Quick Summary

Busy days don’t mean sacrificing home-cooked meals! Smart hacks, like meal planning, batch cooking, pre-cut ingredients, and one-pot recipes, can help you cook faster. Use the right tools, embrace leftovers, and freeze essentials to save time. With simple strategies, you’ll enjoy quick, delicious meals without the stress.

Deep Dive

In today's fast-paced world, cooking can often feel like a time-consuming task, especially when you're juggling work, family, and social commitments. But takeout and ready-to-eat meals are not the answer. Not only can these burn a hole in your pocket, but they also rarely pack in the nutrition you require. So, what’s the solution? Planned homecooking. With a few smart strategies and planning, you can cook faster at home and still enjoy delicious and nutritious meals. Here are some tried-and-tested tips to cook faster when time is running out.

Plan Ahead for the Week

One of the best ways to save time during the week is to plan your meals ahead of time. Spend a bit of time on the weekend planning your meals and making a shopping list. Not only will this save you time during the week, but it’ll also ensure you have all the ingredients you need on hand to cook faster.

Pro tip: When meal planning, look for recipes that can be prepped in advance, like casseroles, stews, or salads. You can even prep your ingredients on the weekend and store them in the fridge or freezer.

Use the Right Tools

Investing in a few essential kitchen tools can cut down your cooking time significantly. A pressure cooker, high-quality blender, food processor, sharp knives, different-sized pans, and storage containers can help you cook faster. You can also use an Instant Pot to reduce cooking time for stews, rice, and even beans from hours to just minutes. 

Tip to cook faster: A sharp knife is also a must. A dull knife can actually slow you down, so make sure your knives are well-maintained. It’s safer and quicker!

Embrace One-Pot Meals

When you’re pressed for time, it’s a great idea to embrace one-pot meals. These meals allow you to throw everything into a single pot or pan, reducing the time you spend on washing up. Whether you're making a khichdi, a hearty soup, a stir-fry, or a curry, one-pot meals are both efficient and delicious.

For those who follow a vegetarian diet or are cooking vegan food, one-pot recipes are a great way to incorporate a variety of vegetables, legumes, and grains into your meals. Dishes like dal, vegetable curry, or a simple vegetable pulao can be prepared in just one pot, saving you both time and energy.

Batch Cook, Freeze, Reheat

Batch cooking is a real time saver for busy people. Cooking larger portions and freezing them for later use means you’ll always have a quick, home-cooked meal available. Dedicate an hour or two once a week to make large batches of soups, stews, or casseroles, then divide them into portions and freeze them. This is also a great way to prepare different kinds of meals in advance, such as vegetable curries or chicken recipes, so you have a variety to choose from.

Use Pre-Cut or Frozen Ingredients

If you're really in a pinch, one of the best tips to cook faster is to use pre-cut or frozen ingredients. Many supermarkets offer pre-chopped vegetables, pre-marinated meats, and even frozen grains like rice. 

You can also freeze seasonal or chopped vegetables and use them as you wish to cut down on chopping time. Frozen at the peak of freshness, these veggies retain most of their nutrients and flavours. 

Make Use of Leftovers

Leftovers are your best friend when you’re in a hurry. If you have a hearty dinner, consider saving the leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day. This will save you from having to cook an entirely new meal. You can even repurpose leftovers into a completely new dish. For example, leftover paneer curry can be transformed into a sandwich filling, or roasted vegetables can be tossed into a salad.

Quick Cooking Methods

Some cooking methods are faster than others. Instead of slow roasting meats or vegetables, try grilling, stir-frying, or using the microwave. Grilling or broiling can cook chicken, fish, and vegetables in just a few minutes, and stir-frying vegetables or tofu can be done in no time.

Cutting vegetables and meats into smaller, uniform pieces can also significantly reduce cooking time, as smaller pieces cook faster.

Streamline Your Ingredients

If you often find yourself googling how to prepare food faster before you even begin prep, then you are missing out on the main hack: streamlining the ingredients you use. Stick to simple recipes with fewer ingredients, and try to rely on pantry staples that you always have on hand, such as dal, pasta, canned beans or tuna, rice, or spices. This will reduce the need for extra shopping trips or lengthy recipe searches.

Another way to cook faster is to keep a few go-to quick recipes handy that are also nutritious. There are plenty of healthy dishes that can be prepared in under 30 minutes. Whether you're making a quick veggie pulao, a chicken stir-fry, or a hearty salad, the possibilities are endless.

Cook Smarter, Not Harder

By incorporating these hacks into your routine, you'll be able to cook faster, eat healthier, and have more time for the things you love. No matter what type of meal you're preparing, there are always ways to streamline the cooking process. With a little planning, the right tools, and some creativity, you can get your meals on the table quickly while still enjoying delicious, home-cooked food every day.