A well-stocked freezer can make healthy eating easy during busy weeks. Here are 15 Freezer Meals and Snacks that can be made ahead of time for easy lunches, dinners, and snacks.
Hi Friends!
You guys know I love my food prep, right? Well, today we’re taking that a step further and talking about freezer prep. Over the past few weeks I’ve been making an effort to stock up on some freezer meals and snacks to have on hand for those first few weeks after Baby Bean decides to make an appearance.
Here’s the deal. I will share all the freezer meals and snacks I’ve prepped so far but there are a few things you need to keep in mind:
- Some of these recipes are indeed in my freezer but I haven’t taste-tested them yet. I was going to wait to share them but many of you have been asking so I thought I’d share them now and will update you on how they turn out as I make them. I didn’t make anything that isn’t similar to things that other people have made successfully before, so I’m sure they’ll all turn out fine!
- Most of these recipes don’t require exact quantities, they’re very forgiving, but I did my best to give you quantity estimates.
- I chose to store things in ziploc bags so I could freeze them flat and save space. If you have a bigger freezer than me, feel free to store them in whatever containers you want.
Let’s talk briefly about how I approached my freezer prep:
- I split it up over a few weekends. If you’re ambitious or in the mood you could power through it and really get a lot done in one day.
- I started by making a Pinterest board for crockpot and freezer meals.
- Next, I spent a few nights actually clicking through the pins and making a list of possible things I might make. I didn’t copy exact recipes. Some were general enough that I had a good idea of the ingredients I would use. For some, I jotted down some ingredients that were used and decided I would figure out quantities on my own. Keep in mind this approach might not work for everyone. If you want to follow the recipes exactly, by all means go for it. I just prefer to freestyle it in the kitchen.
- Once I had my list, I went through and decided what I was going to make and split them into 3-4 different groups so that I could tackle them on different days.
- Then, I started cooking. I picked a few things I wanted to make, added some extra stuff to my grocery list and worked it into my Sunday food prep. Most of these ideas use ingredients I would buy anyway, so it was just a matter of buying a little extra of some things.
So what did I make?
Round 1
Lentil Beef Bolognese Sauce (fully cooked, freezer meal)
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups vegetables, chopped
1 1/4 pound ground beef (or turkey)
2 cups cooked lentils
2- 17oz cartons of tomato sauce – no salt added
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
Directions:
Cook the beef, vegetables and garlic until beef is cooked through. Add the sauce, spices and lentils and stir to combine. Let cool completely, split into two ziploc bags and freeze.
Notes:
– Adding lentils helps stretch the beef in this recipe and gives you enough for two batches. You can leave them out and use half the sauce and fewer veggies for a simple meat sauce.
– Thaw this sauce out and serve with spaghetti noodles or use it to make lasagna or stuffed shells!
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Lentil Chicken Curry (fully cooked, freezer meal)
1 pound chicken, cubed
4 cups vegetables
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup cooked lentils
2 Tbsp red curry paste
1 cup coconut milk
Directions:
Cook the chicken, vegetables, and garlic until cooked through. Add the lentils, curry paste, and coconut milk. Stir to combine. Let cool completely, pour into ziploc bag, and freeze.
Thaw, reheat & serve over rice or with some naan!
Notes:
– This is similar to my Lentil Veggie Curry that I make all the time.
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Cranberry Chicken (uncooked, crockpot meal)
1 pound chicken breasts
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium apple, chopped
1 medium sweet potato, chopped
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup apple cider (or another cup of broth)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup fresh cranberries
2 Tbsp mustard
black pepper & paprika to taste
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a ziploc bag. Freeze.
When ready to serve, thaw overnight, pour into crockpot, and cook on low 4-6 hours until chicken is cooked through. Shred the chicken before serving.
Notes:
-I haven’t tried this yet but have made something with similar ingredients and it had great flavor.
-This could be cooked from frozen in the crockpot for a longer amount of time.
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Chicken Fajitas (uncooked, crockpot meal)
1.5 pounds chicken breasts
1 large red pepper, sliced
1 medium onion, sliced
3/4 cup broth
1-2 tsp cumin
Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a Ziploc bag. Freeze.
When ready to serve, thaw overnight, add to crockpot, and cook on low 4-6 hours until chicken is cooked. Shred the chicken and serve with tortillas and other toppings such as tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, avocado, etc.
Notes:
-This could be cooked from frozen in the crockpot for a longer amount of time.
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Stuffed Peppers (uncooked, crockpot meal)
1.25 pounds raw ground beef
2 cups vegetables, diced (I used carrots, onion, and mushrooms)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp McCormick seasoning (or your favoring seasoning)
6 bell peppers, tops and seeds removed
Directions:
Mix everything but the peppers together. Divide evenly between the peppers. Freeze in a ziploc bag.
When ready to serve, thaw, place in crockpot, and cook on low 6-8 hours or until ground beef is cooked. Top with cheese if desired and serve with rice.
