Freezer Meal Recipes

Make Ahead Mexican Manicotti Bake

Our family loves Tex Mex type flavours. I’ve been making an Italian Manicotti freezer meal for years. I decided to experiment. I took the inspiration of the Tex Mex influence and created this Mexican Manicotti Bake. This little experiment really paid off! The taste is there. My family approved of this new version of manicotti.

I doubled the recipe to make one large casserole dish. We have a large family, so a single recipe wouldn’t be enough for all 9 of us. The recipe below makes one square dish.

Mexican Manicotti Bake Recipe:

1 lb. ground beef, browned
16 oz. can refried beans
1 Tbsp. taco seasoning
1/2 cup shredded tex mex cheese blend
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
14 oz. tomato sauce
4 oz. can green chilies
box manicotti noodles
shredded tex mex cheese blend for topping

Brown the ground beef. Mix together the cooked ground beef, refried beans, 1/2 cup tex mex cheese, softened cream cheese, 1/2 the tomato sauce, taco seasoning, and green chilies in a large bowl. With a small spoon or piping bag, fill the manicotti noodles with the mixture. Pour the rest of the tomato sauce over everything. Top with a sprinkling of shredded cheese.

Place in a square foil casserole dish. If you double it, use a large foil dish. Cover with two layers of aluminum foil. Freeze.

Bake at 350° for one hour if thawed before putting in or one and a half hours if cooking from frozen.

Serve with a fresh garden salad.

You’ll also enjoy these freezer meal recipes:

Tex Mex Pasta Bake Salsa Verde Chicken Tacos

Mexican Manicotti Bake Recipe

Course: Main Course

Keyword: freezer meal, mexican manicotti

Ingredients

1 lb. ground beef browned
16 oz. can refried beans
1 Tbsp. taco seasoning
1/2 cup shredded tex mex cheese blend
4 oz. cream cheese softened
14 oz. tomato sauce
4 oz. can green chilies
box manicotti noodles
shredded tex mex cheese blend for topping

Instructions

Brown the ground beef. Mix together the cooked ground beef, refried beans, 1/2 cup tex mex cheese, softened cream cheese, 1/2 the tomato sauce, taco seasoning, and green chilies in a large bowl.
With a small spoon or piping bag, fill the manicotti noodles with the mixture. Pour the rest of the tomato sauce over everything. Top with a sprinkling of shredded cheese. Place in a square foil casserole dish. Cover with two layers of aluminum foil. Freeze.
Bake at 350° for one hour if thawed or one and a half hours if cooking from frozen.

Make Ahead Apple Pork Chops

By Sharla

This freezer meal is a little bit more involved in terms of the prep ahead, but it’s worth it. The apples make these Apple Pork Chops the perfect Fall recipe. If you have an apple tree, you can even harvest your own apples to use. These fall flavours are nice to bring indoors.

Apple Pork Chops Recipe:

4 pork chops
4 fresh apples (more if you are using smaller ones from your backyard)
1/2 jar of apple butter
4 Tbsp. butter
4 Tbsp. brown sugar, packed
2 tsp. chili powder
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp. seasoning salt*

*You can make your own seasoning salt by mixing equal parts salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder or you can purchase it from the store.

Season both sides of each pork chop with the seasoning salt blend. Place the pork chops in a large resealable freezer bag. Remove the excess air and seal.

Slice and core each apple.

In a large skillet, melt 2 Tablespoons of butter. Add the apple slices and allow them to cook until soft, about 5 minutes.

Add in 1/2 of the jar of apple butter, brown sugar, and chili powder. Stir well to combine. Pour in the cream and continue to stir. Bring it all to a light boil. Remove it from the heat and allow it to cool. Pour the cooled apple mixture into a medium sized resealable freezer bag. Seal. Staple the bag to the pork chop bag above the seals and freeze.

On the day of cooking, thaw.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add the pork chops to the preheated skillet and cook each side for about 3-4 minutes.

Pour a spoonful of the apple topping on top while it cooks. Pour the rest of the apple mixture into the skillet on top of the pork. Serve hot. Even though this meal requires cooking the apples and sauce ahead of freezing which is more involved in the prep than most of my freezer meals, it is still quite fast to prepare. I like to do a mix of more time consuming make ahead meals with simpler ones. It provides more variety in my freezer.

