Beginner Tips For Easy Freezer Meal Cooking

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Have you ever wanted to start making freezer meals but did not know where to begin?  These freezer meal cooking tips for beginners will help start you off on the right foot!

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I started freezer meal cooking almost 10 years ago.

I might be somewhat of an expert if there was a way to judge expertise on such a topic.  Going from being a busy woman eating a lot of frozen dinners; to being a busy mom whose child has a dairy allergy was a big adjustment.  After my eldest was diagnosed with an allergy, I had to completely revamp the way that I ate.  I started cooking all of our meals from scratch, but there were days when I wanted something quick because we would be out of the house all day.  Because of this, I started with making my own frozen meals.

Almost 2 years ago I posted my first freezer meal video on YouTube.  At the time, I did not realize how that valuable that video would be to so many people.  To date, it has 22,000+ views (which is huge for a channel as small as mine) and I have posted many more freezer meal videos to meet the demand.

See my freezer meal playlist here:  All Things Freezer Meal Cooking

I am quite often asked for tips about making freezer meals, and specifically about how to start if you are a beginner.  If you are just getting started, these freezer meal tips for beginners are for you!

 

Know How You Are Going To Store Your Freezer Meals

My first tip is to know how you plan on storing your freezer meals.

This may seem obvious, but there are two key factors to consider.  The first is the containers in which you will store your food and the second is your freezer space.

Your freezer space may dictate which containers you use and the number of meals you can make.

You can use Pyrex containers with lids or foil trays for things like casseroles.  If you use foil trays, you can either buy ones with lids or just double wrap them in aluminium foil and label the outer layer of foil (you will want to remove the layer with the label for cooking).  Containers like the Pyrex ones can be stacked before they are frozen, but depending on the contents of the foil trays, you may not be able to stack them until they are frozen.

For meats or slow cooker meals, I find zip-top bags to be the best solution.  One item that is on my wishlist for freezer cooking, though is not a necessity, is a stand for zip-top bags.  These stands hold the bags in an upright and open position which makes it really easy to fill!

When using bags, I like to freeze them flat.  They take up a lot less space this way and are easy to store.  As you can see in this picture, I froze this enchilada casserole flat.  That way they freeze quickly, stack well, and also thaw quickly for an easy mid-week meal.

 

Start With Small Batches

There are many experienced freezer meal cooking mamas out there, like Jamerrill’s Large Family Table, who can pull off mega freezer meal days.  One of my best freezer meal tips for beginners is to not attempt this!

Start off small.

Pick a few recipes, just two or three, that you know you love and make 2 or 3 trays/bags of each meal.  If you make 3 batches of 3 meals, that is 9 meals.  It may not seem like a lot but it is a great place to start.

On my big freezer meal days, I can make upwards of 30 meals.  Once you get a few freezer meal cooking days under your belt, add to your inventory.  My big days leave me exhausted and a few years ago I never would have attempted such feats.  It is ok to start small.

 

Meats Are Easy

An easy way to begin making freezer meals is to buy meat in bulk and freeze it.

I like to buy chicken breasts or drumsticks and marinate or season them before freezing.  This allows the meat to soak up all the flavours you put in the bag and then when you thaw the meat, all you have to do is cook it!  You can do this will all sorts of meats, not just chicken!

We like to prep beef roasts with onions, salt, pepper, and herbs before we freeze it.  Then all you have to do is put it in the slow cooker.  For our drumsticks, we season them how we like and then cook them as a sheet pan dinner.

 

Start With Meals You Love

There are all sorts of freezer meal ideas on Pinterest and YouTube.  But when you are just starting, I would suggest working with a recipe you are familiar with and know you love.

When you have made the recipe before, you know that you like the meal and you also are not fumbling to figure out how to make the dish.  This will maximize your time while cooking, and maximize your joy when eating the meal later on.

 

Group Meals With Similar Ingredients

Once you have decided on a few different recipes you would like to try, consider making them in groups of similar ingredients.

I like to do all my grounds meats on one day, all my desserts on another.  This allows me to maximize my time and efficiency when making freezer meals.  Freezer meal cooking is designed to help you save time.  If you are not efficient in the kitchen, it may not save you a lot of time.

