Freezer Meals 101

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Freezer Meal Side Dishes

Dr. Pepper Baked Beans (Freezer Meal)

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These Dr. Pepper baked beans can be served as a side dish or as a main course. With only 5 ingredients, this is an easy recipe. Make it ahead as a freezer meal or serve immediately.

Dr. Pepper may be a popular carbonated beverage to some (or “pop” as we call it here in Canada!), but it’s also an ingredient I like to use in cooking. We have our Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork and our Dr. Pepper Crockpot Ribs. The pop tenderizes the protein and also gives it such a nice flavour. If you’re really a fan, you can even make Dr. Pepper Cake! cast iron skillet with beans, onions, bacon, sauce and text that reads "Dr. Pepper Baked Beans"These baked beans are a great dish to take to a summer potluck or BBQ. This is a stick-to-your-ribs kind of dish, so is also great for camping.

Dr. Pepper Baked Beans Recipe:

Ingredients:

  • 28 oz. can baked beans
  • 4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
  • 1/2 medium onion, chopped
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup Dr. Pepper

Assembly instructions:

  1. Combine baked beans, cooked and crumbled bacon, chopped onion, and brown sugar.
  2. Add 1/4 cup Dr.Pepper.
  3. Mix well.
  4. Pour into a large resealable freezer bag. Remove excess air. Seal and freeze. (If you want to save on clean up, you can just pour everything directly into the bag and squish to combine before sealing.)

Cooking instructions:

  1. Thaw.
  2. Pour into a 2 quart baking dish.
  3. Bake, uncovered for 1 hour at 350° or until bubbly.
  4. Serve.

Print
Dr. Pepper Baked Beans
Ingredients
  • 28 oz. can baked beans
  • 4 slices bacon cooked and crumbled
  • 1/2 medium onion chopped
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup Dr. Pepper
Instructions
Assembly instructions:
  1. Combine baked beans, cooked and crumbled bacon, chopped onion, and brown sugar.
  2. Add 1/4 cup Dr.Pepper.
  3. Mix well.

  4. Pour into a large resealable freezer bag. Remove excess air, seal, and freeze.

Cooking instructions:
  1. Thaw.
  2. Pour into a 2 quart baking dish.
  3. Bake, uncovered for 1 hour at 350° or until bubbly.
  4. Serve.

Check out these other make ahead side dishes:

Freezer Garlic Bread

Honey Maple Glazed Carrots

Old Fashioned Southern Cornbread

Good Old Fashioned Southern Cornbread Recipe

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Who doesn’t like good old fashioned cornbread? Whether you are looking for a side dish for your next dinner or holiday feast or wanting to eat cornbread for cornbread’s sake, you’ve come to the right place! This skillet Southern cornbread is everything you’re looking for.

You can serve this on its own, deliciously drizzled with honey or alongside dishes like chili, soups, stews, baked beans, or pulled pork. a triangle shaped piece of cornbread on white plate with honey drizzling down on it and text that reads "Good Old Fashioned Southern Cornbread"

Can you freeze cornbread?

Cornbread freezes beautifully! Wrap the cornbread tightly in plastic wrap and place in a large freezer bag. Seal and freeze. It lasts 3-4 months in the freezer. Reheat or serve at room temperature.

If you want to be able to take out individual pieces, then slice the cornbread before wrapping and freezing.

What’s another name for cornbread?

Now I didn’t grow up in the South, so I’m sure there are some stories behind these names but most of them just sound funny to me! Cornbread is also called Journey Cakes, Hoe Cakes, Johnnycake, Spoonbread, Corn Pone, and Indian Pone.

Corn Dodgers or Hush Puppies are basically when cornbread is made in a ball or fritter shape.

Skillet Southern Cornbread Recipe:

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup self-rising corn meal
  • 1 cup flour
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • ½ tsp. baking soda
  • 1 ¼ cup buttermilk
  • ½ cup butter, melted
  • 2 eggs
  • ¼ to ½ cup vegetable or olive oil

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400°. Pour the oil in an 8-inch cast iron skillet and place it in the oven to heat.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together corn meal, flour, sugar, and baking soda.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, melted butter, and eggs until well blended.
  4. Stir together the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients. The mixture will be somewhat thick.
  5. Carefully remove the skillet from the oven and add the batter to the skillet.
  6. Immediately return the skillet to the oven and bake for approximately 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
  7. Remove from the oven.
  8. Cover the skillet with a plate and flip the cornbread onto the plate. Cut into wedges.
  9. Serve warm or allow to cool and wrap in plastic wrap before placing in a freezer bag and freezing until needed.

It’s so nice to have a few of these in the freezer so that you always have it ready to serve as a side dish for your weeknight meal or holiday dinner such as Thanksgiving. If you want to get creative, you can even use this recipe to create cornbread stuffing.

