No matter how experienced chef you are, there’s always room to improve when it comes to the little things. Put another way, there are always places where you can cut corners and make your life easier. Even if you’re a professional chef who cooks everything from a scratch or more of a convenience cook who microwaves a lot of meals, we have a great list for you. Without any further ado, here’s a list of 15 next-level cooking hacks to make your life in the kitchen a little bit easier.
1. Cook your pasta in a shallow pan of water instead of a pot to get dinner ready faster.
Although pasta dishes are an easy staple of any kitchen, it can be a pain to wait for the water to boil and the pasta to get soft. To speed up this process, get a saucepan and fill it with only about an inch of water and put your pasta in. This way, the water will boil faster and the pasta will cook sooner.
2. Similarly, you can boil pasta for one in the microwave!
This one might not always apply, but you can make a way smaller amount of pasta in the microwave if you don’t want to deal with clean-up and leftovers. Just put pasta in a microwavable container with water and cook, stirring every minute or so.
3. Take your meal prep to the next level by keeping bags of chopped onions in the freezer.
Onions will keep for a long time and everyone knows it’s a pain to peel and chop them for a recipe. If you ever have some extra time, get a bunch of onions, chop them all at once and put them in freezer bags so that when you need them, they’re ready to go.
4. Similarly, do the same thing with chicken breasts and marinade.
Buy a bunch of chicken breasts and some sauces. Throw the breasts in freezer bags with the sauces and freeze them. The chicken will naturally absorb the flavors and will be simple to thaw out and cook at a later date!
5. Lay a wet paper towel under your cutting board to keep it from sliding around while you’re cutting.
This isn’t a problem for everyone, but those using a plastic cutting board on a slippery counter may appreciate this tip.
6. Make and store your own cubes of herbed butter.
This is one of our favorites. Get an ice cube tray and chop up a bunch of your favorite herbs—think chives, parsley, thyme or whatever tickles your fancy. In each hole, throw in some chopped herbs and fill it with olive oil. Throw it in the freezer. Every time you’re about to sauté something and want to give it some kick, pop one of these cubes in the skillet!
7. Reheat your leftovers with a wet paper towel draped over them.
This one may be a no-brainer for some of you but not everybody knows it! Putting the paper towel over your food will basically steam it and help it from drying out.
8. For stickier ingredients, try lining your measuring cups with oil or cooking spray.
If you’re trying to accurately measure out a sticky ingredient like honey, it can be tricky not to lose any to the sides of the measuring cup itself. To solve that problem, spray your cup down before measuring out ingredients.
9. Crack your eggs on the counter, not on the edge of the bowl.
If you always get pieces of eggshell in your bowl when you’re mixing, it may be because you’re cracking your eggs on the edge of the bowl. Instead of doing that, try it on a flat surface to prevent the little pieces from cracking off. Not sure why this one works, but it seems to!
10. If you do happen to lose a little piece of eggshell in your bowl, wet your finger before taking it out.
Instead of fishing around in the bowl with a spoon or your hand, just dip the tip of your finger in water and then dip it in the bowl onto the piece of shell to easily take it out.
11. Consider investing in some salt and pepper pots to make measuring easier.
Whenever a recipe says you need “a pinch” of something, we usually over-salt or over-pepper it because we have to grind or sprinkle it in. If you have salt and pepper pots, this becomes a cinch.
12. Soften butter more easily by using a heated jar.
Trying to microwave butter to soften it sometimes turns out wrong and leaving it on the counter can be tiresome. Instead, try heating up a normal jar or glass and putting the cold butter under it. It should soften up in no time.
13. Wipe your knife with olive oil before mincing anything too finely.
Sometimes, mincing garlic or other fine herbs can be a pain when the pieces stick to your blade. To avoid this, wipe your knife down with a little bit oil to help them slide off.
14. Keep your brown sugar fresh and un-clumpy by storing it in the fridge.
As many of us may know, keeping brown sugar in the pantry sometimes leads to it getting stuck together and stale. The easy way to keep it all fresh is to seal it in a container and put it in the fridge!
15. Cut bell peppers without making a huge mess.
Although bell peppers are delicious, they can be a real pain to cut. To make it easier, use a sharp knife and snap the stem off. Put that part facing down and slice all around it, following the rounded parts. If done correctly, all the seeds and lining will still be stuck to the centerpiece, which you can throw away.
Do you have any more cooking tips to add? Let us know in the comments below.
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