Have you heard about batch cooking? The new trend that is taking social media by storm. Batch cooking is cooking your food for the whole week in one day. You may not be familiar with the phrase, but trust us, this method has arrived to help you eat healthily every day of the week, and to save time and money.

Cooking only one day and for just a few hours for the whole week…sounds good, don’t you think? The key to this is to combine ingredients wisely and to think of meals that can be kept in the fridge or freezer. Below, you can find a few ideas for batch cooking with an ingredient that is always in our pantries and everyone loves: pasta!

 

Batch cooking: ideas with pasta

  1. Salads: pasta salads are incredibly versatile and delicious. Any healthy batch cooking menu must prioritise vegetables over any other type of food, so as a starter (or as a side dish) we can have a different pasta salad each day.Caprese pasta salad (tomato, mozzarella and basil), pasta salad with rocket, baby tomatoes and chicken, pasta salad with spinach, tuna and pesto…There are endless possibilities for you to combine our pasta for salads!
  2. Main pasta dish: cook your favourite pasta and combine it in a creative way with proteins and vegetables. Maybe it is a little bit harder at the beginning, but you’ll see that it gets easier.

Would you like to hear some ideas? Go back to the classics! Macaroni with cheese and pepper, pasta with carbonara sauce, bolognese sauce, or with seafood…or why not: take a risk and innovate! An oriental stir fry with vegetables and soy, spaghetti with salmon and cream, macaroni with beef and vegetables… A trick to never repeat a dish is to cook the pasta with whatever ingredients you have at home. A challenge for your creativity!

Pasta for batch cooking: a key ingredient

As with other cereals like rice, pasta is one of the most versatile foods: it just goes well with everything! Carbohydrates are essential in our every day life, so preparing your weekly batch cooking with one of your favourite pastas as the main ingredient is a safe and delicious bet.

How to keep pasta for batch cooking in the fridge

Would you like to hear another benefit of using pasta for batch cooking? It is one of the foods that keeps best in the fridge for days. Even if you keep it in its sauce or with the other ingredients in the dish, or if you prefer to keep it separately, pasta will keep for days in the fridge. To enjoy a tasty pasta days later as if it had just been cooked, follow these tips:

    1. Cook the pasta normally, following the instructions on the pack.
    2. Strain the pasta, let it cool down to stop the cooking process and place it in an airtight container.
    3. Add a little olive oil, mix well to stop the pasta from sticking and keep it in the fridge.

We hope these batch cooking ideas and tips with pasta have inspired you. Are you ready to create your first weekly batch cooking menu using your favourite pasta as the main ingredient?