A large dish containing sweet and sour chicken and garnish, a potential freezer meal

12 Homemade Freezer Meal Ideas

When I was pregnant I knew I wanted to prepare some meals for when Piglet was born. I was anticipating late nights, times when he wouldn’t want to be put down and it would be hard to cook. In an effort to avoid reaching for the takeaway menu I spent the two weeks prior to Piglet’s birth in a flurry of activity creating freezer meals that could be tossed in the oven.

JHogg will be the first to admit that he’s not the best in the kitchen, so I got aluminium food boxes (like the ones you get from the take away) to put the food in. I could then write what was in it on the top, as well as basic instructions for cooking so that when needed JHogg could take charge of the cooking.

Those newborn days have now gone, but I still batch cook freezer meals for busy days. I find that it not only saves us money, but it also saves me a lot of stress. I always plan our meals in advance, but things don’t always go the way you expect so having a back-up in the freezer ready to go is perfect. These days I am using my pyrex dishes to store the food since they are reusable.

There are so many options for what you can have in the freezer, but here are our favourite freezer meal ideas.

Frozen Pasta Dishes

Lasagna

Lasagna takes a bit more effort to make, but if you’re doing 3 or 4 at a time it is totally worth it. I usually make a few beef lasagnas and a few using a bacon bolognese for a bit of variety. Layer it in to the the dish you want to freeze it in, then put it in the freezer before you bake.

A lasagna in a glass dish on a table, possibly used as a freezer mealRelated Post: Chicken And New Potato Hash Recipe

Macaroni Cheese

While you’re making your lasagna, make some extra cheese sauce and use it for macaroni cheese. Pop it in to the freezer before you bake it. When the time comes to cook it then sprinkle some extra cheese on top before it goes in the oven.

Spaghetti Bolognese

Make the bolognese and freeze it, then you only need to boil pasta on the day you want to eat it. The bolognese can be defrosted and heated in the microwave for speed. Serve with a sprinkle of cheese.

Spinach And Cheese Stuffed Shells

This recipe for stuffed shells is super easy to make and tastes delicious. They are best defrosted for 24 hours in the fridge before cooking.

Frozen Mexican Meals

Chilli

Chilli is a staple freezer meal in our house. It holds it’s flavour really well when frozen so you don’t have to compromise on taste. I keep some microwave bags of rice in the cupboard ready for a quick meal a short notice.

Enchiladas

Make a classic enchilada dish with your favourite meat or vegetables and freeze before baking. This is JHogg’s favourite meal by far, fresh or from the freezer, so it is a staple around here.

Fajitas

Cook up your fajita fillings in advance and let them cool, then store them in the freezer in bags. Let the portion defrost in the fridge for 24 hours before cooking, then fry them up again and eat in tortillas as usual. I actually really enjoy using the fajita filling on top of baked potatoes too.

Shredded Beef Burritos

These beef burritos are individually wrapped and frozen, which makes the perfect for eating alone or having a snack. The recipe is designed with freezing in mind, and they taste delicious too.

A pulled beef burrito with pineapple chunks, laid on a large board with lime wedges and condimentsRelated Post: Slow Cooker Puled Pork Recipe

Comfort Food Freezer Meals

Cottage Pie

A top tip for cooking cottage pie is to let the meat cool before putting the potato on top, that way it doesn’t sink in to the meat. Easy to cook straight from frozen, cottage pie is the ultimate comfort food and can be stuffed with veggies to give you a healthy homemade freezer meal.

Shepherds Pie

We are pretty new to shepherds pie but it has become a bit of a freezer favourite. It’s not something I cook regularly so making it in bulk and freezing gives us the option to pull it out whenever we want.

Chicken Nuggets

Sounds like junk food right? I prefer to make my own chicken nuggets using chunks of chicken breast and crumb coating, that way I know exactly what is in them. They are good for around 6 months in the freezer so you can do all the messy making at once and enjoy them for a long time.

Sweet And Sour Chicken

This does take quite a lot of effort, but it is totally worth it. As a type 1 diabetic I often find a takeaway hard to control my blood sugar levels, but I can enjoy that kick of Chinese food by making it myself. Sweet and sour chicken freezes well, and can be reheated with rice or noodles when you want.

A large dish containing sweet and sour chicken and garnish, a potential freezer mealRelated Post: Pea And Sweetcorn Fritters Recipe

Can You Cook Meals Straight From Frozen?

Yes! You need to adjust your cooking time, usually adding around 30 minutes to what the recipe specifies. If you want to make sure your dishes are cooked then insert a food thermometer and make sure it reads at least 70C (160F).

How Long Can You Keep Homemade Freezer Meals?

You can keep your meals in the freezer for around 2 or 3 months. After that you will find that they are not as good quality, although still edible. I make sure I label each of my dishes as I put them in the freezer with a date so I know when to use them by.

Freezer meals definitely saved us in those early months of parenthood. I can highly recommend giving some of these a try!

48 thoughts on “12 Homemade Freezer Meal Ideas”

  1. I love freezer meals! Make such a difference when everyone is tired. Going to get some of the aluminium cases though, that’s a great idea! #kcacols

    1. They were are a lifesaver at times! Saves washing up, and saves tying up some of your dishes for long periods of time 🙂

  2. Cook ups and freezing them was one of my best moves when I had the girls. I used to be so organised, you’ve inspired me to get back n it again! Makes life so much more less stressful. Great ideas and as a veggie I can still make most of these using Quorn!

