Freezer Skillet Meals

Garlic Butter Shrimp Freezer Meal

This Garlic Butter Shrimp freezer meal is a delicious easy recipe. The flavours are dynamite! This is my daughter Eliana’s favourite lunch dish ever.

This recipe is so versatile. I love it served over pasta with some spicy red chili flakes and grated Parmesan cheese sprinkled over top, but you can also eat it in a rice bowl or on a salad if you prefer.

I got this recipe from my friend Corrine. She had found it in a magazine and discovered that it froze well. The initial recipe had a lot of steps to it and we try to keep our freezer meals as simple to put together as possible, so we experimented and adapted and came up with this recipe. It still has the same great taste as the original, but there are much fewer steps involved in getting it ready.

For this recipe, you really want to use real butter and fresh garlic. You can save time by using jarred minced garlic, but trust me, it is worth the few extra minutes to use the fresh ingredients for this one!

Garlic Butter Shrimp Recipe:

1 lb. medium shrimp, deveined and tails removed
6-8 garlic cloves, minced
1⁄4 cup butter
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
Dash of red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper

Using a fork or an electric beater, blend the butter, garlic, olive oil, and spices until they are thoroughly mixed. Add with shrimp into a large resealable freezer bag. Seal, lay flat and freeze.

*Note – If you use frozen uncooked shrimp, it often has the tail on. Prepare your butter mixture first, then you can remove the tails of the shrimp without them thawing by de-tailing them under cool running water and doing it quickly so that you can get it back in the freezer right away. This also helps clean the shrimp for cooking.

On the cooking day, take the bag out of the freezer and thaw. Sauté shrimp and butter sauce for 6-7 minutes over medium heat just until they turn pink. If you want to turn this into garlic butter shrimp pasta, cook 8-12 oz. of the pasta of your choice and drain, saving 1 cup of the starchy pasta water. Add the shrimp with butter sauce to the pasta. Add some or all of the reserved pasta water. Toss the ingredients together and serve.

You can throw on a bit of parsley if you like. Personally, I like to add red chili flakes and grated Parmesan or asiago cheese on mine.

You can find this garlic butter shrimp recipe along with other quick and easy meals in our Dinner in 20 Freezer Meal Plan. It includes recipes, prep lists, shopping lists, and printable labels making it easy to get dinner on the table on those busy weeknights. Here are some other fast weeknight recipes for you to try:

Best Ever Freezer Spaghetti Sauce

Lemon Garlic Chicken Dump Recipe

The Best Freezer Skillet Meals

By Sharla

The nice thing about having a freezer meal that can be prepared in a skillet is that in 20 minutes or less, supper can be on the table. These meals are perfect for busy days when you need to get out the door to get one of your kids to soccer or gymnastic or piano practise. I’ve compiled a list of delicious freezer skillet meals.

Whether you’re looking for a skillet pasta, a stir fry or something with ground beef, sausage, seafood, or chicken, I’ve got you covered! These super easy meals are all freezer friendly.

Meal prep doesn’t get more simple than dumping the made-ahead meal from a freezer bag into a skillet. Personally, I also love that one pan equals less mess. I’m always a fan of having to do less dishes!

Of course, as with all freezer meals, it’s easier and less expensive per meal to double the recipes and make two of each (or quadruple them and make four of each to save even more time and money). This ensures that you have more meals made ahead and make the best use of your time.

Why choose freezer skillet meals?

one pan to clean
variety of ingredients and textures
quick to cook (supper on the table in 20 minutes or less)
perfect for busy weeknights

The Best Freezer Skillet Meals:

Ground Beef Stroganoff Freezer Meal from here on Freezer Meals 101

Seafood Curry Pasta from here on Freezer Meals 101

Make Ahead Beef Fajitas from right here on Freezer Meals 101

Sausage and Peppers from here on Freezer Meals 101

Our delicious Garlic Butter Shrimp

Sloppy Joes at The Chaos and The Clutter (gluten free instructions available)

Easiest Mongolian Beef on Savory Tooth (doesn’t that look delicious?!)

Cheesy Beef Taco Skillet from Low Carb Yum

Garlic Chicken Pasta from Happy Money Saver

Bourbon Chicken Skillet Freezer Meal on Smart Money Mom

Garlic Pork Stir Fry from Fabulessly Frugal

Chicken and Broccoli Pasta Skillet from Frugal Coupon Living

These skillet meals will have you so thankful you stocked your freezer ahead of time. Dinner is served!

Seafood Curry Pasta Freezer Meal

By Sharla

This seafood curry pasta recipe is one that I adapted into a freezer meal. It is so delicious. The flavours may not sound like they go together, but they create a beautiful medley.

Seafood Curry Pasta Recipe:

5 oz. (150 g) scallops
7 oz. (200 g) deveined large shrimp
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
6 mushrooms, sliced
3 Tbsp. sun dried tomatoes in oil, drained
1 1/2 tsp. curry powder
1/2 cup pineapple juice
10 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
370 mL can evaporated milk
350 g penne for day of serving

Method #1:

To begin assembling this meal, place the scallops and shrimp into a medium resealable bag and seal. It’s important to have these in a separate bag for two reasons. The first is that they require less cook time than the other ingredients and you don’t want to ruin this beautiful dish by having overcooked seafood in it. The second is because the acidity in the pineapple juice can begin to cook the seafood if it marinates together and that would be a culinary tragedy!

