Freezer Meals 101

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Asian

Instant Pot Asian Beef Noodle Soup

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One of my sons loves those instant noodle soups. As a mom, I don’t want him eating them often. I wanted to find a healthier alternative. This Instant Pot Asian Beef Noodle Soup recipe is exactly what I was looking for. Instant Pot Asian Beef Noodle Soup #instantpotrecipes #instantpot #freezermeals101 #makeaheadsoup #asiannoodlesoupBeing able to make this ahead and keep it in the freezer until cooking it quickly in the Instant Pot is so easy. Asian noodle soups just have an inherent comfort food quality to them.

Usually, a good broth takes many hours to meld the flavours and get to the desired depth. By using a pressure cooker, you can get the same depth of flavour in less than an hour.

Instant Pot Asian Beef Noodle Soup Recipe:

  • 2 lbs. stew meat
  • 2 cups mushrooms, sliced
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 3 cups chicken or beef broth
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
  • 1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
  • 1 tsp. ginger

For the cooking day:

  • 8 oz. long rice noodles

Add the diced onion, beef, mushrooms, broth, soy sauce, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, and ginger into a large resealable freezer bag. Squish to mix everything together. Take out the extra air from the bag, seal, and freeze.

On the day you want to serve the soup, take the bag out of the freezer to thaw.

Set the Instant Pot to high pressure and set for 15 minutes.

Lock the lid and be sure the vent is closed.

Vent the pressure from the Instant Pot.

Add the noodles, making sure that they are completely submerged. Close and lock the lid on the Instant Pot, ensuring that the vent is closed. Set the Instant Pot to 2 minutes. collage of beef, rice noodles and Asian beef noodle soup in a bowlOnce the 2 minutes is up, allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes. Afterwards, open the vent to release the remaining pressure. close up of Asian beef noodle soup in a bowlIf you use gluten-free soy sauce and hoisin sauce, then this soup recipe is gluten-free.

You can top the soup with sesame seeds or sliced green onions to make it “extra fancy”.

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Instant Pot Asian Beef Noodle Soup Recipe
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Asian
Keyword: beef, noodle
Servings: 6
Calories: 401 kcal
Ingredients
  • 2 lbs. stew meat
  • 2 cups mushrooms sliced
  • 1 small onion diced
  • 3 cups chicken or beef broth
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
  • 1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
  • 1 tsp. ginger
For the cooking day:
  • 8 oz. long rice noodles
Instructions
  1. Add the diced onion, beef, mushrooms, broth, soy sauce, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, and ginger into a large resealable freezer bag. Squish to mix everything together. Take out the extra air from the bag, seal, and freeze.
  2. On the day you want to serve the soup, take the bag out of the freezer to thaw.
  3. Set the Instant Pot to high pressure and set for 15 minutes.
  4. Lock the lid and be sure the vent is closed.
  5. Vent the pressure from the Instant Pot.
  6. Add the noodles, making sure that they are completely submerged. Close and lock the lid on the Instant Pot, ensuring that the vent is closed. Set the Instant Pot to 2 minutes.
  7. Once the 2 minutes is up, allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes. Afterwards, open the vent to release the remaining pressure.

Check out these other make-ahead Instant Pot recipes:

Instant Pot Beef Taco Soup close up of beef taco soup in a bowl made from the Instant Pot

Instant Pot Italian Chicken and Veggies Italian Chicken and Veggies in the Instant Pot

Easy Asian Meatballs Freezer Meal

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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.

Easy Asian Meatballs make ahead freezer mealYou 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.

Print
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
  1. Add the pre-cooked meatballs to a large resealable bag.
  2. Add the minced garlic, lime juice, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, and green onions to the bag.
  3. Remove excess air, seal and freeze.
  4. On the day of cooking, take the bag out of the freezer.
  5. Thaw.
  6. 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.