As we approach the autumnal months, many are getting ready to hunker down with some hearty home-cooked meals. But while longer cooking times can make meals that are good for the soul, the energy these dishes use isn’t beneficial for the planet.
It’s important to evaluate all areas of our lives to see how to save energy where we can, but this doesn’t mean we need to compromise on our comfort meals. Rather than forgoing hot dishes completely, one of the best ways we can save energy is to look at how we’re cooking our favourite recipes, and understand which kitchen appliances use much less energy than others.
In a bid to help people use less energy on their favourite dishes, 100Green have looked at the top searched recipes and suggest some alternative ways they can be made.
How much energy do our appliances use?
When it comes to our kitchen, not all appliances are built as equal.
Did you know that the typical electric hob uses 1.7kWh of energy every hour that it’s in use?
Meanwhile, the average electric oven consumes between 2 and 2.2 kWh for every hour it's being used on a medium-to-high heat. That's the equivalent of your fridge running for over 7 hours!
Whilst most air fryers use between 1.4 and 1.7kWh of energy per hour, which may seem on par to a hob or oven, air fryers will typically have a shorter cooking time than oven-based recipes, making them a great way to save energy and time.
If you have time to plan out your cooking, a slow cooker can also be a great way to save on your energy bills. Although they require a long time to cook, they use very little energy, even going as low as 50 to 300 watts (0.05 - 0.3 kWh).
The top recipe swaps to save energy
Lasagne
Among the top-searched recipes was lasagne, a classic Italian pasta dish made of alternating layers of pasta, cheese and fillings.
With an average of 77,000 searches each month, this meal is a hugely popular choice when it comes to dinner time.
For a traditional lasagne recipe, you’re looking at a cooking time of 3 hours and 10 minutes, totalling around 5.78 kWh of energy. This includes cooking a sauce on your hob for around 2 hours, followed by an hour in the oven, until your dish is brown and bubbling.
A simple alternative for cooking this classic dish is to opt for a slow cooker, totalling 1.025 kWh energy usage for the whole recipe.
For this easy lasagne recipe, all you need is a non-stick pan and some time for your slow cooker to work its magic.
Click here for the full recipe and ingredients
1. Simply heat your oil and fry your onions, celery, carrots and garlic for 10 mins, add your meat, canned chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, bouillon, balsamic vinegar, thyme and black pepper, and cook for 5 more minutes.
2. Layer half of your mince into the slow cooker and top with half the lasagne, then top with the rest of the meat and pasta.
3. While this cooks on low, combine your milk and flour in a pan, adding the bay leaf and nutmeg, continuously whisking until the sauce has thickened.
4. Remove your bay leaf and stir in the cheese. You can then pour this onto your pasta in your slow cooker, and cover and cook for 3 hours until cooked through.
This low maintenance way of cooking can save you 4.758 kWh off of your energy usage.
If you’re one of the many households who have lasagne on your weekly dinner roster, switching to this slow cooker recipe could save you 247.41 kWh each year.
Chilli Con Carne
With “chilli con carne recipe” garnering an average of 45,000 searches each month, this is another recipe that is proving increasingly popular in kitchens around the world.
While the traditional hob recipe will cook this recipe in an hour, if you have extra time, your slow cooker can save you 0.217 kWh for this meal.
Click here for the full recipe and ingredients
1. A ‘low and slow’ recipe, you simply need to brown your mince in a pan, and fry your onion, celery and pepper until softened before adding your garlic, cumin and paprika.
2. You then combine all the above in your slow cooker, stirring in the oregano, chipotle pasta, tomato puree, tomatoes and stock.
3. Let this cook for 6 hours minimum, stirring in your beans and chocolate during the final 30 minutes of cooking.
This slow cooker chilli con carne recipe should use around 1.483 kWh of energy to make.
Toad in the hole
If you find yourself low on time, an airfryer can be the perfect way to save yourself a couple of hours in the kitchen. But with seemingly endless air fryer recipes and hacks, you may find yourself asking “What can I cook in an air fryer?”
