Preparing dishes for baon can be a mad rush in the morning, but with a few make-ahead preparations the night before, you can make mornings stress-free. While there’s nothing wrong with packing leftover adobo, caldereta, or menudo, for those days you can’t stand to have leftovers, here are baon ideas that will help save your sanity when making baon every day:
Pasta
Whether you love a meaty pasta sauce Bolognese-style or a light aglio olio, you can make the pasta sauce ahead and toss in cooked pasta. The best part of this make-ahead baon idea is that it’s easy to mix and match. A big batch of sauce can be tossed into your preferred pasta shape. Get creative with freshly cooked twists and colored bow ties apart from the usual noodles and macaroni then toss in prepared cream pesto sauce, tomato meat sauce, or a creamy carbonara sauce before packing.
Chili Con Carne
If you want to take a break from Pinoy food for baon, a chili dish is a great idea to prep ahead and freeze in portions. It’s just like a stew but it’s even easier since there’s no tenderizing involved when you use ground meat and you can customize the flavor of it to suit your taste. Just cook and store until ready to reheat and pack with some steamed rice or crackers.
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Burgers
The great thing with burgers is that you can make these ahead of time, freeze them, and then when ready simply fry until cooked through. Better yet, smaller versions of the same meat mixture can be made into meatballs. Make both and you have even more baon options. Once it’s time to pack, the fun part begins. You can either serve it like a classic burger, between two slices of bread, or serve it steak style, complete with an easy-to-cook mushroom gravy.
Embutido
Who says embutido is only for the holidays? It’s a great dish that you can easily fry in the morning, but what makes it a great baon meal idea is 3 things: it’s already cooked, it makes a big batch, and you can keep it frozen until you need to start cooking. In fact, since it’s already cooked, on a morning that’s particularly rushed, you can actually opt not to cook it and pack it so it can be microwaved at the office or allowed to gently thaw until lunchtime.
Whichever you feel like making for the week, you can feel confident that should you run out of time or are at a loss about what to serve for baon, these baon ideas are ready to be reheated and packed when you are.
