Oven meatballs and roast roots for five lunch boxes

These oven meatball batch boxes are Sunday cooking for the school or work week: one tray of baked meatballs and one tray of roast roots, portioned into five boxes. The meatballs use the other half of the mince pack from our half-mince, half-bean family chilli, stretched with porridge oats.

Because the meatballs bake, both trays cook at the same time and nobody has to stand at the hob turning them.

Ingredients for the meatball batch boxes

Meatballs

• 250 g minced beef or pork
• 40 g porridge oats
• 1 egg
• 1 small onion, finely grated
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• Salt and pepper

Roast roots and greens

• 600 g sweet potato or carrots, or a mix, cut into chunks
• 1 red onion, cut into wedges
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 200 g green beans, broccoli or frozen peas
• 1 tin (400 g) chopped tomatoes, for an optional sauce

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan, gas 6). Toss the roots and onion with the oil and a pinch of salt on one tray and roast for 40 minutes, turning once.
2. In a bowl, mix the mince, oats, egg, grated onion, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper with your hands. Roll into 20 balls about the size of a walnut.
3. Place the meatballs on a second, lightly oiled tray and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until cooked through with no pink left in the middle.
4. Meanwhile, steam or boil the greens for 3 to 4 minutes, then cool them under cold water. If you want a sauce, simmer the tomatoes with a pinch of salt for 10 minutes.
5. Let everything cool, then divide between five boxes: four meatballs each with roots and greens, and the sauce in a small pot if using.

Budget swaps

• Half the mince can be replaced with a drained tin of lentils, lightly mashed, mixed in at step 2.
• Oats in place of breadcrumbs bind the mixture just as well, and most cupboards already have them.
• Frozen greens often cost less per serving out of season and cool quickly for packing.
• Pork or beef? Check the unit price on the day; either works here.

Storage and leftovers

Keep three boxes in the fridge for up to 3 days and freeze the other two on the day you cook. Defrost frozen boxes overnight in the fridge and reheat until piping hot all the way through. If you want a meat-free box for part of the week, leftover sweet potato and chickpea tray bake keeps for 3 days in the fridge and can be eaten cold.