Tom Kerridge’s tips for budget cooking

Chef Tom Kerridge is on a mission to make cooking easy meals accessible to us all, whatever our budget. Here Tom, who’s teamed up with footballer Marcus Rashford to offer a recipe a week on Instagram in their Full Time Meals project, reveals some of his top tips for budget cooking.

Get creative with cheap frozen ingredients

The fish finger sandwich, a national favourite, is one of the recipes on offer from the duo. But what other frozen ingredients does Tom recommend?

You can do so much with a bag of frozen peas, and Tom loves smashed peas on toast, a quick and healthy lunch or snack. He also recommends using them in pasta dishes – add a bit of ham, a spoonful of cream cheese with a splash of pasta cooking water for a speedy sauce, he says.

Frozen spinach is also in Tom’s freezer must-haves. He suggests defrosting it and then mixing it with feta cheese for a quick, delicious sandwich.

A bag of frozen veg (or fruit) is another great staple. Frozen veg can be even more nutritious than fresh, is cheap, and you avoid having to throw away tired leftover veg.

Make a boil-in-the-bag omelette

You’ve probably heard of boil-in-the-bag rice, but how about a boil-in-the-bag omelette? It’s one of Tom’s must-cook dishes, and there’s hardly any washing up! Put your eggs and fillings, such as grated cheese or chopped ham, into a sturdy sealable plastic freezer bag, squeeze the air out and seal it. Squash to mix everything together well, then simmer in water for 10 minutes. Wash up the bag and you can use it again! We made it at BBC Food, and you can find the recipe below.

You can make lots of delicious dishes with potatoes

Tinned potatoes are among Tom’s favourite budget ingredients. Why not try using them for his frittata?

Hash browns made from fresh potatoes are a simple, cheap treat at any time of day – so it’s no surprise they’re in Tom’s top budget recipes. Serve them for tea, pop them in your lunchbox or snack on them straight from the fridge.

Sweet potatoes cooked in the microwave “make perfect mash”, says Tom, as they “cook incredibly [and] go soft and sweet”. Now that sounds like a mash made in heaven! Serve them in place of the mash in Tom’s budget sausage and mash recipe.

Make a cheat’s stir-fry

Tom’s got a great tip for the easiest ever ‘stir-fry’ – and you only need a kettle to cook it! Just pour hot water over noodles and thinly chopped veg and leave for 15 minutes, or until they’re soft. To make the sauce, mix together a dash of soy sauce and a spoonful of peanut butter for a simple satay, then stir it in and you’ve got your dinner!

Final tips from Tom

Veg stock cubes and a tin of leek and potato soup are two of Tom's store-cupboard essentials. But his most important tip? “Keep it simple and don’t over think it. And read through the recipe before you start.”

Marcus Rashford and Tom Kerridge will post 52 cooking tutorial videos for easy recipes on the Full Time Meals Instagram page over the next year, with recipe cards also available in supermarkets, schools and food banks.