Mel’s Big List of Freezer Meal Recipes and Freezer Meal Cooking Tips

Our super amazing One Hundred Dollars a Month reader Mel is back with an update on her Freezer Meal Menu Plan for Four Month’s Worth of Meals she wrote last month. Many of you requested links to the recipes she uses for her freezer meal menu planning and well, lucky us, she put together a crazy cool collection of her go to recipes.

Way to go Mel!!!

I don’t cook all these recipes every time I stock the freezer, but I pull from this list in various combinations. I have tried to add notes as needed, but I may have missed something or your mileage could vary. For the most part, this should be a solid starting point!

Soups and Stews:

• Sunday Stew  Notes: I add red wine and peas, and I use London Broil instead of stew meat. I just freeze the stew and make fresh mashed potatoes when serving.
• Chicken Noodle Soup  Notes: I add fresh parsley and a bay leaf. I reduce the water and cook the noodles separately when serving.
• Bean and Bacon Soup 
• Chicken and Rice Soup  Notes: I skip the food coloring. I add the cooked rice when serving.
• Corn and Cheese Chowder  Notes: I add potatoes and replace the green onion with chives (green onions don’t freeze well). Potatoes can change texture while freezing, so you can omit them or add them later if that bothers you.
• Hamburger Soup Notes: I reduce the meat because I do not reside on a cattle ranch. Potatoes can change texture while freezing, so you can omit them or add them later if that bothers you. The spice seems to mellow a bit after freezing, so you can re-season later if needed (or be really excited if you got a little heavy handed with the cayenne).
• Sausage White Bean Soup 

• Spinach White Bean Soup
• Veggie Chili Notes: I love roasted butternut cubes in this, but they kinda dissolve if frozen, so I add them when serving.
• Chili
• All-American Chili
• Maryland Crab Soup Notes: Potatoes can change texture while freezing, so you can omit them or add them later if that bothers you. The soup pairs really well with oyster crackers.
• Chicken Tortilla Soup Notes: I don’t add the tortillas, but I do add corn.
• Vegetable Leek Soup Notes: I use the stovetop instructions and do not blend. Potatoes can change texture while freezing, so you can omit them or add them later if that bothers you.
• Chipotle Chicken Chili Notes: I don’t use as much chipotle pepper.
• Turkey Noodle Soup Notes: I make extra turkey at Thanksgiving just to make this. I freeze without the noodles and add them later. 
  

Meats and Proteins:

• Black Bean Burgers Notes: I freeze the patties uncooked. You can thaw first, but I just put them in a pan on low for a few minutes to thaw and then raise the temperature to cook them.

• Slow Cooker Asian Pork Ribs Notes: I just freeze the raw meat and sauce ingredients (except the cornstarch). Thaw in the fridge, cook in the crockpot, and add cornstarch as directed.
• Grilled Chicken Notes: I freeze the raw chicken in the marinade. It will marinate as it thaws in the fridge before grilling.
• Turkey Meatballs Notes: We add them to tomato sauce.
• Slow Cooker Sesame Chicken Notes: I reduce the honey. I just freeze the raw meat and sauce ingredients (except the cornstarch). Thaw in the fridge, cook in the crockpot, and add cornstarch as directed. As it’s finishing up, I like to stir fry some broccoli, peppers, and onions to mix in with the sauce and serve over fresh rice.
• Sheet Pan Nachos Notes: I freeze seasoned beans (you can do meat, but we decided we just liked beans) with minced jalapeno and garlic mixed in. I also sometimes freeze cheese. We use well-drained canned tomato in the winter instead of fresh and usually add olives.
  
• Slow Cooker BBQ Pork Ribs Notes: I just freeze the raw meat and sauce ingredients. After thawing in the fridge, I put them in the slow cooker and follow the recipe from there.

• Oven Fried Chicken Notes: If you scroll through the comments, the blogger has directions for cooking from frozen.
• Slow Cooker Lo Mein Notes: I just freeze the raw meat and sauce ingredients and then follow the rest of the recipe after thawing. I can never find sambal oelek and just use some sriracha instead.
• Oven Fried Pork Chops (or Chicken) Notes: I use boneless pork chops.
• Garden Turkey Meatloaf Notes: I like to freeze the sauce, wet ingredients, and dry ingredients in separate containers. I then mix with the meat after thawing.
• Tandoori Chicken Nuggets Notes: I freeze the raw chicken in the marinade. It marinates as it thaws in the fridge.
• Salsa Verde Chicken
• Cajun Brisket Notes: I find that chicory coffee makes this a little bitter, so I just do regular coffee.

