Asian

Mongolian Beef Skillet Freezer Meal

If you’re a fan of Mongolian beef, you’re going to love how easy it is to make from scratch. This Mongolian Beef freezer meal recipe is as delicious as it is simple.This easy make ahead Mongolian beef is so fast to assemble and almost just as fast to cook up. There’s no need to order from an Asian restaurant when you can just pull this out of the freezer and have it at home!

We love asian flavours so they often make their way into our freezer meals such as in our Easy Kung Pao Chicken, Asian Rice Bowl, and Ginger Soy Salmon, and Asian Meatballs.

Time saving tips:

I use the squeeze tubes of ginger because it still has that fresh taste but saves me having to grate the ginger myself.
Purchase the beef strips pre-sliced.
If you slice the steak yourself, putting it in the freezer for 15-20 minutes right before slicing makes it easier to cut.

Can you freeze Mongolian Beef?

Yes! You can absolutely freeze Mongolian beef. In fact, this recipe is designed for just that, although you can also eat this straight away if you prefer. You can double or triple the recipe to freeze several dinners at a time. Then, just pull out a bag on the day you have a craving for Asian take-out and instead, quickly cook up your own!

Mongolian Beef Recipe:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb. package beef strips*
1/2 tsp. ginger
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup carrots, cut into tiny matchsticks
2 green onions, sliced

For the day of cooking:

1 Tbsp. cornstarch

Assembly instructions:

Peel the carrots and cut them into matchsticks.
Slice the green onions.
Add the beef strips to a large resealable freezer bag.
Toss in the ginger, minced garlic, soy sauce, water, brown sugar, carrots, and green onions to the bag.
Squish to combine.
Remove excess air, seal, and freeze.

Skillet cooking instructions:

Thaw.
Heat in skillet.
Whisk 1 Tbsp. cornstarch into the sauce as it cooks.
Cook until beef is cooked. This will be quick, 3-5 minutes.
Serve over rice. Sprinkle with some sliced green onions if you like.

*If you can’t find the beef cut into strips already, you can ask the butcher at your grocer to slice some flank steak for you or you can slice it yourself against the grain. You can substitute sirloin steak for flank steak if you prefer.

What to serve with Mongolian beef:

Rice is a natural choice to serve under or beside the Mongolian beef to soak up some of that delicious sauce. White rice, jasmine rice, sticky rice, or any rice will do. You can also add a side veggie.

Here are some suggestions for great side dishes for this meal:

Mongolian Beef

Prep Time

8 mins

Cook Time

5 mins

Course: Main Course

Keyword: beef, Mongolian

Servings: 6

Calories: 268 kcal

Ingredients

1 1/2 lb. package beef strips*
1/2 tsp. ginger
4 cloves garlic minced
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup brown sugar packed
1/4 cup carrots cut into matchsticks
2 green onions sliced

For the day of cooking:

1 Tbsp. cornstarch

Instructions

Assembly instructions:

Peel the carrots and cut into small matchsticks.
Slice the green onions.
Add the beef strips to a large resealable freezer bag.
Toss in the ginger, minced garlic, soy sauce, water, brown sugar, carrots, and green onions to the bag.
Squish to combine.
Remove excess air, seal, and freeze.

Skillet cooking instructions:

Thaw.
Heat in skillet over medium.
Whisk 1 Tbsp. cornstarch into the sauce as it cooks.
Cook until beef is cooked. (about 5 minutes)
Serve over rice. Sprinkle with some sliced green onions

Recipe Notes

*If you can't find the beef cut into strips already, you can ask the butcher at your grocer to slice some flank steak for you or you can slice it yourself against the grain. You can substitute sirloin steak for flank steak if you prefer.

Check out these other Asian inspired freezer meals:

Easiest Kung Pao Chicken Asian Rice Bowl

Asian Beef Noodle Soup for the Instant Pot

Easy Kung Pao Chicken Recipe

By Sharla

There’s no need to order takeout when you can make easy kung pao chicken this delicious at home! This make-ahead meal is full of amazing flavors. You’ll be begging for seconds! Since this recipe is so simple to put together, I suggest making several at one time which takes only a minute or two longer than making just one. You’ll then be able to have this whenever you want to in less time than it would take to have food delivered. Or you can heat it in the slow cooker and have it ready when you get home from work. The Kung Pao sauce can be a bit hard to find. Neither of my usual grocery stores carries it. If you can’t find it near you, you can always order it online from Amazon. I buy mine at Walmart. Since Walmart isn’t usually where I get my groceries, it means an extra stop, but this recipe is so worth it!

I make several of these at once, so when I do go, I buy 4 or 6 bottles, so that makes the extra stop more worthwhile.

What’s the difference between kung pao chicken and General Tso’s chicken?

While there are a few similarities between kung pao chicken and General Tso’s chicken, they are far from the same dish. They both are usually served over rice and are an Asian-inspired chicken dish, but the parallels pretty much end there.

General Tso’s chicken is a breaded, deep-fried chicken dish with hints of both sweet and spicy. Kung pao chicken is not breaded or deep-fried and the flavors are sweet and sour, giving it a more tangy taste. Kung pao chicken also usually has other ingredients such as peppers, water chestnuts, and peanuts, whereas, General Tso’s is generally just the chicken.

