Freezer Meal Recipes: 15+ Easy Freezer Meals That Will Save You Time!

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Freezer meal recipes are like the genie in the bottle. They grant your wish of delicious food faster than you can say Agrabah!

When family life is hectic, we really love to pull out tried and true recipes, like this dump chicken recipe. It feeds the children demons, and no one has to slave over a hot stove.

One of the positive things that has come from being diagnosed with fibromyalgia, is that I’ve learned it’s REALLY important to have some easy freezer meals set aside for the days that I can barely microwave a hot dog let alone cook a full meal.

That means on the days that I feel great, I spend time making family freezer meals. That way when we are busy, or my energy level is non-existent, we have tasty meals that we can just plop in the crockpot or in the oven.

BAM…..Dinner done!

Freezer Meal Recipes Tips and Tricks: Make it a Snap Not a Mess!

Before we get to the freezer meals, let me give you a few of my tips about making meals before hand and meal prep.

When I’m trying to meal prep freezer meals, there are a few go to tools. These make freezing the meals a breeze and minimize confusion about how best to keep the meals from making a big sloppy mess in your freezer.

Gallon Freezer Bags: A good, quality freezer bag is essential when prepping freezer meals! Gallon freezer bags are my go to size bag, but if you are making freezer meals for one or want smaller portions here are some other great sizes too!

• Quart Freezer Bags: These quart freezer bags are great for individual servings of frozen homemade soup!
• Reusable Silicon Bags: If you want a more eco-friendly option, these reusable silicone bags are great!

Pyrex Measuring Glass: When you are putting soups to freeze in a Ziploc bag, it can be a MESS if you don’t know this little trick! When freezing soups, I put a Ziploc bag in an 8 cup Pyrex Measuring glass with the bag open.

With a ladle, I ladle the soup into the bag and when it reaches the top of the Pyrex, I start to zip it up. Make sure to press out any air that might be in the bag.

After you’re done with that, lay the bag flat on a cookie sheet tray and freeze! This helps prevent nasty spills and messy freezers!

Aluminum Casserole Pans with Lids: With frozen casseroles or frozen pasta bakes, it is so much easier to handle them if you freeze them in an aluminum casserole pan with a lid. This allows you to stack the frozen meals, plus you can put the frozen dish straight into the oven when you are ready to eat!

Cookie Sheet Trays: Once you are done filling your freezer bags, you need to lay them flat on a cookie sheet tray and put it in the freezer. This allows you to store the freezer meals a little bit easier. It will freeze in one slim flat layer which will allow you to save space in the freezer.

CRUCIAL TIP: Learn something I learned the hard way! I don’t advise freezing things in Mason jars. Sometimes you’ll be fine if you leave space in the top of the jar, but other times you will find your homemade chicken broth is filled with broken glass shards. If you want a greener option, I’d say go with some food grade silicon freezer storage rather than glass!

15+ Easy Freezer Meals That Will Make Your Tastebuds Happy Dance

 

 

Crazy Easy Homemade Enchiladas: Our family is a little bit obsessed with homemade Mexican meals. When we make these homemade enchiladas sometimes we want to make them ahead so we can just pop in them in the oven.

When I prep freezer meals ahead of time, I use toothpicks stuck in the enchiladas so they stay rolled. Just make sure not to puncture the bottom of your aluminum pan. Otherwise, you will have enchilada sauce ALL over your freezer.

Parmesan Meatballs: One of our easy meals we always keep in our pantry are the ingredients for spaghetti. It’s ‘heat up some water and some sauce’ and dinner is done easy.

These parmesan meatballs freeze SUPER well, and you can pop them in the oven to top off your spaghetti. It goes really well with this homemade marinara sauce. Pssstt you can make that ahead and freeze it too!

One Pot Cheesy Chicken Pepperoni: Can you see a theme in these easy freezer meals? We like meals that have a LOT of cheese in them! This is one pot chicken cheesy chicken pepperoni not exception. You can prep it in a dutch oven. Then transfer it to an aluminum pan to keep it in the freezer.

 

 

Freezer Casseroles: Oh So Cheezy

Easy Cheesy Baked Ziti: This easy baked ziti recipe is one of THE easiest freezer meals that we make. All you have to do is take the and prepare it in an aluminum pan. Then freeze! Just pop it in the oven until it’s warm and dinner is SERVED!

Garlic Alfredo Chicken Baked Spaghetti: Some of the easiest freeze ahead meals are pasta meals with some sauce and some type of protein. This garlic alfredo chicken baked spaghetti is SOOOO easy. You can cheat and use jarred alfredo sauce, or if you are feeling fancy use our 3 step homemade alfredo sauce.

Penne Pasta Bake: Pasta bakes are a GREAT make ahead freezer meal. There are so many different ways you can take the same basic penne pasta bake recipe and switch it up!

Tuna Noodle Casserole with Corn: Growing up tuna noodle casserole with corn was one of my FAVORITE meals. It’s definitely a don’t knock it until you try it recipe. The great thing is you can make it ahead, freeze it, and then when you are ready to pop it in the oven top it with LOADS of cheese. The more the better!

 

Freezer Soups and Chilis

Loaded Baked Potato Soup: There is just something magical about a soup that is creamy, cheddary, and bacony. This creamy loaded baked potato soup is just the ticket on a cooler fall or winter’s day.

Vegetable Crockpot Soup: If you haven’t noticed yet, family freezer meals and crockpot recipes are kind of a marriage made in heaven.

Most of my easy crockpot soups are soups you can make ahead. This vegetable crockpot soup is no exception! All you need to do is pair it with my gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches and dinner is done.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup: Homemade chicken noodle soup was one of the very first recipes that I made for Quirky Inspired. It was always something my kids wanted for me to make, and once I realized how EASY it was to make this soup from scratch (ok, semi-scratch I cheat with pre-made broth) I’ve never bought it from a can again. Trust me you won’t want to either.

Crockpot Tortilla Soup: Tortilla soup makes me want to put on my fancy flamenco hat (ok, I don’t really own one, but it would be totally cool if I did) and dance around my kitchen saying “Ole!”

This crockpot tortilla soup is like if your favorite Mexican dish and your favorite soup shacked up and had a baby together. Cumin is the rock star of this dish, and crispy tortilla strips make it the tops! It’s definitely gonna make your tastebuds do a Mexican hat dance.

Homemade Turkey Chili: Chilis are seriously one of my favorite make ahead freezer meals. You can literally just pre-cook the meat! Dump all the ingredients in a freezer bag. Time to eat? Dump it all in the crockpot and dinner’s done!

This homemade turkey chili is something we probably eat once a week during the winter. Want to change things up? Replace the turkey with sausage or venison for a little flavor happy dance.

Spicy Crockpot Chili: If you like your chili on a little bit of the spicy side, this spicy crockpot chili is just the ticket!

Sriracha is what makes your tastebuds happy dance. Putting the chili in a freezer bag is what makes it an easy freezer meal recipe!

Love these easy freezer meal recipes? Make sure to check out these other posts coming soon to Quirky Inspired:

• Crockpot Meals of Awesomeness: A great collection of all of our easy crockpot meals. It’s so easy you can do it while holding TWO glasses of wine.
• One Pot Meals: Some of our tried and true one pot meals that means less dishes for you, and more time to relax and get some me-time in!

What are your favorite ways to have dinner done in a flash?