How Can I Save Time Cooking? (15 Pro-Chef Hacks)
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| Save Time Cooking |
It’s 6 PM on a Tuesday. You’re home from work, the kids are
hungry, and the dreaded question echoes through the house: "What's for
dinner?" For many busy professionals, working parents, and fitness
enthusiasts, this moment is filled with stress. You want to eat a
healthy, home-cooked meal, but you just don't have the hours to spend in the
kitchen.
As a chef with over a decade of experience, I can tell you
the secret isn't about magic shortcuts or complicated gadgets. It's about process.
Professional kitchens are all about efficiency, and you can bring that same
mindset into your home.
Saving time cooking isn't about cutting corners; it's about
being smarter with the time you have. It’s about turning a 60-minute recipe
into a 30-minute breeze. These 15 pro-chef hacks are designed to do just that,
helping you reclaim your evenings and still put a fantastic, healthy meal on
the table.
Part 1: The "Mise an Place" Mindset
If you take only one thing away from this article, let it be
this. Mise an place (pronounced meez-on-plahs) is a French
culinary term that means "everything in its place." It is the single
most important habit for saving time in the kitchen.
1. Master Your "Mise an Place"
Before you turn on a single burner, do everything
else. Read the entire recipe. Wash, peel, and chop all your vegetables. Measure
out all your spices into small bowls. Get the oil, salt, and pepper next to the
stove. When you start cooking, you're not scrambling to find the paprika while
your garlic burns. You're just... cooking. This transforms a chaotic process
into a calm, linear one.
2. Batch-Chop Your Aromatics
Most savory recipes start with a base of
"aromatics" think onions, garlic, celery, and carrots (a.k.a. mirepoix).
Don't chop one onion every night. On Sunday, chop 3-4 onions, a whole head of
garlic, and a few stalks of celery. Store them in separate airtight containers
in the fridge. They’ll last for days and will shave 5-10 minutes off every
single meal.
3. Create a "Speed Rack" in Your Fridge
Chefs have a "low-boy" fridge right next to their
station with all their prepped ingredients for the night. You can create a home
version. Dedicate one shelf or a specific bin in your fridge as your "Mise
en Place Zone." Put your batch-chopped aromatics, your washed lettuce, and
your pre-cooked grains all in this one spot. When it's time to cook, you just
grab the whole bin.
4. Read the Entire Recipe First
This sounds basic, but how many times have you gotten
halfway through a recipe only to read "marinate for 2 hours" or
"soak beans overnight"? Always read the recipe from start to finish before
you begin. This 30-second scan prevents catastrophic time-wasting errors.
Part 2: Smart Prepping & Planning
Efficiency starts long before dinner. A little planning goes
a long way.
5. Embrace "Component Prepping"
Full-on meal prep (cooking 5 identical meals in containers)
can be rigid and boring. Instead, try "component prepping." Just cook
the individual components.
- Grill
a big batch of chicken breasts.
- Roast
a sheet pan of mixed vegetables (broccoli, bell peppers, zucchini).
- Cook
a big pot of quinoa or brown rice.
- Make
one or two versatile sauces (like a vinaigrette or a yogurt-tahini sauce).
Now, you can "build" different meals all week. A
quinoa bowl on Monday, chicken tacos on Tuesday, a veggie-packed salad on
Wednesday. This is the secret to flexible meal prep, which we dive into more in
our Meal Prep & Plans section.
6. Use a "Flavor Bomb" Stash
Time-consuming recipes are often just building complex
flavor. You can shortcut this. Keep "flavor bombs" on hand to
instantly elevate a simple dish. My favorites are:
- A
jar of pesto (store-bought or homemade)
- Compound
butter (butter mashed with garlic, herbs, and lemon zest freeze in an ice
cube tray)
- Sun-dried
tomato paste
- A
tube of anchovy paste (it just adds savory depth, not fishiness!)
A simple piece of fish or chicken topped with a
"bomb" and baked tastes like it took hours.
