Freezer Meal Recipes

Maple Cranberry Chicken Freezer Meal

With just a handful of ingredients and just a few minutes of your time, you can prepare a delicious freezer chicken recipe that everyone in the family will love. The combination of sweet maple syrup and tangy cranberries creates a flavourful sauce that pairs perfectly with poultry. Once you try this simple one-pot maple cranberry chicken, you’ll be sure to make a double batch the next time you prepare it.

Maple Cranberry Chicken Recipe:

Ingredients:

5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 green onions, sliced
5 large white mushrooms, sliced
½ cup maple syrup
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1/8 teaspoon rosemary
2 cloves garlic, minced

For day of cooking:

¼ cup dried cranberries

Assembly instructions:

Place the green onions, white mushrooms, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, rosemary, and minced garlic in a large freezer bag. Pinch the top together and squish the bag to combine the ingredients.
Put the chicken breasts in the bag and seal. Be sure to remove all excess air.
Squeeze the bag again to coat the chicken in the sauce and seasonings.
Lay the bag flat and freeze.

Serving instructions:

Thaw the frozen ingredients completely.
Pour the chicken and sauce in a skillet and cook over medium heat until the chicken is cooked through.
Halfway through the cook time, add the dried cranberries and stir to combine.

How Do You Prepare Chicken for the Freezer?

Raw chicken is one of the easiest ingredients to prep for freezing! All you need to do is remove it from the package and transfer the chicken to a freezer bag. You can freeze your chicken plain or add a sauce or marinade to the bag to speed up prep time for dinner. Once you have the ingredients added to your freezer bag, make sure to squeeze out as much air as possible before sealing it. This will help prevent freezer burn while your chicken is in the freezer.

How Long Can You Keep Chicken in the Freezer Before Cooking?

If your chicken is frozen properly, you can keep it stored for several months. To ensure your chicken stays safe in the freezer, make sure it stays continuously frozen. Once the chicken is frozen, it can be stored for up to nine months.

How Do You Keep Chicken from Getting Freezer Burn?

Once you have your maple cranberry chicken prepared, you don’t want to ruin it with freezer burn! The key to keeping your chicken from getting freezer burn is to remove as much air as possible from the bag or container first. Then, make sure you maintain your freezer while your food is stored. In addition to keeping the freezer set to the proper temperature, it’s also important to clean the freezer out regularly. An overfilled freezer could cause issues with freezer burn down the road.

What to serve with Maple Cranberry Chicken:

Couscous Tabbouleh
Cilantro Corn
Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes
Roasted Red Skinned Potatoes with Rosemary
Crunchy Kale Parmesan Salad
Firehouse Green Beans with Bacon
Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes
Honey Glazed Maple Carrots
Rice
Peas

Maple Cranberry Chicken

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chicken, chicken dump

Ingredients

5 chicken breasts boneless, skinless
3 green onions sliced
5 large white mushrooms sliced
½ cup maple syrup
2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1/8 tsp. rosemary
2 cloves garlic minced

For day of cooking:

¼ cup dried cranberries

Instructions

Assembly instructions:

Place the green onions, white mushrooms, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, rosemary, and minced garlic in a large freezer bag. Pinch the top together and squish the bag to combine the ingredients.
Put the chicken breasts in the bag and seal. Be sure to remove all excess air.
Squeeze the bag again to coat the chicken in the sauce and seasonings.
Lay the bag flat and freeze.

Serving instructions:

Thaw.
Pour the chicken and sauce in a skillet and cook over medium heat until the chicken is cooked through.
Halfway through the cook time, add the dried cranberries and stir to combine.

Cilantro Corn Make Ahead Side Dish

By Sharla

When you’re looking for dinner ideas you can turn into freezer meals, finding make ahead side dish recipes is a good idea. Often, we focus so much on freezing our entrées that we forget about what we’ll eat along with the main dish. With the help of this simple cilantro corn recipe, you can create a quick and easy frozen side dish to go with any dinner.

