Freezer to Crock Pot Beef Stew Recipe

Some meals just have that home-cooked, hearty comfort food feel to them. This freezer to crock pot beef stew recipe is one of those meals. It’s an easy weeknight family meal.

This beef stew is a great one dish meal full of chunky vegetables. It is especially nice to have on a cold winter’s night. There is just something about a soup or stew that brings that warm comfort feeling.

Freezer to Crock Pot Beef Stew Recipe:

2 lbs. stew meat, cubed
1 cup onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
2 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup celery, diced
2 cups beef broth
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce*
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. pepper
dash salt

*Be sure to use gluten free Worcestershire sauce if you are wanting to make this stew gluten free.

Before putting together this freezer meal, chop the onions, peel and dice the carrots, peel and cube the sweet potato, and dice the celery so that everything is ready to toss into the bag. I like to make the veggies in bigger chunks than what I would do for a soup, but this is a preference thing. Feel free to cut them in the size that works best for you.

To assemble this crock pot beef stew recipe, dump the beef stew meat into a large resealable bag before adding the other ingredients. Remove the excess air from the bag, seal and freeze.

On the day of cooking, take the meal out of the freezer to thaw. Cook in the slow cooker for 5-7 hours on low.

You can serve this slow cooker beef stew with buns or on its own.

This crock pot beef stew recipe is one of the recipes included in our popular Beef Dump Recipes book.

You may also like these freezer meal recipes:

BBQ Shredded Chicken in the Crock Pot

Tex Mex Pasta Bake Freezer Meal

Freezer Meal Casserole Recipes

By Sharla

These freezer meal casserole recipes will become family favourites in no time. They are delicious and homey and make it easy to get dinner on the table. These easy freezer casserole meals will simplify your weekdays. There is nothing like the feeling of opening your freezer and seeing a week or a month’s worth of meals in there.

While a lot of these freezer meal recipes call for being made in baking dishes, I find that using resealable freezer bags is a better use of space and less expensive as well. In order to adapt the recipes that use baking dishes, simply assemble them and place them in freezer bags and on the day of cooking, dump the contents of the bag into a casserole dish and bake as directed.

Of course, there are some recipes such as lasagnas or chicken pot pies that do require being assembled in a baking dish and frozen that way.

If you are looking for easy dinner ideas, these are the solution for you. Casseroles are such comfort food, especially in the winter. These make-ahead meals will surely be enjoyed by your family.

Freezer Meal Casserole Recipes:

Chicken and Veggies Casserole with Crispy Onion Topping from here on Freezer Meals 101

Tex Mex Pasta Bake from right here on Freezer Meals 101

Lazy Cabbage Roll Casserole from here on Freezer Meals 101

Spanish Rice Casserole on The Chaos and The Clutter (gluten free)

Baked Sausage and Cheese Rigatoni from Make Ahead Meal Mom

Spinach Stuffed Shells from Moneywise Moms

Southwest Casserole on Life on The Hollow Road

Chicken, Broccoli, Bacon and Potato Bake from Kylee Cooks

Freezer Chicken and Rice Casserole over at Graceful Little Honey Bee

Chicken Parmesan Meatball Casserole by Buns in my Oven

Burrito Pie Freezer Meal from Thriving Home

Easy Taco Rice Casserole on Eating on a Dime

Freezer Baked Ziti from Macheesmo

Make Ahead Chicken Enchilada Casserole from Happy Money Saver

More Freezer Meal Casserole Recipes:

Tater Tot Casserole from The Chaos and The Clutter

Ham and Cheese Potato Bake Freezer Meal from Large Family Table

Crock Pot Freezer Meal Pizza Casserole on The Chaos and The Clutter

Freezer to Oven Chicken Alfredo Casserole at Kitchn

Thanksgiving Dinner Leftovers Casserole from Make Ahead Meal Mom

Chicken Parmesan Casserole over at Thriving Home

Chicken Tuscan Pasta Bake from Rachel Cooks

Easy Lasagna Freezer Meal Recipe from About a Mom*

Homemade Chicken Pot Pie Freezer Meal from Happy Money Saver*

*Remember that you’ll want to make the chicken pot pie and the lasagna in foil or glass containers rather than in freezer bags.

These easy freezer casserole recipes will make life easier for you and your family. Most of them include everything needed for a well balanced dinner.

