Freezer Meal Recipes

Looking for a family friendly ground beef freezer meal? These moist meatloaf muffins are sure to be a hit with the whole family.There’s a little parenting trick that I learned many years ago. Kids are more likely to eat anything that looks like a muffin! Thus the muffin tin meatloaf!

This cute way of serving mini meatloaf also serves another purpose as well. It allows you to take out only as many as needed. Kids can take out their own and reheat as a lunch or snack like the make ahead burritos, English muffin pizzas, or ham and cheese roll ups. This also makes them good when cooking for yourself or cooking for two.

How long to cook muffin tin meatloaf:

Cook meatloaves in a regular sized muffin tin at 425° for 23-25 minutes. If using a mini muffin tray, you’ll need to reduce the cooking time. I don’t recommend using a mini muffin tray though as it’s too easy for them to be dry or hard.

How do you freeze meatloaf?

When I make meatloaf whether it’s full sized or muffin sized, I generally cook it before freezing and then reheat it, but meatloaf can also be frozen raw and then thawed and cooked.

For meatloaf, wrap it in plastic wrap before placing it in a resealable freezer bag. For meatloaf muffins, allow them to cool before removing them from the pan and placing in a resealable freezer bag. Be sure to thaw before cooking or reheating.

Meatloaf Muffins Recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
• 1/2 onion, minced
• 1/2 green pepper, finely chopped
• 3/4 cup bread crumbs
• 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1/4 cup BBQ sauce
• 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 Tbsp. ketchup
• 1 Tbsp. chili sauce
• 1 egg
• salt, pepper
• 1 Tbsp. parsley

Assembly instructions:

1. Mix everything together in a bowl. I find using my hands works best. This is a great step to have the kids help out with.
2. Grease muffin cups.
3. Put the meat mixture into the muffin tin tray.
4. Bake at 425° for 23-25 minutes.
5. Cool the mini meatloaves completely before placing them in a freezer bag.
6. Remove excess air. Seal and freeze.

Reheating instructions:

1. Thaw. Reheat in the microwave or in the oven.
2. You can serve it with ketchup if you want.

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Meatloaf Muffins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: beef, meatloaf

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
• 1/2 onion minced
• 1/2 green pepper finely chopped
• 3/4 cup bread crumbs
• 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1/4 cup BBQ sauce
• 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 Tbsp. ketchup
• 1 Tbsp. chili sauce
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbsp. parsley
• salt
• pepper

Instructions

Assembly instructions:

1. Mix everything together in a bowl.
2. Grease muffin tin.
3. Put into muffin tin tray.

4. Bake 23-25 minutes in a 425° oven.

5. Cool muffins completely before placing in a freezer bag. Remove excess air. Seal and freeze.

Reheating instructions:

1. Thaw. Reheat in the microwave or in the oven.

Recipe Notes

Suggestions for hiding extra veggies in this meatloaf:

grated carrots
grated zucchini
vegetables such as broccoli, green pepper, red pepper, and/or spinach blended in the food processor 

So let’s chat about kids who will eat meatloaf (especially in muffin tin form!), but won’t eat them if they can see the vegetables in them. This recipe is great for picky eaters because it allows you to hide all those veggies. Your kids won’t even have to know how healthy they’re eating!

Suggestions for hiding extra veggies in this meatloaf:

• grated carrots
• grated zucchini
• vegetables such as broccoli, onion, green pepper, red pepper, and/or spinach blended in the food processor

What to serve with your mini meatloaves:

• raw vegetables such as carrot sticks, orange or yellow pepper slices, broccoli, cucumber, radishes
• french fries
• mashed potatoes
• wilted spinach
• sautéed mushrooms
• green salad
• peas
• cooked broccoli

You may also be interested in these family friendly freezer meals:

Easy Cheesy Tater Tot Casserole

Homemade Hamburger Helper

Instant Pot Pizza Casserole

For years, I homeschooled all my kids so I didn’t fully realize the struggle of school lunches. Now that most of my kids are in school, trying to pack lunches is a pain. Especially for a certain child who refuses to take sandwiches! Thus the need for these ham and cheese roll ups. Out of complete desperation, I’ve come up with some recipes over the years that can be made ahead and frozen. That way, they can pack their own lunches by pulling things out of the freezer. I keep it stocked with Beef and Bean Burritos, Corn Dog Mini Muffins, English Muffin Pizzas, Granola Bars, and these ham and cheese tortilla roll ups.

Ham and Cheese Roll Ups Recipe:

Ingredients:

• flour tortillas (burrito size)
• 8 oz. pack cream cheese
• slices of deli ham (2 or 3 per tortilla)

Assembly instructions:

1. Spread a layer of cream cheese on each flour tortilla.
2. Place two or three pieces of deli ham on top.
3. Roll the tortilla up tightly.
4. Slice in thirds.
5. Place in a resealable freezer bag. Remove excess air, seal, and freeze.
6. Take out as many as needed and reseal the bag again to keep the others frozen. Thaw before eating cold.

Variations:

You can use deli turkey slices in place of the ham. If adding turkey instead of ham, you can also mix some dried cranberries in with the cream cheese.

Use white flour tortillas or change things up by making these on whole wheat, spinach, multi-grain, sundried tomato, cheese, pesto, or rye tortillas. We have found that rice flour and corn tortillas do not roll nicely enough to make these.

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Ham and Cheese Roll Ups

Course: Snack

Keyword: lunch, snack

Ingredients

• 8-12 flour tortillas burrito size
• 8 oz. pack cream cheese
• slices deli ham 2 or 3 per tortilla

Instructions

1. Spread a layer of cream cheese on each flour tortilla.
2. Place two or three pieces of deli ham on top.
3. Roll the tortilla up tightly.
4. Slice in thirds.
5. Place in a resealable freezer bag. Remove excess air, seal, and freeze.
6. Take out as many as needed and reseal the bag again to keep the others frozen. Thaw before eating cold.

You may also be interested in some of these other make ahead snacks:

Corn Dog Mini Muffins

Homemade Granola Bars

Scrambled Egg Bites