Freezer Meal Recipes from Scratch
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Freezer Meals are work up front, but give big savings in time and convenience later in the days, and weeks ahead. Having homemade, from scratch meals ready to go is a game-changer.
It makes me so happy just to know that if I’m tired or our friends show up unexpectedly, I’m ready with homemade food already made in the freezer. Stocking up my freezer and having ready-made meals on hand saves me so much time and money, it’s a win-win for me.
We just got done filming a 21 freezer meal on YouTube, where I cook it all and give tips and tricks on how I put up a whole lot of freezer meals all from scratch in a day. Recipes Below.
21 Freezer Meal Recipes from Scratch
Stock your freezer with 21 homemade freezer meals made from scratch! These easy, budget-friendly make-ahead meals are perfect for busy families, new moms, and meal preppers. Set aside an afternoon to prep and fill your freezer with delicious, stress-free dinners!
Here is a list of the freezer meal recipes that I make from scratch in my video.
Make-Ahead Lasagna with Simple Bolognese Sauce (printable on the blog here)
Enchiladas (printable on the blog here)
Pizza Dough (printable on the blog here)
Pour Over Pot Pie Crust & Casserole Recipe (printable on the blog here)
More Recipes Below:
Bechamel ( white sauce )
Stuffed Peppers
Jalapeno White Sauce
Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
Bechamel ( white sauce )
Whisk the butter and flour together and cook for a couple of minutes until smooth and blended well. Add the milk slowly until smooth and heat until thickened.
Add mushrooms to the butter and saute for a few minutes before adding flour if you want a mushroom soup concentrate as a substitute for canned mushroom soup in recipes.
Recipe Card
Bechamel ( white sauce )
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 cups milk
Instructions
- Whisk the butter and flour together and cook for a couple of minutes until smooth and blended well. Add the milk slowly until smooth and heat until thickened.
- Add mushrooms to the butter and saute for a few minutes before adding flour if you want a mushroom soup concentrate as a substitute for canned mushroom soup in recipes.
Stuffed Peppers
This is more of a method than a recipe. I cook up a bunch of beans and use them for all the recipes in the video. Take about 3-4 cups of the cooked beans (any kind of bean you like) and add to the cooked rice ( I sautee 2 cups of rice in 2T oil until brown and add 4 cups of water or broth. I put a lid on the pan, get it to a simmer, lower the heat to the lowest setting, and steam for 15-20 minutes. You will use 3-4 cups of the cooked rice.
You will not need all the rice and beans you make with this recipe; I use the rest in my enchiladas. We are making freezer meals, so I just cook the rice and beans in big batches.
The next step is to add some kind of meat (this is totally up to you). I added hamburger in the video, and then I mixed up 1/2 cup of broth, an 8oz can of tomato sauce, and 2T of sriracha sauce, whisked together, and added to the bean rice mixture.
I prebake the peppers for 10 minutes in the oven at 350 degrees. However, if you are freezing these, you can skip this and stuff the peppers raw. Otherwise, they get soggy when you freeze them.
Stuff the 18 pepper halves. That’s 9 pepper halves per pan. Sprinkle chopped mushrooms and cheese on top. I drizzle oil over the peppers and salt and pepper. Wrap with tin foil and freeze.
When you are ready to eat this meal, take it out of the freezer the night before and put it in the refrigerator to defrost overnight. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling and melted.
Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients
- 9 Bell Peppers
- 3-4 cups Beans
- 3-4 cups Rice
- 1 pound Hamburger
- 1/2 cup Chicken Broth
- 8 oz Tomato Sauce
- 2 tbsp Sriracha Sauce
- 2-3 cups Grated Cheese
Instructions
- Stuffed Peppers This is more of a method than a recipe. I cook up a bunch of beans and use them for all the recipes in the video. Take about 3-4 cups of the cooked beans (any kind of bean you like) and add to the cooked rice ( I sautee 2 cups of rice in 2T oil until brown and add 4 cups of water or broth. I put a lid on the pan, get it to a simmer, lower the heat to the lowest setting, and steam for 15-20 minutes. You will use 3-4 cups of the cooked rice.You will not need all the rice and beans you make with this recipe; I use the rest in my enchiladas. We are making freezer meals, so I just cook the rice and beans in big batches.The next step is to add some kind of meat (this is totally up to you). I added hamburger in the video, and then I mixed up 1/2 cup of broth, an 8oz can of tomato sauce, and 2T of sriracha sauce, whisked together and added to the bean rice mixture.I prebake the peppers for 10 minutes in the oven at 350 degrees. However, if you are freezing these, you can skip this and stuff the peppers raw. Otherwise, they get soggy when you freeze them.Stuff the 18 pepper halves. That's 9 pepper halves per pan. Sprinkle chopped mushrooms and cheese on top. I drizzle oil over the peppers and salt and pepper. Wrap with tin foil and freeze.When you are ready to eat this meal, take it out of the freezer the night before and put it in the refrigerator to defrost overnight. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling and melted.
