Freezer Meals 101 - Less time cooking, more time living

Keto Freezer Meals to Make Ahead

Adhering to a new diet or way of eating can be challenging. Whether you’re new to Keto or have chosen this way of eating long ago, these make-ahead Keto freezer meals make it easy to have meals at the ready.

It seems that everywhere I turn, people are jumping on the Keto wagon and raving about their results. For some, it’s been weight loss while for others, it’s been improvements in their health and energy. Some who suffer from health issues have seen their symptoms disappear just from changing to this way of eating. Their stories certainly have me paying closer attention!

I’ve put together a list of Keto freezer meals. By making breakfasts and dinners ahead of time, you’re more likely to be able to stick to this way of eating and maintain the lifestyle change.

Keto Freezer Meals:

Instant Pot Butter Chicken from here on Freezer Meals 101

Italian Wedding Soup from here on Freezer Meals 101

Delicious Garlic Butter Shrimp from here on Freezer Meals 101 (serve on zucchini noodles or konjac noodles instead of rice)

Sausage and Peppers from here on Freezer Meals 101 (serve on cauliflower rice – here’s a great freeze-ahead cauliflower rice recipe from The Pinning Mama)

Low Carb Mexican Shredded Chicken on Step Away from the Carbs

Slow Cooker Malaysian Beef Curry from Ditch the Carbs

Cabbage Lasagna from Low Carb Yum

Tuscan Chicken Freezer Meal from Stockpiling Moms

Easy Spiced Pork Chops from Step Away from the Carbs

Pesto Meatballs from Savory Lotus

Breakfast Keto Freezer Meals:

Cheesy Sausage Biscuits from Intoxicated on Life

Paleo Breakfast Casserole from Paleo Running Mama

Cheesy Broccoli Breakfast Muffins over on Paleo Hacks

Spinach and Goat Cheese Egg Muffins from Intoxicated on Life

Turkey Sausage Frittata from Perfect Keto

Hopefully having these easy keto recipes that can be prepped ahead of time will take the stress out of getting meals on the table and in your belly!

Hearty Sausage and Zucchini Soup

By Sharla

This hearty sausage and zucchini soup is the ultimate in warm winter comfort food. This make ahead meal is packed full of flavour.

This recipe is a spin-off of my Sausage and Spinach Soup. That soup is my son Josiah’s favourite. I loved the flavours in it as well. The problem was that the texture of the cooked spinach in it was weird. Pretty much all of my family (other than Josiah) complained about the texture.

I was left in a bit of a quandary. On the one hand, I loved the heartiness and the flavours of this soup. Josiah asked for it all the time and raved about it. On the other hand, the rest of my family wasn’t a fan because of the spinach. What’s a mom to do?!

This soup was the answer. By replacing the spinach with zucchini, I was able to please everybody. In fact, this sausage and zucchini soup is now our family’s most requested soup!

Hearty Sausage and Zucchini Soup Recipe:

1 lb. ground Italian sausage (I prefer the spicy variety to give it a bit of a kick)
24 oz. jar pasta sauce
19 oz. can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup diced zucchini
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup small pasta shells

Place the dry small pasta shells into a medium resealable bag.

Brown the ground sausage in a skillet. Blot it with a paper towel to get rid of some of the grease or drain it.

Once the sausage has cooled, put it in a large resealable freezer bag. Pour in the pasta sauce, the white kidney beans, diced zucchini, chopped carrots, diced onion, minced garlic, and chicken broth. Remove any excess air from the bag and seal. Staple the bags together above the seals and freeze.

On cooking day, take the bag out of the freezer and thaw. Separate the bags and add the contents of the large bag to a crock pot. Cook on low for 4-6 hours. Add the pasta in the last 20 minutes.

Alternatively, you can simmer the soup in a large stovetop pot for about an hour and add the pasta for the last ten or fifteen minutes.

By using different types of jarred pasta sauce, you can change up the flavours of this soup and experiment until you find the one that you like best.

Check out these other awesome freezer soup recipes:

Corn Chowder with Bacon

Italian Wedding Soup with Sausage Meatballs

Pasta Freezer Meals to Make Ahead

By Sharla

There’s something about pasta that just makes it a hit with everyone. The kids are always happy to hear we are having pasta for dinner. These make ahead pasta freezer meals make is easy to serve dinner even on the busiest days.

For me, pasta is about the ultimate in comfort food. I think there must be some Italian heritage in my background! I also find it fun to play around with the recipes and flavours so I make pasta dishes often.

By increasing the cooking time, many of these recipes can go from the freezer to the oven. This makes it easier to pull something out at the last minute and still have supper on time.

Since these meals are made ahead of time, they are great for serving to company. You’ll be left with enough time to make a salad and garlic bread since your main dish is already ready to go in the oven. These meals are also perfect for bringing to a potluck or gifting to a neighbour or friend.

While I prefer to use freezer bags to save space and be able to fit more meals in the freezer, some of these do require being put in a baking tray or casserole dish before freezing. Freezer friendly meals such as manicotti and lasagna hold their shape best in a baking tray.