Casseroles:

• Tamale Casserole Notes: I reduce the meat by 1 lb. and add a can of beans instead. I freeze the filling and then mix the topping and bake when the filling thaws. I can never find corn flour, so I just do a mix of cornmeal and all-purpose.
• Lasagna Notes: I freeze the sauce and the cottage cheese mixture separately and then thaw and assemble the rest.
• Spinach Artichoke Lasagna Notes: I freeze the tomato sauce and the artichoke mixture separately and then thaw and assemble the rest.
• Butternut Squash Lasagna Notes: This recipe might be one of my favorites ever. I sometimes freeze everything assembled except the whipped cream and Parmesan, thaw, add the topping, and bake. Lately, I’ve just been freezing the sauce and making the rest.
• Chicken Spaghetti Casserole Notes: I just freeze the chicken sauce mixture to save space and add to fresh pasta after thawing and bake.
• Taco Casserole Notes: I’m not a big Doritos person, but I’m with Monkey Boy on this one. We do Doritos and sour cream to serve.

Serve Over Rice or Pasta:

• Chicken Curry Notes: We like to add chickpeas.
• Teriyaki Meatballs Notes: Cornstarch sauces can get a little funny when frozen. So, I add less than the recipe calls for (just adding gradually) and stop just when it starts to thicken. I also make extra sauce and freeze it to make stir fry.
• Heirloom Tomato Sauce Notes: I freeze tomatoes (washed, dried, and cored) and make this when I have enough. I then freeze the sauce.
• Garlic Noodle Sauce Notes: I usually leave out the vegetable oil and replace the chili oil with a little ground cayenne. I add cooked chicken or shrimp and veggies to the pasta to make it a full meal later. It’s good cold or warm.
• Four Cheese Alfredo Sauce Notes: I serve this over pasta or spaghetti squash. I always add broccoli for texture (when serving) and parsley (when freezing).
• Alfredo Sauce
• Bolognese
• Drip Beef Notes: We serve it over rice, but it could be a sandwich.
• Red Beans and Rice Notes: There are a number of variations listed at the bottom. We do the “Quick” variation.
• Cincinnati Chili
  

Fillings:

• Corn and Black Bean Quesadillas Notes: We freeze the filling and then build the quesadillas when it thaws. We usually have to add more cheese to make it stay together.
• Sweet Potato Black Bean Burritos Notes: I freeze each part of the filling (beans, rice, etc.) separately and assemble the burritos after thawing. I add cilantro and lime to the rice. I also use the taco seasoning from the same site to season baked sweet potato cubes and freeze those, and I sauté onions and peppers and freeze those as well.
• Pulled Pork Notes: I don’t use as much chipotle pepper. You might want to halve the recipe. My husband had to come home from work to help me lift it out of the oven. Hilarious but not super practical.
• Enchiladas Notes: I freeze the meat and the sauce and then do the rest of the assembly and baking after thawing. Sometimes I do chicken instead of beef.

Bread:
Notes: Other than the pizza dough and biscuits, I freeze these already baked.

• Dinner Rolls
• Honey Oatmeal Bread
• Cinnamon Swirl Bread
• Pizza Dough
• Cheddar Chive Biscuits

Breakfasts:
Notes: Scones will sometimes brown too fast on the bottom when frozen first. I use 3-4 layers of parchment (just fold one piece to get layers) to solve this issue.

• Sausage Gravy
  
• Apple Pie Doughnuts
• Chocolate Chip Muffins Notes: I use regular yogurt.
• Oatmeal Zucchini Muffins
  
• Pumpkin Doughnuts
  
• Pumpkin Muffins
  
• Lemon Poppyseed Scones
  
• Chocolate Zucchini Bread
  
• Triple Cinnamon Scones Notes: We actually skip the cinnamon chips and icing. The cinnamon filling is sweet enough for us.
• Peanut Butter Banana Granola Notes: I adore this. I have to cook it at a lower temp, but it’s likely my oven.
• Pumpkin Scones
  
• Gingerbread Muffins
  
• Carrot Cake Muffins
  
• Chocolate Chip Scones
  
• Apple Scones Notes: I leave out the cinnamon chips.
• Orange Scones Notes: I use yogurt in place of sour cream.
• Orange Muffins
  
• Applesauce Muffins
  
• Banana Bread
  
• Mocha Chip Scones Notes: The dough is pretty wet, but I just keep dusting with flour as needed.