It may come as a surprise, but you can actually tackle the traditional British dish, toad in the hole, with your airfryer.
With an oven recipe totalling 45 minutes of cooking time and using 1.575 kWh of energy, the airfryer alternative takes just 15 minutes to cook and saves you 1.187 kWh of energy when making!
Click here for the full recipe and ingredients
1. For your toad in the hole, simply heat your oil in a dish in your airfryer, add your chipolatas and cook for 3 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, mix your flour, egg, milk and a pinch of salt to form a batter.
3. Once this is combined, simply pour this into your hot dishes and cook for another 10 minutes until golden brown.
Be prepared to get plenty of compliments for the chef!
It's time for dessert!
Banana bread
A hugely popular dessert, banana bread recipes are searched around 170,000 times each month.
With an oven cooking time of 50 minutes, a traditional banana bread will use around 1.75 kWh of energy to make. However, for those looking for an easy banana bread recipe that can save you energy - look no further than your air fryer!
Click here for the full recipe and ingredients
1. According to the recipe, you simply oil your loaf tin and line it with baking parchment, and then heat your air fryer to 160C.
2. Combine your oil, sugar, flour, baking powder and eggs in a bowl. Mash your bananas and add to your batter. You can then mix in your chocolate chips and half of your pecans.
3. Pour your mixture into your mixture tin and top with the rest of your pecans.
4. Bake for 45 mins - 1 hour and viola!
This simple version will save you around 0.2 kWh.
Apple Crumble
As autumn approaches, there is nothing better than an apple crumble with some custard or ice cream. And with 66,000 searches each month, it’s clear this is a particular favourite when it comes to homemade desserts.
While a usual recipe will take 40 minutes to cook, and use up 1.4 kWh of energy, cooking this dish in your air fryer can take just 20 minutes and save 0.88 kWh off of your energy usage.
Click here for the full recipe and ingredients
1. After heating your air fryer up to 180C. Put your apples, cinnamon, sugar and dried fruit in a heatproof dish with 2 tablespoons of water. Cover and cook this for 10 minutes.
2. While this cooks, rub the butter into the flour, stir in sugar, oats and salt to form a bread-crumb like dough.
3. Stir your apple mixture, and then layer your crumble on top. Cook this for 10 more minutes until your crumble is golden brown.
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Whether you’re putting together the dinner party menu of your dreams, or looking to hunker down with some cosy home cooked recipes, we hope these energy saving recipes will hit the spot.
For more ways you can make sustainable and cost-saving changes to your lifestyle, check out our other guides:
• Simple swaps to lead a more sustainable lifestyle
• How to grow a sustainable garden
• Are you making these recycling mistakes?
Methodology
Recipes used from:
Lasagne:
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/lasagne / Energy used - Hob = 3.683 kWh + Oven = 2.1 kWh = 5.783 kWh
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/slow-cooker-lasagne / Energy used - Electric hob = 0.425 kWh + Slow cooker = 0.6 kWh = 1.025 kWh
4.758 x 52 = 247.416 kWh
Chilli con carne:
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/chilli-con-carne-recipe / Energy used - 1.7 kWh
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/slow-cooker-chilli-con-carne / Energy used - Electric hob = 0.283 kWh + Slow cooker = 1.2 kWh = 1.483 kWh
Toad in the hole:
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/sams-toad-hole / Energy used - 1.575 kWh
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/air-fryer-toad-in-the-hole / Energy used - 0.387 kWh
Banana bread:
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/brilliant-banana-loaf / Energy used - 1.75 kWh
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/air-fryer-banana-bread / Energy used - 1.55 kWh
Apple crumble:
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/best-apple-crumble / Energy used - 1.4 kWh
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/air-fryer-bramley-apple-crumble / Energy used - 516 watts
Search data taken from ahrefs, dated 09/08/2024
Search terms used:
“Lasagne recipe” - 77k average searches each month
“Chilli con carne recipe” - 45k average searches each month
“Toad in the hole recipe” - 28k average searches each month
“Banana bread recipe” - 170k average searches each month
“Apple crumble recipe” - 66k average searches each month