Place all the other ingredients except for the pasta in a large resealable bag and squish together to combine. Remove excess air and seal. Staple both bags together above the seal and freeze.

On the day of cooking, take the bag out of the freezer. Thaw. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain and set aside. While the pasta is cooking, heat the large bag of ingredients in a skillet over medium heat for 7 minutes. Add the seafood to the skillet and heat until cooked through. Serve over the pasta.

Method #2:

If you prefer to have less to do on the day of cooking, you can also assemble this meal in a different way. Place the scallops and shrimp in a medium resealable bag and seal. Cook the pasta to slightly under what the package directions suggest. You don’t want it to become too mushy which is why you want the pasta slightly undercooked. Drain.

Mix the pasta and the other ingredients together and add them all to a large resealable bag. Seal. Staple the two bags together above the seal and freeze.

On the day of cooking, take the bag out of the freezer. Thaw. Heat the main bag of ingredients in a large skillet over medium heat for 10-12 minutes, stirring often. Add the scallops and shrimp to the pasta in the skillet and heat until cooked through.

Personally, I like to serve mine with red pepper flakes and Parmesan cheese. This dish is chock full of flavour.

Seafood Curry Pasta Recipe

This seafood curry pasta recipe is one that I adapted into a freezer meal. It is so delicious. The flavours may not sound like they go together, but they create a beautiful medley.

Ingredients

5 oz. 150 g scallops
7 oz. 200 g deveined large shrimp
1/2 onion thinly sliced
6 mushrooms sliced
3 Tbsp. sun dried tomatoes in oil drained
1 1/2 tsp. curry powder
1/2 cup pineapple juice
10 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
370 mL can evaporated milk
350 g penne for day of serving

Instructions

Method #1:

Place the scallops and shrimp into a medium resealable bag and seal.
It's important to have these in a separate bag for two reasons.
The first is that they require less cook time than the other ingredients and you don't want to ruin this beautiful dish by having overcooked seafood in it.
The second is because the acidity in the pineapple juice can begin to cook the seafood if it marinates together and that would be a culinary tragedy!
Place all the other ingredients except for the pasta in a large resealable bag.
Squish together to combine.
Remove excess air and seal.
Staple both bags together above the seal and freeze.
On the day of cooking, take the bag out of the freezer.
Thaw.
Cook pasta according to package instructions.
Drain and set aside.
10. While the pasta is cooking, heat the large bag of ingredients in a skillet over medium heat for 7 minutes.
11. Add the seafood to the skillet and heat until cooked through.
12. Serve over the pasta.

Method #2 (shorter version):

Place the scallops and shrimp in a medium resealable bag and seal.
Cook the pasta to slightly under what the package directions suggest. You don't want it to become too mushy which is why you want the pasta slightly undercooked.
Drain.
Mix the pasta and the other ingredients together and add them all to a large resealable bag.
Seal.
Staple the two bags together above the seal and freeze.
On the day of cooking, take the bag out of the freezer.
Thaw.
Heat the main bag of ingredients in a large skillet over medium heat for 10-12 minutes, stirring often.
10. Add the scallops and shrimp to the pasta in the skillet and heat until cooked through.

Recipe Notes

Personally, I like to serve mine with red pepper flakes and Parmesan cheese. This dish is chock full of flavour.

This Seafood Curry Pasta recipe is included in our More Family Favorites Freezer Meal Plan. The plan includes some of our other favorite recipes along with shopping lists and printable labels.

Sausage and Peppers Skillet Freezer Meal Chicken and Vegetable Casserole with Crispy Onion Topping

Make Ahead Beef Fajitas Freezer Meal

By Sharla

These make ahead beef fajitas are an easy freezer meal to put together. You can serve the fajitas with guacamole, salsa, shredded cheese, and sour cream.

I buy the beef already sliced into stir fry strips to save time, but you can also buy any tender beef (such as sirloin, top loin, tenderloin, or rib eye) and slice it yourself to save money. The assembly of this recipe is so fast once you have the peppers and onions sliced that it makes the most sense to make two or four meals at a time. Just open the bags on the counter and dump the ingredients in.

Make Ahead Beef Fajitas Freezer Meal Recipe:

1 lb. beef stir fry strips
1 onion, sliced
2 cups red and yellow peppers, sliced
1 cup salsa
3 Tbsp. lime juice
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

To assemble this freezer meal, add the raw beef stir fry strips, sliced onion, sliced red and yellow peppers, salsa, lime juice, and Worcestershire sauce to a large resealable freezer bag. Remove the excess air, seal and freeze.

On the day of cooking, take the bag out of the freezer and thaw. Stir fry in skillet over high heat on stovetop until meat is cooked through. This really doesn’t take long at all especially if the beef strips are thin.

Serve in flour tortillas. If you want, you can top the fajitas with sour cream, salsa, shredded cheese, cilantro, or guacamole.