Check out my Freezer Meal Cooking Extravaganza day when I prepare all my ground meats!

If you make a meal plan for the month, or even for the week, you can see what kind of meals contain similar ingredients and prepare them all together at once.  You may make a bunch of ground beef meals or meals that contain mashed potatoes.

I have designed a whole freezer meal cooking printable!  In this printable is a monthly and a weekly meal plan schedule.  If you would like to get your own copy of this freebie, sign up for our mailing list!

 

Start With A Clean Kitchen

One of the best freezer meal tips for beginners, or anyone, is to start with a clean kitchen.

Freezer meals will make your kitchen a chaotic mess by the end of the day.  I quite often use every wooden spoon, every pan, and every pot I own while preparing a big freezer meal day.  I don’t want to have to stop to clean something midway that could have been cleaned before I started.

It is also important to make sure you have all the counter space you have available to you.  I have worked in many different sized kitchens, and I always use every single square inch of counter space I have.

Clear off those counters, and get cooking!

 

Gather All Ingredients and Tools Before You Get Started

Another great tip for anyone making freezer meals, beginners to advance, is to gather all your ingredients and tools before you get started.

I like to make sure I have everything I need on hand to make the day go as smoothly as possible.  I will even dedicate a section of my refrigerator to my freezer cooking day.  Everything in that section is what I need for that day.  Nothing is worse than being in the middle of cooking and having to stop and find a spatula or look for the spices you forgot to get out of the cupboard.  It is all about efficiency and time management.

 

Label, Label, Label

Before I start cooking, I like to label everything.

I either write with a sharpie right onto the zip-top bag, or I will make a sticker label for my meals.

These labels are from my FREE Freezer Meal Cooking Printable.

My Freezer Meal Labels have a place to name the contents, note the date frozen, and include any directions you may need for that meal.  When I make Mongolian Beef, for example, I add the cooking instructions (cook on low for 6 hours), and that I serve with rice and broccoli.  This is important for me to include because my husband might not know how to prepare all of my freezer meals and this way he can do it without asking me or checking this blog for recipes!

I have a laser printer, so I use Avery 5265.  If you have an inkjet printer, you can use 8165.  Please verify the product that you are buying will work with your specific printer.  These are just the labels I was recommended and therefore use.

There are other labels available.  If you have tried other labels, let me know in the comments down below.

I like to prepare my labels in advance because it is a lot easier to write on a ziplock bag before you put anything in it!

 

Prepare Ingredients At The Start

Once you have decided on all of the meals you are going to make, I think it is a good idea to prepare as many of the ingredients as you can.

This involves chopping all the onions and garlic you will need, peeling potatoes, and dicing carrots.  I will keep all of these ingredients in bowls so that I can just add them where they need to be added.  There are some days where I do not do this, and my freezer cooking days are not as efficient.

If you check out our latest freezer meal video where we are testing new chicken recipes, you will see how I have all my ingredients prepared at the start.

Keep An Inventory

Keeping an inventory of what is in your freezer is so important.

I find this is even truer if you have multiple freezers.

I have both a deep freezer and the freezer on my refrigerator.  Before I started keeping track of the freezer meals I have, I would be digging through my freezers for a meal that didn’t exist.  Now, with this printable, I can cross off once I have used the meal and I can easily see what is still available.

This inventory sheet, which is free when you sign up for our newsletter, is also a great way to help plan your meals.

All I have to do is glance at this inventory sheet to see what I have available in my freezer.  From there, I can pick and choose what we want to eat this week.

Because I have also included a space for the date, you can also pick meals by the first frozen.  If you see something that has been frozen for a while, you may choose to eat it.  If you don’t, it could spoil or succumb to freezer burn.

 

Good Luck!

I hope that these freezer meal cooking tips have given you the confidence to start making your own freezer meals.

Let us know down in the comments what meals you love to make as freezer meals, or what your first freezer meal is going to be!  You can also tag us on social media – we love to see what you are making!

Don’t forget to get your free printable by subscribing to our mailing list!  We only send out one email a week, so do not worry about being flooded by emails from us!

Thanks for reading!