Freezer Meals 101

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Freezer Meal Dump Recipes

Baked Italian Chicken (Freezer Meal)

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Who doesn’t love a freezer meal that includes the protein AND the veggies?! This baked Italian chicken recipe has all that and more. It is especially delicious served over pasta.plastic bag with raw chicken and sauce on top. Pasta on plate with chicken and vegetables on it on bottom. Text reads "Baked Italian Chicken freezer meal" Sometimes when you bake chicken in the oven, it can dry out, but this recipe has a sauce, so the chicken stays nice and juicy. 

This dish can also be cooked in the Crock-Pot® (which I know then technically is no longer called “Baked” Italian Chicken, but it still tastes just as good. And the slow cooker option is nice for a day when you need to be out of the house and come back to dinner waiting. 

What I like best about this meal is that it includes some fresh-tasting vegetables as well as the chicken so I know my kids are getting a balanced meal and yet it’s so easy to throw together. Plus, when you serve it over pasta, it gets that homemade comfort food aspect down as well.plastic bag filled with red sauce, chicken, and vegetables

Baked Italian Chicken Recipe:

  • 8-12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
  • 3 Tbsp. brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup sliced mushrooms
  • 1 cup zucchini with peel, cubed
  • 1/2 cup onion, diced
  • 24 oz. jar pasta sauce

mushrooms, raw chicken, zucchini, onion, and a jar of pasta sauceAssembly instructions:

  1. Cut the zucchini and onion and slice the mushrooms. 
  2. Place the chicken thighs in a large resealable freezer bag.
  3. Add the seasoning, vegetables, brown sugar, and pasta sauce. 
  4. Remove all the air you can from the bag, seal it, and freeze.

Oven Cooking Instructions:

  1. Thaw. Put the contents of the bag in a casserole dish.
  2. Bake in the oven at 375° for 50 minutes.

pot holding red sauce and chunks of chicken and vegetablesCrock Pot Cooking  Instructions:

  1. Thaw. Put the bag contents into the slow cooker.
  2. Cook on low for 4-6 hours.

Serve over pasta and sprinkle with shredded or shaved Parmesan cheese. If you are on a gluten-free diet, you can instead serve this over rice. You can also serve this with a side salad if you want more greens. collage of photos of a chicken, vegetable, and sauce dish served over pasta

Variations on this recipe:

  • Substitute 3-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts for the chicken thighs.
  • Add some crushed chili flakes either before cooking or when serving if you like to spice things up a bit. 
  • You can substitute a can of sliced mushrooms for the fresh mushrooms, but I really suggest you use fresh. It’s hardly any extra work to slice them up and it tastes so much fresher. 
  • Use whichever red pasta sauce is your favorite. By experimenting and trying different types of pasta sauce, you can change up the flavors of this meal. 

wide pasta noodles on a white plate topped with chicken, vegetables, and red sauce

Other chicken freezer meals:

pot holding red sauce and chunks of chicken and vegetables
Print
Baked Italian Chicken
Prep Time
7 mins
Cook Time
50 mins
 
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: baked chicken, chicken
Servings: 4
Calories: 428 kcal
Ingredients
  • 8-12 chicken thighs boneless and skinless
  • 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
  • 3 Tbsp. brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup sliced mushrooms
  • 1 cup zucchini cubed with peel
  • 1/2 cup onion diced
  • 24 oz. jar pasta sauce
Instructions
Assembly instructions:
  1. Cut the zucchini and onion and slice the mushrooms.
  2. Place the chicken thighs in a large resealable freezer bag.
  3. Add the seasoning, vegetables, brown sugar, and pasta sauce.
  4. Remove all the air you can from the bag, seal it, and freeze.
Oven Cooking Instructions:
  1. Thaw. Put the contents of the bag in a casserole dish.
  2. Bake in the oven at 375° for 50 minutes.
Crock Pot Cooking  Instructions:
  1. Thaw. Put the bag contents into the slow cooker.
  2. Cook on low for 4-6 hours.
Recipe Notes

Serve over pasta and sprinkle with shredded or shaved Parmesan cheese.

