Not sure you want to start freezer cooking? This post answers some of the most frequently asked questions about freezer cooking.
Way back in 2013, I decided to make my first batch of freezer meals. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing for me, so I wasn’t really an expert when I first did mine. With trial and error (and a lot of practice!), I wouldn’t say I’m an expert, but I definitely know my way around cooking freezer meals. I get a LOT of questions about freezer meals, so hopefully this post will help answer some of them.
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What are freezer meals? What is freezer cooking?
Freezer meals are meals that are either pre-cooked or pre-packaged to make creating a meal easier when you’re ready for one. You can make them for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, drinks or desserts. Freezer cooking is preparing different sorts and not just pre-made meals.
Some people already do this by doing “double duty” meals – like baking a large chicken and having roast chicken one night, then chicken noodle soup a couple of days later. It’s the same concept but on a much larger and more intentional scale.
Why should I make freezer meals?
Do you like saving money? Do you like saving time? Those two are the main reasons why we do freezer meals.
We save money by not eating out every other night and/or by not wasting groceries that we buy to cook meals that never quite happen.
Life is so much easier when you can pull out a freezer meal and stick it in the oven. No chopping, minimal clean up and the oven does all the work at that point.
Is freezer cooking worth the effort?
Making a batch of freezer meals can be daunting at first. You’ll have to schedule out a day to get all the work done. But in the long run I find that it’s actually less effort to make 20 meals in 3-4 hours than to make 20 meals individually one by one.
But no one says you need to do a whole month your first time. Pick 2 or 3 recipes you already know and love and just make 3 of them at once a couple of times a week. If you do that over the course of a few weeks, you’ll have your freezer filled in no time without being overwhelmed.
What if the recipes don’t work for my family?
Not every family is alike… which is why you might have better luck developing your own menu. Although my freezer meal plan does all the work for you, there are other options to pull together a menu, instructions and a shopping list.
Once a Month Meals might be a good choice for those who have special menu needs. In addition they have every kind of meal from breakfast to lunch to dinner and snacks – so you’ll be covered every meal if you need that much help.
I don’t have a deep freezer – can I still do freezer meals?
Absolutely! I don’t have a deep freezer, either! All I have is the basic one on my fridge. It’s completely doable!
We only have 2 people at home, how do I make it work for me?
We are just now facing this dilemma as we are very soon becoming empty nesters. My plan of attack is to still do a 4 portion meal, but plan for left overs a couple of days later. You can easily break up meals into whatever portion size you need with smaller containers if necessary.
How do I get started doing freezer cooking?
Well, I just jumped in head first. I don’t recommend that – especially when there are so many great resources out there to help you.
First plan out a time to tackle them – make sure to account for shopping time and clean up time. And if at all possible, enlist help!
Should I defrost meals before cooking them?
For optimal cooking, yes. However, if you’re in a pinch you can totally cook the recipes in my freezer meal plan from frozen – they just need to cook a bit longer and I typically recommend covering it with aluminum foil so it doesn’t brown too much before it’s all cooked well.
How long will the meals last in my freezer?
We usually use the meals up before the six month mark – so I’m fairly confident they’ll last that long (they did for us, anyway.)
Sharon says
Dies all of the meat etc need to be pre cooked or can I do raw and freeze~
Gina Luker says
I cook it ahead of time so it just needs to be reheated. Some recipes could be prepped with raw meats and frozen, it really depends on the recipe 🙂