The beauty of this dish is that it can be served as a cold corn salad or a warm side. Simply thaw and serve or heat in a saucepan to prepare this delicious recipe two different ways.

This side dish goes so well with most of our Chicken Dump Recipes. Here, it’s pictured with our Citrus Chicken.

Can You Freeze Corn Salad?

This delicious make ahead side dish is a great option for freezer cooking! You can even use frozen corn to speed up the prepping process. Simply combine your frozen corn with seasoning, lime juice, onions, and fresh cilantro to turn this make ahead side into a delicious frozen corn salad.

This corn salad can be served cold or warm depending on your mood! When you’re ready to serve your frozen corn, all you have to do is thaw the ingredients and serve. Or heat the salad in a saucepan to create a warm side dish to go with your dinner.

How to Make Cilantro Corn:

Ingredients:

500 g frozen corn
½ cup minced purple onion
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp. grated lime zest
1/4 cup lime juice or juice from two limes
½ tsp. melted honey
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. black pepper

Assembly instructions:

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.
Pour the mixture in a medium freezer bag. Remove excess air from the bag, seal, then place in the freezer.

Serving instructions:

Thaw the frozen ingredients completely and serve cold.
Or heat the ingredients in a pot on the stovetop until warm.

Cilantro Corn Recipe Variations

This simple side dish can be adjusted in a variety of ways! Try these quick and easy variations to change up the recipe:

Spice it up. Add some spiciness to your cilantro corn with the help of diced jalapeño. Chop up some fresh peppers and add them to the mix to give the side a bit of kick.
Add some cheese. If you plan on serving this dish as a warm side, try mixing in some cheese to give it some creaminess. Cream cheese or Monterrey cheddar are both delicious options to add some cheesy flavour to your side.
Stir in bell peppers. Another simple addition to add to your cilantro corn salad is chopped bell pepper. The corn dish can be served cold or warm with the addition of chopped bell peppers.

Cilantro Corn

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: corn

Ingredients

500 g corn frozen
½ cup purple onion minced
¼ cup fresh cilantro chopped
1 tsp. lime zest grated
1/4 cup lime juice or juice from two limes
½ tsp. honey melted
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. black pepper

Instructions

Assembly instructions:

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.
Pour the mixture in a medium freezer bag. Remove excess air from the bag, seal, then place in the freezer.

Serving instructions:

Thaw the frozen ingredients completely and serve cold or heat the ingredients in a pot on the stovetop until warm.

Southwest Breakfast Casserole (freezer friendly)

By Sharla

Coming up with make ahead breakfast ideas is a great way to provide your family with healthy meals without adding extra work to your busy mornings. This simple Southwest breakfast casserole is one of those easy recipes that will simplify your morning routine. Since this casserole is packed with flavour and made with hash browns, bacon, and eggs, it’s sure to be a hit with everyone in your family.

Our family is a big fan of breakfasts that can be made ahead like our Hash Brown Casserole, Cinnamon French Toast, and Scrambled Egg Bites.

How to Make Southwest Breakfast Casserole:

Ingredients:

500 g frozen cubed hash browns
1 ½ cups cooked diced bacon
¾ cup sour cream
1 ½ cups chunky salsa
6 large eggs
salt and pepper
1 ½ cups shredded Tex-Mex cheese

For Day of Cooking:

avocado slices
cilantro
diced tomato
sliced green onion

Assembly instructions:

Combine the hash browns, cooked bacon, and sour cream in a bowl. Spread the mixture into a freezer-safe, greased 9×13 baking dish.
Spoon the salsa evenly over the top of the hash brown mixture.
In a medium bowl, beat the eggs and season with salt and pepper. Pour the seasoned eggs over the salsa layer.
Top the casserole with an even layer of shredded cheese.
Wrap the dish tightly with plastic wrap, then cover with foil and freeze.