Southern Style Ground Beef Casserole (freezer meal)

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Not only is this southern style ground beef casserole an all-in-one dish, it’s also a freezer meal so this is about as easy as dinner gets! It includes ground beef and vegetables and if you want, you can top it with cheese.large pot filled with food topped with melted cheese and white ladle. Text reads "Southern Style Ground Beef Casserole"I love a good all-in-one casserole. As a busy mom, it’s so nice for supper to be as easy as possible. One dish means less dishes! And I’m all about making clean-up as fast as possible.

Southern Style Ground Beef Casserole Recipe:

  • 1 lb. browned ground beef
  • 1/2 cup onion, chopped
  • 3/4 cup green pepper, chopped
  • 15 oz. can kernel corn, drained
  • 14 oz. can tomato sauce
  • 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce*
  • 1 tsp. chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. pepper
  • optional: shredded cheese (cheddar or tex mex)

*Use gluten free Worcestershire sauce if you want to make this gluten free.

Assembly Instructions:

  1. Brown ground beef. Cool slightly and then add to a large resealable freezer bag.
  2. Add the chopped onion, diced green pepper, corn, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and seasonings.
  3. Remove excess air, seal, and freeze.
  4. If you want to serve with cheese, place shredded cheese in a medium freezer bag, seal, and staple above the seal to the larger bag.

Stovetop Cooking Instructions:

  1. Thaw.
  2. Heat in pan until desired temperature is reached.cook on low in crock pot for 3-5 hours.
  3. If you want, you can top with shredded cheese before serving.

Crock Pot Cooking Instructions:

  1. Thaw.
  2. Cook on low in Crock Pot for 3-5 hours.
  3. If desired, top with cheese before serving.

If you want, you can set out salsa, hot sauce, Thai Sweet Chili sauce, or ketchup. Some of us like to eat this plain while others (ahem…my kids!) like to slather it in the sauce of their choosing.

Print
Southern Style Ground Beef Casserole
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: casserole
Ingredients
  • 1 lb. ground beef browned
  • 1/2 cup onion chopped
  • 3/4 cup green pepper chopped
  • 15 oz. can kernel corn drained
  • 14 oz. can tomato sauce
  • 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp. chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. pepper
  • optional: shredded cheese cheddar or tex mex
Instructions
Assembly Instructions:
  1. Brown ground beef. Cool slightly and then add to a large resealable freezer bag.
  2. Add the chopped onion, diced green pepper, corn, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and seasonings.
  3. Remove excess air, seal, and freeze.
  4. If you want to serve with cheese, place shredded cheese in a medium freezer bag, seal, and staple above the seal to the larger bag.
Stovetop Cooking Instructions:
  1. Thaw.
  2. Heat in pan until desired temperature is reached.cook on low in crock pot for 3-5 hours.
  3. If you want, you can top with shredded cheese before serving.
Crock Pot Cooking Instructions:
  1. Thaw.
  2. Cook on low in Crock Pot for 3-5 hours.
  3. If desired, top with cheese before serving.

Check out some of our other make ahead casseroles:

Chicken Cordon Bleu Slow Cooker Casserole

Stuffed Pepper Casserole

Beefy Rice Casserole

Gingery Salsa Chicken (freezer meal)

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This gingery salsa chicken is my neighbour’s recipe that I adapted into a freezer meal. It’s got great tangy flavours. Since this is a make ahead meal, it’s a great protein to serve on busy weeknights.saucy chicken on rice next to carrots and green beans and text that reads "Gingery Salsa Chicken freezer meal"

I love recipes where you can just dump everything in the bag and you’re good to go. Our lemon mustard chicken, apple maple chicken, BBQ pulled pork, and beef dip are other great examples of dump recipes. So fast and easy!

Gingery Salsa Chicken Recipe:

Ingredients: 

  • 10-12 chicken thighs, boneless and skinless
  • 3/4 cup salsa
  • 1/3 cup liquid honey
  • 1/4 cup orange juice
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
  • 2 tsp. olive oil

For day of cooking:

  • 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
  • 2 Tbsp. water

Assembly instructions:

  1. Place chicken thighs in a large resealable freezer bag.
  2. Pour in the salsa, honey, orange juice, soy sauce, Dijon mustard, ginger, and olive oil.
  3. Squish together to combine.
  4. Remove excess air from the bag and seal. Freeze.