If you like things spicy, you can add jalepenos or hot sauce either at the time of cooking or when serving.

Make Ahead Beef Fajitas Freezer Meal Recipe

These make ahead beef fajitas are an easy freezer meal to put together. You can serve the fajitas with guacamole, salsa, shredded cheese, and sour cream.

Ingredients

1 lb. beef stir fry strips
1 onion sliced
2 cups red and yellow peppers sliced
1 cup salsa
3 Tbsp. lime juice
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Instructions

Add the raw beef stir fry strips, sliced onion, sliced red and yellow peppers, salsa, lime juice, and Worcestershire sauce to a large resealable freezer bag.
Remove the excess air, seal and freeze.
On the day of cooking, take the bag out of the freezer and thaw.
Stir fry in skillet over high heat on stovetop until meat is cooked through. This really doesn't take long at all especially if the beef strips are thin.
Serve in flour tortillas.
Top the fajitas with sour cream, salsa, shredded cheese, cilantro, or guacamole.

Recipe Notes

If you like things spicy, you can add jalepenos or hot sauce either at the time of cooking or when serving.

This make ahead beef fajitas recipe is included in the Dinner in 20 Freezer Meal Plan along with other recipes, shopping lists, prep lists, and printable labels.

Sausage and Peppers Freezer Meal

By Sharla

This sausage and peppers freezer meal recipe came about the same way some of our others have. We invented it using what we had left at the end of our freezer meal assembly day. We took some extra vegetables that were already prepped, onions and peppers and combined it with other ingredients we had on hand.

I had accidentally bought too much sausage because of a miscalculation on my part, so we actually invented three different recipes using sausage and what we had left of other ingredients. Sometimes the best freezer meal recipes come about that way! That day, our Italian Sausage Pasta Sauce and our Italian Wedding Soup were also born.

This recipe can either be served over rice or it can be rolled in a flour or corn tortilla and eaten as a wrap.

Sausage and Peppers Freezer Meal Recipe:

1 lb. of Italian sausage (see directions for preparing it below)
1/2 a yellow pepper, sliced
1/2 a red pepper, sliced
1 onion, chopped or sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1-2 tsp. cajun seasoning
14 oz. can diced tomatoes

You can use mild or spicy sausage depending on your family’s preference. Remove the sausage from the casing and slice. I prefer to actually squeeze out sausage meatballs and flatten them a bit with my fingers to slicing. It is a messier method, but it is easier to remove the casing this way.

Fry the sausage slices in a frying pan over medium-high heat until lightly browned on both sides. Alternately, you can place the raw sausage “meatballs” in a single layer on a cookie sheet and bake in the oven.

Blot the cooked sausage slices on a paper towel to remove some of the grease.

To assemble this meal, place the cooked sausage pieces in a large resealable freezer bag. Add the sliced peppers, onion, minced garlic, cajun seasoning, and the can of diced tomatoes.

Remove the excess air from the bag, seal and freeze.

On the day of cooking, thaw the sausage and peppers freezer meal. Cook in a skillet over medium-high heat until heated through. Serve over rice or in a wrap.

This recipe is gluten free and keto friendly if served on cauliflower rice. You can even make cauliflower rice ahead and freeze.

Can you freeze cooked Italian sausage?

You can absolutely freeze Italian sausage. If you freeze raw Italian sausage, it has a tendency to get freezer burnt quite quickly even if it is packaged well. By cooking the sausage first, it will keep much longer in the freezer.

To freeze ground Italian sausage, brown it first in a skillet. Be sure to drain it to remove the extra grease. Measure out 1 or 2 cup portions into medium sized resealable freezer bags or add the cooked ground sausage to freezer meal recipes and freeze.

Make meatballs out of Italian sausage by squeezing chunks out of the casing and laying them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Cook at 350° until the outside is brown and they are no longer pink inside. Blot the excess grease before adding them to a resealable freezer bag or into a freezer meal recipe and freeze.

Sausage and Peppers Freezer Meal

This recipe can either be served over rice or rolled in a flour or corn tortilla and eaten as a wrap.

Ingredients

1 lb. of Italian sausage see directions for preparing it below
1/2 a yellow pepper sliced
1/2 a red pepper sliced
1 onion chopped or sliced
2 cloves garlic minced
1-2 tsp. cajun seasoning
14 oz. can diced tomatoes

Instructions

Remove the sausage from the casing and slice.
I prefer to actually squeeze out sausage meatballs and flatten them a bit with my fingers to slicing. It is a messier method, but it is easier to remove the casing this way.
Fry the sausage slices in a frying pan over medium-high heat until lightly browned on both sides.
Blot the cooked sausage slices on a paper towel to remove some of the grease.
To assemble this meal, place the cooked sausage pieces in a large resealable freezer bag.
Add the sliced peppers, onion, minced garlic, cajun seasoning, and the can of diced tomatoes.
Remove the excess air from the bag, seal and freeze.
On the day of cooking, thaw the sausage and peppers freezer meal.
Cook in a skillet over medium-high heat until heated through.
Serve over rice or in a wrap.