I don’t know about you but weekdays can be a bit time-squeezed so I was curious when I first came across the idea of a freezer dump meal. This is a meal that you can prep in advance, put in the freezer, and then use your slow cooker or crockpot to make them on the day you need. So I’ve picked out some delicious recipes that I’ll definitely be trying for the family, here are 15 Tasty Freezer Dump Meals Guaranteed to Save You Time:
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Tips for prepping your freezer meal
- Use ziploc bags (buy better quality ones so that they don’t burst in your freezer) and add the key ingredients to your bag.
- Label each bag with the name of the meal. You might also want to add cooking time and anything that you need to remind yourself to add like stock or liquid.
- If you subscribe to the NewLeaf mailing list they give you free printable labels that you can use for your bags. It’s a blog with ebooks and recipes all about freezing and using your slow cooker so well worth checking out.
- You can freeze them flat or upright depending on your freezer space.
- Remove as much air as you can from the bags before freezing as the air in the bags will cause freezer burn.
- Thaw the bag in the fridge overnight before you put the ingredients into the slow cooker.
#1. Lemon Garlic Chicken
I make this all the time, I got the idea from Nigella Lawson, who I first saw adding ingredients and her chicken fillets to a freezer bag. The trick here is that as you thaw the bag out, the lemon juice tenderizes the chicken and whatever flavourings you have used act as a marinade. I usually use lemon juice with crushed garlic for my flavouring but you could experiment with lots of different things.
Ingredients
- 1 chicken fillet per person
- 1-2 cloves crushed or finely chopped garlic
- Juice of 1-2 lemons depending on number of fillets, I usually use 1/2 lemon per fillet that I’m using
- Glug of olive oil
- You can also add chopped herbs such as thyme, rosemary or parsley
Method
- Shake your bag ingredients well before freezing.
- Thaw overnight before baking/grilling/slow cooking (low for 6 to 8 hours).
#2. Turkey Chili
This Turkey Chili Crock Pot recipe from mum and coach Kelsey Shackley is great for your slow cooker and uses turkey mince instead of beef mince as a lighter alternative.
You can also make it ahead of time and freeze, or put the ingredients into your freezer bag ready for a dump meal later.
Image credit Kelsey Shackley
#3. Slow Cooker Chicken Fajitas
Make slow cooker chicken fajitas like these ones from Kitchenstewardship.com and everyone can enjoy assembling theirs at the table.
This video demonstrates how quickly you can assemble a double batch of Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup plus two double batches of Slow Cooker Chicken Veggie Curry (one for the freezer, one for dinner) as well as the Fajitas.
#4. Country Style BBQ Ribs
This recipe for country style BBQ ribs from Happymoneysaver.com uses apple sauce as a delicious ingredient and is hearty, delicious, and full of flavour.
Image credit Happymoneysaver.com
#5. Mushroom Barley Stew
Go meat-free one day with this delicious Mushroom Barley Stew from Helloglow which can be served with hot crusty bread or rolls
Image credit Helloglow
#6. Roast Beef with Green Beans
With only four ingredients, this pot roast beef with green beans recipe from New Leaf Wellness is so easy.
The meat cooks down in your crockpot to the point that it melts in your mouth and it makes your house smell amazing in the process.
Image credit New Leaf Wellness
#7. Saucy Pulled Pork
This recipe for Saucy Pulled Pork from Slowcookercentral.com uses shoulder chops but many cuts of pork would work just the same including leg roast pieces.
Image credit Slowcookercentral.com
#8. Classic Chicken, Beans and Rice
Comfort food at its best, this recipe for Chicken, Beans and Rice from Onecrazyhouse.com is hearty, filling and full of fibre.
Image credit Onecrazyhouse.com
#9. Hearty Lentil Stew
This recipe for Hearty Lentil Stew from Superhealthykids.com uses lentils, quinoa, veggies for a delicious veggie freezer meal option. They also have a delicious recipe for Lentil-Butternut Squash Curry for a change.
Image credit Superhealthykids.com
#10. Forgotten Jambalaya
This easy version of the Cajun classic Jambalaya on Tasteofhome.com cooks for 4-6 hours before you add the shrimp for the final cooking.
Image credit Tasteofhome.com
#11. Italian Tuscan Soup
This recipe for Crock-Pot Italian Sausage Tuscan Bean & Kale Soup from Crockpotladies.com is full of flavor and fibre which comes from healthy beans, kale and other veggies.
Image credit Crockpotladies.com
#12. Chicken Cacciatore
All you need for this delicious chicken cacciatore from Morelikehome are chicken breasts, pepper, courgette, onion and a red sauce (homemade or a jar of e.g. pasta sauce)
Image credit Morelikehome
#13. Honey Teriyaki Chicken
This super easy recipe for delicious honey teriyaki chicken from Twindragonflydesigns uses store cupboard ingredients to make the sauce for the chicken.
Image credit Twindragonflydesigns
#14. Easy Crockpot Meatloaf
If you’ve usually made your meatloaf in the oven, try this Crockpot Easy Meatloaf recipe from Stockpilingmoms, it’s a real comfort dinner recipe and you can prepare this ahead of time as a freezer meal, it’s very easy to prep taking less than 10 minutes.
Image credit Stockpilingmoms
#15. Sweet Salsa Dump Chicken
This recipe for Sweet Salsa Dump Chicken only uses 4 ingredients! How easy is that? Just pop them into your freezer bag and dump into your slow cooker when you’re ready to cook.
Image credit Food.com
Over to you now. Do you have a favourite freezer meal you like to prep ahead which the family loves? Tell us about it in the comments below.
About the Author: Jill Holtz
