Time-Saving Food Hacks Everyone on Reddit Swears By

These food hacks prove you don’t need fancy gadgets to save time in the kitchen.

Key Points:

• Redditors revealed their go-to kitchen hacks that save time and effort.
• Making a menu, cooking in batches, or chop-and-store can help you plan dinner without stressing out for hours in the kitchen. 
• Once you sort your cooking for a week or more, you can easily focus on other things. 

Cooking doesn’t have to eat up your whole evening. Sometimes the best hacks are so simple, you can’t believe you weren’t already doing them. A reader in the r/foodhacks Reddit thread asked people to share their go-to shortcuts in the kitchen, and the answers were full of clever tricks that make everyday meals faster and way less stressful. 

Chop and Store 

One clever trick that many people liked was:

“I happen to find it very zen-ish to chop many fruits and veg at a time. I might cut 3 onions in 3 different ways depending on the week's menu.”

For some, chopping is the most boring part of cooking. However, if you do it immediately and store it, then you can prepare your favorite meals at any time.

Chopping vegetables all at once means you only cry over onions once, and the rest of the week, you’re grabbing baggies of ready-to-use ingredients. It depends on the type of vegetable, but if you keep them in airtight containers, you can keep cut veggies in the fridge for a few days.

Freeze Onions

Who loves chopping onions? We are sure that we all dislike it, and many Reddit readers share the same opinion, but there is a solution. As one reader said:

“Frozen chopped onions are my favourite hack. Saves time, easy to break into chunks, cooks fine straight into a pan, plus I only have to chop once and not weep like I'm watching the end of Paddington 2 every time I cook.”

Freezing chopped onions not only keeps them ready for quick meals but also spares you the tears. They cook just as well straight from the freezer, perfect for whatever dish you’re making. You can also fry onions in batches, let them cool, and store them at room temperature or freeze them for later use. 

Make a Menu

We heard it several times to plan ahead and make a menu. It is not only great for cooking, but it can also save you a lot when doing grocery shopping. Reddit users recommend planning a menu for a week.

“Make a menu. Decide what you're making next week before you go shopping, so when meal time comes around there's no "I want to cook X but I'm missing Y ingredient" then you have to cast around for some kind of substitute or change the meal entirely.”

By creating a weekly menu before shopping, you avoid the dreaded moment of realizing you’re missing a key ingredient. Instead, you have got everything on hand and no more wondering what is for dinner. It’s also helpful when you have guests over. 

Batch Cook, Vacuum seal, and Freeze

“I probably cook 2-3 meals fresh every week, otherwise it's coming out of the freezer, and I'm heating up some steam-in-the-bag veggie as a side”.

By preparing a few meals in bulk, sealing them, and freezing them, you’ll always have dinner ready to go. Pair it with quick sides like steam-in-the-bag veggies, and you’re basically eating home-cooked food every night without spending hours in the kitchen. Whether it’s ground beef, chicken, or something else, you can make anything you like, and you’re good for days. 

One Pot Meals

Another great life-saving tip from the readers is one-pot meals.

“Frozen chopped vegetables and my rice cooker one pot meals”

The one-pot meals are your answer to quick and delicious dinners. You can toss frozen veggies, your choice of seasoning, or grains, and let them cook in one pot. You’ll have an easy and tasty dinner without putting in much effort. 

Smart Cookers

“Smart cookers with timers. Throw stuff in the pot, leave for work, then come home to delicious Irish stew, dirty rice, biryani, lamb curry, etc.”

With smart cookers and timers, you load the pot before heading out, and by the time you’re home, dinner has basically cooked itself. From stews to curries, there are many things you can cook. Instant Pot or Crock-Pot are some of the good options you can invest in. 

But Wait, There’s More..

• “Air fryer”! Seriously, it’s a lifesaver.
• “Make a soup or stew on Sunday night and heat it for dinner over the next several days.” Of course, if you have an appetite for it.
• “I make a quiche or frittata / slice it 8 ways and have breakfast for a week.” No more stressing over ‘what to eat for breakfast or for a quick snack’.
• “Leftovers”. A lifesaver for those busy days when you don’t feel like cooking. 
• “Fresh fruit & vegetables. It is cheaper, healthier, easier, quicker.” Why not? Not everybody likes to eat meat. 

At the end of the day, these hacks are there to make life easier. Slice your onions and freeze them. Cook in batches so you don’t have to worry about dinner anymore, and use smart cookers to cook easy and quick meals. Honestly, do what it takes to lessen your burden.

And that’s the whole point: less time stressing in the kitchen, more time actually enjoying the food.