Check out these easy freezer meals that are also great for Fall:

Apple Maple Chicken Dump Recipe

Beef Curry Freezer Meal

Apple Pork Chops Recipe

Ingredients

4 pork chops
4 fresh apples more if you are using smaller ones from your backyard
1/2 jar of apple butter
4 Tbsp. butter
4 Tbsp. brown sugar packed
2 tsp. chili powder
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp. seasoning salt*

Instructions

Season both sides of each pork chop with the seasoning salt blend. Place the pork chops in a large resealable freezer bag. Remove the excess air and seal.
Slice and core each apple.
In a large skillet, melt 2 Tablespoons of butter. Add the apple slices and allow them to cook until soft, about 5 minutes.
Add in 1/2 of the jar of apple butter, brown sugar, and chili powder. Stir well to combine. Pour in the cream and continue to stir. Bring it all to a light boil. Remove it from the heat and allow it to cool.
Pour the cooled apple mixture into a medium sized resealable freezer bag. Seal. Staple the bag to the pork chop bag above the seals and freeze.
On the day of cooking, thaw.
Melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add the pork chops to the preheated skillet and cook each side for about 3-4 minutes.
Pour a spoonful of the apple topping on top while it cooks. Pour the rest of the apple mixture into the skillet on top of the pork. Serve hot.

Recipe Notes

*You can make your own seasoning salt by mixing equal parts salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder or you can purchase it from the store.

Instant Pot or Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Chicken Tacos

By Sharla

Would it surprise you to know that I had never tried chicken tacos before this year? I had always made our tacos with beef (or Mexican ground round). These Salsa Verde Chicken Tacos were a first for me. Our whole family loves tacos, so I was expecting to get some dissent on the change. They surprised me. I surprised me! We all loved the chicken version just as much.

In fact, when one of my daughters recently requested tacos as her birthday supper, she wanted both types of meat. Most of us just chose one or the other, but some of my kids are strange eaters and they used both chicken and beef in their tacos. Weird, I know!

Make this freezer to slow cooker or Instant Pot recipe for Taco Tuesday or Taco Wednesday or Taco Thursday or… I think you get the idea!

Salsa Verde Chicken Tacos Recipe:

2 lbs. skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/2 cup onion, diced
1 cup jarred salsa verde
1/8 tsp. ground cumin

Dump the chicken, diced onions, cumin, and salsa verde in a large resealable bag. Remove the excess air, seal, and freeze. Instant Pot Cooking Instructions:

Take the bag out of the freezer and thaw. Add bag contents to the Instant Pot. Lock the cover and seal the steam nozzle.

Cook on high pressure for 12 minutes (or 20 minutes if cooking from frozen). Release the steam. Once vented, shred the chicken using tongs or two forks.

Slow Cooker Cooking Instructions:

Thaw. Place the bag contents into the crock pot on cook on low for 4-6 hours. Shred before serving.

Serving suggestions:

Serve the shredded chicken on corn or flour tortillas with cheese and all of your favourite taco fixings. Possible toppings are black beans, salsa, hot sauce, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, green onions, sliced black olives, avocados, sliced jalapenos, and fresh cilantro. You can also offer sour cream, salsa, and guacamole on the side. If chicken tacos aren’t your thing or if you have leftovers, you can also use the shredded meat as a topping on nachos or in wraps.

This salsa verde chicken recipe is included in our Instant Pot Freezer Meal plan along with other easy recipes, prep and shopping lists, and printable labels.

You may also be interested in these recipes:

Freezer to Crock Pot BBQ Pulled Pork

Tex Mex Pasta Bake

Salsa Verde Chicken Tacos Recipe

Ingredients

2 lbs. skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/2 cup onion diced
1 cup jarred salsa verde
1/8 tsp. ground cumin

Instructions

Dump the chicken, diced onions, cumin, and salsa verde in a large resealable bag. Remove the excess air, seal, and freeze.

Instant Pot Cooking Instructions:

Take the bag out of the freezer and thaw. Add bag contents to the Instant Pot. Lock the cover and seal the steam nozzle.
Cook on high pressure for 12 minutes (or 20 minutes if cooking from frozen). Release the steam. Once vented, shred the chicken using tongs or two forks.

Slow Cooker Cooking Instructions:

Thaw. Place the bag contents into the crock pot on cook on low for 4-6 hours. Shred before serving.

Recipe Notes

Serving suggestions: Serve the shredded chicken on corn or flour tortillas with cheese and all of your favourite taco fixings. Possible toppings are black beans, salsa, hot sauce, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, green onions, sliced black olives, avocados, sliced jalapenos, and fresh cilantro.

Instant Pot Asian Noodle Soup

By Sharla

One of my sons loves those instant noodle soups. As a mom, I don’t want him eating them often. I wanted to find a healthier alternative. This Instant Pot Asian Beef Noodle Soup recipe is exactly what I was looking for. Being able to make this ahead and keep it in the freezer until cooking it quickly in the Instant Pot is so easy. Asian noodle soups just have an inherent comfort food quality to them.

