Freezer Meals 101

Make Ahead Lunch Recipes

Coming up with dinner ideas is hard enough. But having to think about breakfasts and lunches too?! These make ahead lunch ideas will take the worry out of the midday meal.

Make Ahead Lunch Ideas:

There’s something so comforting about tomato soup. Pair this Instant Pot Tomato Soup with a grilled cheese or enjoy it on its own.

These Hot Roast Beef or Ham Sandwiches are great for large group gatherings or for bringing with you when you go camping.

Tater Tot Pizza Casserole is a favourite for kids.

Buffalo Chicken on Buns has all the flavours of the dip in a sandwich.

Our Hearty Sausage and Spinach Soup is packed with flavour. It is one of my all-time faves!

This Instant Pot Asian Noodle Soup pairs well with a salad or raw veggies.

Shrimp Stir Fry Packs make a fast and easy meal. They are nice and light. Lunch is ready in minutes.

Turkey Sloppy Joes are a lighter option and great for lunch.

The Easy Homemade Pizza Pockets from Eating on a Dime make packing lunches a breeze.

These Make Ahead Pizza Rolls from Spaceships and Laser Beams are great for school lunches.

When kids have allergies, it can mean missing out on some of the fun foods. That doesn’t have to be true with these gluten free vegan Pizza Bagel Bites from Strength and Sunshine.

Amy and Jacky share this Instant Pot Sloppy Joes recipe that can be made ahead and served on a bun for a quick lunch.

Yum! Awe Filled Homemaker’s Instant Pot Beef Lettuce Wraps. You’ll have a hard time believing this is a freezer meal.

This Old Gal has Air Fryer Tijuana Street Tacos. The meat can marinate beautifully as it thaws in this delicious freezer meal.

The Sweet Pulled Pork Wraps at Sidetracked Sarah are a crowd pleaser.

The Soccer Mom’s Freezer Chicken Soup is another great comfort food recipe. The next time you are feeling under the weather, this is what you’re going to wish you had in the freezer ready to go.

Check out our Lunch Freezer Meal Menu Plan to make things even easier. It includes some make ahead lunch recipes as well as prep lists, shopping lists, and printable labels.

Freezer Chicken Pot Pie Filling

By Sharla

Chicken pot pie is one of my all time favourite comfort foods. For four years, I’ve been attempting to create a freezer chicken pot pie recipe. Every single attempt was a flop. Either the topping became too mushy or the sauce didn’t have the right texture once it was thawed and cooked. Then I decided to switch tactics.

The last time we made freezer meals, I took some of our leftover ingredients and made a chicken pot pie filling. I ensured that I wouldn’t have mushy topping or gross textured sauce by leaving those out. For the make ahead portion of this, I only included the filling.

It still saved a ton of time because all the chopping was done, the chicken was cooked, and the seasonings were there. On the day I served it, all I had to do was add a few ingredients to form the sauce, top with pre-made biscuits, and bake.

The best part is that it maintained its incredible flavour. It has the perfect crispness and the sauce was just right.If you’re a fan of good chicken pot pie, you’re going to love how much easier this is. It allows you to make it anytime by pulling the filling out of your freezer anytime the craving hits!

I recommend that you make several bags of freezer chicken pot pie filling at once. This saves even more time.

Make Ahead Chicken Pot Pie Filling:

3 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless, cooked and cubed
10 mushrooms, sliced
1 red pepper, chopped
3/4 cup frozen peas
1 onion, chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground sage
1/4 tsp. marjoram
1/4 tsp. thyme

On the day of cooking:

2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. flour
1 cup milk
340 g package Pillsbury Country Biscuits

Assembly instructions:

Cook and cube chicken. Allow to cool.
Chop onion and red pepper and slice the mushrooms.
Add the chicken, onions, red peppers, mushrooms, and peas to a large resealable plastic bag. Add in the seasonings and give it a quick shake. Remove the excess air from the bag and seal before freezing.

Cooking instructions:

Take the filling out of the freezer to thaw. Dump the bag contents into a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook for 5 minutes.
Add the butter and flour and stir. When well mixed in, slowly pour in the milk.
Heat for another 3-5 minutes until sauce has thickened slightly.
Transfer the chicken pot pie filling to an oven safe casserole dish.
Top with the country biscuits.*
Bake at 400° for 18-20 minutes and the biscuits are golden brown.