Cooking instructions:

  1. Thaw.
  2. Bake chicken at 400° for 40-50 minutes.
  3. Pour the sauce into a stovetop pot. Mix together the cornstarch and water in a small bowl and add the cornstarch slurry to the sauce.
  4. Heat to boiling. Stir for a few minutes while the sauce thickens.
  5. Serve the sauce over the chicken.

What to serve with Gingery Salsa Chicken:

Print
Gingery Salsa Chicken
Course: Main Course
Keyword: chicken
Ingredients
  • 10-12 chicken thighs boneless, skinless
  • 3/4 cup salsa
  • 1/3 cup liquid honey
  • 1/4 cup orange juice
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp. grated fresh ginger
  • 2 tsp. olive oil
For day of cooking:
  • 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
  • 2 Tbsp. water
Instructions
Assembly instructions:
  1. Place chicken thighs in a large resealable freezer bag.
  2. Pour in the salsa, honey, orange juice, soy sauce, Dijon mustard, ginger, and olive oil.
  3. Squish together to combine.
  4. Remove excess air from the bag and seal. Freeze.
Cooking instructions:
  1. Thaw.

  2. Bake chicken at 400° for 40-50 minutes.

  3. Pour the sauce into a stovetop pot. Mix together the cornstarch and water in a small bowl and add the cornstarch slurry to the sauce.
  4. Heat to boiling. Stir for a few minutes while the sauce thickens.
  5. Serve the sauce over the chicken.

You may also be interested in these make ahead chicken recipes:

Easy Kung Pao Chicken

Pesto Chicken and Veggies

Lemon Garlic Chicken

Marry Me, Chicken {freezer meal}

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This skillet chicken recipe is good enough to marry! Ok, I know that traditionally it’s known as Marry Me Chicken because it’s supposed to inspire marriage proposals with it’s tastiness, but for those of you not looking for a proposal, you may just want to marry this chicken after you try it!

With it’s rich and bold flavours, you’ll soon be a raving fan. The best part is that we’ve transformed this recipe into a freezer meal. So you can make it up ahead and it’s ready to cook up when you need it.

blue plate with chicken, carrots, broccoli, tomato, and squash with text that reads "Marry Me, Chicken (for those who really love their chicken)"When we make freezer meals, my neighbour Christie is the one who creates the labels. When I sent her the list for our last meal assembly session, she made a new label that added the comma to make it Marry Me, Chicken. She also added the cheeky description “for those who really love their chicken”!

I suggest making several of these at once. You won’t regret having more than one in the freezer. It’s special enough to serve when you have dinner guests.

Marry Me, Chicken Recipe:

  • 3-5 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  •  1 tsp. thyme
  • 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
  • 3/4 tsp. basil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 3/4 cup chicken broth
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup sundried tomatoes, chopped
  • 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

For cooking:

  • fresh basil
  • Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Assembly instructions:

  1. Place the chicken breasts in a large resealable freezer bag. Dump in the remaining ingredients.
  2. Remove all the air that you can from the bag, seal, and freeze.

Cooking instructions:

  1. Thaw.
  2. Dump bag contents in a large skillet over medium-high heat for 24-27 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink inside.
  3. If desired, garnish with fresh basil and more shredded Parmesan cheese.

What to serve with Marry Me, Chicken:

Print
Marry Me, Chicken
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
25 mins
 
Course: Main Course
Keyword: chicken, marry me chicken
Ingredients
  • 3-5 chicken breasts boneless, skinless
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tsp. thyme
  • 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
  • 3/4 tsp. basil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 3/4 cup chicken broth
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup sundried tomatoes chopped
  • 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese grated
For cooking:
  • fresh basil
  • Parmesan cheese freshly grated
Instructions
Assembly instructions:
  1. Place the chicken breasts in a large resealable freezer bag. Dump in the remaining ingredients.
  2. Remove all the air that you can from the bag, seal, and freeze.
Cooking instructions:
  1. Thaw.
  2. Dump bag contents in a large skillet over medium-high heat for 24-27 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink inside.
  3. If desired, garnish with fresh basil and more shredded Parmesan cheese.