What goes with cornbread?

Check out these other make ahead side dishes:

Honey Maple Glazed CarrotsMake Ahead Rice Pilaf

Make Ahead Mac and Cheese

Buffalo Ranch Cauliflower and Broccoli Freezer Side Dish

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It is so nice to be able to pull a side dish out of the freezer. More and more, I’m finding that I am making sides when we do our freezer meal sessions. This Buffalo Ranch Cauliflower and Broccoli recipe is simple, yet handy to have.

This side dish is low carb, keto friendly, and gluten free. My husband is on a keto diet on and off, so I’m always on the lookout for keto recipes like our Lemon Mustard Chicken, Tequila Lime Shrimp, and Instant Pot Bone Broth. It’s nice to have these vegetables that can easily go with those meals.

roasted broccoli and cauliflower are on a blue plate with fish and white rice with text that reads "Buffalo Broccoli and Cauliflower make ahead side dish"

Even though this recipe uses hot sauce, the end result isn’t very spicy because it’s offset by the Ranch. This makes it a bit more kid-friendly…that is of course if you can get your kids to eat broccoli and cauliflower!

When our kids were younger, we called them “trees” and “winter trees”. That seems to go over a bit better. They actually seemed to want to eat their “mini trees”, well, until after that first bite anyway!

Buffalo Ranch Broccoli and Cauliflower Recipe:

Ingredients:

  • 3 1/2 cups each cauliflower and broccoli florets (fresh or frozen)
  • 2-3 Tbsp. Frank’s Red Hot sauce
  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 3 Tbsp. dry Ranch dressing mix

Assembly instructions:

  1. In a large bowl, toss the cauliflower and broccoli with the hot sauce, olive oil, and dry dressing mix.
  2. When the vegetables are well coated, spread them out in a single layer on a baking sheet. Freeze for about 45 minutes and then transfer them into a large resealable bag*. Remove the excess air and freeze.

*Pro tip: We like to buy the broccoli and cauliflower frozen in resealable bags from the store. That way, after we assemble this dish, we can put the vegetables back into those same bags, reseal, and store in the freezer. From the outside, it will just look like a bag of frozen broccoli and cauliflower, but it will already be seasoned and ready to cook. You can label it with a permanent marker if you want. I like reusing the bags because it creates less waste.

Cooking instructions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 425°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Place the frozen broccoli and cauliflower in a single layer on top.
  3. Bake for 10 minutes. Flip the vegetables over and place them back in the oven for another 20 minutes.
  4. Serve beside your favourite main dishes or as a potluck side dish.

What to serve the buffalo broccoli and cauliflower with:

Print
Buffalo Ranch Broccoli and Cauliflower
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
 
Course: Side Dish
Keyword: broccoli and cauliflower, buffalo cauliflower
Ingredients
  • 3 1/2 cups each cauliflower and broccoli florets fresh or frozen
  • 2-3 Tbsp. Frank's Red Hot sauce
  • 2 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 3 Tbsp. dry Ranch dressing mix
Instructions
Assembly instructions:
  1. In a large bowl, toss the cauliflower and broccoli with the hot sauce, olive oil, and dry dressing mix.
  2. When the vegetables are well coated, spread them out in a single layer on a baking sheet. Freeze for about 45 minutes and then transfer them into a large resealable bag*. Remove the excess air and freeze.
Cooking instructions:
  1. Preheat the oven to 425°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Place the frozen broccoli and cauliflower in a single layer on top.
  3. Bake for 10 minutes. Flip the vegetables over and place them back in the oven for another 20 minutes.
  4. Serve beside your favourite main dishes or as a potluck side dish.
Recipe Notes

*Pro tip: We like to buy the broccoli and cauliflower frozen in resealable bags from the store. That way, after we assemble this dish, we can put the vegetables back into those same bags, reseal, and store in the freezer. From the outside, it will just look like a bag of frozen broccoli and cauliflower, but it will already be seasoned and ready to cook. You can label it with a permanent marker if you want. 

Check out these other make ahead side dishes:

Garlic Bread

Honey Maple Glazed Carrots

Rice Pilaf

Make Ahead Mac and Cheese

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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.a baking dish with cheesy baked macaroni and cheese in it and one scoop missing while a blue plate is filled with macaroni and cheese nearby with a fork on the side of the plate. The text reads "Make Ahead Mac and Cheese"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

Print
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!

Honey Maple Glazed Carrots Freezer Meal Side Dish

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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. Make Ahead Honey Maple Glazed Carrots freezer side dish #freezermeals101 #freezercooking #freezermeals #sidedish #carrotrecipes #glazedcarrotsDoing 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 

Print
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.