Cooking instructions:

Thaw the frozen casserole, then remove the foil and plastic wrap.
Place the foil back on top of the dish and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
Remove the foil and cook for another 20 to 30 minutes.
Garnish with avocado, cilantro, diced tomato and sliced green onion before serving.

How Do You Know a Breakfast Casserole is Done?

There’s nothing worse than cutting into a breakfast casserole only to see that your eggs are still runny! If you’ve had this happen before, you’re probably wondering how to know when your casserole is done. A knife is the best way to check to see if the eggs in your casserole are done. Stick a thin-bladed knife into the center of the casserole dish. If the knife comes out clean, the casserole is done. But if you notice egg on your knife after you pull it out, your casserole needs to cook a little bit longer.

How Long Can Breakfast Casserole Be Frozen?

You can keep this make ahead breakfast in your freezer for up to three months before you need to cook it. To ensure you use your casserole before it expires, make sure to write the name of the dish and the date you prepared it on the foil before you place it in the freezer. It’s also a good idea to write the expiration date on top so you know when to heat it.

Once your casserole has been prepared, you can store leftovers in the refrigerator. Cover the dish or place the leftovers in an airtight container and keep them chilled for up to four days. Leftovers can be reheated in the oven or microwave.

Southwestern Breakfast Casserole Recipe Tips

This quick and easy recipe is perfect for a make ahead breakfast! And since it’s so simple to make, you can easily adjust the recipe to suit your family’s preferences. Try these recipe ideas as you’re preparing your breakfast bake:

Double the recipe to make two make ahead breakfasts at one time. Since this recipe uses a half a bag of diced hash browns, it’s more time efficient to prepare two casseroles at once. Simply double the amount of ingredients in the recipe, then prepare the breakfast casseroles in two separate dishes. You’ll end up with two delicious breakfasts in the amount of time it takes to make one!
Serve with tortillas. While this flavourful casserole is great on its own, you could also try serving it with tortillas for a fun way for your family to enjoy their breakfast. Heat the tortillas according to the package instructions, then let your family fill them with the casserole mixture to create their own breakfast burrito.
Try adding sausage. Bulk up this make ahead breakfast bake with the help of some ground pork sausage. Brown the sausage in a skillet and drain the grease from the pan, then mix the meat into the hash brown mixture to add some more meat and flavour to your breakfast.
Stir in some black beans. Another great way to increase the servings in your casserole is with the help of beans. Black beans add more protein and fiber to your breakfast, making them a great choice for bulking up the recipe. To add black beans to the breakfast dish, drain and rinse a can of beans and mix it into the casserole with the hash browns.
Spice it up with peppers. Does your family enjoy eating a spicy breakfast? Add some spice to your southwestern egg casserole with the help of some peppers. Diced green chilies are a simple choice for spicing up your dish. Or garnish your casserole with sliced jalapeño to add some fresh spiciness to your breakfast.

Southwest Breakfast Casserole

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: breakfast casserole

Ingredients

500 g frozen cubed hash browns
1 ½ cups bacon cooked and crumbled
¾ cup sour cream
1 ½ cups chunky salsa
6 large eggs
salt and pepper to taste
1 ½ cups Tex-Mex cheese shredded

For Day of Cooking:

avocado sliced or cubed
cilantro chopped
tomato diced
green onion sliced

Instructions

Assembly instructions:

Combine the hash browns, cooked bacon, and sour cream in a bowl.
Spread the mixture into a freezer-safe, greased 9x13 baking dish.
Spoon the salsa evenly over the top of the hash brown mixture.
In a medium bowl, beat the eggs and season with salt and pepper. Pour the seasoned eggs over the salsa layer.
Top the casserole with shredded cheese.
Wrap the dish tightly with plastic wrap, then cover with foil and freeze.

Cooking instructions:

Thaw then remove the foil and plastic wrap.
Replace the foil on top of the dish and bake at 350° for 30 minutes.
Remove the foil and cook for another 20 to 30 minutes.
Garnish with avocado, cilantro, diced tomato and sliced green onion.

