Freezer to Crock Pot

Freezer Corn Chowder with Bacon

This freezer corn chowder recipe is one that you are going to thank me for sharing. I haven’t met anyone yet who doesn’t like it. It is hearty which makes it perfect for a cold day. It stretches far if you pair it with salad or buns. And it has bacon. That right there pretty much seals the deal!

When I make this soup, I quadruple it and divide it into four large resealable freezer bags. There is pretty much never a time when I don’t have this in my freezer. I pull it out for unexpected company, for lunches, as a starter or side dish, or as a full dinner if I serve bread or buns with it.As I type this, we are in the mountains on our annual family ski trip. I brought freezer meals with us because the condo we rent has a kitchen and when you travel with this many kids, it’s not realistic to eat in restaurants. I chose meals to bring that were hearty, delicious and easy to reheat. When my kids come in off the ski hill, they are HUNGRY!

This time, the freezer meals I brought with us were chili, turkey noodle soup made from holiday leftovers, tortellini soup, and corn chowder. When I told the kids today that we were having corn chowder for supper tonight, there were cheers. It’s that good!

What the kids don’t realize is that this recipe is so easy to make. Whenever I serve this soup when we have guests over, they ask for the recipe and then can’t believe how simple it is.

Corn Chowder with Bacon Recipe:

1/2 an onion, chopped
15 oz. can sweet corn (or you can use 15 oz. of frozen kernel corn)
15 oz. can cream corn
12 oz. can evaporated milk
10 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
2 cups chicken broth
2 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled

To prep everything for this recipe, all you need to do is chop the onion and cook and crumble the bacon. You can cook the bacon however you prefer to cook it, whether that be in the microwave, in the oven or on the stovetop in a skillet. I would probably use the microwave if I were only making one of this recipe (which I’ve never done since I always make at least four of these at a time), but to make more, I use the skillet or oven.

Once your onion and bacon are prepped, stir everything together in a large bowl. Put a large resealable freezer bag into a juice jug and fold it over the top. This will hold the bag open for you as you pour the soup in. Pour the soup into the bag, take the bag out of the jug, remove the extra air, seal it and freeze.On the day of cooking, take the bag out of the freezer to thaw and heat on stovetop over medium-low heat or in the microwave. If you prefer, you can also heat the soup in the slow cooker on low for 2-3 hours.

Can you freeze corn chowder?

This corn chowder with bacon recipe freezes so well. It makes an excellent freezer meal. Corn chowders that contain milk will not freeze well. If you use evaporated milk or heavy cream in the chowder recipe, then it should freeze beautifully.

In short, the answer as to whether or not corn chowder can be frozen depends on the ingredients included.

You may also be interested in these recipes that can also go from the freezer to the crock pot:

BBQ Shredded Chicken with Garlic Mayo Ground Beef Stroganoff

Corn Chowder with Bacon Recipe

Servings: 4

Calories: 487 kcal

Ingredients

1/2 an onion chopped
15 oz. can sweet corn or you can use 15 oz. of frozen kernel corn
15 oz. can cream corn
12 oz. can evaporated milk
10 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
2 cups chicken broth
2 slices of bacon cooked and crumbled

Instructions

To prep everything for this recipe, all you need to do is chop the onion and cook and crumble the bacon.
Once your onion and bacon are prepped, stir everything together in a large bowl.
Put a large resealable freezer bag into a juice jug and fold it over the top. This will hold the bag open for you as you pour the soup in.
Pour the soup into the bag, take the bag out of the jug, remove the extra air, seal it and freeze.
On the day of cooking, take the bag out of the freezer to thaw and heat on stovetop over medium-low heat or in the microwave. If you prefer, you can also heat the soup in the slow cooker on low for 2-3 hours.

Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala Freezer Meal

By Sharla

This Instant Pot chicken tikka masala freezer meal can be served over rice or with Naan bread. This recipe also includes slow cooker instructions. I am really enjoying experimenting with my new Instant Pot. Combining freezer meals with an Instant Pot saves time while preparing and when cooking. I put off getting one for longer than I should have and am now making up for lost time! If you don’t have an Instant Pot, I’ve included Crock Pot cooking instructions as well.

Our family loves East Indian flavours and this dish is no exception. Our middle sons both especially enjoy this Instant Pot chicken tikka masala meal.

Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala Recipe:

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, coarsely cubed
4 cloves garlic, minced
1x 15 oz. can pumpkin puree
1 cup full fat coconut milk, divided (*see note)
2 tsp. fresh ginger
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cloves
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. salt
1⁄2 cup plain yogurt
optional: fresh cilantro for garnish

*Note: If you cannot stand coconut milk (because it’s come to my attention that there are some people such as a close friend of mine who hate the taste), you can substitute whipping cream for the coconut milk.

