My brand new cookbook is out on Amazon! It’s called “30-Minute Plant-Based Recipes” and it’s perfect for busy vegans. Grab it now!
Let’s be honest. Most of the time, you need to cook a meal fast and get it on the table.
From years of experience in cooking in my home kitchen and testing dozens of recipes in one day, I’ve learned a few time-saving tricks that will help you cook faster in the kitchen.
1. Take 5 minutes to think about what you will be cooking
To prevent overwhelm, take a few minutes and think about what you will be cooking.
Have a recipe you looked up on the blog? Pull it up! Place it in front of you by printing it out or placing your phone, tablet, or computer on the counter.
2. Write down cooking order
Multi-tasking is king. Once you know what you’re cooking, write down the order that will help you cook faster in the kitchen.
For example, if you’re making a casserole with a side of sautéed vegetables, prep casserole first. Then use the idle time to sauté the vegetables while the casserole is baking in the oven.
3. Clear enough space for work
Have you ever tried to prep on the counter thinking one little square is enough? Then find yourself pushing stuff away with your elbow as you chop things to create more room. It’s frustrating, isn’t it?
If you have small counter space, put away kitchen appliances you don’t use daily. Don’t do this right before you start cooking. Always think of creating and keeping clear spaces.
If clearing your counter isn’t an option, use your kitchen table as a prepping station. Alternatively, bring in a folding table if there’ room in the kitchen to use as a prepping station.
4. Sharpen your knife
Sharpening a knife only takes a few seconds and will save you a lot of time in the kitchen! Never cut vegetables with a dull knife. Not only is it a time-suck, but also it isn’t safe.
5. Use a large pot to carry all items at once
Ever find yourself going back and forth from the pantry back to the stove? This takes up a lot of your time!
Grab a large pot and load all your pantry items.
Pull items from the pot as you need them. It’ll help with saving precious counter space and keep you organized at the same time.
6. Wash produce all at once
Use a colander to wash produce all at once. Colander is also the best way to wash greens such as kale and parsley.
7. Cut vegetables ahead of time
One of the best ways to save time and cook faster in the kitchen is to prep ahead of time if you can. My favorite way is to assign someone else in the household to do this chore.
Ask your partner to help by chopping the veggies. Have older kids? Ask them to help!
Delegation can help you speed things up in the kitchen and make other people in your household feel included.
8. Cut produce all at once
Once you’re done washing the produce, start cutting it! If you’re making two different dishes let’s say tacos and a salad, cut produce for both dishes at once.
This will make things faster in the kitchen and help make the cooking process much neater.
9. Cut vegetables into smaller pieces
One of the best tips to cook faster in the kitchen is to chop the vegetables into smaller pieces.
Whether you’re making Buddha bowls, stews, or curries, chop the vegetables into smaller chunks. Smaller pieces cook faster.
10. Use kitchen shears
Kitchen shears is a tiny little secret of speeding up the chopping process. It’s much faster to cut some produce with shears than a knife.
Use it to chop herbs such as basil and parsley. Slice pizzas and quesadillas. Cut kale.
11. Use a mandoline slicer
This handy kitchen utensil is great for slicing, shredding, and even grating. It’s very useful if you’re cooking root vegetables a lot such as sweet potatoes and beets or making fresh salads.
Mandoline slicer cuts all vegetable pieces evenly which ensures that everything is cooked uniformly at the same temperature.
12. Use the right size pans and big baking sheets
Never double-layer anything either in the pan or the baking sheet. Vegetables cook faster in direct contact with a pot/pan/baking sheet.
If you’re making a big batch of something, get a larger pan. A larger surface area will speed the cooking process.
13. Use a garbage dish
I love this one!
A garbage dish is a large dish that serves as a temporary trash can. Get a large bowl or a pot and place it on the counter by your prep station. As you chop, throw scraps in this bowl.
This trick will help cook you faster in the kitchen because you won’t be going back and forth to throw things into the trash can every 2 minutes.
14. Boil things first
If your recipe involves boiling of any sort such as cooking pasta, rice, or potatoes, bring water to the boil first before prepping.
Another little trick to make the water come to a boil faster is by adding salt. Salt brings down the boiling temperature of the water, effectively making the boiling process faster.
15. Preheat the oven
Baking things? Preheat the oven first. Oven takes a while to heat, anywhere from 10-20 minutes depending on the temperature. Preheat before chopping, slicing, and mincing!
16. Start with a hot pan
When sautéing vegetables, or anything really, always make sure that the pan is hot. They’re actually a few steps:
1.Preheat the pan.
2.Add and heat oil.
3.Add vegetables.
Never add vegetables to a cold pan. Without getting into the specifics, heating the pan will make the cooking process much faster.
17. Add water
Sautéing vegetables usually requires oil. But if you want to speed things up and reduce the fat content of your dish a little, add a few tablespoons of water or vegetable stock to the pan.
This is what many chefs do in professional kitchens to not only cook faster in the kitchen but also to prevent overcooking.
18. Use your oven
If you find yourself cooking on the stovetop a lot, consider using the oven. I love roasting vegetables in the oven because the only active cooking step is prep. You don’t have to watch and stir anything.
Just throw things in one pan and roast it. It also allows for multi-tasking if you need to cook other things at the same time.
19. Use a lid
They are just some stubborn vegetables that take forever to cook! Bell peppers and asparagus, for example.
If you sautéing these vegetables, use a lid! Sauté for 2 minutes without a lid, then cover and cook until done. If you need the heat to escape, til the lid to leave it halfway open.
20. Make sheet pan meals
Have you heard of them? Basically, it’s when you throw a bunch of different ingredients onto one baking sheet to make a meal.
21. Cook in bulk
Thinking of making a buddha bowl for the week? Cook your grains in bulk for the week.
You can pair your grain with a variety of vegetables during the week, effectively saving time overall.
22. Double the recipe when you can
This simple trick will not only save you time but also allow you to take time off from the kitchen.
If you don’t get to eat everything you cooked, freeze it! Having meals in the freezer is one of the best ways to ensure you don’t go hungry when you’re short on time.
23. Keep things you use the most on the counter
Most recipes almost always require three things: oil, salt, and pepper. Keep them on the counter within reach. The best places are by your prep area or the stove.
Here’s how I keep them on my counter:
If you find yourself using other spices or ingredients (such as quinoa) often, keep them on the counter too!
24. Organize your spices
Love using spices? Get a spice rack and organize them in alphabetical order just like at a store! This will allow you to see which spices you have quickly and it will make cooking in the kitchen much faster.
I used to have all my spices in one cabinet, and it was very difficult to pull something quickly. Sometimes, I wound up buying a spice that I already had at home!
Here’s how I have my spices organized now:
25. Clean as you go
Don’t wait until you’re done cooking to clean dishes and put things away.
Clean during idle cooking times such as waiting for things to roast in the oven, waiting on the water to boil, and while sautéing.
As you can see, there are many ways in which you can cook faster in the kitchen. You can chop produce into smaller pieces, use a mandolin, or keep items you use the most on the counter among many things.
Pick three things that you can do right away and try them in the kitchen today.
The list of helpful FREE resources to help you cook faster in the kitchen:
My brand new cookbook is out on Amazon! It’s called “30-Minute Plant-Based Recipes” and it’s perfect for busy vegans. Grab it now!
Leave a Reply