作り置き

• Reading: つくりおき
• Romaji: tsukurioki
• Kanji breakdown: 作り (making/cooking) + 置き (leaving/setting aside) → cooking and storing for later
• Pronunciation: /t͡su.ku.ɾi.o.ki/

Meaning

Meal prep or batch cooking done in advance — typically preparing multiple side dishes on the weekend to eat throughout the workweek.

A cornerstone of efficient Japanese home cooking, 作り置き involves spending a few hours (usually on weekends) preparing multiple dishes that keep well in the fridge or freezer. This practice supports the traditional Japanese meal structure of rice plus multiple small side dishes (おかず). It has become hugely popular on social media, with dedicated accounts showing beautiful arrays of prepared containers.

Examples

1. 日曜に作り置きしておくと平日がめっちゃ楽。 Meal prepping on Sundays makes weekdays so much easier.
2. 作り置きのおかずでお弁当作るの時短になるよ。 Making lunches from meal prep side dishes is a real time-saver.
3. 冷凍できる作り置きレシピにハマってる。 I'm hooked on freezer-friendly meal prep recipes.

Usage Guide

Context: home cooking, meal planning, social media

Tone: practical, organized

Do Say

• 週末に作り置きするようになって生活変わった。 (My life changed when I started meal prepping on weekends.)
• 作り置き初心者だけど何から始めればいい？ (I'm a meal prep beginner — what should I start with?)

Don't Say

• 作り置きを出された時に「作りたてがよかった」は言わない (Don't say 'I would have preferred freshly made' when served meal prep — it dismisses the effort)

Common Mistakes

• Thinking 作り置き is just leftovers — it's intentional advance preparation, not storing uneaten food from a previous meal

Origin & History

Compound of 作り (making/cooking) + 置き (placing/leaving aside). A traditional concept in Japanese home cooking that gained renewed popularity in the 2010s through social media and cookbooks.

Cultural Context

Era: Traditional practice, social media revival in 2010s

Generation: All ages (especially working parents)

Social background: Universal

Regional notes: Used across all of Japan. A major social media content category with dedicated Instagram accounts and bestselling books.