24 Best Easy Freezer Meals for Stress-Free Dinners
24 simple freezer meal recipes that you can prep in a pinch!
There have been many nights where I have served my family sub-par suppers because I was either gone all day and couldn’t start cooking until later or I forgot to put food in the crock pot mid-day.
When I was pregnant with baby #3, I realized that cooking wasn’t going to be a priority for a few months after giving birth, but I really wanted to have whole meals (more than boxed dinners) for all of us even with a newborn in the house. If I was already having trouble getting meals on the table without a new baby, how would I make it happen with a new baby? Three words–>easy freezer meals.
You can get the full recipes & grocery lists in the “24 Simple Freezer Meal Recipes” Ebook!
24 Easy Freezer Meal Recipes to Simplify Dinnertime
I came up with 24 easy freezer meals + grocery lists to help me out during this time. I have been able to get all 24 of these recipes ready for the freezer in just a couple of hours. When I am ready to cook, most of these meals can just be thrown in the crock pot with no other prep! A couple require the oven (like the baked pasta) and a couple just need to be thawed (like the breads), but they are all super quick fixes after the initial, also super quick, freezer prep.
Beef Freezer Meals:
1. Meatloaf
Meatloaf is great because you can follow a recipe or add in whatever you have sitting in your fridge. Mix & match different veggies and spices if you don’t have the ingredients listed in a recipe and you have to make something in a pinch. If you are planning your meals ahead of time (which I am guessing you are since you are reading this post), then you can follow my recipe and have a couple yummy loaves ready to go!
2. Burgers
The only prep required for burgers is mixing the ingredients and forming the patties. Then you put wax paper between each patty & freeze them in a freezer bag. Easy as pie.
3. Chili
I love making chili! It is such a simple comfort food to make and it can be made in bulk without much extra effort.
4. Sloppy Joes
I grew up eating Manwich Sloppy Joes, but my taste buds have grown to prefer a homemade mix instead. I like to use about 3-5 pounds of ground beef at a time when making this recipe for the freezer because my family will eat a lot of these bad boys.
5. Taco Soup
This is another simple meal that can be thrown together in bulk and served after being only thawed and reheated. No additional cooking needed.
Pork Freezer Meals:
6. Pork Roast with Veggies
This is a great one pot meal. Prep the meat, vegges, and spices then toss it in a freezer bag. You can place it in the crock pot the morning of the day that you plan to eat it and enjoy 6-8 hours later!
7. Hawaiian Pork Chops
Give your freezer to crock pot pork chops a yummy pineapple twist!
8. BBQ Ribs
My husband’s favorite!! Serve with some slaw & baked beans for a full southern BBQ meal.
9. Ranch Pork Chops
Add some Hidden Valley goodness to your chops with this recipe. Again, you just place the ingredients into a freezer bag and dump into the crock pot when you want to cook it. Easy peasy.
10. Parmesan Honey Pork Loin
This is one of my favorite easy freezer meals! Tender pork loin with parmesan cheese & honey from our apiary. Delicious!
11. Italian Meatballs
I like to serve these meatballs sub-style with chips and veggies.
Chicken Freezer Meals:
12. Enchiladas
The BEST chicken enchiladas ever!
13. Fajitas
Fajita chicken is a simple meal that can feel like take-out. Serve it with your favorite toppings and sides. I really like to have salsa, avocado, cilantro, chopped onions, cheese, refried beans, black bean & corn salsa, and corn tortillas.
14. Creamy Italian Chicken
Winner, winner, chicken dinner. That is what this recipe is. I serve our Italian Chicken with a salad and roasted red potatoes.
15. Teriyaki Chicken
This chicken is perfect to throw in with a bowl of rice & broccoli for lunch or dinner.
16. Honey Garlic Chicken
When you pull this meal out of the freezer, you can throw in the crock pot or the oven (I prefer oven for this one) and serve it with potato wedges and a salad.
17. White Chicken Chili
This is a fun variation from your typical chili recipe. I love to have white chicken chili with rolls or corn bread and a salad.
Bread/Meatless Soup/Pasta Freezer Recipes:
18. Southern Corn Bread
This whole-kernel corn bread is ah-ma-zing with traditional chili & white chicken chili!
19. White Sandwich Bread
Keep a couple of loaves of homemade bread in the freezer so you don’t run out of the necessity that is pb&j!
20. Corn Chowder
Corn Chowder is my favorite soup. Top the chowder with a little cheese & bacon for an extra touch
21. Baked Lasagna
My family loves lasagna, but it usually takes so long to prep so I make a few pans up in advance with no-boil noodles. Then all I have to do is toss it in the oven and eat it all up!
Breakfast Freezer Recipes:
22. Breakfast Burritos
These are great to keep on hand for quick on-the-go breakfast, crazy morning meals, and easy lunches.
23. Sausage & Biscuits
Mornings around here are intense so having homemade sausage & biscuits ready-to-go in the freezer really helps this mama out.
24. Pancakes
My kids love pancakes, but I don’t like paying for a box of pancakes that will last one day when I can make triple that amount for the same price. Again, out house is crazy in the mornings so these have to be made and frozen in advance. They can be pulled out of the freezer and popped in the oven or the microwave if you have one (we ditched ours a while back so oven it is!).
All of these recipes & their accompanying grocery lists can be found in my Easy Freezer Meals Pack!
The meals & breads are separated into 5 categories: Beef, Pork, Chicken, Bread/Soup/Pasta, and Breakfast. Each Category has its own grocery list so you can prep one category at a time without getting too overwhelmed.
What are some of your favorite easy freezer meal recipes?
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Great Article, thank you for sharing at The Homesteader Hop Hope to see you this week!
Hi Jess! I’m featuring you tomorrow at Women With Intention Wednesdays! 🙂
Thank you so much for the feature! Love your link up!!
Thanks for sharing the lists! I love having freezer meals ready to go.
Great article with wonderful recipes, thank you very much for sharing them. These meals are easy to prepare and freeze, but you’re probably going to need to top notch microwave to reheat them. Here are some you could have a look at https://www.eathealthyandthrive.com/best-small-microwave/
wow! thanks!