Freezer Meal Recipes

Moo Shu Beef Lettuce Wraps (freezer to Instant Pot)

You won’t believe how easy it is to make restaurant tasting food in your own kitchen with these Moo Shu Beef Lettuce Wraps. Using the Instant Pot makes it so much easier. And there are freezer instructions included in case you want to make the filling ahead of time.

There used to be a Chinese restaurant in the city near us that made the best Moo Shu Pork. It was melt-in-your-mouth tender and so flavourful. Another restaurant makes these amazing lettuce wraps. This recipe kind of combines both of those concepts into one delicious meal.

Instant Pot Moo Shu Beef Lettuce Cups Recipe:

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp. butter
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 lbs. beef round or chuck roast
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp. chopped garlic
1/4 rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 pint mushrooms, sliced
2 1/2 cups coleslaw mix
2 Tbsp. butter
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
lettuce cups or one head of lettuce
salt and pepper to taste

Instant Pot cooking instructions:

Set Instant Pot to sauté.
Add the butter and allow it to sizzle.
Add the eggs and cook for 1-2 minutes or until the eggs begin to firm.
Flip the eggs and cook for about 30 seconds.
Remove cooked egg, cut into thin strips and set aside.
Give the Instant Pot a quick wipe.
Set the Instant Pot to sauté. Add olive oil and garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes.
Add the beef and brown on each side.
In a small bowl, add vinegar, hoisin and soy sauces, ginger and brown sugar. Whisk together and reserve 1/4 cup.
Pour remainder of sauce into Instant Pot, covering the beef.
Set the Instant Pot to high pressure for 35 minutes. Allow to naturally release for 15 minutes.
Using two forks, shred the beef.
Add the mushrooms and 2 cups of the coleslaw mix.
Set the Instant Pot to high pressure for 3 minutes. Allow to release pressure naturally for 5 minutes. Turn off Instant Pot.
Add 2 Tablespoons of Moo Shu Beef to a lettuce cup. Add a few slices of egg and a bit of the coleslaw mix. Drizzle with sauce.

Freeze Ahead Instructions:

If you’re wanting to make the beef ahead of time, skip cooking the eggs but complete the other Instant Pot steps. Place the cooked beef and vegetable mixture into a resealable freezer bag, seal, and freeze. On the day of cooking, take out to thaw. Reheat in the microwave. Fry an egg up on the stove and assemble the lettuce wraps by adding the beef and vegetables, fried egg, and sauce to lettuce leaves.

Instant Pot Moo Shu Beef Lettuce Cups

Cook Time

1 hr 2 mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Chinese

Keyword: beef

Servings: 6

Ingredients

1 Tbsp. butter
2 eggs slightly beaten
2 lbs. beef round or chuck roast
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp. chopped garlic
1/4 rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 pint mushrooms sliced
2 1/2 cups coleslaw mix
2 Tbsp. butter
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
lettuce cups or one head of lettuce
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Set Instant Pot to sauté.
Add the butter and allow it to sizzle.
Add the eggs and cook for 1-2 minutes or until the eggs begin to firm.
Flip the eggs and cook for about 30 seconds.
Remove cooked egg, cut into thin strips and set aside.
Give the Instant Pot a quick wipe.
Set the Instant Pot to sauté. Add olive oil and garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes.
Add the beef and brown on each side.
In a small bowl, add vinegar, hoisin and soy sauces, ginger and brown sugar. Whisk together and reserve 1/4 cup.
Pour remainder of sauce into Instant Pot, covering the beef.
Set the Instant Pot to high pressure for 35 minutes. Allow to naturally release for 15 minutes.
Using two forks, shred the beef.
Add the mushrooms and 2 cups of the coleslaw mix.
Set the Instant Pot to high pressure for 3 minutes. Allow to release pressure naturally for 5 minutes. Turn off Instant Pot.
Add 2 Tablespoons of Moo Shu Beef to a lettuce cup. Add a few slices of egg and a bit of the coleslaw mix. Drizzle with sauce.

Recipe Notes

Freeze Ahead Instructions:

Skip cooking the eggs but complete the other Instant Pot steps. Place the cooked beef and vegetable mixture into a resealable freezer bag, seal, and freeze. On the day of cooking, take it out to thaw. Reheat in the microwave. Fry an egg up on the stove and assemble the lettuce wraps by adding the beef and vegetables, fried egg, and sauce to lettuce leaves.

Try out these Instant Pot freezer meals:

Buffalo Ribs

Chicken Paprikash Stew

Country Style Instant Pot Ribs

Mexican Cornbread Muffins

By Sharla

These Mexican cornbread muffins are a nutritious side dish that can even be made ahead and frozen. They’ve got such nice flavours. You can even add a bit of extra kick if you like.