7. Blanch and Shock Your Veggies
Want crisp, bright green veggies in 60 seconds? Blanch and
shock them. Drop vegetables like broccoli, green beans, or asparagus into
boiling, salted water for 1-2 minutes (blanching). Immediately scoop them out
and plunge them into a bowl of ice water (shocking). This stops the cooking.
Store them in the fridge, and they're ready to be tossed into salads,
stir-fries, or pasta at a moment's notice.
8. Cook Grains in Advance
Never cook just one cup of rice or quinoa. It takes the same
amount of time to cook three cups. Grains are the perfect base for quick meals.
Store the extra in the fridge for 3-4 days or freeze in portions. You can use
it for fried rice, grain salads, or as a simple side dish.
Part 3: Tools & Techniques of the Trade
You don't need a $10,000 stove. You just need to use your
tools like a pro.
9. Keep Your Knives Actually Sharp
This is the most counter-intuitive tip. A sharp knife is a fast
knife. It glides through food without resistance. A dull knife requires you to
saw and force, which is slow, frustrating, and dangerous. You don't need to be
a sharpening expert. A simple honing rod used weekly and a professional
sharpening once or twice a year is all you need.
10. Use a Bench Scraper
That simple $5 piece of flat metal? It's my most-used tool.
Stop using your knife to scoop and transfer chopped vegetables from the cutting
board to the pan. You'll dull your blade and it's terribly slow. A bench
scraper scoops up a whole pile of onions in one go. It's also great for
clearing your board and light-duty dough work.
11. Clean As You Go (The "CAY-Go" Method)
The 1 rule in every professional kitchen. Don't leave a
mountain of dishes for the end. Have a sink of hot, soapy water ready. While
the onions are sautéing (2-3 minutes), wash the cutting board and knife you
just used. While the pasta is boiling (8-10 minutes), wipe down the counter and
put the spice jars away. By the time dinner is ready, 90% of the cleanup is
already done.
12. Use Kitchen Shears for Everything
Stop using a knife and cutting board for small jobs. Kitchen
shears are faster.
- Snip
herbs (like chives or parsley) directly into the bowl.
- Cut
up bacon directly into the pan.
- Dice
canned tomatoes right in the can.
- Spatchcock
(split open) a chicken.
13. Master the One-Pan Meal
The ultimate time-saver is minimizing cookware. A sheet pan
dinner or a one-pot pasta means less prep, less active cooking, and virtually
no cleanup. The trick is to pair ingredients that cook at similar rates. (Need
ideas? Check out our Quick & Easy Recipes category for inspiration!)
Part 4: The Efficiency Mindset
Finally, a couple of simple habits that make a massive
difference.
14. Keep a "Garbage Bowl" on the Counter
Watch any TV chef. They all have one. Instead of walking
back and forth to the trash can with every onion peel, eggshell, and veggie
scrap, just sweep it into a large "garbage bowl" right on your
counter. Empty it once at the end. This simple habit saves dozens of tiny,
wasted trips across the kitchen.
15. Organize Your Pantry Like a Pro (FIFO)
FIFO stands for "First In, First Out." It's how
restaurants manage inventory. When you buy a new can of tomatoes, put it behind
the old one. This way, you always use the oldest items first. You'll stop
finding expired food, and you'll know what you have, which saves time on
last-minute grocery runs. Group-like items together (all spices, all grains,
all canned goods) so you can find them in seconds.
Your New Weeknight Workflow
Saving time in the kitchen isn't about one "hack."
It's about combining these small, consistent habits until they become second
nature.
Start small. This week, just focus on mastering your mise
en place. Next week, add in batch-chopping your aromatics and keeping a
garbage bowl. Soon, you'll find yourself moving around the kitchen with purpose
and calm. You'll be amazed at how much time you save, freeing you up to
actually enjoy your evenings.
Start Saving Time Tonight!
Ready to put these pro-chef hacks into action? To make it
even easier, I've created a FREE downloadable 15-Point Pro-Chef Efficiency
Checklist.
Pin it to your fridge, use it as your guide, and start
transforming your kitchen workflow tonight. Click the link below to get your
free checklist and reclaim your evenings!