The 50 Best Easy Freezer Meals for Your Family (That Will Make Your Life Easier!)
I’m a huge believer in keeping a stocked freezer. Just when I think there’s nothing to eat, I find a few frozen dumplings or some soup from a couple of months ago. It has saved me time and again on a busy weeknight between my kids’ practices, or on a Tuesday work-from-home day.
I also host a lot — both holidays and overnight guests. Making a breakfast casserole or a lasagna a month before I know I’ll be having company saves me a lot of stress (no one wants to cook when they’re also playing tour guide!). It’s handy, too, if a signup for a meal train makes its way through the parent group chat: Right now I’ve got baked beans and brownies in the freezer, so all I have to do is throw a pork shoulder in the Crock-Pot and I can feed two families with little day-of effort.
Whether you need ideas for breakfast, lunch, dinner, sides, or dessert, here are 50 easy freezer-friendly meals to keep on hand for whatever life throws your way.
Advice for Freezing Meals
- Bulk-cook foods you know you and your family love. “The best freezer meal is one that you love eating,” says mom and Souper Cubes founder Michelle Sendowski. “Early in my freezer meal prepping days, I would make big batches of new recipes I thought I’d love but didn’t enjoy eating. They’d sit in my freezer for too long and I’d never want to eat them.” Avoid both wasted effort and wasted food by just cooking what you actually like eating.
- Know that most meals freeze just fine. Yes, even dairy and potatoes, says Sendowski. High-alcohol or high-sugar-content foods are the only things that won’t freeze properly.
- If you can, thaw before reheating. Thawing overnight in the refrigerator will cut down reheating time significantly. It also is better for dishes with varied textures, like casseroles. But if you don’t have the time, or simply forgot, Sendowski recommends thawing in the microwave at reduced power or the defrost setting. Soups and stews can be heated on the stovetop — just add a little water to the bottom of the pot first.
- Eat within a few months or so. Technically as long as your food has stayed frozen solid at 0 degrees Fahrenheit or below, it is safe to eat. But for the best quality, you’ll want to eat it within a handful of months. It can start to take on other flavors, ice crystals, or freezer burn the longer it sits. Sendowski recommends vacuum-sealing if you’d like to keep your food long-term.
- Add garnishes or finish assembling dishes after thawing. You can freeze complete meals, like a whole casserole, or you can freeze just a component, like taco filling or a side of mashed potatoes (adding the other fresh meal components makes it feel less like you’re eating leftovers). A squeeze of lemon or shower of fresh herbs also helps to wake up soups and stews.