What have your lunches looked like this week?
Planning lunch and dinner at home recently has seemed non-stop. Last week, things got so busy that I’m pretty sure I had cheese and tomato sandwiches every single day.
So I’ve come up with a solution: delicious, freezable recipes you can meal prep and rely on all week long. And because we all need a Sunday, even when we’re staying home, none take longer than 45 minutes.
Quick to make, easy to eat, full of nutrients and the perfect toastie partner. Freeze a big batch of these for weekday lunches, or if you’re feeling under the weather.
Minted Pea Soup With Cheese & Bacon Toasties
This soup’s full of green goodness and classic Springtime flavours. Whack your toastie maker on while it’s reheating, and serve up a toastie and soup in no time.
Click here for the 30 min recipe
Hot Red Pepper Soup & Cheese Melts
Meet Cream of Tomato‘s spicy cousin. Heat up your lunchtimes with this roasted pepper, onion and tomato soup with a kick from cayenne pepper. Served with the requisite cheese toastie, of course.
Click here for the 35 min recipe.
Indian Spiced Carrot & Lentil Soup
The warming curry spices, satisfying lentils and zingy squeeze of lime leaves supermarket pots of soup in the dust. Wait until you’re reheating the soup to add your spinach, so it’s only just wilted when serving.
Click here for the 20 min recipe.
Got a big bag of lentils gathering dust in your pantry? Perfect.
These versatile, protein-rich pulses go well with meat and work as a meat replacement.
Cheesy Aubergine Lentil Moussaka
When you need extreme comfort food. Prep time takes 35 min, then just bake from frozen ‘til it’s golden brown and oozing with cheese. Next time this is just a freezer door away, remember to thank me.
Click here for the recipe.
Two lentil dal spiced aubergine
This velvety vegan lentil stew is the perfect antidote to a long day, and so easy to scale too. Great on its own, or with some rice.
Click here for the 45 min recipe.
For lunch this week, the plan is: not to plan ahead. Hopefully I’ll have some of these pasta sauces (that aren’t just for pasta) in my freezer.
Walnut & Cheddar Pesto Chicken Bulgur
A big batch of pesto doesn’t just have to be for pasta, and this sauce takes about 5 minutes to prep. Chicken, vegetables, bulgur – you name it, you can put pesto on it (probably).
Click here for the recipe.
Red pepper and sausage pasta with garlic crumb
This addictive sauce is simple and delicious. Quadruple batch = mandatory.
Click here for the 30 min recipe.
There’s something about midweek that has me reaching for that takeaway menu. These curry recipes pack all that convenient flavour, homemade in your own kitchen.
Chicken tikka masala
Step away from the takeaway. This much-better tikka masala is waiting in your freezer.
Click here for the 25 min recipe.
Palak Paneer & Spinach Curry, Cardamom Rice
My favourite meat-free curry has to be this one. It has a rich and fragrant gravy, golden brown paneer and crispy onions.
Click here for the 20 min recipe.
Thai Beef Meatball Massaman Tray Bake
Baking, not frying the meatballs, and using red curry paste, helps speed this creamy curry up.
Click here for the 45 min recipe.
Flavourful stews are perfect in a pinch. Like on Thursday night, when finishing that pile of work between now and the weekend seems impossible.
Green & Black’s Chicken Mole
Gousto streamlined the ingredients for this signature spicy-smoky sauce from Mexico, and created a 35-minute recipe too. Don’t worry, it still involves lots of chocolate.
(No chipotle paste? Try adding 1 tbsp of tomato paste, 1 tbsp cider vinegar and 1 tsp of smoked paprika and/or cayenne pepper.)
Click here for the 35 min recipe.
West African Maff-Style Chicken Stew
The addition of peanut butter is what’s so unique about this Senegalese-inspired stew. If you can’t find ras el hanout, use a third each of smoked paprika, ground ginger and coriander as a substitute. It only takes half an hour, but tastes like it’s been slow cooked all day.
Click here for the 30 min recipe.
It’s been a long week. For this Friday night in, dinner better bring a party of flavours in my mouth. These Gousto twists on British classics tick that box.
Moroccan-inspired shepherd’s pie
Shepherd’s pie is excellent maybe… once a week. This fragrant, vibrantly spiced Moroccan version with fibre-rich sweet potato is incredible all week long.
(No sumac? Add the zest of a lemon.)
Click here for the 45 min recipe.
Simple Smoked Fish Florentine
Enough with fish pie already! As much as I love those creamy, mashed-potato-ey bakes, they’re due a swap. To this. A lightened up, smoky fish florentine with everything you love about pie – just fewer steps and ingredients.
Click here for the 45 min recipe.
A rich ragù is a magical thing. It doesn’t take a lot of ingredients, tastes so deliciously indulgent, and it stars in classic comfort foods like lasagne and spaghetti bolognese, making it a bellissimo sauce to batch cook.
Bolognese Ragù with Pappardelle
Only 45 minutes. Still rich and flavourful.
Click here for the 45 min recipe.
10-Min Spag Bol
Or if you’re in a pinch, this fast-track version is full of flavour and is ready in (nearly) an instant.
Click here for this speedier 10 min recipe.
Big Flavour Beef Lasagne
Life’s always better when there’s a lasagne in the freezer. Cover and stick it in the freezer before the oven stage, and when you need it most: Bake until bubbling and golden.
Click here for the 45 minute recipe
Finished everything in the freezer?
Time to top up your stash and cook more recipes for the week to come. Or if you have enough prepped already, congrats: you’ve got Sunday off!
Batch cooking may seem like a faff, but these recipes prove it doesn’t take hours. It’s cooking on your terms, having choice at your fingertips, saving time in the week whilst still eating well.
Wondering where these recipes came from? You can find all our delicious, tried and tested recipes on the Gousto Cookbook.