Having make ahead cornbread muffins in your freezer ready to go means dinner just got easier. If you are looking for a more classic cornbread, you can check out our Southern Cornbread recipe.

Mexican Cornbread Muffins Recipe:

Ingredients:

15 oz. box of Cornbread Mix
1 jalapeño, chopped*
red pepper, chopped
orange pepper, chopped
1 egg
1/2 cup butter, melted
2/3 cup milk
1 cup Pepper Jack cheese, shredded

*If you prefer things less spicy, remove the seeds and membrane of the jalapeño.

Assembly Instructions:

Start by putting the corn bread mix, egg, milk, and melted butter into a large mixing bowl.
Whisk until smooth.
Fold in the chopped vegetables and shredded cheese.
Grease a muffin tin.
Fill each muffin tin halfway.
Bake at 375° for 20 minutes.
Either serve warm or allow to cool (for best results, cool on a cooling rack) and place in a large resealable freezer bag. Remove the excess air and seal before freezing.

Reheating Instructions:

Thaw.
If you want to serve warm, place as many jalapeño cornbread muffins as you are planning to serve on a paper towel lined plate.
Microwave until warm.

How do I serve cornbread muffins?

Serve your savoury muffins as a side dish along such main courses as:

Some people like to spread butter on their cornbread muffins, so it’s a good idea to set some butter on the table to provide that option.

What’s the difference between cornbread and corn muffins?

Corn muffins are often made as a dessert as they are sweeter whereas cornbread muffins are intended as a side dish or a savoury snack. Personally, I prefer savoury to the sweet.

Mexican Cornbread Muffins

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: cornbread

Ingredients

15 oz. box of Corn Bread Mix
1 jalapeño chopped*
red pepper chopped
orange pepper chopped
1 egg
1/2 cup butter melted
2/3 cup milk
1 cup Pepper Jack cheese shredded

Instructions

Assembly Instructions:

Start by putting the corn bread mix, egg, milk, and melted butter into a large mixing bowl.
Whisk until smooth.
Fold in the chopped vegetables and shredded cheese.
Grease a muffin tin.
Fill each muffin tin halfway.
Bake at 375° for 20 minutes.
Either serve warm or allow to cool and place in a large resealable freezer bag. Remove the excess air and seal before freezing.

Reheating Instructions:

Thaw.
If you want to serve warm, place as many jalapeño cornbread muffins as you are planning to serve on a paper towel lined plate.
Microwave until warm.

Recipe Notes

*If you prefer things less spicy, remove the seeds and membrane of the jalapeño.

Check out some of our other make ahead side dishes:

Old Fashioned Southern Cornbread

Honey Maple Glazed Carrots

Make Ahead Mac and Cheese

Spanish Rice Casserole (freezer meal)

By Sharla

I love it when a meal doesn’t need side dishes. This cheesy all in one Spanish Rice casserole freezer meal is so easy to make. Everything is cooked ahead so it can be on the table quickly.

Spanish Rice Recipe:

1 lb. ground beef, cooked
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups pasta sauce
2 cups cooked white or brown rice, cooked and cooled
1/2 cup onion, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
2 1/4 oz. can sliced black olives (or half the can)
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

Assembly instructions:

Brown the beef.
Cook and cool the rice.
Chop the vegetables.
Place the grated cheddar cheese in a medium resealable bag.
Put all the other ingredients in a large resealable bag and squish to mix together. Remove excess air and seal. Staple the bags together above the seal.
Freeze.

Cooking instructions:

Thaw.
Put the contents of the large bag in a large casserole dish and top with cheese.
Bake for 30-40 minutes at 350°.

Variations of the Spanish Rice Casserole:

Use veggie ground round in place of the ground beef to make this meal vegetarian.
Omit the olives if you’re not a fan of black olives or add the full can if you can’t get enough.
Use red or orange peppers in place of the green peppers if you want a milder flavour.
Serve with hot sauce if you like things spicy.
You can change up the flavours a bit by trying this recipe with different pasta sauces. Use whichever your favourites are.

You can find this easy freezer meal recipe in our Gluten Free Freezer Meal Menu Plan. It also contains other recipes, prep lists, shopping lists, and printable labels.

Spanish Rice

Prep Time

25 mins

Cook Time

35 mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Mediterranean

Ingredients

1 lb. ground beef cooked
2 cloves garlic minced
4 cups pasta sauce
2 cups (cooked) white or brown rice cooked and cooled
1/2 cup onion diced
1/2 green pepper diced
2 1/4 oz. can sliced black olives or half the can
2 cups cheddar cheese shredded

Instructions

Assembly instructions:

Brown the beef.
Cook and cool the rice.
Chop the vegetables.
Place the grated cheddar cheese in a medium resealable bag.
Put all the other ingredients in a large resealable bag and squish to mix together. Remove excess air and seal. Staple the bags together above the seal.
Freeze.