Place chicken cubes in large resealable bag. Mix together the minced garlic, pumpkin puree, 1/2 of the coconut milk, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaf, and salt. Pour 1/3 of the mixture in the bag with the chicken. Squish to coat the chicken and seal the bag, removing the air as you do.
Put the rest of the sauce mixture in a medium resealable bag. Close and staple that bag to the large bag above the seal. Freeze flat.

Instant Pot Cooking Instructions:

Remove from the freezer and thaw. Set your Instant Pot to sauté. Add in 2 Tbsp. olive oil and 2 Tbsp. butter. Add the chicken in batches, setting on a plate once browned. Add 1/2 cup water to pot, scrape the sides and bottom and turn off. Pour sauce from medium bag and add back the chicken. Lock the cover and seal the steam nozzle. Set to high pressure and cook for 7 minutes with a 10-minute natural release.

Stir in 1/2 cup of plain yogurt and 1/2 cup of coconut milk (or whipping cream). If you want, you can top it with cilantro.

Crock Pot Cooking Instructions:

Thaw. Put contents of both bags in the slow cooker and cook on low for 4-5 hours. Stir in 1/2 cup yogurt and 1/2 cup additional full fat coconut milk. Cook an additional 30 minutes. Top with fresh cilantro.

Serve over jasmine or basmati rice or with Naan bread.

Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala Freezer Meal

This Instant Pot chicken tikka masala freezer meal can be served over rice or with Naan bread. This recipe also includes slow cooker instructions.

Servings: 6

Calories: 258 kcal

Ingredients

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, coarsely cubed
4 cloves garlic minced
1 x 15 oz. can pumpkin puree
1 cup full fat coconut milk divided (*see note)
2 tsp. fresh ginger
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. cloves
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup plain yogurt
optional: fresh cilantro for garnish

Instructions

Place chicken cubes in large resealable bag.
Mix together the minced garlic, pumpkin puree, 1/2 of the coconut milk, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaf, and salt.
Pour 1/3 of the mixture in the bag with the chicken.
Squish to coat the chicken and seal the bag, removing the air as you do.
Put the rest of the sauce mixture in a medium resealable bag.
Close and staple that bag to the large bag above the seal.
Freeze flat.

Instant Pot Cooking Instructions:

Remove from the freezer and thaw.
Set your Instant Pot to sauté.
Add in 2 Tbsp. olive oil and 2 Tbsp. butter.
Add the chicken in batches, setting on a plate once browned.
Add 1/2 cup water to pot, scrape the sides and bottom and turn off.
Pour sauce from medium bag and add back the chicken.
Lock the cover and seal the steam nozzle.
Set to high pressure and cook for 7 minutes with a 10-minute natural release.
Stir in 1/2 cup of plain yogurt and 1/2 cup of coconut milk (or whipping cream).
If you want, you can top it with cilantro.

Crock Pot Cooking Instructions:

Thaw.
Put contents of both bags in the slow cooker
Cook on low for 4-5 hours.
Stir in 1/2 cup yogurt and 1/2 cup additional full fat coconut milk.
Cook an additional 30 minutes.
Top with fresh cilantro.
Serve over jasmine or basmati rice or with Naan bread.

Recipe Notes

If you cannot stand coconut milk (because it's come to my attention that there are some people such as a close friend of mine who hate the taste), you can substitute whipping cream for the coconut milk.

Check out some of our other freezer meal recipes:

BBQ Shredded Chicken Crock Pot Freezer Meal

Sausage and Peppers Skillet Freezer Meal

Easy Asian Meatballs Freezer Meal

By Sharla

Freezer meals don’t get much simpler to assemble than these easy asian meatballs, especially if you are using pre-made meatballs. It can be cooked in the oven or in the crock pot.

You can make this recipe using meatballs you make yourself or using meatballs bought from the store. It’s great to have meatballs in the freezer for all kinds of reasons, so you may want to go ahead and make a huge batch and use some for this recipe and some for other recipes or to add to spaghetti or soups.

Easy Asian Meatballs Freezer Meal:

2 lbs. meatballs, pre-cooked
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. lime juice
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. ground ginger*
1/2 cup green onions, diced

*If you prefer, you can substitute fresh ginger for the ground ginger.

To assemble this easy freezer meal, add the pre-cooked meatballs to a large resealable bag. Add the minced garlic, lime juice, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, and green onions to the bag. Remove excess air, seal and freeze.

On the day of cooking, take the bag out of the freezer. Thaw. Bake, covered at 375° for 20 minutes or cook on low in the slow cooker for 2-4 hours.

