Cost of living: 'I tried making Jack Monroe's microwave chilli recipe which only costs 51p using Aldi ingredients and I was seriously impressed'

Microwave recipes from-scratch had never really crossed my radar before this week. I have no idea how microwaves work, and try not to think about it too much. My microwave activity had only ever extended as far as re-heating leftovers – but when I stumbled across a top-rated Jack Monroe recipe for microwave chilli, I was intrigued.

The from-scratch recipe somehow incorporated raw ingredients including onion and garlic, promised to be piping hot ready to serve in a matter of minutes, and apparently cost around 50p per portion to make. At a run cost of approximately 1.98p every 5 minutes (23.8p per hour), microwaving this meal would be much cheaper than cooking on gas, which costs 17p every 15 minutes (68p per hour).

Jack Monroe is famous for their ‘Cooking on a Bootstrap’ recipes. The cookery writer and anti-poverty campaigner is constantly praised for their innovation in the kitchen using the cheapest ingredients – so I was keen to see if this entire meal from scratch, dirt cheap and made in the microwave, would live up to the hype.

food, cost of living: 'i tried making jack monroe's microwave chilli recipe which only costs 51p using aldi ingredients and i was seriously impressed'

I already had all the ingredients in my cupboard, but they would have cost £1.54 from Aldi, or 51p per portion

I already had everything I needed already in my store cupboard for the microwave chilli – but I worked out you could get all your ingredients for a doubled-up version of the recipe from Aldi for £1.54 (see breakdown below). This would dish out around three generous portions, coming out at an impressive 51p per portion.

One your onions and garlic have been microwaved, you simply pile in all the other ingredients and microwave until it’s ready

The method was simple enough. Chop your garlic and onion, microwave with a bit of water, then basically chuck everything else in – tinned tomatoes, red kidney beans, some spices, veg stock, dark chocolate and a splash of vinegar. Jack has a slightly different version of the recipe which incorporates the rice into the chilli, in a ‘Chillaf’, but I microwaved my rice separately (Although many websites claim it’s easy, I haven’t quite nailed microwaving rice yet – I managed to flood my microwave in the process).

Microwaving my rice was a messy process, but I got there in the end

I did miss cooking on the hob, but only because I like to prod and pester my food relentlessly while it simmers in the pan. Besides, I forgot my hob nostalgia when less than 15 minutes after I’d started, I was retrieving my steaming chilli from the microwave (the chilli took eight minutes to cook, the rice around seven). I assembled a bowl with rice and yoghurt (I also piled chilli on top), and dug in.

I was really, really impressed with this recipe. Not only did the chilli look good, it had a depth of flavour I genuinely didn’t think was possible from microwave-cooking. It tasted fresh, healthy, and hearty – unlike any microwave food I have had before. I would 100 per cent recommend this chilli to anyone looking to save money and time when cooking this winter – and I will definitely be looking more microwave recipes to try.