Freezer Meals 101

Less time cooking, more time living

Sharla

Make Ahead Cinnamon Freezer French Toast

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Last Sunday, I was making my make ahead cinnamon freezer french toast and my husband commented about how good this new recipe was. I laughed and said that this was the same recipe I always use when I make french toast for the freezer. We soon discovered that he had never eaten a piece because in all the years of me making these, my kids eat them so quickly that my husband had never even gotten to try one! It was a bit funny, especially when one of our older sons came forward and “confessed” to being the culprit behind eating most of them.

8 pieces of French toast sit on a griddle at the top and there are clear plastic bags full of French toast at the bottom with text that reads "Cinnamon French Toast Freezer Breakfast"Sure enough, that same son ate most of a double batch of these ones in just a few days with a bit of help from his younger siblings. When you have a large family, delicious food like this doesn’t last long!

If you’re looking for more of a make ahead brunch the whole family can enjoy, our make ahead french toast casserole is perfect for this.

Cinnamon Freezer French Toast Recipe:

  • 1 loaf of bread (about 16 slices)
  • 3 eggs
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp. vanilla
  • zest of 1/2 an orange

Whisk together the milk, eggs, spices, vanilla, and orange zest. Heat a skillet or griddle to medium heat and grease with some olive oil. Dip each slice of bread in the egg mixture and cook on both sides until browned.

Lay the cooked slices on a cookie sheet in a single layer. Place cookie sheet in freezer. By freezing them individually like this first, they won’t stick together in the bag and will be easy to remove one at a time.

Once frozen, place slices in a large resealable freezer bag. Remove excess air, seal and freeze.

These make such an easy weekday breakfast. The french toast slices can be taken out one or two at a time and popped in the toaster or toaster oven. Top with syrup or fresh fruit.

When I make this, I use cinnamon bread from a local bakery and double or quadruple the recipe so that I can fill many bags with french toast in the freezer for busy morning. My kids love these and eat them almost as quickly as I can make them!

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Make Ahead Cinnamon Freezer French Toast
When I make this, I use cinnamon bread from a local bakery and double or quadruple the recipe so that I can fill many bags with french toast in the freezer for busy morning.
Ingredients
  • 1 loaf of bread about 16 slices
  • 3 eggs
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp. vanilla
  • zest of 1/2 an orange
Instructions
  1. Whisk together the milk, eggs, spices, vanilla, and orange zest.
  2. Heat a skillet or griddle to medium heat and grease with some olive oil.
  3. Dip each slice of bread in the egg mixture and cook on both sides until browned.
  4. Lay the cooked slices on a cookie sheet in a single layer.
  5. Place cookie sheet in freezer. By freezing them individually like this first, they won't stick together in the bag and will be easy to remove one at a time.
  6. Once frozen, place slices in a large resealable freezer bag.
  7. Remove excess air, seal and freeze.
  8. These make such an easy weekday breakfast. The French toast slices can be taken out one or two at a time and popped in the toaster or toaster oven. Top with syrup or fresh fruit.

You can find this recipe along with other easy freezer breakfast ideas with printable shopping lists and labels in our Freezer Breakfast Meal Plan.

You may also be interested in these make ahead breakfast ideas:

Pancake Mini Muffins

Taco Breakfast Cups

French Toast Casserole

 

Best Ever Freezer Meal Spaghetti Sauce

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Spaghetti is one of those no-fail meals in our house. All our kids like it. We like it. It’s hearty comfort food that is sure to please. That’s why I always keep the best ever freezer meal spaghetti sauce stocked at all times.

a large black bowl is filled with spaghetti noodles topped with a chunky red meat sauce with bits of green visible. There is a fork sticking in the heap of pasta. On the bottom, there is a large bag full of red sauce. The text reads "The Best Ever Freezer Spaghetti Sauce" This recipe makes one to two bags of sauce, but I always double or triple it so that I can have a lot of these in the freezer for easy weekday meals.

My neighbour Christie who makes freezer meals with me didn’t understand why I would want to make spaghetti sauce as a freezer meal. In her mind, spaghetti was easy enough to make by just opening a jar of store-bought sauce. That was before she tried this recipe!

The first time that I insisted we add this to the freezer meals we were making, she went along with it only to appease me, but now, it’s on the list every single time because their family loves it as much as we do!

How to Freeze Spaghetti Sauce:

Freezing spaghetti sauce is so simple. The next time you’re making spaghetti sauce for your family, double (or triple) the recipe. Allow the extra sauce the cool. Transfer it to a large resealable freezer bag. If you want to be able to take out smaller portions, you can use several medium sized freezer bags.

Remove the excess air from the bag. Seal and freeze. Then reheat the sauce on the stove, in the Crock Pot, or even the Instant Pot on the day you’re serving spaghetti.

Best Ever Freezer Spaghetti Sauce:

  • 1 1/2 lbs. browned ground beef
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1/2 green pepper, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2x 14 oz. can tomato sauce
  • 5 1/2 oz. can tomato paste
  • 14 oz. can diced tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 Tbsp. parsley
  • 1 tsp. melted honey or sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. oregano
  • 1/2 tsp. basil
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. thyme
  • dash pepper

Before assembling this freezer meal, brown the ground beef in a skillet until no longer pink, breaking into small pieces as it cooks. Chop the onion and green pepper. Mince the garlic.

To assemble this freezer meal, mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl and pour into a large resealable freezer bag or put all the ingredients directly into the bag and then squish together. Remove the excess air, seal and freeze.

On the day of cooking, take the bag of spaghetti sauce out of the freezer and thaw. Heat in a large pot on stovetop over medium until desired heat is achieved or cook in the crock pot on low for 2-4 hours. Serve over spaghetti noodles or gluten free noodles, cooked according to package directions.

If you want to make this taste even better, top with crushed chili flakes and grated parmesan or asiago cheese. Yum! Serve with garlic bread.

Print
Best Ever Freezer Meal Spaghetti Sauce
This recipe makes one to two bags of sauce, but I always double or triple it so that I can have a lot of these in the freezer for easy weekday meals.
Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 lbs. browned ground beef
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 1/2 green pepper chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves minced
  • 2 x 14 oz. can tomato sauce
  • 5 1/2 oz. can tomato paste
  • 14 oz. can diced tomatoes
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 Tbsp. parsley
  • 1 tsp. melted honey or sugar
  • 1/2 tsp. oregano
  • 1/2 tsp. basil
  • 1/2 tsp. thyme
  • 1/4 tsp. salt
  • dash pepper
Instructions
  1. Before assembling this freezer meal, brown the ground beef in a skillet until no longer pink, breaking into small pieces as it cooks.
  2. Chop the onion and green pepper. Mince the garlic.
  3. To assemble this freezer meal, mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl and pour into a large resealable freezer bag or put all the ingredients directly into the bag and then squish together.
  4. Remove the excess air, seal and freeze.
  5. On the day of cooking, take the bag of spaghetti sauce out of the freezer and thaw.
  6. Heat in a large pot on stovetop over medium until desired heat is achieved or cook in the crock pot on low for 2-4 hours.
  7. Serve over spaghetti noodles or gluten free noodles, cooked according to package directions.
Recipe Notes

If you want to make this taste even better, top with crushed chili flakes and grated parmesan or asiago cheese. Yum!

 

This recipe is included in our Family Favourites Freezer Meal plan which also includes printable shopping lists and labels along with other delicious recipes.

You may be interested in some of our other make ahead pasta sauces:

Italian Sausage Pasta Sauce

Saucy Sausage Pasta

Garlic Butter Shrimp