Cooking from scratch remains a regular household activity, but its frequency, time cost, and purpose vary by country, household composition, employment status, and financial pressure. UK surveys mainly measure whether people prepare food themselves and how practices change over time, while U.S. time-use data measure minutes spent on food preparation and cleanup.
Contents
- How often households cook from scratch
- Scratch cooking as a money-saving response
- How much time home food preparation takes
- Cooking time by household and sex
- Cooking time among employed adults
- Cooking time among adults not employed
- Food safety and lower-cost cooking practices
How often households cook from scratch
UK Food and You 2 results indicate that cooking from scratch is common among people who cook for their household. Across Waves 2–4, between 59% and 62% of respondents said they cooked food from scratch every day or most days in the previous month. The measurement period ran from November 2020 to January 2022. These results describe respondents who cooked for their household, rather than every person in the population.
The broader COVID-19 consumer tracker found an even wider reach for scratch cooking: an average of 92% of UK respondents across 19 waves reported cooking food from scratch at least once a month or more during 2020–2021. “At least once a month” is a lower frequency threshold than “every day or most days,” so the two figures answer different questions and should not be treated as conflicting estimates.
| Measure | Result | Geography and period |
|---|---|---|
| Cooked from scratch every day or most days | 59%–62% | UK, November 2020–January 2022 |
| Cooked from scratch at least once a month or more | Average 92% | UK, 2020–2021 |
| Cooked from scratch to save money in the last month | 36% | UK, December 2024 |
The Consumer Insights Tracker recorded a more specific financial measure in December 2024. At that point, 36% of UK respondents said that they or someone in their household had cooked or prepared something from scratch instead of buying it ready-made to save money in the previous month. This is a recent, one-month measure of a money-saving choice, not an estimate of the share who cook from scratch routinely.
Sources: Consumers’ Food Safety Practices in the Home: Trends and Insights From 2020 to 2025; COVID-19 consumer tracker survey: summary report (waves 1 to 19); Consumer Insights Tracker (October 2024 – December 2024).
Scratch cooking as a money-saving response
Financial reasons are a recurring explanation for increased scratch cooking in the UK. In Food and You 2 Wave 6, covering October 2022 to January 2023, 25% of respondents said they had cooked from scratch more for financial reasons during the previous 12 months. The share rose to 28% in Wave 7, covering April to July 2023, before reaching 27% in Wave 9, covering April to July 2024.
These figures measure self-reported change over the previous year. They do not show how much money households saved, how often the extra cooking occurred, or whether all households had the same food budget.
The Consumer Insights Tracker also asked about cooking or preparing food from scratch to save money in the last month. Across tracker waves from August 2023 to March 2025, the share of UK respondents reporting this behavior ranged from 34% to 41%. The shorter recall period makes this a useful indicator of recent behavior, but it is not directly comparable with the Food and You 2 question about changes over 12 months.
Batch cooking and leftovers were another financial strategy. The share of UK respondents who said they prepared food to keep as leftovers or cooked in batches for financial reasons was 29% in Wave 6, 33% in Wave 7, and 26% in Wave 9. Across those measurements, the reported share was highest in Wave 7 and lowest in Wave 9.
Together, the figures show several related but distinct behaviors: cooking from scratch more often, replacing a ready-made purchase with homemade food, and preparing extra portions for later. A household may do one, two, or all three, but the available results do not quantify the overlap.
Sources: Consumers’ Food Safety Practices in the Home: Trends and Insights From 2020 to 2025; F&Y2 Wave 7: Chapter 3 Food security.
How much time home food preparation takes
The American Time Use Survey provides a time-based view of home cooking. In 2025, people in the U.S. age 15 and over spent an average of 0.71 hours per day on food preparation and cleanup. This is an annual average across the population, including people who did not perform the activity on a particular day.
On an average day, 65.2% of the U.S. civilian population age 15 and over engaged in food preparation and cleanup. Among people who did the activity, the average was 1.09 hours on the days they did it. The population average and the participant average therefore describe different groups: one spreads time across everyone, while the other measures time among people who actually prepared food or cleaned up.
Weekends and holidays took slightly more time among participants. U.S. people age 15 and over averaged 0.70 hours on weekdays and 0.74 hours on weekends and holidays. Participation was 66.2% on an average weekday and 62.9% on an average weekend or holiday. Among those who participated, average time was 1.06 hours on weekdays and 1.18 hours on weekends and holidays.
| U.S. 2025 measure | Weekday | Weekend or holiday | Overall or participant detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population participating | 66.2% | 62.9% | 65.2% average day |
| Average time for everyone age 15+ | 0.70 hours | 0.74 hours | 0.71 hours per day |
| Average time among participants | 1.06 hours | 1.18 hours | 1.09 hours on activity days |
The survey category is food preparation and cleanup, so these numbers should not be presented as cooking-only time. They include the preparation and cleaning associated with food at home.
Source: American Time Use Survey - 2025 Results.
Cooking time by household and sex
Living with children was associated with more reported food preparation and cleanup time in the 2025 U.S. results. Adults age 18 and over living with children under 18 averaged 0.91 hours per day, compared with 0.66 hours among adults with no household children under 18.
