4 Time-Saving Tips to Make Easy Freezer Meals (+ 12 Recipes)

Since I first started cooking and developed a habit of meal planning – I’ve still been looking for ways to cut down time on the actual cooking itself. This has led me to the wonderful world of easy freezer meals.

I love eating home-cooked meals, because they tend to be so much healthier and save SO much money. However, time in the kitchen can never be short enough, am I right?!

In order to minimize your cooking time and maximize your output, I’ve found 4 different methods to batch, prepare, or freeze food:

1. Multiply and Freeze meals.
2. Prepare Mostly-Done meals.
3. Cook or Prep “Input” Ingredients.
4. Make Side Items or Snacks Ahead of Time.

Using these methods, I also have 4 tips to make the most out of freezing food. These include:

1. Have Enough Storage Containers
2. Label and Date Your Food
3. Start Slow!
4. Keep in mind that Some Foods Freeze Better than Others

Whether you are preparing for a baby, getting ready for back-to-school, or just tired of being in the kitchen for hours at a time, these time-saving techniques can be a huge help! Plus, at the end of the article, we’ll be covering 12 easy freezer meals you can quickly apply these tips to!

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4 Different Methods for Making Freezer meals

There are several different approaches to batching and/or freezing food. While it works great, you don’t need to limit yourself to freezing entire meals at once! Check out these 4 different methods below to see what works best for you.

1. Double-Time your Meals

One obvious way to save time is to double any recipe, and freeze the second portion! Using containers like these makes it easy to throw in the freezer to store and warm up in the oven when you’re ready to eat it since the food will already be cooked. Plus, you can wash and reuse the containers over & over!

2. Prepare “Dump” Meals

Many recipes that are written for one-pot, crock-pot, or instant-pot meals can easily be prepped ahead of time! Typically, it’s best to combine all the ingredients uncooked in a plastic bag or storage container and freeze. When you’re ready, thaw it out the night before, then either drop it in the crockpot in the morning or throw it right into the pot on the stove (or instant-pot) and let it cook while you get other things done!

3. Cook or Prep Individual Ingredients

Identify a list of ingredients that you can cook/prep at the beginning of the week or month that will go into meals you have planned. These will usually be kitchen staples that go into multiple meals! You get the biggest “reward” if you can do this with items that take a long time – like brown rice, dry beans, or large portions of meat. In our house, we start the month off by cooking batches of several types of beans, shredded chicken, and bacon (for fresh bacon bits!) and freezing them to use as needed. If we made these each time we needed them, it could easily add 30-minutes to 1-hour of additional cook time!

4. Stick to Side Items and Snacks

Another way to utilize “batching” but not necessarily freezing is through meal prep, like all the photos you see on Pinterest! Make a week’s worth of salads, breakfast, or snacks to grab-and-go through the week. For us, we always make a big pan of roasted potatoes to go with our breakfast each day.

4 Tips for Making Easy Freezer Meals

While you definitely don’t need to overthink it to get it started, I have learned a few lessons so far that are worth sharing 🙂

1. Have Enough Storage Containers

This is one thing that is absolutely essential! As I mentioned above, having reusable aluminum containers that move from freezer to fridge to oven makes things so much easier! You’ll also need freezer bags, most likely in gallon-size (for storing “dump” meals) and quart-size (for storing individual portions of ingredients like rice, beans, etc.)

2. Label and Date Your Food

Sometimes, it’s not as easy to tell what the meal is once it is frozen, and it’s never a good idea to rely on your memory for when you froze it – especially if you’re doubling meals and freezing them along the way. Use a label & a Sharpie, or write directly on the freezer bag, and you’re good to go!

3. Start Slow!

Don’t overwhelm yourself by trying to freeze tons of meals right away. Choose a few things that (1) feel easiest to you or (2) will benefit you the most right now. Once you get comfortable with these, then you can decide to start freezing more, or you can change your approach if what you’re doing isn’t working for you.

4. Keep in mind that Some Foods Freeze Better than Others

 In my experience, I don’t notice too big of a difference in the quality of the meal if I’m freezing meats, hardier veggies, beans, rice, etc. in them. More “fragile” vegetables like tomatoes (unless they were already canned) or lettuce shouldn’t be frozen just because they lose their texture so much. Lastly, pasta can work if it’s in something like lasagna, but otherwise, it’s probably best to make the sauce/substance of the meal, then cook the noodles right before serving.

Order your Groceries to Save even more Time! Before I recommend my personal recipes, I want to share the super time-saving resource that is grocery delivery. Amazon Fresh is a super easy way to do all your grocery shopping within 15 minutes, and get everything you need delivered straight to your door. Consider trying it out!

Tried-and-true Easy Freezer Meals

Lastly, to help you get started, I wanted to share some of the meals that I use that can be on your rotation too!

Casseroles or fully-cooked easy freezer meals:

• Easy Homemade Lasagna
• Vegetarian Enchiladas
• Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli & Rice
• Chicken Fajitas
• Broccoli and Cheese Soup
• Turkey Chili
• Chicken Pot Pie Casserole

Easy Dump meals for crockpot/instant pot:

• Chicken Tortilla Soup
• Small porkloin with potatoes, carrots, & onions
• Italian Lentil Soup
• Split Pea Soup
• White Chicken Chili

What’s great is that any of these meals would be perfect for someone in need! Just make a double batch to freeze for yourself, and bring the rest to your loved one!

What do you think?

Which of these meals sounds easiest? What are your favorite tips & tricks for great freezer meals?

By: Brennan Brown

More Meal Planning Articles:

• 28 Healthy Meal Prep Ideas (+ Tips & Tools to Help!)
• The Complete Guide to Making a Meal Plan (+ Free Workbook!)
• 20 Meals to Take to Someone When They Need It Most
• 10 Easy Recipes for Beginners