Notes:
– To help the peppers stay standing, cut thin slices off the bottom to create flat surfaces.
– I’ve made stuffed peppers before but have not tried them in the crockpot yet.
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Round 2
I made the following (click the recipe names for the recipe!)
- Peanut Butter Banana Oat Muffins (wrap 3-4 in plastic wrap inside the ziploc bag) Fully cooked. Just thaw in the fridge or microwave and eat.
- Freezer Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (double batch, frozen prior to cooking) Just pull out the number you want to cook and bake according to recipe directions.
- Pumpkin Energy Balls (double batch) Eat straight from the freezer!
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Round 3
- Froyo Bites – Click to see the original recipe post. I made a double batch with whole milk yogurt, frozen wild blueberries, almonds, pumpkin seeds and chocolate chips. Freeze in ice cube trays and eat straight from the freezer!
- Egg McMuffins – Per sandwich: 1 English muffin, 2 eggs, 1-2 strips bacon, cheese. Cook the eggs, top them with cheese and bacon, and let them cool completely. Then, put on an English muffin, wrap individually in plastic wrap and put in a ziploc bag. To eat, remove plastic wrap, wrap in paper towel and microwave 1-2 minutes until heated through. Tip: bake the bacon in the oven while you’re cooking the eggs. If you prefer burrito style, add some beans and veggies, scramble the eggs, wrap in a tortilla, and freeze that way!
- Meatballs – I used my Crockpot Meatballs recipe, but skipped the sauce and after I browned them, I baked them in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 min or until cooked. Let cool before freezing. Thaw and add sauce and noodles for spaghetti or make a meatball sub!
- Chicken Fingers – Buy chicken tenderloin strips (or cut your own), dredge in flour, dip in egg, and coat with breadcrumbs (seasoned if desired). Flash freeze raw on a tray or plate, and then transfer to a ziploc bag. Cook from frozen at 350 degrees for 30-35 min or until cooked through. (Edited to add- Tried these and they were delicious. Here’s the full recipe: Freezer Chicken Tenders.
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Other Ideas
And just in case you want more ideas. Here are some other things that were on my list that I haven’t gotten around to making:
- Crockpot Cilantro Lime Chicken – I did actually make one batch of this on a random day so I have one in the freezer.
- Cajun Meatloaf – My mom made us two of these while she was in town, cooked them and then we sliced them and wrapped up still in loaf shape. Just have to thaw and eat!
- Burgers – form into patties and freeze raw so all you have to do is cook them.
- Pancakes – Make a couple batches of my Whole Wheat Oatmeal Pancakes and freeze them. Just heat them up in the microwave and enjoy!
- Chicken Tortilla Soup – Freeze some raw diced chicken, tomatoes, beans, onions, garlic, corn, jalapeños, lime juice, cilantro, cumin and broth. Throw it in the crockpot and cook on low for 4-6 hours.
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So, there you have it: lots of easy freezer meal! Hope that helps!
And for those of you that asked: no, I don’t have a giant freezer. We have the kind of fridge that’s a fridge on top, then has a fridge drawer in the middle and then a freezer drawer at the bottom. The freezer drawer has a top drawer within it, which is where I fit all of the stuff I prepped (on the left in the pic below), along with a batch of Curried Sweet Potato Soup and some homemade veggie broth. In the two main freezer compartments (on the right in the pic) I have other things like bread, frozen fruits and veggies, etc.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Make these 15 Freezer Meals & Snacks from @leangrnbeanblog to always have healthy food on hand!” quote=”Make these 15 Freezer Meals & Snacks from @leangrnbeanblog to always have healthy food on hand!”]
Let’s chat:
Do you have freezer or crockpot meals you love? Feel free to leave links in the comments!
Enjoy!
–Lindsay–
I am always in awe of how organized you are with your food prep. I, am not 🙂 (I can’t even say despite my best efforts because I don’t even try)
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I commented once, but it didn’t show up, so here goes again.
I am always so impressed with your food prep. I am just not so organized.
thanks debbie!
Have you tried the froyo freezer bites? I love the idea but am afraid it will be like biting into ice cream!
Theresa
honesttrees.wordpress.com
yes, i make them all the time. They can be a bit hard straight out of the fridge but if you let them sit on the counter for 5 min and they’re fine.
I live for freezer meals! I am SO busy with my kids after school events that I have no time to cook during the week– these are great!
woohoo! perfect!
I may just have to steal a few of these freezer meal ideas when our little girls are getting ready to come!! Thanks for sharing 🙂
yay! hope they come in handy!
I’m interested to hear how the crock pot peppers turn out. they sound amazing!
i think they’ll be pretty good!
I have made some before and they came out delicious. Looking forward to trying this recipe!
The freezer is my (Second) best friend. Seriously. Thanks for the inspo. Lindspo.
The cranberry chicken sounds so good!