You can serve these meatballs with rice and vegetables or a salad. The sauce tastes really good as a gravy over the rice.

This recipe is perfect for busy weekdays when you have to be out the door quickly to get to soccer or piano or one of the dozens of other scheduled events that families have in the evenings.

Easy Asian Meatballs Freezer Meal

This recipe is perfect for busy weekdays when you have to be out the door quickly to get to soccer or piano or one of the dozens of other scheduled events that families have in the evenings.

Servings: 8

Calories: 253 kcal

Ingredients

2 lbs. meatballs pre-cooked
2 cloves garlic minced
2 Tbsp. lime juice
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. ground ginger*
1/2 cup green onions diced

Instructions

Add the pre-cooked meatballs to a large resealable bag.
Add the minced garlic, lime juice, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, and green onions to the bag.
Remove excess air, seal and freeze.
On the day of cooking, take the bag out of the freezer.
Thaw.
Bake, covered at 375° for 20 minutes or cook on low in the slow cooker for 2-4 hours.

Recipe Notes

*If you prefer, you can substitute fresh ginger for the ground ginger.

You can serve these meatballs with rice and vegetables or a salad. The sauce tastes really good as a gravy over the rice.

This make ahead easy asian meatballs recipe is included in the Dinner in 20 Freezer Meal plan along with other recipes, shopping lists, prep lists, and printable labels.

Droolworthy BBQ Shredded Chicken Freezer Meal with Garlic Mayo

By Sharla

This BBQ Shredded Chicken Freezer Meal recipe has always been delicious, but when my friend Christie introduced me to serving it with garlic mayo, it leveled up to drool-worthy status! Seriously, this tastes amazing.

Admittedly, this is messy to eat, but you won’t mind having drips of garlic mayo mixed with BBQ sauce and minced onions running down your wrists because it is so worth it! The garlic mayo also goes beautifully with our Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork and our Make Ahead Beef Dip.

We recently gave ourselves a challenge of making freezer meals with 5 ingredients or less and included this recipe. You can see this being put together as well as the other meals here:

BBQ Shredded Chicken Freezer Meal Recipe:

3-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or 8-10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
3/4 cup finely minced onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bottle of barbeque sauce or 425 mL of your own homemade BBQ sauce
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

To put this freezer meal together, place the chicken, minced onion, minced garlic, barbeque sauce, and apple cider vinegar in a large resealable bag. Remove excess air and seal.

On the day you want to serve this, take it out of the freezer and allow it to thaw. Cook it in the crockpot on low for 3-5 hours. Shred when done and serve in on buns on top of garlic mayo. You can also serve this shredded BBQ chicken on nachos or in tacos.

I’ve brought this with us camping and had it on a lazy Sunday afternoon and served it to company. You just really can’t go wrong when something tastes this good.

Droolworthy BBQ Shredded Chicken Freezer Meal with Garlic

Admittedly, it is messy to eat, but you won't mind having drips of garlic mayo mixed with BBQ sauce and minced onions running down your wrists because it is so worth it!

Servings: 6

Calories: 509 kcal

Ingredients

3-5 boneless skinless chicken breasts or 8-10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
3/4 cup finely minced onion
4 cloves garlic minced
1 bottle of barbeque sauce or 425 mL of your own homemade BBQ sauce
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

Instructions

Place the chicken, minced onion, minced garlic, barbeque sauce, and apple cider vinegar in a large resealable bag.
Remove excess air and seal.
On the day you want to serve this, take it out of the freezer and allow it to thaw.
Cook it in the crock pot on low for 3-5 hours.
Shred.
Serve in on buns on top of garlic mayo. You can also serve this shredded BBQ chicken on nachos or in tacos.

Garlic Mayo Recipe:

1/2 cup mayo
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
dash of salt and pepper

Mix together all the ingredients and serve on buns before topping with the shredded BBQ chicken. If there’s any leftover, you can store it in the fridge in an airtight container. We never have any leftovers though because it is lick-the-bowl good (or so I’ve heard)!

Garlic Mayo Recipe

Servings: 6

Calories: 126 kcal

Ingredients

1/2 cup mayo
4 cloves garlic minced
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
dash of salt and pepper

Instructions

Mix together all the ingredients.
Serve on buns before topping with the shredded BBQ chicken.
If there's any leftover, you can store it in the fridge in an airtight container.

This drool-worthy BBQ Shredded Chicken recipe is included in the More Family Favourites Freezer Meal Plan along with other family-friendly recipes, shopping lists and printable labels.

Here are other “freeze ahead” recipes that may also interest you:

Chicken and Spinach Alfredo

BBQ Pulled Pork

Pizza Stuffed Chicken