Citrus Chicken Freezer Meal Dump Recipe

By Sharla

Featuring a sweet and tangy marinade and quick prep time, citrus chicken is a great choice for freezer cooking. In fact, this recipe is a quick and easy freezer dump meal that’s perfect for a quick dinner. Just toss the chicken thighs in a citrus marinade, store it in the freezer, and heat it up for dinner when you need a quick dump and go meal. Chicken dump recipes are among the fastest freezer meals to make. We enjoy many of these recipes such as our Chili Glazed Chicken, Apple Maple Chicken, and Honey Sesame Chicken.

How to Make Citrus Chicken:

Ingredients:

10-12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1/2 cup VH honey-garlic sauce
1/2 cup unsweetened orange juice
1/4 cup red wine (or red cooking wine without alcohol)
1 1/2 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp ginger powder (or ginger from a squeeze tube)
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. Mrs. Dash Extra Spicy Seasoning
3 cloves garlic, minced

Assembly instructions:

Place the chicken thighs in a large zip top freezer bag.
Add the honey garlic sauce, unsweetened orange juice, red wine, brown sugar, ginger, pepper, Mrs. Dash seasoning, and garlic cloves to the bag.
Seal the bag and squeeze it between your hands to mix all the ingredients together.

Serving instructions:

Allow the chicken to thaw completely.
Pour the ingredients into a skillet and cook over medium heat until the chicken is cooked through.
Serve immediately.

Citrus Chicken Recipe Ideas and Substitutions:

This simple freezer dump recipe is quick and easy to prepare and cook. And with these recipe ideas, you can create a delicious meal that’s perfect for your family.

Use red cooking wine for an alcohol-free marinade. Cooking wine is a simple alternative if you prefer not to include alcohol in your sauce. Use the same amount of red cooking wine to traditional red wine as listed in the recipe.
Substitute fresh ginger or squeeze ginger for ginger powder. Add more ginger flavour with the help of freshly grated ginger. Or make your prep work even easier by adding squeeze ginger to the recipe in place of fresh ginger.
Serve over rice. Once you have your chicken prepared, you’ll need to come up with some side dishes to enjoy! Try serving your citrus chicken over rice to round out your dinner.

How Do You make Freezer Dump Meals?

Freezer dump meals are one of my favourite types of recipes. In addition to be super easy to cook, dump meals are also so easy to prepare! Dump meals get their name because all you need to do is dump the ingredients into the bag! To make freezer dump recipes, just:

Combine the ingredients in a freezer bag. With this citrus chicken recipe, simply add the chicken and marinade to the bag.
Seal and freeze. Let the extra air out of the bag and place it flat in the freezer for easy storing.
Thaw and cook. Allow the dump meal to thaw complete, then dump the ingredients into a pan or slow cooker and cook.

Side dish suggestions for citrus chicken:

Citrus Chicken Recipe

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chicken, chicken dump

Ingredients

10-12 chicken thighs boneless, skinless
1/2 cup VH honey-garlic sauce
1/2 cup orange juice unsweetened
1/4 cup red wine or red cooking wine without alcohol
1 1/2 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp ginger powder
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. Mrs. Dash Extra Spicy Seasoning
3 cloves garlic minced

Instructions

Assembly instructions:

Place the chicken thighs in a large freezer bag.
Add the honey garlic sauce, unsweetened orange juice, red wine, brown sugar, ginger, pepper, Mrs. Dash seasoning, and garlic cloves to the bag.
Seal the bag and squeeze it between your hands to mix all the ingredients together.

Serving instructions:

Allow the chicken to thaw completely.
Pour the ingredients into a skillet and cook over medium heat until the chicken is cooked through.
Serve immediately.

Easy Freezer Taco Cups

By Sharla

Tacos are a great choice for a quick weeknight dinner. But eating plain tacos every week can get pretty boring! Why not change things up by preparing some taco cups, instead? These freezer-friendly individual taco pies are a simple meal idea that everyone in the family is sure to love!

