make and freeze

An easy little vegetable samosa recipe that makes a delicious, inexpensive lunch from storecupboard ingredients. They freeze brilliantly too, so you can batch cook and have them when you need them.

Easy Potato And Pea Samosas

vegetable oil

mustard seeds

60 grams/2½oz chopped onion

tsp finely chopped ginger

60 grams/2½oz frozen peas

tbsp coriander

tsp cumin

¼ tsp red chilli powder

½-¾ tsp garam masala

mango powder (amchoor),

salt,

water

coriander leaves

ready-made filo pastry

tbsp butter,

Easy potato and pea samosas

Make your own easy pizza dough with this authentic Italian recipe – it uses '00' flour to give the base a lighter, crisper texture. But if you have bread flour, it will still produce a great homemade pizza.

Pizza dough

flour

dried easy-blend yeast

tsp salt

milliliters/1fl oz olive oil

milliliters/2fl oz warm milk

325 milliliters/11fl oz warm water

passata and other toppings,

This delicious, savoury vegan shepherd's pie freezes very well, so make in individual portions if you prefer, or freeze the leftovers. The secret ingredient is nutritional yeast, a great vegan ingredient that lends a cheesy flavour to the mash topping. Serve with lots of freshly cooked green vegetables.

Each serving provides 441 kcal, 18g protein, 54g carbohydrate (of which 10g sugars), 13g fat (of which 2g saturates), 12g fibre and 1g salt.


Vegan shepherd’s pie 

olive oil

onion,

celery sticks, thinly sliced

leek,

250 grams/9 ounces chestnut mushrooms,

courgette,

garlic cloves, crushed

carrots, chopped

tin chopped tomatoes

milliliters/3½fl oz red wine (vegan-friendly)

tomato purée

tbsp yeast extract,

herbs

vegetable stock cube

sea salt and ground black pepper

milliliters/3½fl oz plant-based milk,

tbsp extra virgin olive oil

yeast flakes

This slow-cooker vegetarian stew with fluffy dumplings is a cheap and easy recipe. To make it vegan, use vegetable suet in the dumplings instead of butter and omit the pesto. This dish is perfect for batch cooking, just divide it up into indiviudal portions and you will always have warming stew at your fingertips, check the tips section for freezing instructions. 

Equipment and preparation: For this recipe you will need a 6.5 litre/11½ pint slow cooker. 

This meal provides 629 kcal, 13g protein, 79g carbohydrate (of which 24g sugars), 29g fat (of which 11g saturates), 16g fibre and 1.8g salt per portion.

Slow cooker vegetarian hotpot 

sunflower oil

butternut squash

onions, thinly sliced

carrots,

parsnips,

tbsp plain flour

½ tsp dried chilli flakes (optional)

pesto (optional)

350 milliliters/12fl oz hot vegetable stock (made with 1 stock cube)

grams/3½oz spinach leaves (optional)

salt and black pepper

75 grams/2¾oz frozen butter (or 75 grams/2¾oz shredded vegetarian suet)

125 milliliters/4fl oz cold water

This is a gentle, full-flavoured curry of Persian origin. It is worth grinding your own cardamom for an authentic flavour and mixing your own spices for the paste. If time is short, use a good-quality, shop-bought medium curry powder (about 1–2 tablespoons) instead.


Lamb rogan curry

green cardamom pods

¼ tsp ground cloves

tbsp cumin

paprika

tsp turmeric

tbsp garam masala

leg of lamb, cut into 2cm/¾in cubes

onions,

red chilli, seeds removed and diced

450 milliliters/16fl oz lamb or beef stock

cinnamon

bay leaves

tbsp light muscovado sugar

150 grams/5½oz full-fat Greek-style yoghurt

rice,

Chicken jalfrezi is up there as a curry house favourite and this version by Simon Rimmer shows it’s as easy as anything to make at home.

Each serving provides 230 kcal, 31g protein, 4.5g carbohydrates (of which 4g sugars), 9.5g fat (of which 3.5g saturates), 1.5g fibre and 0.6g salt.

Chicken jalfrezi

onion, finely chopped

garlic,

tsp chilli powder

salt

grams/1lb 10 ounces skinless chicken breast, cut into large chunks

can chopped tomatoes

ginger

tsp coriander

tbsp butter

lemon, juice only

basmati rice, cooked according to packet instructions

ready-made chapatis or naan breads

limes,

1–2 red chillies, sliced

A basic mince recipe made in bulk for batch cooking and then used to make easy tacos. It’s also great in burritos, cottage pies and chilli.

Midweek tacos using batch-cooked mince

celery,

green pepper, de-seeded and finely chopped

garlic cloves, finely chopped

150 grams/5½oz mushrooms, finely chopped

garlic clove, finely chopped

cumin

1½ tbsp smoked paprika

oregano

taco shells

iceberg lettuce, chopped (any lettuce

tomatoes, roughly chopped

avocado, peeled, stone removed, flesh smashed

red chilli, finely chopped

An all-in-one traybake makes a great family dinner. Packed with flavour, this Greek-style meatball bake freezes well and is perfect for batch cooking.