• Bacon Notes: Just cook as you normally would, cool, and freeze. I reheat it in a low oven.
• Sausage Patties Notes: I form them into patties and freeze on a pan (so they don’t stick) and then package together. Since the patties are already shaped, they can go straight into a pan from the freezer to cook.

Miscellaneous:

• Baked Beans
• No-Bake Lemon Cheesecake Notes: Directions for freezing the whole cake are included in the recipe, but I made miniature ones, wrapped them individually, and packed them in twos in plastic containers.
• Chicken Salad Sauce Notes: I use tarragon instead of dill. Mayonnaise does not freeze well, so I just freeze the sauce without it. Yogurt tends to get grainy when frozen, so you can leave that out as well, but I find it doesn’t make a difference in this case.
• Garlic Butter Notes: I just freeze the butter to save space.
• Apple Cider Butter
• Fudge Notes: I don’t add peppermint. You can cut it before or after thawing.
  
• Saltine Cracker Toffee Notes: I use Club Crackers and Ghirardelli milk chocolate. I think I usually need a bit more chocolate than it calls for, and I usually have to pop the pan back in the oven for just a few seconds to melt the chocolate to the point of spreading. One pan makes 15-20 individual gift bags (it’s very rich and satisfying), so it’s a very efficient way to put together gifts for a big group.

• Twice Baked Potato Casserole Notes: I scale the butter back significantly.
• Uncrustables Notes: I use our honey oatmeal bread and usually fill with peanut butter and Nutella. I use a teddy bear cutter and press. Because I am an adult and wanted teddy bear sandwiches.
• Poptarts Notes: I fill with fig preserves or apple butter and dust with cinnamon sugar. I bake before freezing and thaw with a couple brief cycles in the toaster. You could also freeze unbaked and then bake directly from frozen on a few layers of parchment for a bit longer.
• Spinach Artichoke Dip
  
• Slow Cooker Heirloom Pizza Sauce Notes: We don’t grow too many true sauce tomatoes, so I usually add more tomato paste. Sometimes, water will separate out during freezing, so I just blot it off before putting on the pizza.
• Applesauce Notes: I use this for the applesauce muffins and apple scones, and I also thaw some out each week to pack in my lunch for work.
  
• Graham Crackers Notes: I sometimes make these plain and sometimes roll them most of the way out, dust with cinnamon sugar, and roll the rest of the way. Rolling between layers of parchment helps.
  
• Beans Notes: This is the method I use to make beans for recipes and also just to freeze to have on hand. Read the fine print at the top about not using kidney beans and similar types with this method.

• All Kinds of Cookie Dough Notes: There are too many of these recipes to list, and many of my recipes come from the Ultimate Southern Living Cookbook, but cookie dough freezes very well. I usually freeze the dough in a block, sheet, or roll, but you can also freeze individual scoops of it and bake straight from the freezer.

Notes: This cookbook is my go-to. I learned how to bake and cook from it when I was a teenager, and I’ve used it ever since. I’ve given it as a wedding gift to best friends, and I used the apple butter recipe for favors at my own wedding. {Note from Mavis: it’s one of my favorite cookbooks too! I have the updated version and use it often.} Below are some of my favorite recipes from the cookbook:

• No-Knead French Bread Notes: This makes 3 big, fluffy loaves. If you need to avoid eggs, you can use heavy cream instead of an egg wash.
• Chicken Pot Pie and Ham Pot Pie Notes: One recipe yields two 9-inch pot pies. I typically freeze the filling and then assemble and bake after thawing. The recipe is for chicken pot pie, but I sub chopped ham (added at the end instead) and use water instead of broth to make ham pot pie.
• All American Meatloaf Notes: One recipe yields two loaves. I like to freeze the sauce, wet ingredients, and dry ingredients in separate containers. I then mix with the meat after thawing.
• Shrimp Creole Notes: I freeze the sauce without the shrimp or green onions. I make fresh shrimp when serving.
• Lentil Soup Notes: I add a bit more broth.
• Vegetable Barley Soup Notes: This is the minestrone recipe. I just replace the pasta with cooked barley. I usually skip the zucchini.
• Pesto Notes: I freeze it without the Parmesan and add it later. Basil can turn black when added onto piping hot pasta, so I let the pasta cool a bit before tossing.
• Apple Butter
• Tomato Soup
• Cupcakes (a few kinds)
• Crab Dip
• Buttermilk Biscuits

I think that covers everything! Happy Cooking.

~Mel