Before we get to the tip, let’s get something out of the way. Is quick better? Not necessarily. Is cooking hard? Rarely the doing of it is difficult, though sometimes it’s hard to make the time to do it.
That said, I get it. There are days where we just want to put a meal on the table with a minimum of time and effort. So it’s on those days where I lean on what I’ve already prepared. And there’s usually plenty to choose from.
Why? Because—and here comes the tip—it’s not twice the effort to make twice the recipe.
Which is to say, when you are making something, make extra. Because doubling or even tripling a recipe doesn’t take double or triple the time. It takes a little more time, but not as much as making the whole thing all over again. So make a small investment now and it’ll pay you back later.
With interest.
Take this Halibut and Potatoes with Cilantro-Scallion Salsa, absolutely delicious and amazing as-is. But maybe you double the salsa, and then dribble what you don’t use tonight on top of tomorrow’s steak, chicken, roasted vegetables, or soup. Presto change-o—that otherwise simple food is now something delightful and delicious you quickly and easily made for dinner.
Or maybe you double the potatoes, then have the extras on a bed of arugula topped with a fried egg for breakfast, lunch, or breakfast-for-dinner.
You can double the halibut and enjoy the surplus as a fish sandwich. Or broken into hunks on top of a salad. (Almost any time I cook a protein I do this, since a yummy salad with a few hunks of protein is one of my favorite meals.)
Or double all three!
The fact that it’s not twice the effort to make twice the recipe is especially satisfying with things that take a minimum of chopping and cutting. In other words, for recipes that are mostly about measuring, mixing, and cooking, which takes hardly any extra time to do with a doubled recipe.
So when you’re making cookies, for example, double the dough and then bake off half. Freeze the remainder, portioned into balls. And the next time you need—or want :)—cookies warm from the oven, all you have to do is bake.
I always double muffin, scone, granola, and bread recipes, since they’re all in heavy breakfast rotation. Double now means it’s twice as long before I need to make them again.
It might sound like I’m talking about leftovers. But that’s not quite it—I’m talking about purposeful extras that are like money in the bank.
A little savings now, a lot of quick, easy cooking later.
Related reading
Things to consider when doubling a recipe
Tips for how long you can freeze things and what kinds of foods are the best for freezing
