6 big-batch stews
A good stew is mostly waiting. The work is a short stretch of chopping and browning at the start, and then the pot does the rest while you do something else.
CThe Cookpath kitchen9 min read · 6 recipes
Minestrone
- 1 htotal
- 24 gprotein
- 530kcal
- Intermediatelevel
- 8servings
Why it's here: Only 25 minutes of that is you; the rest it cooks on its own. Makes 8 servings, so it covers several days.
22 ingredients · 8 steps · 25 min hands-on
Made for leftovers: the recipe makes 8 servings at 530 kcal and 24 g of protein each. The vegetables and sausage soften into the tomato and stock as it sits, and the beans go in late so they hold their shape.
Keep the pasta separate and toss it with olive oil, so it does not drink the broth by day three. About an hour to cook, with 25 minutes of it hands-on.
Beef Stew
- 2 h 30 mintotal
- 45 gprotein
- 450kcal
- Intermediatelevel
- 6servings
Why it's here: The most protein on this list. 10 g of protein for every 100 kcal, which is very lean.
13 ingredients · 6 steps
A classic pot of beef, potato and carrot, with paprika, chilli and thyme giving it a warm edge. Each of the 6 portions has 45 g of protein and 450 kcal, and a stew this deep improves in the fridge.
Pat the beef dry and brown it a few pieces at a time, so it colours instead of steams. Then simmer for 1½ hours before the potatoes and carrots go in for the last 30 to 40 minutes. It is a 150-minute dish for a day at home.
One Pot Jambalaya
- 1 h 5 mintotal
- 45 gprotein
- 520kcal
- Beginnerlevel
- 6servings
Why it's here: The most protein on this list. Makes 6 servings, so it covers several days.
20 ingredients · 9 steps
Chicken, smoked sausage and shrimp in one pot with rice and Cajun seasoning, for 6 servings at 520 kcal and 45 g of protein. Because the rice cooks in the stew, it takes up all the flavour as it goes.
The last step is the one to keep: once the shrimp are cooked and the rice is tender, take it off the heat and let it sit for about 15 minutes so the flavours and liquid absorb. Leftovers reheat well.
Sausage Tortellini Soup
- 20 mintotal
- 36 gprotein
- 860kcal
- Beginnerlevel
- 6servings
Why it's here: The fastest one here. Makes 6 servings, so it covers several days.
16 ingredients · 6 steps
The quick one on a page of slow ones: 20 minutes, with sausage and fresh tortellini in a creamy tomato broth with spinach and cheddar. It makes 6 portions, 36 g of protein each.
Fair warning: tortellini keeps soaking up broth as it sits, so this is best on the first night. Brown the sausage for 2 to 3 minutes before the onion goes in, simmer the tortellini for about 5 minutes, and add the cheddar and spinach when it is nearly done.
Spicy Fish Stew (Chraime)
- 55 mintotal
- 30 gprotein
- 310kcal
- Beginnerlevel
- 6servings
Why it's here: 10 g of protein for every 100 kcal, which is very lean. Makes 6 servings, so it covers several days.
11 ingredients · 3 steps
A spicy fish stew in a deep red sauce of tomato paste, paprika, garlic and chilli, with 30 g of protein and 310 kcal a serving. It makes 6 portions.
Cook the garlic, chillies and spices in the oil first, add the tomato paste for about 3 minutes, then simmer with water before the fish goes in. Turn off the heat and pour the lemon juice over at the end. The sauce is the part that settles and deepens by day three.
Chicken Noodle Soup
- 40 mintotal
- 27 gprotein
- 410kcal
- Beginnerlevel
- 6servings
Why it's here: Makes 6 servings, so it covers several days.
12 ingredients · 6 steps
The soup you make for someone who is ill, or for yourself when you can feel it coming. Drumsticks, carrot, potato, celery and leek simmer in chicken stock and egg noodles finish it. It is 410 kcal and 27 g of protein, and makes 6 bowls.
Lift the drumsticks out once the vegetables are cooked, pull the meat off the bones and skin, and put it back. That is how you get shredded chicken without a separate step. The noodles keep drinking the stock as they sit, so add a splash more when you reheat it.
Stews are the best use of a cold evening because they ask for attention only at the beginning. Brown the meat, soften the onion, add the liquid and put the lid on. After that the time in the pot does what a recipe cannot: it turns tough cuts tender and blends everything into one flavour.
They also get better with age. A stew that has rested overnight tastes deeper than one served straight from the pot, because the flavours have had time to settle. That makes them ideal for cooking the day before you need them.
Every dish below makes enough for several meals. Eat one portion the day you cook, keep two in the fridge for the next few days, and freeze the rest in single boxes. A frozen stew thaws in a day in the fridge and heats in minutes.
Most cooked food keeps three to four days in the fridge. If you will not eat it by then, freeze it the same night rather than the day it is about to turn.
Three things that help
Meat that goes in grey stays grey. Give it room in the pan and let it colour before you stir; that colour is most of the flavour.
Stews thicken and settle overnight. Make one the day before you need it and reheat gently.
One-person boxes thaw in a day in the fridge. A whole pot takes three.
Every dish here is in the app with timers inside the steps, servings you can change and a shopping list that builds itself.
