Ideas for batch cooking and using oven less/cheapest way to cook

[middleager]

We are a family of two adults and two teens. I am vegetarian.

Our fuel bills always seem quite high and although our oven is electric, it's a very slow oven and at times I've had it on daily for over an hour etc. to cook dinner.

I'm looking for some ideas on how and what to batch cook and what would be the cheapest method of cooking that doesn't involve oven on daily? Does anybody know what the typical cost of having an oven on at say 200 degrees for an hour daily would be?

For example, does having the slow cooker on low all day work out cheaper than an airfryer for 30 mins?

Does batch cooking save a noticeable amount of energy? If so, why? I don't really understand batch cooking, how many portions to make etc. For example, if you are a family of four how many portions would you make/freeze?

We bought a pricey Ninja airfryer with two drawers, which we use for the teens' snacks. I've also bern microwaving jacket potatoes and crisping them in the airfryer, but if we eat different things then the airfryer can be on for an hour in total and I wonder if we may as well have put the oven on?

We have a slowcooker and a microwave, which we can use to cut costs.

My family are happy to eat veggie meals too, so any tips on quick, low cost meals that can be frozen and reheated will be great thanks.

Do you have a smart meter? If so, that will enable you to see which are the best/worst at using energy for cooking (assuming that other electrical devices are on at the same time.) It is possible to work out the costs of running each device for any given period of time but I'm afraid it's a bit beyond me.
I don't have all the devices you have but I do have a Remouska (from Lakeland) that I use so much and that does save me energy . I can do a roast for 2 in it in the time it takes my main oven to heat up.
Batch baking works because you'll have the oven on at any given temperature for any given length of time, so you might as well have things on all the shelves as on one. If it's a fan oven, heat will be the same in all parts of the oven, if not, it will be hotter at the top - so choose dishes to cook accordingly.
For the veggie meals my go to bible is a paperback book called The Bean Book by Rose Elliott and I believe it is on Amazon. It is brilliant. The recipes are so tasty, cheap and easy to make (and freeze)

Thanks loopy

I don't have a smart meter so can't gauge the output. Factoring in the oven warming up time is a good point - the airfryer heats up immediately, although the drawers are smallish. Sounds like you have a Halogen type oven? I've heard good reports about those too.

I will check out that book you mentioned. I am stuck in a rut of ratatouille and vegetable chilli.

The slow cooker is your friend here. We have a large one so can make double amounts if things like chilli or casserole and freeze the other half. Bulk out with rice or crusty bread if need be. What kind of things do you do in the oven, we might be able to suggest alternatives.

If I do have something going in the oven I’ll do some biscuits or muffins or something to use up the leftover space, or will put two meals in and use the other the following day. The trick is to use the oven only when you need to and then use it fully.

Thanks Jelly

In the oven I might cook vegetable lasagne/pasta bake, cheese and potato pie, meat/veg cottage pie.

I'm starting to think like this too. Until I looked into it a bit I had no idea how much electricity the oven used . Definitely fill it up as much as pos and freeze what you can to be reheated in the microwave.
I found this which is a useful comparison of energy uses across different devices

Probably not hugely suitable for vegetarians, but I find the bbq an incredibly economical way to cook. I use mine a lot, throughout winter for anything that would taste better grilled and only replace the gas bottle maybe 3 times a year at most which costs about £30. Lots of things for meat eaters obviously but also haloumi & veg skewers are great as is corn on cob.

Tiddle it feels like using the oven is a real energy drain..takes forever too in mine.

Ohsugar I only have a cheap standard BBQ, but love the idea of grilling at a minimal cost on a gas BBQ.

I am a bit puzzled as I make most meals using the hob rather than the oven - we have things like pasta, rice with curries, casseroles, stir fries, fish, etc.

I often pop stuff in the oven for convenience, while I'm working etc, so I don't have to keep stirring/checking as I do on the hob.

I make large things like casseroles, spag bol etc in the slow cooker and freeze half in portion sizes, I put everything in, potatoes etc and add things like the veg that doesn't take as long as I go.
If I cook a chicken or joint or a lasagne I also make a couple of trays of roast potatoes and freeze them, slightly undercooked and then freeze, defrost when wanted and put them in the oven for 5/10 mins with Yorkshire puds so they are crispy rather than soggy when reheated - could you use the air fryer for that? (I don't have one).
Basically I fill the oven up with whatever I can (joints of meat, a chicken, lasagne, roasties etc) when I need to use it to get the full use! And if I'm using the slow cooker I cook twice the amount (or more, there's two of us here) and freeze what's left.
I use microwave veg and rice packs to add to meals, if I can.
Pasta doesn't freeze very well 🤢 so I cook the whole bag, add what we want with it for that meal and then use the rest up on lunches or another dinner with a different mixer.

Thanks - I will try filling the oven next time.

Have heard yorkies don't do well in air fryers, but could maybe oven bake then crisp up in there after freezing.