WOA – now that’s a well stocked fridge!!! Amazing meal planning effort Lindsay!
you are putting the rest of us to shame! you’ve been getting so much great content posted, cooking, working out and making a baby!
haha thanks amanda! doing my best 🙂
This was so incredibly helpful! I am big on food prep but not freezer meals. I have always wanted to try but it seemed too overwhelming (I know, weird!). Those stuffed peppers look great.
yay! hope you like some of them!
That is so awesome that you have so many meals stocked in the freezer! I’m sure you’ll be thanking yourself later :).
that’s the plan!
I typically use my slow cooker on week days and on weekends I might cook something but I don’t really “meal prep” like you do. It looks like it takes you ages to finish doing all of that!
not really! usually just an hour or two!
Love this post! I need to make some freezer meals!
Thanks for sharing. These are fantastic! I made a few freezer meals while pregnant, but I wish I’d made more. Then again, I didn’t start soon enough given his early arrival!
haha blame the baby for sure 😉
These are AWESOME! You are ready mama!
I think you are more prepared than anyone I’ve known having a baby! Good for you…that will be such a nice relief when the going gets crazy.
i sure hope so!
if you need more balls.. just let me know, i’ve got a whole freezer full of them. tee hee
that’s the sign of a real winner 🙂
Wow. So impressed – you are the queen of planning ahead! Will definitely bookmark this post for the future!
hope it comes in handy!
Good ideas Lindsay! I am sure these will come in very handy for you very soon! I am not really into freezer meals, but right now as I am not working, i do not really need them, however, once i get busy when I find work after chicago (eeeekk), I will probably start using them. Saving this for later!
I’m not always into freezer meals either but they sure are handy when you need them!
This is awesome. You definitely win the internet today! Useful, looks rather easy and uncomplicated… love it for weekdays when I come home from the gym after work and just REALLY don’t want to spend time cooking dinner!
haha indeed. i love winning the internet 🙂
I love to freeze extra loaves of banana bread! As well as: chili, soups & stew (so I can just throw it in the crockpot) as well as anything that requires a lot of dicing for prep. I just throw the diced meat/veggies into bags, label them and I’m good to go! Thanks for your awesome ideas…I’ll definitely be trying these 🙂
Such an amazing resource for anyone…but especially with a baby on the way!
I’m blown away by your organization! Seriously impressive, and really helpful for people that get home late and need to have everything planned ahead. I don’t freeze that much but I love making pulled pork, shredded beef, chicken soup or chili in my slow cooker if I won’t be home in time to cook.
You are definitely a very inspiring food prepper! Sharing this with a few of my friends that are moms to be 🙂
Great ideas and SO smart to be prepared with healthy meals before baby comes. The first few weeks are a fog 🙂
I’m pinning this, so I can **hopefully** do the same whenever we decide to have baby #2
Love all these ideas, especially the chicken tortilla soup! My favorite soup and sometimes I just don’t have a lime/chicken/one ingredient or two on hand.
Looks like you are really ready! Good for you for planning ahead, the first couple of months are so crazy!
Yay! I just put out a plea on Facebook for good freezer meals to prepare for my own baby. Thank you for the ideas, and I am totally following your Pinterest board now!
What a smart idea to prep before baby comes!
I’ve never thought of prepping and freezing stuffed peppers before! Also, I’m so jealous of your bottom drawer freezer!
Love these!! We don’t usually use freezer meals often, but I have a feeling these will come in handy when I move into my own apartment 😉
You are going to so love this when baby bean arrives!!! That cranberry chicken sounds great!
Dang girl, you are organized!! I did this more with the first because I was under the impression I would never be able to leave the house (not the case, lol). Then I intended on doing this with #4 but never got around to it. I still can’t find the time to stock up and freeze (maybe one day!). I am so curious how everything turns out.
Hi – I love all your recipes but just wondered what I do if I don’t have a crockpot? I live in HK and space is very limited so I sadly do not have room for one.
Thanks
you could probably let them thaw and then cook them on the stove or in the oven..just make sure the meat cooks all the way through.
You were seriously working HARD to get all these freezer meals made…I am super impressed!!! Thanks for sharing 🙂 It’s always good to have a little something on hand
Here are a couple of my favorite freezer meals!
http://www.allergyfreecooking.net/enchilada-wraps/
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/05/crockpot-stuffed-pepper-recipe.html
We also have a go to chicken tortilla soup, as well as beef stew! 🙂
Whoa, pinning this as we speak! Talk about helpful!!!
Wow you did a great job 🙂 the chicken cranberry sounds really interesting! Hope you have safe delivery and lovely healthy baby 🙂
This is super! I love to cook, but I am always struggling for time. What are your thoughts for someone who doesn’t have a microwave…I love eggs and I would love to prep those sandwiches ahead of time, but I haven’t figured out how to warm them up well (and quickly) without a microwave.