Greek-style meatball bake

lamb

bread, whizzed

mint

feta

red onions,

lemon

x 400 grams tins chopped tomatoes

granulated

½ tsp ground allspice or cinnamon

rice

Maunika's lamb keema with peas uses minced lamb and potatoes to make a rich curry that's a great winter warmer. Once you’ve marinated the lamb, you can have this keema on the table in less than an hour. 

For this recipe you will need a food processor.

Keema with peas

garlic

fresh root ginger

500 grams/1lb 2 ounces lamb mince

tomatoes,

200 grams/7 ounces white or brown onion, finely chopped

green peas

tsp garam masala

lime, juice only

Neck of lamb is a great cut of meat to use in this easy lamb curry as it has a rich taste and cooks quickly for a shortcut slow-braised curry that's worth every calorie. 

Each serving provides 752 kcal, 56g protein, 52g carbohydrate, 34g fat, 6g fibre.

Healthier lamb bhuna

onions, finely chopped

green cardamom pods, lightly crushed

cloves

garlic cloves, grated

fresh root ginger, finely grated

coriander

200 milliliters/7fl oz lamb stock

sea salt and black pepper

tbsp fat-free, Greek-style yoghurt, to serve

A tasty and filling lentil and bacon soup that takes just 20 minutes from start to finish. Make and freeze in portions to take to work. 

Lentil and bacon soup

tsp oil

grams/2¾oz

red pepper, finely chopped

chicken or vegetable stock

sweet potato,

red lentils

thyme

bay leaf

Mary Berry's tomato soup is quick, easy and delicious. In fact, it is one of her favourite family recipes, as she always have the ingredients in the cupboard. With no onions to chop or tomatoes to skin, it really is ready in ten minutes!

Ten-minute tomato soup

tomatoes

500 milliliters/18fl oz chicken or vegetable stock

tbsp caster sugar

150 milliliters/5fl oz full-fat milk

150 milliliters/5fl oz double cream

basil

This mushroom curry by Dr Rupy is so easy to whip up for a midweek dinner, and it contains 3 of your 5-a-day. Go the extra step and make your own chapatis and the whole meal will cost under £1 per portion.

Each serving provides 646 kcal, 25g protein, 79g carbohydrate (of which 11g sugars), 22g fat (of which 8.5g saturates), 14g fibre and 1.4g salt. 

Mushroom, chickpea and spinach curry

grams/1¾oz butter, melted

olive oil,

mushrooms,

onion, roughly chopped

grams/1 ounces piece root ginger, grated

grams/1 tomato purée

½ tsp smoked paprika

250 grams/9 ounces frozen spinach, defrosted

grams/3½oz natural yoghurt

coriander,

This mushroom curry by Dr Rupy contains 3 of your 5-a-day.

There's something restorative and satisfying about a homemade chicken soup

Creamy chicken soup

1kg pack free-range chicken thigh,

dry white wine

celery sticks,

leeks, quartered

thyme, leaves

½ tsp ground white pepper (optional)

plain flour

pot double cream

Put the chicken thighs in a very large, heavy-based pan and fry for a few mins, turning frequently to lightly colour them. Providing the heat is low, there is no need to add any oil. Pour in the wine, turn up the heat and boil rapidly to evaporate the alcohol. Pile in the veg and herbs, add 1 tsp salt and the white pepper (or you can use black pepper). Pour in 2 litres boiling water. Cover the pan and simmer for 45 mins until the chicken and veg are tender. Take out the bay leaves and thyme sprigs and cool for about 30 mins.

Remove chicken from the soup, then strip the meat from the bones. Put all but 140g of the chicken back into the pan. Blitz the soup with a hand blender or in batches in a food processor until very smooth, then return to the pan.

Blend the flour and cream together with a couple of ladles of the soup, then stir the creamy mixture into the rest of the soup and heat, stirring continuously until thickened. You can blitz again if it looks a little lumpy. Chop the remaining chicken and stir into the soup. Scatter with thyme leaves, to serve.

Top 14 make and freeze recipes from across the web

The most viewed make and freeze recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

Top Tags

Easy Potato And Pea Samosas

Pizza dough

Vegan shepherd’s pie

Slow cooker vegetarian hotpot

Lamb rogan curry

Chicken jalfrezi

Midweek tacos using batch-cooked mi...

Greek-style meatball bake

Keema with peas

Healthier lamb bhuna

Lentil and bacon soup

Ten-minute tomato soup

Mushroom, chickpea and spinach curr...

Creamy chicken soup

Top 14 make and freeze recipes from across the web

The most viewed make and freeze recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Easy Potato And Pea Samosas

Pizza dough

Vegan shepherd’s pie

Slow cooker vegetarian hotpot

Lamb rogan curry

Chicken jalfrezi

Midweek tacos using batch-cooked mi...

Greek-style meatball bake

Keema with peas

Healthier lamb bhuna

Lentil and bacon soup

Ten-minute tomato soup

Mushroom, chickpea and spinach curr...

Creamy chicken soup

The most viewed make and freeze recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine