Freezer meals keep busy family dinners simple. You cook once and eat two to five times, without extra dishes on a weeknight. Here are 30 options that freeze and reheat well.
These are grouped by how each one goes into the freezer and what is left to do on the night you serve it.
Assembled and frozen in the pan
Classic Beef Lasagna
Lasagna freezes well. You can prepare it in a disposable foil pan and wrap it up to freeze it. It is also possible for you to make it a little closer to when you’ll eat it. If you have kids who may be picky, you can also simplify it to meat sauce and noodles with ricotta and mozzarella.
For the best texture, you should thaw it before baking, but if you have a good oven, it can handle baking it straight from frozen. You’ll also need some foil to cover it while you bake it.
Chicken Enchiladas
Chicken enchiladas go into the freezer fully assembled. Roll some shredded chicken (and cheese, and maybe beans) in tortillas, pour some sauce over the top, and freeze the whole thing. It may help to warm corn tortillas so they won’t crack, or you could just use flour ones. To round out the meal, add a bagged salad or some microwave rice.
Baked Mac and Cheese
You prepare this by mixing, baking and freezing. Bake it for slightly less time before freezing so it stays moist when you reheat it. If you want to make it a bit more substantial, you can stir in some cooked, shredded chicken, or add peas or broccoli, for a bit more nutrition. You can also bring it as a drop-off meal if a friend needs help with dinner.
Stuffed Shells
Stuffed shells can be seen as an easier version of lasagna. You can assemble them in sauce, which you should cover them in thoroughly, and freeze them beforehand so they don’t get mushy. If a kid is in your household that dislikes veggies, you can keep half of the ricotta filling plain and sneak spinach into the filling of the other half made for the adults. It looks complicated, but it isn’t.
Chicken Rice Casserole
For the creamy binder, you can use soup, béchamel, or a sour cream and cheese mix, then freeze it. Before you assemble, slightly under-cook the rice so it finishes cooking in the oven. Pair this with something crunchy like carrots and hummus for a balanced meal.
Shepherd’s Pie
Shepherd’s pie has a filling topped with a starchy layer that keeps it from drying out when reheated. Use ground beef or lamb with the included green vegetables and peas for a complete meal all in one container. Reheat it on busy evenings when you need dinner fast.
Baked Ziti
If you are going to make pasta and sauce, you might as well make two dinners. When making it, prepare two ziti trays, one for tonight and one for the freezer. Make sure to slightly undercook the pasta so that it doesn’t get mushy after baking and reheating.
Freeze the base, finish fresh
Noodles, crust, dumplings or buns are added when you serve.
Meatballs in Marinara
Meatballs can be used in three dinners. They can be frozen in sauce or frozen plain. If you freeze them plain you can add the sauce later. One night you could have spaghetti, another night subs, and you could even do a rice and meatball bowl. You can take out only what you need instead of the whole tray.
Chicken Pot Pie
If you don’t want a whole pie crust to go soggy when you freeze it, you can freeze the filling and deal with crust later. Use puff pastry, biscuits, or even toast. This is good if your freezer space is small.
Chicken Noodle Soup
Soup freezes best when you leave the noodles out until serving, otherwise they can go mushy. Freeze the broth with the chicken and veggies, then do the noodles fresh in minutes. Picky eaters tend to accept it because the flavors are familiar.
Beef Stroganoff
If you freeze the Stroganoff sauce and do the noodles later, you have a quick weeknight dinner. I know some people have issues with creamy sauces, but usually, a soft reheat and a stir solves the issue. Use mushrooms if your people like them, and skip them if they don’t and use more onion instead.
Sloppy Joe Filling
This one gets dinner done in about 10 minutes: Prepare the beef, onion, and sauce mixture and then make the filling freeze flat for easy defrosting. Toast the buns so they are not soggy, and add pickles if you want.
Chicken and Dumplings
Dumplings don’t hold up well in the freezer. Instead, freeze your creamy stew base, and then when it comes time to reheat the stew, add fresh biscuit dough or dumplings. This keeps the dumplings’ texture.
Cooked proteins for several meals
Pulled Pork
Pulled pork is a meal prep staple. One cook makes several dinners. When you freeze the pulled pork, put a little of the cooking liquid in the bag so it reheats nicely. Use it for tacos, sandwiches, and rice bowls. If your family members like different sauces, you can keep the pork mostly plain and let them add their sauce to it.
Taco Meat
Just cook some ground beef (or turkey), add beans to the mix, season well and freeze in layers so it defrosts quickly. Then heat and eat. You can also use it for nachos, stuffed peppers, or a taco salad.
BBQ Chicken
Shredded BBQ chicken can be used in several meals. Make it in the slow cooker or Instant Pot. Even freeze it in portions and use it for shredded BBQ chicken sliders one night, and the next use it for shredded BBQ chicken baked potatoes. You can keep the sauce on the mild side and let others add hot sauce.
Sausage and Peppers
Sausage and peppers uses only a few ingredients. Cook everything before freezing it in meal-sized portions. Then you can serve it on hoagie rolls, over pasta, or with roasted potatoes.
Teriyaki Chicken
Chicken in teriyaki sauce is a recipe you can pull together without a lot of thought. The chicken can be cooked separately and frozen with the sauce to allow the chicken to reheat tender and soak in flavor. To go along with the chicken, steam some frozen broccoli or edamame for a balanced meal. If you are watching your sugar, you can reduce the sweetness of the sauce slightly, but keep some sweetness.
Salsa Verde Chicken
This uses three ingredients: chicken, salsa verde, and salt. Cook the chicken, shred it, and freeze it. You now have a base to multiple meals. It’s mild enough for most families and you can bring on the heat with jalapenos or hot sauce.
Soups, chilis and sauces
Turkey Bean Chili
Chili freezes and reheats well, which makes it good for meal prep. I recommend making a big pot of chili and freezing it in zip-top bags so it stacks and fits in your freezer like books. If your family has differing opinions on spice, make the chili mild for the base and let the adults add hot sauce to their bowls to adjust the heat.
Frozen leftovers such as chili keep 3 to 4 months, according to the USDA page on leftovers and food safety.
Chicken Tikka Masala
The sauce in tikka masala keeps everything from getting freezer burnt, which means that it freezes great. You can make the chicken and the sauce, divide them into containers appropriate for your household, and freeze them. To serve, cook the rice or warm the naan. If there are people in the house that are sensitive to heat, skip the chili and let the spice lovers add it at the end.
White Chicken Chili
White chicken chili is quick and doesn’t need hours on the stove. You can even use leftover rotisserie chicken, for the chili. It also freezes really well, and in most cases, the flavor actually gets better after sitting in the freezer for a day and being reheated. Just be sure to add crushed tortilla chips at the table, so they stay crunchy.
Lentil Vegetable Stew
Lentils freeze well. They stretch a meal without spending too much money. This is a good option for a meatless meal, or if you are stretching your groceries. Add spinach at the end of reheating so it stays bright. Pair with bread and you have a simple meal after a long day.
Vegetable Pasta Sauce
Freezing sauces is a quick meal prep step. Simmer some onions and other veggies like zucchini and bell peppers into some marinara sauce and blend it if you’re worried about veggie haters. Use ice cube trays to freeze individual portions so you can just boil water when you want to eat it. This also saves money because you’re using up produce before it goes bad.
Sausage Bean Soup
Beans and sausage give this soup protein and body. Kale stands up to freezing better than other, more delicate greens, so you’ll still enjoy it in the future. Since this soup keeps so well, we suggest making a big batch and then freezing the soup in individual servings as well as in larger family-sized servings.
Frozen in single portions
Breakfast Burritos
Freezer breakfast burritos work for early mornings. Scramble some eggs and mix them with some beans or cooked breakfast sausage, and some roasted potatoes. Once you’ve wrapped the mixture in a tortilla, freeze them individually. To reheat them, place a damp paper towel on top of the burrito to keep the tortilla soft. Make extra if you have a teen with a big appetite.
Chicken Parmesan
You can prepare chicken parm without frying. Bread the cutlets and lay them on a tray to freeze. Once frozen, bag them up so they don’t stick together. Once you are ready to eat, take a tray out of the freezer and bake the frozen cutlets. Add some sauce and cheese towards the end and they will be ready. Serve them with pasta, salad or some garlic bread.
Chicken Fried Rice
White or brown rice freezes exceptionally well, if you cool it quickly and pack it properly. Portion out your rice into appropriate size bags, and do the same with your diced cooked chicken and veggies. When it’s time to eat, all you need to do is a quick sauté. You can keep the soy sauce separate for better control over the saltiness at the end.
Beef and Cheese Burritos
These burritos work for nights when no one can agree on what to eat. Just be sure to keep the burrito filling nice and dry. A good combo would be some beef, black beans, cheese, and maybe a little rice. Once they are wrapped up, make sure to tightly wrap them in some foil and toss them in the freezer. When you are ready to eat them, put them in the oven or air fryer until the outside is crisp. Everyone can personalize their food as well by putting out some salsa and sour cream.
Mini Meatloaves
Mini meatloaves suit families that eat in shifts, and each one is a single portion. Bake them in a muffin tin, cool, and freeze each one for quick reheats. Serve them with mashed potatoes or crumble them into leftover pasta sauce.
Meal Prep Gear I Use
Two things that make freezer meal day go smoothly.
- BYSNOW Deli Containers with Lids. Taco meat, pulled pork, and white chicken chili freeze flat in these and thaw overnight in the fridge.
- WOODLANDS USA Teak Wooden Ladle with Spoon Rest. Portioning chicken noodle soup and lentil vegetable stew into freezer containers with this keeps the counter clean.
