Cooking three dishes does not mean adding every recipe time together. Dal can simmer while you chop vegetables, an oven dish can bake while you make a chutney, and a pressure cooker can become the one appliance that holds up the rest of the meal. This planner separates active work from passive time so you can estimate when to start cooking.
Meal Prep Timeline Planner
Add the dishes you are cooking, including active prep and passive cooking time, then build a realistic kitchen timeline.
What does this tool do?
- Lets you add up to 15 dishes to one meal plan.
- Separates hands-on prep from unattended cooking or resting time.
- Tracks the main equipment used by each dish.
- Includes gas stovetop, induction hob, oven, pressure cooker, air fryer, rice cooker, microwave and no dedicated equipment.
- Accounts for one or two people cooking.
- Works backwards from the time you want to serve.
- Highlights likely kitchen bottlenecks instead of simply adding every minute together.
How to use the planner
- Enter the time you want the meal ready and the number of cooks.
- Add each dish with its active prep time and passive cooking or resting time.
- Select the main equipment that dish occupies.
- Build the timeline and use the suggested order as your starting plan.
The estimated elapsed time is intentionally different from total cook-minutes. If one dish needs 20 minutes of chopping and then simmers for 40 minutes, those 40 minutes can overlap with other work. Two dishes that both need the same pressure cooker, oven or induction hob cannot use that single appliance at the same time. The planner uses equipment demand and active work to create a more realistic estimate than a simple total.
Gas and induction are listed separately because some kitchens have both available at the same time. The planner does not assume induction automatically makes a recipe faster. It simply treats that hob as a separate equipment resource when you assign dishes to it.
The suggested order puts longer jobs earlier, but real cooking still requires judgement. A curry that improves after resting may be finished early, while roti, dosa, fried snacks and some salads are usually better closer to serving. Add soaking, marination, fermentation, dough proofing or chilling separately when those steps happen hours earlier.
For complicated meals, use the planner as a first draft and adjust the order to match your kitchen, cookware and recipes. The meal information stays in your browser and is not stored or transmitted.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is active prep time?
Active time is when someone must work on the dish, such as chopping, mixing, frying, rolling or stirring continuously. It cannot overlap as easily when only one person is cooking.
What is passive cooking time?
Passive time covers simmering, baking, pressure cooking, resting or other periods when the dish mostly looks after itself. Some of that time can overlap with preparation for another dish.
Does the planner include induction cooking?
Yes. Induction stove or hob is a separate equipment choice alongside gas stovetop, oven, pressure cooker, air fryer, rice cooker and microwave.
Why does the planner ask for equipment?
Shared equipment creates bottlenecks. Two dishes may both be passive, but they cannot occupy the same cooker or oven at the same time if you only have one.
Can two people cook together?
Yes. Choose two cooks and the planner reduces the elapsed impact of active prep, although equipment limits still apply.
Does the timeline include soaking and marination?
Only if you include those periods in a dish. Long make-ahead steps are usually better planned separately because they may begin many hours earlier.
Is the schedule exact?
No. It is a planning model. Recipe complexity, interruptions, burner count, knife skills and kitchen layout can change real timings.
Is my meal plan saved?
No. The tool runs in your browser and does not store the dish names, timings or serving time you enter.