Freezer meal casseroles are also the perfect gift to give for someone who is expecting a baby, adopting, going through cancer treatments, recovering from surgery, moving to a new home, or grieving the loss of a relationship or a loved one.

Looking for the easiest way to make freezer meals? Check out our freezer meal plans where the shopping lists, prep lists and labels are all laid out for you.

Instant Pot Butter Chicken Freezer Meal

By Sharla

There’s no need to go to an Indian restaurant when you can make this Instant Pot butter chicken recipe at home. It tastes just as good as the ones you’d find there. The best part is that it’s a freezer meal. It can be made ahead, saving time.

Most of our family loves ethnic food, but our oldest daughter doesn’t. Butter chicken is the exception. She loves butter chicken and so do the rest of us. Making butter chicken used to take at least an hour. With this Instant Pot butter chicken freezer meal, it is less than half the cooking time.

Instant Pot Butter Chicken

2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, coarsely cubed
3/4 cup Greek yogurt
2 tsp. minced ginger plus 2 tsp. minced ginger
7 cloves garlic, minced, divided
1 Tbsp. lime juice
3 tsp. garam masala, divided
28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. cayenne powder
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. water
1 Tbsp. corn starch

To assemble the freezer meal, place the cubed chicken in a large resealable bag. Mix together the yogurt, 2 tsp. of the ginger, 4 cloves of minced garlic, lime juice, and 2 tsp. of the garam masala in a bowl and pour over the chicken. Remove the excess air and seal the bag.

In another bowl, mix together crushed tomatoes, 2 tsp. of the ginger, 3 cloves of minced garlic, salt, 1 tsp. of the garam masala, cumin, ground coriander, and cayenne pepper and place the mixture in a medium sized resealable freezer bag. Remove the excess air and seal.

Staple the medium bag to the large bag and freeze.On the day of cooking, take the freezer meal out to thaw. Set the Instant Pot to sauté. Add in 2 Tbsp. olive oil and 2 Tbsp. of butter. Add the chicken in batches, setting on a plate once browned.

Put 1/2 cup of water in the Instant Pot, scrape the sides and bottom and turn it off. Pour in the sauce from the medium bag and add the chicken back. Lock the cover and seal the steam nozzle. Set it to high pressure and cook for 5 minutes with a 10-minute natural release.

The sauce will be a bit runny. In a small bowl, mix together 1 Tbsp. of water with 1 Tbsp. of cornstarch and stir into the sauce.

If desired, sprinkle with parsley or cilantro. Serve with Naan bread or over Basmati rice.

I think that you will enjoy this Instant Pot butter chicken. This simple recipe is included in our Instant Pot Freezer Meal Plan along with other recipes, prep lists, shopping lists, and printable labels. You may also be interested in these recipes:

Tikka Masala Instant Pot Freezer Meal

Instant Pot Butter Chicken Freezer Meal

There's no need to go to an Indian restaurant when you can make this Instant Pot butter chicken recipe at home. It tastes just as good as the ones you'd find there. The best part is that it's a freezer meal. It can be made ahead, saving time.

Ingredients

2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken thighs, coarsely cubed
3/4 cup Greek yogurt
2 tsp. minced ginger plus 2 tsp. minced ginger
7 cloves garlic minced, divided
1 Tbsp. lime juice
3 tsp. garam masala divided
28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. cayenne powder
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. water
1 Tbsp. corn starch

Instructions

To assemble the freezer meal, place the cubed chicken in a large resealable bag.
Mix together the yogurt, 2 tsp. of the ginger, 4 cloves of minced garlic, lime juice, and 2 tsp. of the garam masala in a bowl and pour over the chicken.
Remove the excess air and seal the bag.
In another bowl, mix together crushed tomatoes, 2 tsp. of the ginger, 3 cloves of minced garlic, salt, 1 tsp. of the garam masala, cumin, ground coriander, and cayenne pepper and place the mixture in a medium sized resealable freezer bag.
Remove the excess air and seal.
Staple the medium bag to the large bag and freeze.
On the day of cooking, take the freezer meal out to thaw.
Set the Instant Pot to sauté.
Add in 2 Tbsp. olive oil and 2 Tbsp. of butter.
Add the chicken in batches, setting on a plate once browned.
Put 1/2 cup of water in the Instant Pot, scrape the sides and bottom and turn it off.
Pour in the sauce from the medium bag and add the chicken back.
Lock the cover and seal the steam nozzle.
Set it to high pressure and cook for 5 minutes with a 10-minute natural release.