The age of the youngest child also mattered. Adults whose youngest household child was under 6 averaged 0.95 hours per day, while those whose youngest child was 6 to 17 averaged 0.88 hours. These are population averages for the specified household groups.
The sex breakdown shows a larger difference within each household category. Among adults living with children under 18, women averaged 1.19 hours per day and men averaged 0.59 hours. Among adults with no household children under 18, women averaged 0.82 hours and men 0.50 hours.
For adults whose youngest child was under 6, women averaged 1.23 hours and men 0.63 hours per day. Where the youngest child was 6 to 17, women averaged 1.17 hours and men 0.56 hours. The figures describe average time spent on food preparation and cleanup; they do not identify who performed each individual task within a household.
Source: American Time Use Survey - 2025 Results.
Cooking time among employed adults
Employment status changes the amount of time available for household food work. In 2025, employed U.S. adults age 18 and over living with children under 18 averaged 0.74 hours per day on food preparation and cleanup. The average was 0.73 hours when the youngest child was under 6 and 0.74 hours when the youngest child was 6 to 17. Employed adults with no household children under 18 averaged 0.58 hours.
Among employed adults living with children under 18, women averaged 0.94 hours per day and men 0.56 hours. For households where the youngest child was under 6, women averaged 0.90 hours and men 0.59 hours. Where the youngest child was 6 to 17, women averaged 0.97 hours and men 0.54 hours. In households without children under 18, employed women averaged 0.69 hours and employed men 0.48 hours.
The same survey reported time spent working and on work-related activities. Employed adults whose youngest child was under 6 averaged 5.30 hours per day in that category, compared with 5.73 hours for those whose youngest child was 6 to 17. Employed adults with no household children under 18 averaged 5.44 hours. These work-related figures provide context, but they are separate from food preparation and cleanup and should not be added to it as a measure of total daily workload.
Source: American Time Use Survey - 2025 Results.
Cooking time among adults not employed
Adults who were not employed reported more food preparation and cleanup time than employed adults in each household category shown. In 2025, not-employed U.S. adults living with children under 18 averaged 1.39 hours per day. The average reached 1.61 hours when the youngest child was under 6 and was 1.26 hours when the youngest child was 6 to 17. Not-employed adults with no household children under 18 averaged 0.77 hours.
The sex differences were also visible among adults not employed. In households with children under 18, women averaged 1.65 hours per day and men 0.74 hours. Where the youngest child was under 6, women averaged 1.82 hours and men 0.91 hours. Where the youngest child was 6 to 17, women averaged 1.53 hours and men 0.66 hours. Without household children under 18, not-employed women averaged 0.96 hours and men 0.55 hours.
Care responsibilities provide additional context. Not-employed adults whose youngest child was under 6 averaged 3.73 hours per day caring for household members, compared with 1.18 hours among those with no household children under 18. Their food preparation and cleanup average was 1.61 hours, more than twice the 0.77-hour average for not-employed adults without household children.
These are 2025 U.S. annual averages, not recommended cooking times or evidence that employment alone causes a particular household pattern.
Source: American Time Use Survey - 2025 Results.
Food safety and lower-cost cooking practices
Scratch cooking also involves decisions about heat, storage, reheating, and ingredients. Across UK Food and You 2 waves from July 2020 to February 2025, the share of respondents who said they always cooked food until steaming hot and cooked through was 76% in Wave 1 and 79% in Wave 10. Between 79% and 83% across waves said they would reheat food only once.
Responses differed by food. Between 87% and 94% said they never ate chicken or turkey when it was pink or releasing pink or red juices. The share saying they never ate pink sausages was 96% in Wave 1, 93% in Wave 5, and 94% in Wave 9. For pink whole cuts of pork or pork chops, the corresponding figures were 93%, 91%, and 91%. For pink beef burgers, the figures were lower: 70% in Waves 1 and 5 and 66% in Wave 9.
Storage and date-checking practices were also tracked. Between 57% and 63% said someone in their household checked the fridge temperature or had an alarm that made checking unnecessary. Between 59% and 62% said the inside of a fridge should be between 0 and 5 degrees Celsius. The share who said they always checked use-by dates when about to cook or prepare food ranged from 59% to 66%.
The share reporting that raw meat or poultry was stored in a sealed container in the fridge rose from 28% in Wave 1 to 36% in Wave 10. These are reported household practices measured across the stated waves; the figures do not establish why the change occurred.
Cost pressures affected cooking methods as well as ingredient preparation. In December 2024, 58% of UK respondents said they used cheaper cooking methods instead of an oven to heat or cook food. Among respondents aged 16–34, 54% used cheaper methods instead of an oven in December 2024, compared with 46% in December 2023. In the same age group, 28% reduced the cooking time in December 2024, up from 16% in December 2023, while 28% lowered the cooking temperature, up from 13%.
The safety survey and the tracker measure self-reported behavior and beliefs, while the American Time Use Survey measures time spent on an activity. They can describe different parts of home cooking, but they should not be combined into a single global estimate.
Sources: Consumers’ Food Safety Practices in the Home: Trends and Insights From 2020 to 2025; Consumer Insights Tracker (October 2024 – December 2024); American Time Use Survey - 2025 Results.