*I like to split the biscuits in half lengthwise so they are thinner and less doughy. I like more of a crispy texture, but if you prefer more of a dumpling texture, leave the biscuits whole when placing them on top.

Other freezer meals that may interest you:

Chicken Pasta Bake Tater Tot Pizza Casserole

Chicken and Vegetable Casserole with Crispy Onion Topping

Chicken Pot Pie

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

18 mins

Course: Main Course

Keyword: chicken, chicken pot pie

Ingredients

3 chicken breasts boneless and skinless, cooked and cubed
10 mushrooms sliced
1 red pepper chopped
3/4 cup frozen peas
1 onion chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground sage
1/4 tsp. marjoram
1/4 tsp. thyme

On the day of cooking:

2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. flour
1 cup milk
340 g package Pillsbury Country Biscuits

Instructions

Assembly instructions:

Cook and cube chicken. Allow to cool.
Chop onion and red pepper and slice the mushrooms.
Add the chicken, onions, red peppers, mushrooms, and peas to a large resealable plastic bag. Add in the seasonings and give it a quick shake. Remove excess air from the bag, seal and freeze.

Cooking instructions:

Take the filling out of the freezer to thaw. Dump the bag contents into a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook for 5 minutes.
Add the butter and flour and stir. When well mixed in, slowly pour in the milk.
Heat for another 3-5 minutes until sauce has thickened slightly.
Transfer the chicken pot pie filling to a casserole dish.
Top with the country biscuits.
Bake at 400° for 18-20 minutes and the biscuits are golden brown.

Blue Cheese Hamburgers

By Sharla

Having these delicious blue cheese hamburgers in the freezer is going to make summer way more fun! The flavour in these is next level.

Homemade burger patties are always best. Your guests are going to be impressed at your culinary skills. They don’t need to know how easy they were to make. This recipe will make between 8 and 12 blue cheese hamburger patties depending on how large you make them. It doubles (or triples or quadruples) well. My philosophy is that if you’re going to get your hands gunky anyway, you might as well make a whole bunch at one time and have enough to last you all summer long.

Blue Cheese Hamburgers Recipe:

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tsp. olive oil
2 lbs. lean ground beef
6 oz. crumbled blue cheese
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup sweet onion, finely chopped
parsley

Assembly instructions:

In a large bowl, mix everything together. It’s best if you do this with your hands so that you can separate the hamburger and combine things well.
Form the mixture into patties.
Freeze in large resealable freezer bags.*

*If you freeze them stacked on top of each other, the patties will stick together. You can either put a piece of parchment or wax paper in between each patty or you can flash freeze the burgers in a single layer on a cookie sheet before adding them to a freezer bag.

Cooking instructions:

On the day of cooking, grill the frozen patties on the BBQ until the meat is no longer pink. Serve on buns or lettuce leaves.

What toppings should I use?

The sky is the limit when choosing burger toppings, but here are some of my recommendations:

blue cheese (yes, really!)
cheese
lettuce
tomato
avocado
guacamole
white or purple onion
caramelized onion
sautéed mushrooms
jalapeños
crispy fried onions or jalapeños
potato chips
pickles
BBQ sauce
mayonnaise
ketchup
mustard
relish
sriracha mayo
hot sauce
Ranch dressing
Caesar dressing
tzatziki
steak sauce
bacon
coleslaw
fried egg
grilled pineapple (soak first in fireball cinnamon whiskey for a super interesting flavour)
pico de gallo
salsa
mango salsa
apple slices

Check out some of our other delicious make ahead meals:

Crock Pot Buffalo Chicken on Buns BBQ Pulled Pork Instant Pot Turkey Sloppy Joes

Blue Cheese Hamburgers

Ingredients

4 cloves garlic finely chopped
2 tsp. olive oil
2 lbs. lean ground beef
6 oz. blue cheese
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup sweet onion finely chopped
parsley

Instructions

Assembly instructions:

In a large bowl, mix everything together. It's best if you do this with your hands so that you can separate the hamburger and combine things well.
Form the mixture into patties.
Freeze in large resealable freezer bags.*

Cooking instructions:

On the day of cooking, grill the frozen patties on the BBQ until the meat is no longer pink.