Pasta Freezer Meals:

Seafood Curry Pasta Meal from here on Freezer Meals 101

Tex Mex Pasta Bake from here on Freezer Meals 101

Chicken and Spinach Penne Alfredo from here on Freezer Meals 101

Ground Beef Stroganoff with Egg Noodles from here on Freezer Meals 101

Spinach Lasagna Rolls from Mavis Butterfield’s One Hundred Dollars a Month

Make Ahead Lasagna from About a Mom

Hearty Baked Penne Pasta from Thriving Home

Freezing Baked Ziti over on Macheesmo

Chicken Tuscan Pasta Bake from Rachel Cooks

Freezer Lasagna Roll Ups from Damn Delicious

French Onion Chicken Noodle Casserole from Plain Chicken

Freezer Friendly Stuffed Shells at Large Family Table

Baked Spaghetti from About a Mom

Sausage Pasta Bake from Longbourn Farm

Baked Chicken Pasta by Intentional by Grace

Pizza Pasta Casserole from Eating on a Dime

Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta from Plain Chicken

Spinach Stuffed Manicotti Freezer Meal from Getty Stewart

Chicken Alfredo Pasta at The Taylor House

Freezer Friendly Baked Ziti by I Wash, You Dry

Cheesy Kielbasa Pasta Casserole from Taste and Tell

Garlic Pizza Pasta from Plain Chicken

Easy Cheesy Manicotti at Favorite Family Recipes

Freezer Pasta Sauces:

The Best Spaghetti Sauce from here on Freezer Meals 101

Our Garlic Butter Shrimp is amazing on pasta (instructions for making it a pasta dish are included in the recipe).

Chicken Cacciatore is great on noodles.

Bolognese Sauce from Mommy’s Home Cooking

Easy, Freezer Friendly Marinara Sauce Recipe on Girl and the Kitchen

I hope these recipes will help you make delicious meals for your family in a fraction of the time. Which ones are your favourites?

Chickpea and Vegetable Curry

By Sharla

You don’t have to be a Vegetarian to love this chickpea and vegetable curry recipe. It’s delicious. I usually make it as the main dish, but sometimes I use it as a side dish when I make Chicken Tikka Masala. This can be cooked on the stovetop if you prefer, but it makes a great freezer to crock pot meal.

I’ve been on a bit of a cauliflower kick lately and this meal just totally hits the spot. This chickpea and vegetable curry dish is a beautiful, colourful meal with vibrant flavours.

The curry flavours in this meal are not overpowering. They mix really nicely with the coconut milk. If you are not a fan of coconut milk (like a certain friend of mine who shall remain nameless but hates all things coconut!), then you can substitute heavy cream for the coconut milk.

Chickpea and Vegetable Curry Recipe:

1 onion, finely minced
1 small sweet potato, peeled and diced
2 cups small cauliflower florets (about 1/2 a medium head of cauliflower)
1 cup frozen peas
2x 15 oz. cans chickpeas (also called garbanzo beans)
3 Tbsp. curry powder
4 cloves garlic, minced
2x 13.5 oz. cans coconut milk
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp. salt

As with most freezer meals, it’s just as easy to make multiple recipes at one time. That is certainly true of this one and since making a single recipe calls for using half a head of cauliflower, there’s no sense in having the other half go to waste. You might as well make at least two of these meals to put in the freezer.

This recipe makes quite a large amount, so if you have a smaller family, you may want to divide it into two large freezer bags. Since it is such a substantial meal, it’s a great one to have when you have company over.

To assemble the meal, put all the ingredients in a large resealable freezer bag and squish together. Remove any excess air and seal the bag. Lay flat and freeze.

On the day of cooking, remove the bag from freezer and thaw.

Stovetop instructions: Place the bag contents into a large pot. Over medium heat, bring it to a slight bowl before reducing the heat to low. Simmer on the stovetop for one hour.

Slow cooker instructions: Dump the bag contents into the crock pot and cook for 3 hours on high or 5 hours on low.

Serve with jasmine or basmati rice. You can also top with a bit of fresh cilantro if you like.

This recipe is included in our Vegetarian Freezer Meal Menu Plan. The plan includes recipes, shopping lists, prep lists, and printable labels.

Other freezer meals to check out:

Chicken Tikka Masala for the Instant Pot

Butter Chicken Freezer Meal

Shrimp Stir Fry Pack for the Freezer

By Sharla

You’ll be so glad you have some of these shrimp stir fry freezer packs on hand for busy weeknights. Just pull one out and heat in a skillet for 8-10 minutes and dinner is served! These are so easy to make and fast to cook. These freezer meal bags make great gifts for expectant moms or those who are suffering an illness or moving.

It is just as fast to whip up two or four of these stir fry packs as it is to make one so I suggest that while you have the ingredients out, you make multiples. You can also experiment with adding different vegetables and find your favourite combination.

This dish is flavourful and colourful. The sauce is inspired by Asian influences and ingredients.

Shrimp Stir Fry Freezer Pack Recipe:

1 1/2 lbs. medium or large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 cup zucchini, diced
1/2 cup sugar snap peas
3/4 cup carrots, peeled and sliced
1/4 cup onion, diced
1/4 cup frozen peas
14 oz. can baby corn, drained
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. oyster sauce
2 Tbsp. orange juice
1 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. freshly grated ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. red pepper flakes (optional)

Place the shrimp, zucchini, carrots, onions, snap peas, peas, and baby corn in a large resealable bag. In a medium bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, oyster sauce, orange juice, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, ginger, minced garlic, sesame oil, and pepper flakes. Pour the sauce into the bag with the shrimp and vegetables.

I use frozen shrimp that is already peeled and deveined. We rinse the shrimp under cold water in the sink to separate the shrimp and wash them. We do this quickly so that they don’t thaw before we get the shrimp stir fry packs into the freezer.

On the day of cooking, take the stir fry freezer bag out to thaw. Heat 1 Tbsp. olive oil in a skillet on the stovetop over medium-high heat. Add the bag of shrimp and veggies to the pan and stir fry for 8-10 minutes until the shrimp is pink and the vegetables are tender.

You can garnish with sliced green onions or cilantro. If you like things spicy, you can also stir in a bit of Sriracha sauce towards the end of cooking. Serve over rice.

Check out these other freezer skillet meals:

Seafood Curry Pasta

Garlic Butter Shrimp