According to the research steak and chips has been ranked as the ‘ultimate British meal’, but it has the highest carbon emissions during the cooking process, with a carbon footprint of 10,273gCO2 per serving. The majority of emissions comes from the recipe’s ingredients, as it releases only 142gCO2 during the cooking process.
In second, fettuccine alfredo releases 8,462 grams of CO2 - the same as driving 60.5 kilometres. The ingredients have a carbon footprint of 8421gCO2, but the cooking emissions are relatively low at just 40.5gCO2. This dish is in the top ten for lowest energy usage, at 0.3kWh, taking just ten minutes in total to cook.
Over four in five Brits revealed lasagne is one of their favourite meals. That’s despite it needing the most energy of all the meals we analysed (3.3kWh) to cook. Lasagne can add 14p to your energy bill per serving, the Italian dish has a carbon footprint of 6,309gCO2.
Chilli con carne emits an average carbon footprint of 6,168gCO2. With a total cooking time of an hour, it uses a total of 1.5kWh of energy costing a total of 9.2 pence per serving. Another Mexican delicacy, the burrito has an average carbon footprint of 6,046gCO2 which spans to 43.2 kilometres of driving.
The research found the top five most energy efficient meals were chicken casserole, pasta fagioli, penne all'arrabbiata, tomato soup and beans on toast.
The experts at Confused.com Energy commented: “Cooking is responsible for nearly 14% of the electricity used in homes. So it’s crucial to find more environmentally friendly ways to enjoy our favourite dishes. To do this, try cooking multiple foods at once and meal prepping to reduce how often cooking appliances are used during the week.
“All foods have different greenhouse gas emissions, for example a kilo of beef emits 60 kilograms of CO2-equivalent emissions, while peas emit just one kilogram. Consider your food options. Try prioritising raw foods that do not need cooking and reducing your meat in-take. These can be great to help reduce your carbon footprint levels.”