These are great for kids’ lunches or snacks. They are so easy to make. I like to always have make ahead snacks in the freezer such as corn dog mini muffins, English muffin pizzas, or ham and cheese roll-ups.

How to Make Taco Cups:

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef
2 Tablespoons taco seasoning
¼ cup water
mini tart shells
shredded cheddar cheese

Assembly Instructions:

Cook the mini tart shells according to the package instructions.
While the shells are cooking, brown the ground beef. When the beef is cooked through, stir in the taco seasoning and water. Continue to simmer until the sauce is thickened. Remove the pan from heat and allow to cool.
Fill each tart shell with taco meat and top with shredded cheese.
Return the shells to the oven to cook until the cheese is melted, around five minutes.
Allow the taco pies to cool completely, then transfer them to a freezer bag.
Remove excess air from the bag and seal, then place them in the freezer.

* Note: If you have any of the taco meat mixture leftover, place it in a medium size freezer bag, seal, and freeze. You can then use it to add to eggs or hash browns, on top of nachos, or for tacos.

Oven Cooking Instructions:

Allow the taco cups to thaw completely.
Place the cups in the oven to bake at 350° for 10 to 15 minutes, until the meat is warm and the cheese is melted.

Microwave Cooking Instructions:

Take as many cups as you want out of the freezer.
Remove the foil and reheat in the microwave.

I recently made these in a day of make ahead snacks to ensure my kids always had something to snack on or bring for lunches. You can check out all that I made in the video below:

Taco Pie Serving Ideas:

Once you have the basic taco cups prepared, you can dress them up according to your family’s tastes! There are a variety of fun ways to serve your mini taco cups. One simple way to change up the taste of this taco pie recipe is to use a different meat. Instead of ground beef, you could also try ground turkey or chicken. Shredded chicken or pork are more great options for creating different flavour taco cups.

But if you would prefer to stick to the recipe, you could also add more flavour to your taco cups with the help of fresh toppings. Try these topping ideas to give your family members a chance to prepare their own individual taco pies for dinner:

diced tomatoes
salsa
chopped lettuce
sliced avocado
sour cream
hot sauce
jalapeño slices
crushed tortilla chips or taco shells
chopped green onion
extra cheese
guacamole
pico de gallo
chopped cilantro

In addition to sprinkling toppings over your baked taco pies, you could also make additions to the recipe itself. Simply mix any of these easy add-ins into your ground beef mixture to give your taco cups even more flavour:

refried beans
diced tomatoes with green chilies
kidney or chili beans
black beans
Mexican rice
quinoa
salsa
chopped onions
diced tomatoes
queso cheese
chopped bell peppers
chopped jalapeño peppers
corn

These are such a fun food with so many variations possible.

Taco Cups

Course: Lunch, Snack

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: taco cups

Ingredients

1 lb. ground beef
2 Tbsp. taco seasoning
¼ cup water
mini tart shells
shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

Assembly Instructions:

Cook the mini tart shells according to the package instructions.
While the shells are cooking, brown the ground beef. When the beef is cooked through, stir in the taco seasoning and water. Continue to simmer until the sauce is thickened. Remove the pan from heat and allow to cool.
Fill each tart shell with taco meat and top with shredded cheese.
Return the shells to the oven to cook until the cheese is melted, around five minutes.
Allow the taco pies to cool completely, then transfer them to a freezer bag.
Remove excess air from the bag and seal, then place them in the freezer.

Microwave Cooking Instructions:

Take as many as you want out of the freezer. Remove the foil and reheat in the microwave.

Oven Cooking Instructions:

Allow the taco cups to thaw completely.
Place the cups in the oven to bake at 350° for 10 to 15 minutes, until the meat is warm and the cheese is melted.

Recipe Notes

If there is any of the taco meat mixture leftover, place it in a medium size freezer bag, seal, and freeze. It can then be used to add to eggs or hash browns, on top of nachos, or for tacos.