School recipes

See our recipes for schools meals so that they can be made at home. 

Mince and leek dumplings - menu for national school meals week

Download this recipe as a pdf (PDF, 689 KB)

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Serves: 4 to 6 portions (4 adults or 2 adults and 4 children)

Ingredients: 

• Dumplings:
  • 50g suet or dairy free baking margarine 
  • 100g self-raising flour or plain flour
  • 1teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 finely diced leek 
• Mince:
  • 400g minced beef/pork (either works well)
  • 1 large onion finely diced
  • 1 large carrot finely diced
  • 1 stick celery finely diced
  • 1/2 leek finely diced
  • 1 beef or chicken stock cube
  • 500ml water
  • gravy to thicken
  • salt and pepper to season 

Step 1: Place the mince in a large pan and break it up using a spatula. Start to gently fry the mince. 

Step 2: Add the onions, carrot, celery and leeks to the pan. Continue to cook on a low heat, stirring occasionally. The vegetables will bulk out the mince as well as providing hidden vegetables. 

Step 3: Add in a little salt and pepper and the stock cube and stir in well. 

Step 4: Add the water and bring to the boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to simmer and place the lid on the pan. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes until the vegetables and meat are cooked. 

Step 5: Add the gravy to the pan. If using instant gravy granules, this can be added to the pan until the mince reaches the consistency of thick gravy. If using gravy powder, mix the powder with water and stir into the mince until thickened. The mince and gravy must be thick enough so the dumplings don't sink when placed on top. 

Step 6: While the mince and vegetables simmer, make the dumplings. Combine the suet, flour, leeks and salt and pepper in a bowl. Gradually add a little cold water until the mixture combines. Make sure the mixture is not too wet. 

Step 7: If using dairy free baking margarine, add this to the flour, then rub the margarine into the flour using your fingers until it resembles breadcrumbs, add a little salt and pepper and the diced leeks, then mix with the water to form a dough. 

Step 8: Pour the thickened mince into an oven proof dish/tin.

Step 9: Divide the dumpling mix into 4 to 6 portions and spoon on top of the mince. 

Step 10: Place mince and dumplings into moderate oven and bake for 20 to 30 minutes until the dumplings are golden brown. 

Step 11: Serve with a selection of seasonal vegetables and potatoes. 

Apple and pear oaty crumble and custard - menu for national school meals week

Download this recipe as a pdf (PDF, 562 KB)

Cooking time: 35 minutes

Serves: 4 to 6 people (4 adults or 2 adults and 4 children) 

Ingredients:

• Crumble:
  • 6 red apples
  • 4 pears
  • 150g plain flour 
  • 50g rolled oats
  • 100g dairy-free baking margarine
• Custard:
  • 25g custard powder
  • 25g sugar
  • 500ml milk 

Step 1: Peel the apples and pear, cut into quarters, then remove the sections of the core by cutting along the point of the wedge. 

Step 2:  Cut the wedges into 2 or 3 further wedges, place all apples and pears into a pan and simmer gently on a very low heat with the lid on. No sugar should be needed as both fruits will be sweet enough. 

Step 3: While the fruit is softening, add the flour, oats, sugar and margarine to a bowl. Rub the flour mix and margarine together using your fingers until this reaches a breadcrumb consistency. 

Step 4: Once the fruit has softened, place it in an oven-proof dish or tin. Spread the crumble mix evenly over the top of the fruit mix. 

Step 5: Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes or until the crumble is golden in colour. 

Step 6: Mix the custard powder and sugar in a bowl with a small amount of milk. 

Step 7: Place the remaining milk in a pan and gently bring to the boil, reducing to a simmer. 

Step 8: Gradually add the custard mix to the simmering milk and stir constantly until it comes back to the boil and thickens. 

Step 9: Serve with the apple and pear crumble.