Usually, a good broth takes many hours to meld the flavours and get to the desired depth. By using a pressure cooker, you can get the same depth of flavour in less than an hour.

Instant Pot Asian Beef Noodle Soup Recipe:

2 lbs. stew meat
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
1 small onion, diced
3 cups chicken or beef broth
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1 tsp. ginger

For the cooking day:

8 oz. long rice noodles

Add the diced onion, beef, mushrooms, broth, soy sauce, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, and ginger into a large resealable freezer bag. Squish to mix everything together. Take out the extra air from the bag, seal, and freeze.

On the day you want to serve the soup, take the bag out of the freezer to thaw.

Set the Instant Pot to high pressure and set for 15 minutes.

Lock the lid and be sure the vent is closed.

Vent the pressure from the Instant Pot.

Add the noodles, making sure that they are completely submerged. Close and lock the lid on the Instant Pot, ensuring that the vent is closed. Set the Instant Pot to 2 minutes. Once the 2 minutes is up, allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes. Afterwards, open the vent to release the remaining pressure. If you use gluten free soy sauce and hoisin sauce, then this soup recipe is gluten free.

You can top the soup with sesame seeds or slice green onions to make it “extra fancy”.

Instant Pot Asian Beef Noodle Soup Recipe

Ingredients

2 lbs. stew meat
2 cups mushrooms sliced
1 small onion diced
3 cups chicken or beef broth
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1 tsp. ginger

For the cooking day:

8 oz. long rice noodles

Instructions

Add the diced onion, beef, mushrooms, broth, soy sauce, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, and ginger into a large resealable freezer bag. Squish to mix everything together. Take out the extra air from the bag, seal, and freeze.
On the day you want to serve the soup, take the bag out of the freezer to thaw.
Set the Instant Pot to high pressure and set for 15 minutes.
Lock the lid and be sure the vent is closed.
Vent the pressure from the Instant Pot.
Add the noodles, making sure that they are completely submerged. Close and lock the lid on the Instant Pot, ensuring that the vent is closed. Set the Instant Pot to 2 minutes.
Once the 2 minutes is up, allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes. Afterwards, open the vent to release the remaining pressure.

Check out these other make ahead Instant Pot recipes:

Instant Pot Beef Taco Soup

Instant Pot Italian Chicken and Veggies

Chili Glazed Chicken Dump Recipe

By Sharla

When it comes to freezer meals, there is nothing faster than chicken dump recipes. This chili chicken dump recipe is no exception. Make one (or many) in minutes.

This six ingredient recipe may be simple, but the taste is there. Serve this chicken with any number of sides. It goes well with a vegetable and wild rice.

One of the best things about this recipe is its versatility in the cooking method. It can be cooked in the crock pot, oven, or skillet. If you’ll be out for the afternoon, you can throw it in the slow cooker. If you’re in a rush, you can cook it on the stovetop and otherwise, you can heat it in the oven.

What’s a Chicken Dump Recipe?

A chicken dump recipe is simply a method to make a lot of meals in a short amount of time. Open resealable freezer bags and set them on the counter in such a way that they stay open. Place the chicken in each bag and then “dump” the sauce ingredients into the bags.

Seal them all up, label them, and you’ll have made many meals made in just a few minutes.

You can find more recipes in the Chicken Dump Recipes Cookbook. It includes convenient shopping lists and printable labels.

Chili Glazed Chicken Dump Recipe:

3-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or 8-10 chicken thighs
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp. honey, melted
1/4 cup chicken broth

Place the chicken breasts in a large, resealable freezer bag. Dump the rest of the ingredients into the bag. Squish together to combine.

On the cooking day, take the bag out of the freezer to thaw.

Oven instructions:

Bake at 350° for 50 minutes.

Slow cooker instructions:

Cook in the crock pot on low for 4-6 hours.

Skillet instructions:

Heat in a skillet at medium-high for 20-25 minutes or until cooked through, turning frequently.

Check out these other Chicken Dump Recipes:

Apple Maple Chicken

Lemon Garlic Chicken

Chili Glazed Chicken Dump Recipe

Ingredients

3-5 chicken breasts or 8-10 chicken thighs boneless, skinless
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp. honey melted
1/4 cup chicken broth

Instructions

Place the chicken breasts in a large, resealable freezer bag. Dump the rest of the ingredients into the bag. Squish together to combine.
On the cooking day, take the bag out of the freezer to thaw.

Oven instructions:

Bake at 350° for 50 minutes.

Slow cooker instructions:

Cook in the crock pot on low for 4-6 hours.

Skillet instructions:

Heat in a skillet at medium-high for 20-25 minutes or until cooked through, turning frequently.