Recipe Notes

The sauce will be a bit runny. In a small bowl, mix together 1 Tbsp. of water with 1 Tbsp. of cornstarch and stir into the sauce. If desired, sprinkle with parsley or cilantro. Serve with Naan bread or over Basmati rice.

Freezer Meals 101

By Sharla

Freezer meals have saved my sanity. That may sound like an extreme statement to make about dinner, but truly, they have. As a busy mom of 7, supper used to cause me so much stress. It wasn’t that I didn’t like cooking. It was that I had a hard time deciding what to make every day. Four o’clock would roll around and I would have that moment of not knowing what to make for dinner. Since discovering freezer cooking, I never have that problem anymore.

Now, each morning, I go to my freezer and open the door where I am greeted with ready-to-cook meals. I pull one out to thaw and don’t have to think about what I’m going to serve for dinner that night. I also don’t have to run to the store to pick up an ingredient I’ve forgotten. It’s saved me so much time and saved our family a lot of money too.

For those of you who are new to freezer cooking, I wanted to put together a Freezer Meals 101 guide to help you get started. Here you will find answers to all your freezer meal questions.

Freezer Meals 101:

What are freezer meals? Freezer meals are just what they sound like. They are meals made ahead and frozen for later use. This can look as simple as doubling a recipe that you’re making anyway and freezing the extra. Most often though, the term “freezer cooking” is used to describe batch cooking. Batch cooking is when you set aside time to make many meals at once. They are then frozen. You can then take out one meal a day for cooking for dinner. Breakfasts and lunches can also be made ahead in this way.

How to know what freezes and what doesn’t:

One of the important elements of freezer cooking is knowing what freezes and what doesn’t. You can read a full list here of what foods freeze well and which don’t as well on tips to freeze them.

I’ve also created a cheatsheet for you to print out as an easy reference to remember what freezes well.

Freezer burn is the enemy when it comes to creating delicious freezer meals. To prevent freezer burn, remove all the excess air from the freezer bags before freezing. Labelling your meals with the date made also helps prevent freezer burn as you can move the older meals to the front of the freezer.

Supplies needed for freezer cooking:

Good quality freezer bags. It’s important to use good quality freezer bags so that they don’t leak or break. I use both the large size for the main meal and the medium size for additions such as grated cheese or dry pasta and then attach them together using a stapler.
Stapler. For meals that require more than one bag, use a stapler to attach the freezer bags together.
Labels. We use Avery’s 5163 label template for our labels.
Permanent marker. Having a permanent marker on hand comes in handy for adding extra instructions to labels or for adding the date to the labels.
Electric can opener. Using an electric can opener has saved our wrists, thumbs and so much time.
Meal plans. Our meal plans include the recipes, prep lists, shopping lists and printable labels which make things so much easier.
Freezer. An upright freezer works best and the investment will pay for itself for all the money you will save in groceries.

Freezer Meal Plans Ziploc Freezer Bags Sharpie Permanent Markers Stapler Avery Labels for Laser Printers Electric Can Opener

What to include on the label:

name of meal
detailed cooking instructions
date
optional: serving suggestions

Step by step guide to freezer cooking:

Choose the recipes. I always do a combination of tried and true family favourites along with a few new recipes. This allows me to find some new meals to add into our regular rotation. You can find freezer meal recipes here or you can purchase one of our freezer meal plans so that you can skip over the next few steps.
Make a shopping list. Be sure to remember to add the freezer bags to your list. I make three lists, one for a bulk store where I purchase things such as spices, one for a warehouse store where some bulk items can be purchased at a discount, and one for the regular grocery store. If you are planning a huge freezer meal assembly marathon, call your local store with a meat order. This will ensure they have enough when you arrive and can also sometimes get you an additional discount.
Print labels and recipes. I use Avery’s 5163 labels. See the instructions above for what information to include on the labels.
Purchase the groceries and supplies.
Prep your ingredients. Chop and/or finely mince the onions. Fry up any ground beef, turkey or sausage. For recipes that call for cooked chicken, put the chicken on baking sheets and cook it in the oven before cubing or shredding or whatever the recipe calls for. Chop, slice or cube vegetables. Fry bacon. Grate cheese.
Set up stations in your kitchen or a larger community kitchen. At each station, place the photocopied recipe, non-perishable ingredients that you will need, spices called for, the freezer bags, labels, and any equipment you will need such as mixing bowls, can openers, measuring cups and spoons, and mixing spoons.
Assemble the meals. If you are assembling freezer meals in a group, assign one person to each station and get to work. Making multiples of the same meal is hardly any extra work and at the end of the day, all of you will have many delicious and healthy meals to take home to your families. If you are making the meals on your own, start at one station and work your way around.
Clean as you go. Do the dishes as you work so that things don’t pile up. It’s also important to wash the surfaces you are working on to keep things sanitary.
Freeze the meals. For all meals that are put in a bag, let out all excess air and lay the bag flat. This will optimize your freezer space. If you are doing this in a group, have everyone bring a cooler or a laundry basket to transport their meals in. Keeping the meals cold can be tricky the day of the assembly, but if you live in a place where the winters are cold, schedule your cook days for cold days and store the assembled meals in the boxes outside until people are ready to go home.
Open the freezer at the end of the day and admire the meals that will make things so much easier for weeks to come!

Freezer Meal 101 Tips:

Wear comfortable shoes. You will be on your feet for a long time. You can also invest in a memory foam kitchen mat to make things more comfortable. I have one by the sink.

Never freeze in glass containers. As contents expand while they are freezing, the glass can break.

Freezer meals keep for 3-6 months if properly stored. They need to be kept in a freezer at 0° Fahrenheit or below.

These Freezer Meal Hacks will make things go more smoothly. If you’re looking to learn more about batch cooking, consider taking our Freezer Meals 101 course online. It includes video lessons, meal plans and printables that will equip you with everything you need to start filling your freezer and saving your sanity.

How does freezer cooking save money?

Using this method of cooking has cut our food bill in half! I am able to buy things in bulk, take advantage of caselot sales, get additional discounts by calling in meat orders, and most importantly, nothing goes to waste. Gone are the days of buying groceries only to have them go rotten in the freezer. I am able to use everything I buy. I also no longer have to run to the store for forgotten items and make impulse purchases. And of course, the most obvious reason for how freezer cooking saves money is that you no longer need to do take-out or pizza delivery.

Note that some items are not less expensive when purchased in bulk, so compare prices to be sure you are getting the best deals. I also sometimes plan our freezer meal menus around advertised sales which saves even more money, particularly if it’s a sale on meat.

Freezer Meal Recipes:

Apple Maple Chicken Dump Recipe

Make Ahead Beef Fajitas Freezer Meal

Beefy Rice Slow Cooker Casserole

Best Ever Freezer Meal Spaghetti Sauce

Butternut Squash Freezer Meal Side Dish

Cabbage Roll Casserole Freezer Meal

Chicken and Vegetable Casserole with Crispy Onion Topping

Chickpea and Vegetable Curry

Droolworthy BBQ Shredded Chicken with garlic mayo freezer meal

Droolworthy BBQ Shredded Chicken Freezer Meal with Garlic Mayo

Easy Asian Meatballs Freezer Meal

Freezer Corn Chowder with Bacon

Freezer Meal Casserole Recipes

Freezer to Crock Pot Beef Stew Recipe

Garlic Butter Shrimp Freezer Meal

Ground Beef Stroganoff Freezer Meal

Hearty Sausage and Zucchini Soup

Instant Pot Butter Chicken Freezer Meal

Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala Freezer Meal

Instant Pot Italian Chicken and Veggies

Italian Wedding Soup Recipe

Lemon Garlic Chicken Dump Recipe

Make Ahead Chicken and Spinach Penne Alfredo

Make Ahead Cinnamon Freezer French Toast

These freezer smoothie bags can be made in all kinds of delicious fruit and vegetable combinations.

Make Ahead Freezer Smoothie Bags

Make Ahead Pancake Mini Muffins

Sausage and Peppers Freezer Meal

Seafood Curry Pasta Freezer Meal

Shrimp Stir Fry Pack for the Freezer

Tex Mex Pasta Bake Freezer Meal

The Big List of Instant Pot Freezer Meals

The Big List of Paleo Freezer Meals

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.