    1. They are definitely veggie friendly! I love having something available to grab at short notice on those days when Piglet has been a bit difficult

  3. I’ve not done a big freezer cooking session for a while, but every now and then we will make a big batch of bologneise and freeze portions because there’s so much you can then do with it. I’d not thought to make and freeze macaroni cheese though! x #KCACOLS

    1. I used to just freeze the cheese sauce – that way I could use it to make a lasagna or macaroni cheese – but then started doing it with the pasta in it and I was converted! I have now started freezing mini portions for Piglet and just microwaving it at dinner time

  4. Twicemicrowaved tea

    I used to love the satisfaction of batch cooking before I had my little girl. I really need to get myself more organised! I’ll definitely be trying the fajitas – I’d never considered freezing them before, but what a good idea! #KCACOLS

    1. It makes life so much easier! I freeze the fajitas in bags, defrost in the microwave and then give a flash stirfry 🙂

    1. I make a massive mess when I cook so I get that out of the way in one day by making loads then can pull out of the freezer for many midweek meals

  5. I so wish I was this organised!! I often think about cooking up a batch of meals but just never get round to it. Plus as a family of six we never have left overs and even cooking up a huge batch would mean that most of it would get eaten! Great idea though, one day I will be super organised! #MarvMondays

    1. Yes batch cooking for 6 would be quite the event!! I am pretty good at portion control so we rarely have leftovers (unless its intentional for lunches etc!). It takes a while to do the batch cooking but it is worth it. You could always try to rope the kids in to helping!

    1. Between meal planning and batch cooking I rarely find myself struggling for what to make for dinner. If the meal plan goes out of the window one day I know I can pull something out of the freezer

  6. Alana - Burnished Chaos

    Great ideas. I really need to get on and start doing this, it’s something I’ve talked about for ages but never got round to.
    #TwinklyTuesdays

  7. I used to be so good about stocking up on freezer meals. Love the idea of using bolognese in lasagna! Definitely going to give that a try.

  8. Thank you thank you thank you!!

    I am rubbish when it comes to thinking up food ideas and very rarely have time to cook from scratch! I need to get on this one weekend and get it all batched up for the week ahead! #twinklytuesday

  9. I always think I should do more batch cooking. I generally have a couple of meals for the kids in the frezzer and whenever we make chilli we always make loads and freeze some. Some great ideas for me to try, thank you #twinklytuesday

    1. Some things definitely seem easier to batch cook than others – but once you get started you’ll want to keep going!

  10. This a really useful list. I’ve printed it out and stuck in the fridge. If I can get my myself organised to do this it will save me such a lot of time! Great post! #TheList

  11. I couldn’t cope if I didn’t have my freezer loaded. Not thought about freezing Enchiladas or fajitas before though, thanks for the tip! #KCACOLS

  12. Great list! Ive always got bolognese in the freezer and then use it to make lasagne/ chilli /cottage pie or spaghetti bolognese! #KCACOLS

  13. I used to be much more organised and I had a good selection of freezer meals for a week. I did it especially at the weaning stage. I don’t do this anymore for lack of time. I now buy frozen meals lol I know it sounds bad but it is practical. Having said that after reading your post I have been thinking to do this again especially after having the cook4forme cooker. This is a great list I will make a note of it. Thanks so much for sharing this at #KCACOLS. Sorry I have been very busy but I will coordinate with you soon regarding co-hosting, 🙂 xx

  14. I was absolutely the same when we were expecting our first baby, and spent a week batch cooking meals for the first couple of weeks after baby arrived. They were so useful and well worth the effort. We definitely had a couple of your faves on our list too! I didnt do this with baby number two as I figured we could probably get some of the store ready meals like Charlie Bingham or Cook. But I surprised myself second time round cooking only after a couple of days of our little guy being born so it wasnt as essential second time! A useful list, thanks for sharing it on #MarvMondays

    1. Good on your cooking so soon with 2 little ones! With Piglet being in neonatal for a while I was glad of the supplies to keep us going between visits

  15. mama, my kid doesnt poop rainbows

    Great idea. Especially the takeaway boxes. I always end up with unidentifable lumps of frozen who knows what.

    #fartglitter

  16. My Mum mad a vegetarian lasagne last time she was here and it took up sooo much space in the freezer because there was so much of it. Great to have something ready made though.

    1. If it’s already been cooked then I freeze them in portions – that way it’s easy to access what you need for just 1 or 2 people 🙂

  17. These are great ideas. I don’t freeze cooked food that much as usually have time to cook from scratch but if we have a portion left then I freeze it as can come in handy to have a portion of pasta or curry to grab!

  18. All these are absolute staples of our diet!

    In fact I wasn’t sure what to make for dinner and you had me at macaroni cheese! 🥰

  19. Oh there is some fab ideas here. Our freezer isn’t very big at the moment but once we have our extension were planning on a much larger freezer and then we can start freezing so much more. I’m planning on filling it up with freezer dinners!

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