milk
• 2tbsp wholegrain mustard
• 100g cheddar to serve

Method:

1. Cook your chicken according to the timings recommended on the packet (as this depends on the weight of the bird)
2. Add some butter to a deep pan and melt, then add the leeks and pop a lid on, turn the heat to medium-low and allow to soften up. 
3. Once leeks have softened, add the grated carrots and garlic and cook until softened. 
4. Add the flour and stir to coat the leeks and carrots, then add in the chicken stock pot, some dijon mustard, the soft cheese and (insert) ml of water. Add seasoning to your taste. 
5. Once the chicken is cooked, shred the meat and add into the pie sauce then transfer to a freezer safe dish / foil tray. 
6. Top with wholegrain mustard mash – I make mine by par boiling potatoes and mashing with some butter, milk and a generous tbsp of whole grain mustard. 
7. These pies take a while to defrost and I usually cook them on 180 for at least 30-35 minutes before increasing the heat to 200 to crisp up the top. I also use my thermometer to check the temperature inside before serving. 

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Veggie & Lentil Bolognese Dump Bag

The kids love a good bolognese and this one is a great way to pack in lots of fibre from the mixed veggies and lentils – I like to grate the vegetables so that they melt into the sauce.

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 onion, finely diced
• 4 carrots, grated
• 4 celery sticks, finely diced
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 tin lentils (green or brown), drained
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 1l passata blended with 2 tins butter beans
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• Salt & black pepper
• Beef or Veggie Stock Pot  x2

Method:

1. Place all of the items into a freezer bag (split across 2 bags) and freeze flat.
2. Defrost thoroughly before placing in a slow cooker and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours.

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Honey Soy Chicken Dump Bag

Slow cooking chicken thighs is such a great way to keep the meat nice and tender and this sauce packs in a lot of flavour!

Ingredients:

• 1.2k chicken thigh
• 6 tbsp soy sauce
• 6 tbsp honey or maple syrup
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 tsp grated ginger (or ½ tsp ground)
• 1 tbsp oil

Method:

1. Place all of the items in a freezer bag (split across 2 bags) and freeze flat.
2. Defrost thoroughly before placing in a slow cooker and cook on LOW for 6-7 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours. You don’t need to add extra liquid, but check on it every now and then to see if it needs a stir. 
3. Once ready to serve, if you want a bit of extra sauce, add a little ketchup, a splash of soy sauce and a bit of honey and stir in. (You don’t need much)
4. We like to eat ours with rice and topped with chopped spring onion.

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Satay Chicken Dump Bag

The house smelt absolutely amazing when this was cooking!

Ingredients:

• 1.2kg chicken thighs or breast
• 6 tbsp smooth peanut butter
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp mild curry paste
• 2 tbsp honey
• 2 clove garlic, crushed
• 2x 400 ml tins of coconut milk (see note below)
• To serve- Lime

Method:

1. Place all of the items in a freezer bag – except for the coconut milk – (split across 2 bags) and freeze flat.
2. Defrost thoroughly before placing in a slow cooker and add the coconut milk, then cook on LOW for 6-7 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours. 
3. We like to serve ours with rice and a squeeze of lime, you could also add some sliced red chilli for a bit of heat if you prefer. 

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Marry Me Chicken Dump Bag

If you have never tried this meal then you are in for a real treat!

Ingredients: 

• 1.2kg chicken thighs
• 2 jars sundried tomatoes
• 2 onions
• 6 cloves garlic
• Dried oregano
• 2 chicken stock cubes

To serve (please note that the quantities are doubled to reflect 2 meals): 

• 2x 200g pots of cream cheese 
• 100g Parmesan
• 7-8 Balls of chopped frozen spinach
• 500g dried pasta

Method: 

1. Place all of the items in a freezer bag (split across 2 bags), except those needed for serving and freeze flat
2. Defrost thoroughly then place in a slow cooker and add 150-200ml water then cook on LOW for 4–5 hours or HIGH for 2–3 hours. 
3. Once the time is up, stir in the cream cheese, parmesan and frozen spinach then serve with cooked pasta. 

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Sardine/ Mackerel & Tomato Orzo Bake – Dump Bag

This recipe was an experiment as I’m trying to see how we can boost the amount of oily fish in our diet! You assemble as a dump bag ready to be baked in the oven once defrosted. As you can imagine, using an oily fish like mackerel or sardines means quite a strong flavour!

Ingredients 

• 500 g orzo
• 4 tins sardines in tomato sauce
• 2 tins chopped tomatoes
• 2 small onions, finely diced
• 4 cloves garlic, grated or crushed
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp dried oregano or mixed herbs
• 2 veg stock cubes / stock pots 
• Black pepper, to taste
• 100g cheddar to serve

Method: 

1. Place all of the ingredients (including the orzo) into freezer bags – splitting across 2 bags.
2. Freeze flat and defrost thoroughly before cooking.
3. We baked ours in the oven by emptying the bag into a baking dish and add in 300ml of water. I covered it tightly with foil and baked at 180 for 25-30 minutes.
4. Check the orzo halfway through and give it a stir, add a little extra liquid if required.
5. Once cooked, you could top with grated cheese and pop under the grill for extra texture.