Easy Kung Pao Chicken Recipe:

Kung Pao Chicken Ingredients:

1 lb. chicken breast, boneless, skinless, cubed
18.75 oz. (554 mL) bottle Kung Pao sauce
1 red pepper, diced
1 green pepper, diced
8 oz. can water chestnuts, drained
1 bunch green onions, sliced

For serving:

peanuts (optional)

Assembly instructions:

Cube the chicken breast.
Chop the peppers and slice the green onions.
Place the chopped chicken, peppers, green onions, and water chestnuts in a large resealable freezer bag. Pour the bottle of kung pao sauce over everything.
Remove excess air, seal, and freeze.

Slow cooker instructions:

Thaw.
Place everything from the bag into the Crock-Pot.
Cook on low for 3-5 hours.
Serve over rice.
If desired, sprinkle some peanuts on top.

Skillet cooking instructions:

Thaw.
Dump everything from the freezer bag into a skillet.
Cook over medium-high heat until chicken is thoroughly cooked through and the sauce has thickened slightly.
Serve over rice.
Sprinkle some peanuts on top if you like.

Note: If you want to make assembling this much faster, you can put the chicken breasts into the freezer bag whole and then cube them on the day of cooking either before or after cooking. I find that way is messier so I don’t like it, but if you’re wanting to assemble a lot of freezer meals at once and just going for speed, that is an option.

Check out these other Asian inspired freezer meals:

Asian Rice Bowl

Easy Asian Meatballs

Mahjong Chicken

Easy Kung Pao Chicken Freezer Meal

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Asian

Keyword: chicken, kung pao

Servings: 4

Calories: 436 kcal

Ingredients

1 lb. chicken breast boneless, skinless, cubed
18.75 oz. 554 mL bottle Kung Pao sauce
1 red pepper diced
1 green pepper diced
8 oz. can water chestnuts drained
1 bunch green onions sliced

For serving:

peanuts optional

Instructions

Assembly instructions:

Cube the chicken breast.
Chop the peppers and slice the green onions.
Place the chopped chicken, peppers, green onions, and water chestnuts in a large resealable freezer bag. Pour the bottle of kung pao sauce over everything.
Remove excess air, seal, and freeze.

Slow cooker instructions:

Thaw.
Place everything from the bag into the Crock-Pot.
Cook on low for 3-5 hours.
Serve over rice.
If desired, sprinkle some peanuts on top.

Skillet cooking instructions:

Thaw.
Dump everything from the freezer bag into a skillet.
Cook over medium-high heat until chicken is thoroughly cooked through and the sauce has thickened slightly.
Serve over rice.
Sprinkle some peanuts on top if you like.

Recipe Notes

If you want to make assembling this much faster, you can put the chicken breasts into the freezer bag whole and then cube them on the day of cooking either before or after cooking.

Asian Rice Bowl Freezer Meal

By Sharla

Lunch doesn’t get more satisfying than an Asian Rice Bowl! This one is even better because it can be made ahead. Then it’s so quick to have it on your plate. This is so fast to make both when putting together the freezer meal and when cooking it that it just makes sense to make several at once time.

Asian Rice Bowl:

1 cup snap peas
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 Tbsp. green onions, sliced
4 oz. sliced water chestnuts*
1 tsp. ginger, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce (use gluten-free if desired)
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
2 Tbsp. honey, melted
1 tsp. Sriracha sauce
optional: can of baby corn, drained

*Cans of water chestnuts are 8 oz. which is a great excuse to double this recipe and make two bags in the same amount of time it would take you to make one!

Assembly instructions:

Add all the ingredients to a large resealable freezer bag. Take out any excess air, seal, and freeze.

Cooking instructions:

Thaw. Stir fry over medium-high heat in a large skillet for 5-7 minutes.
Serve over rice.

If you like things spicy, you can add some extra Sriracha sauce when serving.

Asian Rice Bowl

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Asian

Keyword: rice, vegetarian

Servings: 4

Calories: 129 kcal

Ingredients

1 cup snap peas
2 carrots peeled and sliced
2 Tbsp. green onions sliced
4 oz. sliced water chestnuts*
1 tsp. ginger minced
4 cloves garlic minced
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce use gluten free if desired
1 Tbsp. sesame oil
2 Tbsp. honey melted
1 tsp. Sriracha sauce
optional: can of baby corn drained

Instructions

Assembly instructions:

Add all the ingredients to a large resealable freezer bag. Remove the excess air, seal, and freeze.

Cooking instructions:

Thaw. Stir fry in a large skillet for 5-7 minutes.
Serve over rice.

Recipe Notes

*Cans of water chestnuts are 8 oz. which is a great excuse to double this recipe and make two bags in the same amount of time it would take you to make one!

Check out some of our other easy freezer meals:

Chicken in Mango Cream Sauce over Pasta

Chickpea and Vegetable Curry Shrimp Stir Fry Pack for the Freezer

Instant Pot Asian Beef Noodle Soup

By Sharla

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. Being 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. Once the 2 minutes is up, allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes. Afterwards, open the vent to release the remaining pressure. If 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”.

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

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.
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

Instant Pot Italian Chicken and Veggies

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.