40+ Shameless (But Brilliant) "Lazy" Cooking Hacks That Save Time and Effort in the Kitchen

If you’re anything like us, then you hate to cook but love to eat. Unfortunately, in order to enjoy a delicious meal, it’s necessary to pay your dues in the kitchen. Luckily, there are some genius cooking hacks that can make food prep a lot easier and go a lot faster. Here are 40+ brilliant tricks for the shamelessly lazy chef who still wants quality meals!

A Quick and Healthy Snack

Sometimes, you just can't be bothered to make a proper snack. Or maybe you're rushing to work and don't have time to cook a nutritious breakfast. Either way, this hack will have you covered!

Reddit // u/blackdressflatchest

Simply pour some oats into an almost-empty jar of peanut butter. It's delicious, healthy, quick, and easy to make, and it'll ensure that you're not wasting those last peanut butter drops. If you've got some extra time and you're feeling fancy, you can add fruit or nuts to the jar, as well.

Have Garlic Ready to Go

Most tasty dishes require fresh garlic, which can be a total pain to peel and chop. Not to mention that your hands will smell like garlic for the remainder of the day. This hack requires some prep work at the get-go but it'll save you tons of effort later on.

kathleenashmore

Get a whole bunch of garlic, peel and chop it, and simply throw it all into an ice tray before popping it into the freezer. That way, the next time you need some garlic, it'll be ready to go!

Buy One Chicken for Everything

In order to have enough chicken for all sorts of dishes, simply buy one large rotisserie chicken. You can then cut off chunks of it and use them for several days - even a week! Want a chicken salad? No problem, you already have the chicken ready to go!

Shutterstock // Vova Shevchuk

Fancy some chicken soup? No need to cook the chicken chunks, just throw them in with some broth and your favorite soup vegetables! Why prepare separate food each day when you can just get one big, multi-purpose chicken once a week?

Fake a BBQ With Smoked Paprika

If you love the flavor of barbequed food but don't want to spend hours by the grill, there's one simple spice that'll solve that problem. Cooking smoked paprika into your food will give it that rich and heavy flavor reminiscent of a BBQ.

valentinascorner

Is it exactly the same thing as a meal that's been on the grill? Unfortunately, no. Is it an excellent substitute for someone who doesn't like barbecuing or lacks the space for a big grill at home? Absolutely!