You may also like these other chicken freezer meals:

Easy Chicken Marsala

Kung Pao Chicken

Easiest Butter Chicken

Easy Crock Pot Chicken Cacciatore {freezer meal}

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You won’t believe how easy this crock pot Chicken Cacciatore is! It has only 5 ingredients but it tastes so fresh and delicious. You can make it ahead as a freezer meal. Combining a freezer meal with the crock pot is a match made in heaven. Save time and money. Win-win!

Our family likes Italian flavours. I often make a different version of chicken cacciatore when I’m making my freezer meals, but that one is a bit more involved. It requires cubing the chicken and has more ingredients. When I’m in a hurry or wanting to make as many meals as possible as quickly as possible, I opt for this easy crock pot chicken cacciatore recipe instead.

large spoon scooping out a red sauce covered chicken breast from a slow cooker with text that reads "Crock Pot Chicken Cacciatore" Chicken Cacciatore is traditionally served over pasta, but it can also be served over rice or polenta if you prefer or if you are on a keto or low carb diet.

We recently made this recipe again during a 5 ingredients or less freezer meal marathon that we did. You can see that in the video below: 

Why is it called Chicken Cacciatore?

I have to admit that it is a unique name for a dish. The word “cacciatore” means hunter in Italian and apparently, it was hunters who first made this. It was likely made not with chicken in those early years, but with rabbit or other wild game they caught. This was back in the Renaissance so other meat would have been more commonly available.

Chicken cacciatore is sometimes mixed up with chicken parmesan. The easiest way to be able to tell the difference is that cheese is involved where chicken parmesan is referenced, whereas with cacciatore, there is no cheese.

Easy Crock Pot Chicken Cacciatore Recipe:

Ingredients:

  • 3-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 24 oz. jar spaghetti sauce
  • 1 zucchini, coarsely chopped
  • 3/4 cup onion, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning

Assembly instructions:

  1. Place the chicken breasts in a large, resealable freezer bag.
  2. Dump the other ingredients in the bag.
  3. Remove excess air from the bag and seal. Freeze flat.

Cooking instructions:

  1. Thaw.
  2. Dump bag contents into the slow cooker.
  3. Cook on low for 4-6 hours. Ensure that chicken is cooked through before serving.
  4. Serve over your choice of pasta noodles. We usually use penne or rotini, but a long noodle is fine too.

You can throw this together so quickly that you might as well make more than one at a time. Just prop the bags open by folding the top over and setting them open on the counter. Line the bags up and then add the chicken to each one before dumping in the rest of the ingredients. This chicken dump recipe couldn’t be easier!

There is a lot of versatility with this recipe because you can use your choice of pasta sauce, swap out the chicken breasts for chicken thighs, and serve it on your favourite type of pasta.

This is such a family friendly dish. Between being able to make it ahead and just pull it out of the freezer and the fact that it cooks in the crock pot, it’s truly a stress free dinner. When we’re in a rush, we just keep this in the slow cooker and have the kids load a bit of pasta on their plate and then scoop the cacciatore right from the crock pot. You can can use whatever variety of pasta sauce you prefer. Experiment and see which you like best. We usually just go for a simple basil, but it’s also good with a pasta sauce with mushrooms or the spicy or chunky vegetables. Give a few of them a try and let me know which you liked best.

Print
Easy Crock Pot Chicken Cacciatore
Prep Time
5 mins
 
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: chicken, chicken cacciatore
Ingredients
  • 3-5 chicken breasts boneless, skinless
  • 24 oz. jar spaghetti sauce
  • 1 zucchini coarsely chopped
  • 3/4 cup onion chopped
  • 1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
Instructions
Assembly instructions:
  1. Place the chicken breasts in a large, resealable freezer bag.
  2. Dump the other ingredients in the bag.
  3. Remove excess air from the bag and seal. Freeze flat.
Cooking instructions:
  1. Thaw.
  2. Dump bag contents into the slow cooker.

  3. Cook on low for 4-6 hours. Ensure that chicken is cooked through before serving.

  4. Serve over your choice of pasta noodles.

You might also like these easy freezer meals:

Homemade Hamburger Helper

Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Bake

Easy Chicken Marsala