Life as a work-from-home mom with two little girls means I have next to no time to spend cooking at the end of the day.
And, even if I have the time, I may not have the energy to prepare a meal from scratch.
Enter my godsend: freezer meals.
Here is my list of delicious, easy and mostly healthy freezer recipes we go to time and time again.
Our Favorite Freezer-Friendly Recipes
- Emily Bites Spicy Sausage Pasta
- Iowa Girl Eats BBQ Cheddar Meatloaves
- Biggest Loser Turkey Burgers
- Slow Cooker Gourmet Cheeseburger Soup
- Joy Bauer Meatball Subs
- Emily Bites Chicken Parmesan Meatloaf Muffins
- Iowa Girl Eats Spinach & Artichoke Chicken Casserole
- SkinnyTaste One Pot Cheesy Turkey Taco Chili Mac
- Emily Bites Ravio-Sagne
- Taste of Home Sausage and Egg Casserole
- Pioneer Woman Chicken Spaghetti
- Kraft Sausage with Peppers and Pasta
- Iowa Girl Eats Cheesy Taco Soup
- Emily Bites Chili Cornbread Bake
- Eat Well Spend Smart Gluten-Free Chicken Enchiladas
My Top 5 Freezer Recipe Cooking Tips
1. Add broth to soup.
I have noticed that whenever I reheat soup that has been frozen, it is much thicker in consistency. I recommend adding either chicken or beef broth to any frozen soup to thin it out a bit, unless you prefer it to be more like a stew.
2. Freeze cooked meat.
One trick I’ve used that is very helpful is to cook and freeze 1-lb. batches of shredded chicken, ground beef, ground turkey and sausage. Having my meat already cooked definitely speeds up the time it takes to make a meal, not to mention fewer dirty pans. And it’s way more efficient to cook a couple of pounds at one time.
3. Double what you’re already cooking.
I know some people like to have a big freezer cooking day that takes a few hours, but that’s not the way I roll. My technique was to make these meals for dinner and double the recipe to make an extra one for the freezer. It takes longer to accumulate meals that way, but it’s much less work.
4. Don’t forget breakfast foods.
This roundup focused on entrees, but you can freeze breakfast foods like muffins, pancakes, waffles or muffin tin omelets.
5. Package meals well.
I cooked most of these meals in 8×8 aluminum foil pans. After each had completely cooled, I put a piece of regular aluminum foil on top, then wrapped the whole pan in heavy duty aluminum foil and put the pan in a 2.5-gallon ziploc bag. Doing it this way helps avoid freezer burn.
I hope these meals and tips will inspire you to try making a few freezer recipes.
As always, make the technique work for your family. I’m not a big fan of seafood or beef, so most of my recipes center around poultry. Your family may be different, and that’s fine.
Even if you just want to fill your freezer with cooked meat and steamable veggies, you can save a lot of time cooking dinner each night.
I’d love to hear your favorite freezer-friendly meals. Share them on our Facebook page or message me on Instagram.
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