Freezer Meal Side Dishes

Who doesn’t love a good mac and cheese?! It’s the ultimate in comfort food. But sometimes after a hard day when the craving hits, I don’t have it in me to actually cook. That’s what’s so awesome about this Make Ahead Mac and Cheese! It’s ready to go whenever you need it.

I suggest making several of these recipes at once. That way, it’s the same amount of work, but you’ll have several in the freezer ready for whenever that mac and cheese craving hits.All of my kids love macaroni and cheese which is another reason that I like having some of these in the freezer ready to go.

Around here, we eat mac and cheese as a meal (with loads of hot sauce!), but you can also serve this as a side dish.

Make Ahead Mac and Cheese Recipe:

• 8 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded
• 8 oz. Monterey Jack cheese, shredded 
• 1 1/2 cups macaroni noodles, cooked
• 5 Tbsp. butter 
• 3 Tbsp. flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper

Assembly instructions:

1. In a large skillet, melt 3 Tbsp. butter.
2. Add the flour and stir over medium heat until the mixture is lightly browned.
3. Pour in the milk and whisk.
4. Add the salt and pepper and cook over medium heat until the sauce thickens and starts to bubble.
5. Slowly stir in both types of cheese (saving a little bit of the cheese to sprinkle on top later) and the last 2 Tablespoons of butter and whisk until smooth and melted.
6. Add the noodles once the cheeses have melted and mix well. 
7. Pour into a foil baking dish or a large resealable freezer bag. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. If using a foil dish, top with two layers of aluminum foil. If using a freezer bag, remove excess air and seal.
8. Freeze.

Cooking instructions:

1. Take tray or bag out of the freezer. Thaw.
2. Preheat oven to 350°.
3. Bake in an oven safe baking dish for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
4. Serve and enjoy! 

Check out some of our other make ahead pasta dishes:

Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo Bake

Irresistible Chicken Pasta Bake

Instant Pot Pizza Casserole

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Make Ahead Mac and Cheese Recipe

Course: Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: mac and cheese, macaroni and cheese

Ingredients

• 8 oz. cheddar cheese shredded
• 8 oz. Monterey Jack cheese shredded
• 1 1/2 cups macaroni noodles cooked
• 5 Tbsp. butter
• 3 Tbsp. flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. pepper

Instructions

Assembly instructions:

1. In a large skillet, melt 3 Tbsp. butter.
2. Add the flour and stir over medium heat until the mixture is lightly browned.
3. Pour in the milk and whisk.
4. Add the salt and pepper and cook over medium heat until the sauce thickens and starts to bubble.
5. Slowly stir in both types of cheese (saving a little bit of the cheese to sprinkle on top lateand the last 2 Tablespoons of butter and whisk until smooth and melted.
6. Add the noodles once the cheeses have melted and mix well.
7. Pour into a foil baking dish or a large resealable freezer bag. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. If using a foil dish, top with two layers of aluminum foil. If using a freezer bag, remove excess air and seal.
8. Freeze.

Cooking instructions:

1. Take tray or bag out of the freezer. Thaw.
2. Preheat oven to 350°.
3. Bake in an oven safe baking dish for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
4. Serve and enjoy!

Side dishes are often overlooked when it comes to freezer cooking. But having them in the freezer as well will make dinner even easier. These honey maple glazed carrots can be made ahead and frozen. Doing the work ahead of time, especially if you make several bags of these at one time, makes suppertime so much easier. They make a perfect side dish to go along with most mains. This also makes an excellent side dish for holiday meals.

Having this side made ahead makes Easter, Thanksgiving, or Christmas dinner that much easier.

Carrots are a vegetable that most kids will eat, especially when sweetened with both honey and maple. Trust me, these are not a hard sell!

Since the carrots are frozen before they are cooked, they don’t take on that mushy texture that some frozen vegetables can. Mushy is not something I strive for in any of my cooking!

Honey Maple Glazed Carrots Recipe:

• 3 1/2 cups carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 3 tsp. maple syrup
• 1 Tbsp. honey, melted
• 2 tsp. thyme
• 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• pinch pepper

To note: 3 1/2 cups of carrots will be approximately 5 carrots, depending of course on their size.

1. Peel and slice the carrots.
2. In a medium sized bowl, toss the carrots with the olive oil, maple syrup, melted honey, and all the seasonings. Make sure the carrots are well covered. Alternately, you can put the carrots in the bag and mix everything in there by giving it a squish.
3. Place it all in a medium resealable freezer bag. Take out the excess air and seal before freezing.

On the day of cooking:

1. Take the bag out of the freezer to thaw.
2. Preheat the oven to 425°.
3. Spray a cookie sheet with olive oil.
4. Dump the contents of the bag onto the greased sheet.
5. Put the pan in the oven for 10 minutes, stir. Return to the oven for another 12-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Carrots are done when they are tender and some of the edges are browning.
6. Scoop the carrots into a serving bowl. Serve while still warm.