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1 Beef Bolognese – 2 meals/ Lasagne & Cottage Pie

When I’m batch cooking I love being able to outsource some of the work to the slow cooker! I copied last month and put on a beef bolognese which I then transformed into 2 different meals.

Ingredients

• 1kg steak mince
• 2 onions, diced
• 3 carrots, grated
• 1-2 parsnips, grated
• 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes
• 1x tin of green lentils
• 500g passata
• 4tbsp tomato puree
• 2 beef stock pots
• 1tsp dried oregano

• 2 boxes lasagne sheets
• Reserved cheese sauce
• Frozen mixed veg
• Reserved mash
• Salt / Pepper to season
• 100g cheddar to serve (pie) 

Method:

1. Brown off the beef in a pan and then veggies until just softened.
2. Add this, along with all other ingredients into the slow cooker and cook on high for 4.5 hours.
3. Once cooked, portion half of the sauce across 2 large dishes / foil containers (to act as the base for the cottage pie) and top with some frozen mixed veg & mash. 
4. Keep the other ½ for the lasagne and assemble by layering bolognese sauce on top of lasagne sheets, with some cheese sauce and grated cheese. On the final layer, I like to swirl a little bolognese sauce into the remaining cheese sauce to make the topper. I usually add a bit of grated cheese once defrosted and ready to bake. 
5. Both meals should be thoroughly defrosted, before being topped with grated cheese and cooked in an oven at 200c for 25-30 minutes until golden. It’s always worth using a thermometer to check the internal temperature – especially for the pie. If you’ve gone for quite a thick mash layer, I’d recommend cooking at 180c for 35-40 minutes and increasing to 200 for 5-10 minutes to crisp up the top and ensure it is cooked throughout. 

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Pesto

Our kids have always loved Pesto and I like to make it myself as firstly it’s super easy but more importantly when you make it from scratch you can ramp up the nutrients and customise to your taste.

• 3 tins of butterbeans 
• 150g basil 
• 1 large bag fresh spinach 
• 20ml (approx) Lemon Juice
• 100g Parmesan
• 50-100ml Olive Oil
• Large handful frozen peas (microwaved with a splash of water to soften up) 
• 25-30g Pine Nuts (optional)

Method: 

1. Place all of the items in a food processor and blend until smooth. I find this works best if you blend up the butterbeans, pine nuts and oil / lemon first, then gradually add the other items. 
2. Taste to check if you want to add more lemon / oil to your taste.
3. Store in freezer safe containers and defrost thoroughly before stirring into cooked pasta. 

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Tuna Pasta Bake

Our kids can be quite fussy about pasta in a sauce but they always ask for seconds of this!

Ingredients 

• 300ml single cream 
• 750g passata
• 3 tins tuna
• 2 onions – diced 
• 2 cloves of garlic – chopped
• 100g Cheddar Cheese (grated)
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• Pinch dried chilli flakes (optional) 
• 500g Dried Pasta 
• 100g cheddar (to serve)
• Salt & Pepper

Method:

1. Fry off the onions and garlic
2. Meanwhile, boil the pasta (al dente) if you want to freeze the pasta bake fully assembled.
3. Transfer to a blender with the cream, tomato puree and passata and blend.
4. Stir in the tuna then pour over the cooked pasta (if freezing fully assembled), and stir in the grated cheese. Or alternatively store in a freezer bag and assemble once defrosted with freshly cooked pasta. 
5. Defrost thoroughly before cooking for 20-25 mins in the oven at 200 – we like to top ours with some breadcrumbs and grated cheese for extra texture!

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Bean Burgers

Our kids enjoyed the burgers last month and I’m always looking out for ways to boost the veggies and beans in their diet! This recipe was a new one for me but I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out!

Ingredients:

• 4 large Sweet potatoes (baked in oven) 
• 3 tins Black beans – drained
• 200-300g Oats
• 1 lime
• 2 tsp Cumin
• 2 tsp Smoked Paprika
• 2 tbsp Soy Sauce
• 2 tbsp Olive Oil 
• Salt & Pepper 

Method:

1. Pierce the sweet potatoes and cover with a little oil, then wrap in foil and bake in the oven until soft, then allow to cool.
2. Mash up the sweet potato and then add the black beans and lightly mash, before stirring in the remaining ingredients. 
3. If the burgers feel quite soft / sticky, add more oats until you reach your desired texture. 
4. Freeze flat on a piece of baking parchment on an oven tray or chopping board, before transferring to a freezer bag. 
5. Reheat the burgers from frozen in a low temperature in the airfryer to ensure they are fully cooked through. They have quite a soft texture, so take care when moving them! I added a slice of cheese to ours for the last couple of minutes of cooking. 
6. Serve in brioche buns with salad, your sauce / sides of choice!