Matt Preston’s guide on how to batch cook savoury mince - Food Files

Feb 27, 2026

Money is still too tight to mention, and so this year, we’re increasing the focus on cheaper, easier and better ways to feed your family.

Central to this, we’ll be looking at how the current craze of batch cooking can help, and how to make cheaper (and often less trendy) ingredients a whole heap more bougie.

At its most basic, batch cooking is as simple as freezing leftovers – but it really earns that title if you intentionally cook a lot extra for later use. That’s fine if you’ll be happy eating a favourite dish once a week (like bolognese), but I also like to cook a protein foundation which I can then customise for a number of different dishes. Think ‘boy kibble’ – the protein-heavy take on ‘girl dinner’ that’s trending with gym fanatics on TikTok – but so much better. The aim is to reduce cooking time by pre-preparing the time-consuming foundations that can be used across a selection of dishes.

Three key tips for batch cooking

Take savoury mince. Whether bolognese, chilli con carne or a cottage pie, the most time-consuming part is cooking down the onions and garlic and browning the mince. Once you’ve got that base, you can customise it with other ingredients later on. There are three key tips to remember:

1. Firstly make enough of your base to cover a number of dishes. This means you’ll cook more mince than usual, so ensure that you have big enough pot to fit it all.

2. Next, make sure to split the mince across a number of containers or zip lock bags, in portion sizes that reflect the number of people you’ll be feeding with each serve.

3. Finally, remember to date and name each package, and set a reminder in your diary to use them within a few weeks.

Cheat's Dan Dan noodles

The basics of batch cooking mince

Remember to keep things pretty neutral with you mince here, so it can morph later. Start with a mirepoix of two parts chopped onions (think two diced onions for every 500g mince), one part diced carrot and one part diced celery. Cook the onion until translucent and soft, then add a minced clove of garlic for every 150g mince. Add and brown your mince. Loosen with some suitable stock so the mince moves like wet sand. That’s your foundation done. When it’s cooled, it can be packed and frozen, ready for customising later.

How to season mince for maximum flavour

Using the mince is as simple as letting it fully defrost, then adding the flavourings for any number of favourite mince dishes. Think bolognese, cottage pie or chilli con carne (lots of cumin is the secret to a good San Antonio chilli). Or the retro favourite of Aussie Greek mince, with dill, dried oregano and lemon, crumbled with decent lumps of feta. Our foundation mince can be used for a host of Chinese dishes, from Sichuan-style dan dan noodles to my non-traditional ‘Ants Climbing A Tree’, with long green beans fried until they soften and skins blister. And Indian keema, flavoured with cardamom pods, a whack of garam masala, and a small piece of cinnamon.