Ideas for main courses to serve with the honey maple glazed carrots:

Apple Pork Chops

Lemon Garlic Chicken

Chili Glazed Chicken

Tequila Lime Shrimp

Asian Meatballs

pictured below with Honey Sesame Chicken, rice, and salad

Other make ahead side dishes that may interest you:

Make Ahead Rice Pilaf 

Freezer Garlic Bread 

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Honey Maple Glazed Carrots Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups carrots peeled and sliced
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 3 tsp. maple syrup
• 1 Tbsp. honey melted
• 2 tsp. thyme
• 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• pinch pepper

Instructions

1. Peel and slice the carrots.
2. In a medium sized bowl, toss the carrots with the olive oil, maple syrup, melted honey, and all the seasonings. Make sure the carrots are well covered. Alternately, you can put the carrots in the bag and mix everything in there by giving it a squish.
3. Place it all in a medium resealable freezer bag. Take out the excess air and seal before freezing.

On the day of cooking:

1. Take the bag out of the freezer to thaw.
2. Preheat the oven to 425°.
3. Spray a cookie sheet with olive oil.
4. Dump the contents of the bag onto the greased sheet.
5. Put the pan in the oven for 10 minutes, stir. Return to the oven for another 12-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Carrots are done when they are tender and some of the edges are browning.
6. Scoop the carrots into a serving bowl. Serve while still warm.

Recipe Notes

3 1/2 cups of carrots will be approximately 5 carrots, depending of course on their size.

It is so nice to have garlic bread in the freezer always ready to go. It’s so convenient. Having these loaves pre-made in your freezer means that you can pull them out to go with any meal or when company pops by unexpectedly. This freezer garlic bread is a fraction of the cost of store-bought garlic bread. Making some loaves ahead means saving on time and on money.

Freezer Garlic Bread Recipe:

• loaf of French bread*
• 1 cup of butter, softened
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• salt and pepper to taste
• parsley
• optional: grated Parmesan cheese

*You can use store bought French bread or use this fool proof, one hour recipe to make your own. It’s the recipe I use when I make it homemade. When I’m short on time, I buy French bread to make these garlic breads.

Set out a loaf of French bread. Make cuts every inch or two (depending on how thick you want your garlic bread) down the loaf about 6/8ths of the way through. Don’t cut all the way down to the bottom.

Soften the butter and mix with minced garlic and the seasonings. Spread the butter mixture down between the bread slices. If you want, you can sprinkle shredded Parmesan cheese in between the slices on top of the butter mixture.

Wrap the loaf in two layers of tin foil. Freeze.

To serve, take it out of the freezer. Keep the aluminum foil on it and place in the oven. Cook at 350° for 15 minutes. Open the foil to allow the steam to release.

Change the oven temperature to 450° and put it back in the oven for another 10 minutes. Serve with spaghetti, pasta with Italian sausage sauce, or any other pasta freezer meal. Here are some freezer meals that pair perfectly with a side of garlic bread:

Make Ahead Spaghetti Sauce

Chicken Cacciatore 

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Freezer Garlic Bread Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 loaf French bread
• 1 cup butter softened
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• salt and pepper to taste
• parsley
• optional: grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Set out a loaf of French bread. Make cuts every inch or two (depending on how thick you want your garlic bread) down the loaf about 6/8ths of the way through. Don't cut all the way down to the bottom.
2. Soften the butter and mix with minced garlic and the seasonings. Spread the butter mixture down between the bread slices.
3. If you want, you can sprinkle shredded Parmesan cheese in between the slices on top of the butter mixture.
4. Wrap the loaf in two layers of tin foil. Freeze.
5. To serve, take it out of the freezer. Keep the aluminum foil on it and place in the oven. Cook at 350° for 15 minutes. Open the foil to allow the steam to release.
6. Change the oven temperature to 450° and put it back in the oven for another 10 minutes.

One of the things I get asked about a lot is side dishes to go along with some of our other freezer meal recipes. Many of our freezer meal recipes include everything needed for a meal, but some of them such as the meat and marinade types need to be served with a side dish. Something I have started doing more and more lately is making side dishes that freeze such as this butternut squash recipe. 

Having side dishes in the freezer as well allows me to pull out a main and a side dish together and have supper completely done ahead.

Butternut Squash Freezer Side Dish Recipe:

• 3 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed
• 1 cup sweet or purple onion, finely minced
• 2 Tbsp. mayonnaise
• 2/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/3 cup Panko breadcrumbs
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper

I have a little trick for making butternut squash easier to peel and cube. I put the entire squash including the skin into the microwave for a minute or two. This softens it just enough to make peeling and cubing simpler.

Place the chunks of butternut squash into a medium sized resealable freezer bag. There are two options for assembling this side dish. If you want the Parmesan and breadcrumbs as a topping, you can place the other ingredients into a separate medium sized freezer bag and staple the bags together. Otherwise, you can place all the ingredients into one bag. Remove the excess air from the bag(s), seal and freeze. 

On the day of cooking, thaw. If you made it all in one bag, place the bag contents into a small, greased oven safe cooking dish and mix. Bake, covered at 350° for one hour.

If it is in two bags, place the butternut squash in a small, greased baking dish and top with the topping from the other bag. Cover and bake at 350° for one hour. I was so relieved to have several of these side dishes in the freezer at Thanksgiving. There is so much to do that day and so many things to cook. Having something to pull out that’s ready to cook made it so much easier.

Of course, I pulled out several bags so that there would be enough to feed our family and some extended family gathering together that day. This side dish would be great for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, or any other group meal.