Cooking instructions:

Thaw.
Put the contents of the large bag in a large casserole dish and top with cheese.
Bake for 30-40 minutes at 350°.

Check out these other freezer meal casseroles:

Chicken Asparagus Casserole

Chicken Wild Rice Casserole

Southern Style Ground Beef Casserole

Easy Tuna Casserole Freezer Meal

By Sharla

I know that tuna isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but for me, a good tuna casserole with noodles is totally comfort food. This make ahead recipe is so easy.

I know canned tuna sometimes gets a bad rap, but this dish is actually really tasty. And it’s super economical so it’s a great budget meal. I always make several at one time to freeze as that way, I can buy cans of tuna in bulk when they are on sale. This saves even more time and money.

Can you freeze tuna casserole?

Yes, tuna casserole freezes beautifully! Tuna noodle casserole can be frozen 3 ways.

Freeze the mixture WITHOUT the noodles and then cook the noodles on the day of serving and add them together before baking. This is my preferred method because it ensures the best texture consistency of the noodles.
Cook the noodles to slightly under where you want them cooked, drain and mix into the rest of the mixture before freezing. Then thaw and bake.
Make the full recipe including the noodles and bake and then freeze. Then thaw and reheat. This is my least favourite method as there is the risk of the finished casserole being overcooked or being somewhat dried out.

Make Ahead Tuna Casserole Recipe:

Ingredients:

2x 6 oz. cans flaked tuna, drained
1/4 cup onion, chopped
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
2x 10 oz. cans cream of mushroom soup
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup red pepper, chopped
1 tsp. pepper

For cooking day:

package of egg noodles

Assembly instructions:

Mix everything together in a large bowl.
Put mixture into a large resealable bag.
Remove the excess air and seal. Lay flat and freeze.

Cooking instructions:

Thaw.
Cook egg noodles according to package directions.
Mix the noodles with the contents of the freezer bag.
Put in a casserole dish and bake at 425° for 20-30 minutes.

This recipe is included in our Family Favourites Freezer Meal Plan along with other easy recipes, prep lists, shopping lists, and printable labels.

Make Ahead Tuna Casserole

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

30 mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: tuna, tuna casserole

Servings: 6

Ingredients

2 6 oz. cans flaked tuna drained
1/4 cup onion chopped
2 cups cheddar cheese shredded
2 10 oz. cans cream of mushroom soup
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup red pepper chopped
1 tsp. pepper

For cooking day:

1 package of egg noodles

Instructions

Assembly instructions:

Mix everything together in a large bowl.
Put mixture into a large resealable bag.
Remove the excess air and seal. Lay flat and freeze.

Cooking instructions:

Thaw.
Cook egg noodles according to package directions.
Mix the noodles with the contents of the freezer bag.
Put in a casserole dish.
Bake at 425° for 20-30 minutes.

Some of our other family friendly freezer meals:

Chicken Asparagus Bake Crock Pot Pizza Casserole

Easy Beef Hash

Easy Instant Pot Vegetable Soup

By Sharla

Lunch doesn’t get any easier than this 3 ingredient Instant Pot vegetable soup recipe. There are lots of ways to personalize this simple vegetarian soup.

Easy Instant Pot Vegetable Soup Recipe:

Ingredients:

3 cups mixed frozen vegetables (your favourite mixture)
1/2 cup tomato passata
3 cups water, or more if you like it more liquidy

Assembly instructions:

Place all the ingredients in a large resealable freezer bag. Squish to combine well.
Remove excess air, seal, and freeze.

Instant Pot cooking instructions:

Thaw.
Place the bag ingredients into your Instant Pot.
Secure the lid and set to soup setting for 8 minutes.
Use the natural or quick release.
Serve. Top with grated Parmesan cheese and chili flakes if desired.

You can adapt this recipe in so many different ways. It’s extremely versatile!

Here are just some ideas of things you can add to this recipe:

caramelized onions
minced garlic
sundried tomatoes
diced tomatoes
macaroni noodles (be sure to add more water if you add noodles or cook them separately before adding)
seasonings (paprika, Italian seasoning, oregano, basil, etc.)

What is tomato passata?

Tomato passata is essentially strained tomatoes. It’s a tomato puree that has had the seeds and skins strained out. If you can’t find any passata in your local grocery store, you can purchase it here or you can substitute canned tomato puree.