Jalapeno White Sauce (I used it over one of the enchiladas in the video)
I just made this up on the fly, so here goes the very simple recipe…
1/2 large onion diced
1/2 cup of pickled jalapenos
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup cornstarch
2 cups of chicken broth
1/4 cup of cream
2 tsp garlic powder (you can add fresh garlic and sautee with the onion and forego the powder)
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Sautee the onions in butter until soft and golden. Add the jalapeños and the cornstarch, and stir until a paste forms slowly add two cups of chicken broth, whisking until smooth. Add cream and garlic powder and stir in salt and pepper to taste. Pour over stuffed tortillas. Freeze the enchiladas in a freezer container or wrapped well with plastic. When ready to eat, defrost the pan in the fridge overnight. Bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees.
Jalapeno White Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/2 large Onion Diced
- 1/2 cup Pickled Jalapenos
- 1/2 cup Butter
- 1/2 cup Cornstarch
- 2 cups Chicken Broth
- 1/4 cup Cream
- 2 tsp Garlic Powder (you can add fresh garlic and sautee with the onion and forego the powder)
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Sautee the onions in butter until soft and golden. Add the jalapeños and the cornstarch, and stir until a paste forms slowly add two cups of chicken broth, whisking until smooth. Add cream and garlic powder and stir in salt and pepper to taste. Pour over stuffed tortillas. Freeze the enchiladas in a freezer container or wrapped well with plastic. When ready to eat, defrost the pan in the fridge overnight. Bake for 30 minutes at 375 degrees.
Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
2 cups chopped-up chicken
1 cup celery chopped
2tsp dried onion
3 cups cooked rice
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups broccoli
1/2 cup of mayonnaise
a batch of homemade chicken sauce:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup of butter
2 cups of chicken broth
Melt the butter and flour together, stirring until it makes a paste. Cook for a couple of minutes to remove the flour taste. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth until thick and smooth. (I find it easier to just pull the pan off the heat for a minute while whisking in the broth and putting it back on the heat after it is all smooth and mixed).
Add all ingredients to a bowl and stir until well mixed, spread out into a 9 x 13 pan, add some cheese to the top, cover with plastic, or put into freezer containers and freeze for up to 3-6 months.
When ready to eat, defrost and bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes.
Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 cups Chopped-up chicken
- 1 cup Celery chopped
- 2 tsp Dried onion
- 3 cups Cooked rice
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 2 cups Broccoli
- 1/2 cup Mayonnaise
A batch of homemade chicken sauce:
- 1/2 cup Flour
- 1/2 cup Butter
- 2 cups Chicken broth
Instructions
- Melt the butter and flour together, stirring until it makes a paste. Cook for a couple of minutes to remove the flour taste. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth until thick and smooth. (I find it easier to just pull the pan off the heat for a minute while whisking in the broth and putting it back on the heat after it is all smooth and mixed).Add all ingredients to a bowl and stir until well mixed, spread out into a 9 x 13 pan, add some cheese to the top, cover with plastic, or put into freezer containers and freeze for up to 3-6 months. When ready to eat, defrost and bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes.
Cooking and Reheating your meals
The Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole recipe above is best frozen without baking it, pull it out of the freezer the night before you want to eat it, and let defrost in the refrigerator overnight. When ready to eat, bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes.
Freezer meals really can free you up later in the week or month depending on how many meals you make. For me it’s nice to have on days I want to learn something new or work on a project and knowing I have dinner ready is a game-changer for me.