Recipe Notes

Freezer Friendly Instant Pot Borscht Recipe

By Sharla

My mom grew up in Vegreville. It’s a small town in Alberta, Canada that has a rich Ukrainian culture. Although my mom’s heritage is not Ukrainian, she grew up familiar with the food and culture. She then brought those into our home. I was familiar with all kinds of traditional Ukrainian food, including this Borscht recipe.Borscht is a classic beet soup. I’ve adapted the original recipe to make it faster to make thanks to the Instant Pot and freezer friendly. Now, I can make this ahead of time and have it ready anytime.

Beets give this soup its vibrant red colour. It has a unique look and an even more unique flavour. My favourite way to eat it is topped with a dollop of sour cream and fresh dill.

Freezer Friendly Instant Pot Borscht Recipe:

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, minced
8 medium-sized beets, peeled and chopped
5 cloves garlic, smashed
6 cups water or broth
salt and pepper, to taste

For cooking day:

2 Tbsp. lemon juice
optional: sour cream
optional: fresh dill

Directions:

Instant Pot and Assembly Instructions:

Prepare all vegetables and ingredients before starting the recipe.
Set the Instant Pot to sauté and add the oil.
Once the oil is hot, add the onion and beets. Stir occasionally, until onions are translucent, about 2-3 minutes.
Add the garlic and stir for one minute.
Turn off the sauté setting and add in broth or water and salt and pepper seasoning.
Secure the lid of the Instant Pot and cook on the soup setting for 20 minutes.
Natural release then either use an immersion blender to purée the soup or wait until it has cooled and use a blender.
When the soup has somewhat cooled, ladle it into a large resealable freezer bag or two medium resealable freezer bags.
Seal, remove excess air, and freeze.

Cooking instructions:

Remove the bag from the freezer to thaw.
Reheat in the microwave or in a pot on the stovetop.
Taste and adjust seasoning – adding in lemon and topping with sour cream and dill, if desired before serving.

Adaptations to this beet soup recipe:

Borscht can be served hot or cold (as a gazpacho).
You can replace some of the beets with parsnips or carrots. This produces a milder flavour.
For adults only: you can add a shot of iced vodka to the soup when serving.

Many recipes for Ukrainian borscht call for grating the beets, which is obviously time consuming and leaves you with very stained hands! You will be amazed at how much time you’ll save using the Instant Pot for this soup.

This isn’t the first traditional Ukrainian dish that I’ve adapted for freezer cooking. You can also check out our Cabbage Roll Casserole Freezer Meal.

Freezer Friendly Borscht Recipe

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion minced
8 medium sized beets peeled and chopped
5 cloves garlic smashed
6 cups water or broth
salt and pepper to taste

For cooking day:

2 Tbsp. lemon juice
optional: sour cream
optional: fresh dill

Instructions

Instant Pot and Assembly Instructions:

Prepare all vegetables and ingredients before starting the recipe.
Set the Instant Pot to sauté and add the oil.
Once the oil is hot, add the onion and beets. Stir occasionally, until onions are translucent, about 2-3 minutes.
Add the garlic and stir for one minute.
Turn off the sauté setting and add in broth or water and salt and pepper seasoning.
Secure the lid of the Instant Pot and cook on the soup setting for 20 minutes.
Natural release then either use an immersion blender to purée the soup or wait until it has cooled and use a blender.
When the soup has somewhat cooled, ladle it into a large resealable freezer bag or two medium resealable freezer bags.
Seal, remove excess air, and freeze.

Cooking instructions:

Remove the bag(s) from the freezer to thaw.
Reheat in the microwave or in a pot on the stovetop.
Taste and adjust seasoning - adding in lemon and topping with sour cream and dill, if desired before serving.

Recipe Notes

Borscht can be served hot or cold (as a gazpacho).

Check out some of our other freezer friendly Instant Pot soups:

Instant Pot Tomato Soup

Keto Bone Broth in the Instant Pot

Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Bake

By Sharla

This Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Bake is a great make ahead casserole for busy weeknights. I suggest you double the recipe. Serve one immediately and freeze the other for when you need it.This recipe includes everything needed for a balanced meal. It’s so nice to be able to have supper all ready to go. Just pull it out of the freezer and put it in the oven and it’s ready to go.