These one pot meal tips can prepare you to meal prep amazing dishes that are easy to make and require little clean up. This doesn’t just mean soups and stews, one pan or sheet pan meals also count and these tips will help regardless of the cooking utensil.
One pot meals deliver deep flavors that are difficult to achieve with other methods. Since everything is cooked together the flavors build on each other and blend together to balance the flavor notes. Just because the flavors are blended into a single dish doesn’t mean that it’s simple. This is also a great way to incorporate ingredients that you don’t typically care for. A great one pot recipe maintains flavor notes from different major ingredients lending to every mouthful creating a journey of different taste bud experiences. With the right recipe and the right one pot meal tips, you can cook delicious dishes that taste like they require hours of work but are actually pretty easy.
Ingredients Tips For One Pot Meals
Every recipe benefits from fresh ingredients. In season ingredients are usually better tasting and cheaper. However this isn’t always possible so consider the impact on the overall flavor if the recipe calls for fresh ingredients. Frozen or dried can increase the intensity of the flavors or diminish them. This does require balance and tasting as you go, or testing different methods. Most one pot meals allow for tasting as you go or tend to be so quick and easy that testing variations can be quick.
Before you start cooking anything, prep your ingredients. One pot meals can go fast and some require a decent amount of prep for each ingredient. You don’t want to be rushing while your dish is over cooking. Cut vegetables, prep meats, layout herbs and spices. This step will also help avoid missing an important ingredient or timing.
The Right Pot For The Job
One of the most important one pot meal tips is to pick the right cooking pot, pan, or sheet pan for the dish. The last thing you want to do is choose a utensil that is too small for all of your ingredients. As you prep your ingredients you can measure the total ingredients and going a little bigger is always a safe choice. Also, while choosing recipes make sure you own or are prepared to buy the right cooking dish for the recipe. If you’re cooking a recipe that requires a wok you can get away with a pan but it won’t be the exact same. Even high sided sauté pans can make a big difference. You can usually make variations work but you may find yourself making it harder on yourself than it needed to be.
Pay attention to the recipe instructions for the pot lid. Also make sure you have a pot lid for your cooking utensil. Keeping the pot lid on will increase heat while removing the lid will remove moisture from the dish. This can be helpful if you’re trying to reduce stock and concentrate flavors however you can also find yourself drying out the dish which can sneak up on you. If this does happen, add more stock and you should be fine in most cases.
Cooking Tips For One Pot Meals
Now to start cooking your one pot meal. If your recipe includes a protein, brown the meat first. This lets you get a good sear on the meat that will maintain the integrity of the meat and trap in the flavors for a wonderful bite. Nobody wants a mushy, bland bite of beef or chicken. If you don’t start with this step you may add stock that will prevent a good sear or you’ll clutter up your pot making it difficult for the meat to lay on the bottom of the pot (the hottest part of the pot). However, follow the recipe when in doubt.
Depending on the recipe, you want to build flavors slowly. One pot meals benefit from a blending of flavors and expressing the flavors from each ingredient can take time. Don’t rush the process. Pay attention to cooking times in the recipe. There are one pot meals that can happen fast though. Wok recipes can cook very rapidly but building the flavors in the right order is still very important.
The next most important one pot meal tip is to add ingredients in the correct order. Good recipes will provide you with the order however the rule is to add ingredients in the order based on the cooking times that they need. If you go out of order you can turn the ingredient into a mushy mess or destroy the flavor. Many flavors are subtle and can’t handle prolonged heat. While other ingredients have flavors that change dramatically in heat. Some greens can become very bitter and will upset the dish. Tasting as you go can help you balance this but it’s very difficult to go backwards and remove ingredients after you’ve added them. Another great method is to add ingredients in layers. Layer ingredients based on cooking times with the longer cooking times at the bottom and the top layers being the most sensitive. This can also help if the recipe is a little vague on steps or if the prepared ingredients are cut in a different way than the recipe calls for. Thicker cut vegetables are easier on prep but will change the cooking times. Add green veggies last. These tend to cook fast and can only take a couple of minutes before becoming overcooked.
The stock you use in the meal can completely shape the whole dish or ruin it. If you can make your own stocks from quality ingredients this will produce a better more natural flavor. Using the bones from a chicken or fish is a great use of what is otherwise trash. They contain a ton of flavor but aren’t edible. When you use store bought stocks, which is a popular method since making and storing your own stocks is not always an option, be sure to check ingredients and manage salt levels. Store stocks tend to be saltier than necessary. Even more salty is stock cubes. Plenty of cooks hate stock cubes but there are many recipes that call for them and have already taken into consideration the addition of the salty flavors. Just make sure if you taste as you go and don’t add extra salt until you’re getting closer to the finished meal. It’s much easier to add salt than to remove it.
Final One Pot Meal Tips
There are many important ingredients that are common across many one pot meals. Keeping them in the kitchen is a great way to short cut your grocery shopping. Also, if you already have them then use them. Avoiding food waste is the best way to save money and the environment. This one pot meal tip can save you a ton of headache and money.
Beans: Many one pot meals call for beans since they add a hearty, healthy flavor to the dish as well as provide a good source of nutrients. Dried or canned beans are a great ingredient to keep in the pantry since they can last a very long time.
Sauces and Pastes: Many dishes from a cuisine use similar sauces and pastes which impart the flavor of the culture. Each cuisine tends to use different sauces and pastes and these are very hard to leave out of a dish and have it tasting how you wanted. These can also be quite pricey so pay attention to what you have in your pantry already and consider cooking recipes that call for the ingredients that you already have.
Herbs and Spices: These ingredients can be pricey and depending on the type can go bad quickly. Fresh herbs and spices don’t last as long while dried ingredients provide less flavor. If you do have fresh herbs or spices on hand, consider recipes that use them. If you’re using dried spices, be prepared to use more than the recipe calls for if the instructions use fresh ingredients.