Tip for when you don’t have enough time to make freezer meals
This is a great tip when you don’t feel like you have the time to set aside a whole day for making freezer meals. Double or triple the dinner you are making tonight, it takes just a little more effort and a whole lot of reward! You can do that just once a week and start filling up your freezer with lots of meals.
Another thing I am doing is collecting glass casserole pans so I can stop using tinfoil pans, I had a good collection before I moved but downsized before we moved across the country. I can often find pans for a couple of bucks at local thrift stores.
Would love to hear what dishes you like to make and freeze.
Even More Freezer Meal Recipes to Try Next:
A few of my favorite items around our cozy kitchen:
Stainless Steel Electric Milk Steamer
AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker
I am inviting you to come over to our YouTube channel and subscribe. We would love for you to join our community where we embrace home life and the beauty of the everyday. Forgotten Way Farms YouTube Channel.
Have a lovely week my friends!
-Abby jo
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I was looking for the recipe for your pizza dough but I could not find it. Would love to have it because it made such a beautiful dough.
Hello, I just looked and in the post their is a link to it where I talk about the pizza crust, but here is the link just in case you cant find it https://www.forgottenwayfarms.com/forgotten-way-farms-blog/movie-night-homemade-pizza So glad you are going to try it 🙂
Wow, just found you today. I was very impressed with what you were able to get done, with just a little forethought. I wish I would have thought of something like that while I was working it would have come in real handy. Thank you so much for sharing.
I’m so glad you found us 🙂 Welcome
Do you have a link to where you ourchase your pepperoni?
Thanks, Grace
No, I don’t, I wish I did. But you can find it at Gordon’s store. 🙂 Hope this helps
Loving your YT Channel Abby Jo. I plan on bingeing on them this weekend. (I’ve only seen 3 so far but, I like what I see.) I’m also going to try your Chicken Pot Pie Crust and your white(green) Jalapeno Sause. My tummy doesn’t always like tomato based items. You cook a lot like i do. Your Sous Chef and you work well together. You might be nervous but, you are also very calming to me. I hope I can keep up my part of this YT friendship. See ya this weekend! (on YT of course) suggestion: up the volume a bit that is all. just saw 21 Freezer Meals.
I was looking for your enchilada sauce recipe, but could not find it.
Nevermind….. I found it. Sorry for bothering you.
I’m glad you found it 🙂
Why can’t I cut and paste to save a recipe?
We only have a printable option on the recipe card. Had too many people cutting and pasting onto other websites.
Just found your yt channel while looking for freezer meals to make for an elderly friend. I will be making and freezing in single portions for her. She is in her 90’s and has begun having mobility issues, so now has some careers come in a few times a day. They are not allowed to use the oven or stove top, they can only microwave to heat things up. So rather than her buying expensive and processed microwave meals, as she always cooked from scratch and hates the chemical tastes (rightly so). My husband and I have volunteered to cook from scratch freezer meals they can ten warm up for her so she is eating proper home cooked meals.
We are vegan where she is a meat eater, but I grew up on a farm, and learned to cook meat back then. I am unable to taste the meat sauces as I go, so when making the sauces, I cook the meat, then start making the sauce in another pan and cook the sauce to taste before then adding the meat. As she has become a bit anemic, but struggles to take iron tablets, I am adding extra things like lentils, beans, etc into her meals, adding liver and other offal too. She says the meals have been delicious and so it has encouraged us to cook more variety for her. She has been enjoying trying all the new dishes we bring over and has even begun asking for a few vegetarian and vegan meals after tasting a few of ours we shared as I had made a little too much. She really loved the vegan sloppy joes (using green lentils, finely chopped mushrooms and crushed walnuts in place of the ground beef).
You have reminded me of so many recipes my Mom made when we were growing up, 6 growing farm kids, along with the farm hands, my parents and the 6 mentally disabled adults they cared for made for a lot of hungry mouths to feed. I had not thought of the chicken and broccoli casserole in years and am going to have to make that soon, but with a vegan twist, using homemade Seitan “chikn” and will use some rotisserie chicken for our friend’s freezer meals.
Thank you for sharing all your recipes and ideas!
As a mom of 15 I’m always looking for meal ideas. I’ve tried almost all the recipes you posted and they were all amazing. My family loved them. Love your channel. Thank you!
Thank you! That makes me so happy, blessing to you. 🙂