The best Freezer Friendly Meals! You’ll love these recipes if you’re a new mom, prepping for postpartum or want to have healthy dinners ready.
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Whether you’re prepping for postpartum, want to deliver a meal to a new mom, or you’re simply busy and want to stock your freezer with easy options – these Healthy Freezer Meals are for you!
Unlike other freezer meals that are often high in carbs and processed ingredients – these healthy freezer meals are made with good-for-you ingredients and most are high in protein!
What are Freezer Meals?
Simply put, freezer meals are pre-prepared dishes stored in the freezer for future use. They are a great solution for those with busy lifestyles by offering quick and convenient homemade meals.
Contrary to common belief, freezer meals retain their nutritional value and often their flavor. They contribute to a healthy lifestyle by enabling controlled portion sizes, reducing dependance on processed foods, promoting balanced eating, and reducing meal preparation stress.
Want to make filling your freezer even easier? Get our Fill Your Freezer Ebook! It has 24 printable recipes with instructions for storing and freezing food!
Send me the recipes!
why we love freezer meals
- Save time: Freezer meals are a time saving solution for busy people, allowing for bulk cooking and providing a convenient source of homemade, nutritious meals on busy weeknights!
- Great for meal prep: Healthy freezer meals simplify meal prep by efficiently utilizing time and resources while also providing the added benefit of easy portion control.
- Perfect for sharing: Make ahead meals are a thoughtful way to care for others, making them perfect for gifting especially to new parents.
Essential Supplies for Healthy Make Ahead Meals
Before making your freezer meals, you’ll need a few basic tools:
Tools for Preparing Healthy Freezer Meals
- food processor – a food processor will save you a ton of time when prepping freezer meals. It makes cutting veggies so easy!
- crockpot – we love to utilize all different appliances when prepping freezer meals. I usually have my crockpot and instant pot going!
- instant pot – an Instant pot can save you a ton of time when prepping freezer meals!
Supplies For Freezing Make Ahead Meals
- Portioned containers for freezing – do yourself a favor and invest in Souper Cubes. They’re hands down the best way to freeze food. I like the 1 cup trays!
- Disposable tins – if freezing pot pies or casseroles that need to be reheated in the oven, these disposable tins work great.
- Freezer Ziploc Bags– While I love reusable plastic bags, I find it’s best to freeze in ziploc bags. They’re flexible and easy to stack/store in the freezer.
Soup Freezer Recipes
Greek Lemon Chicken Soup is a delicious dinner. Easy to make in the instant pot, crock pot or on the stove. Lemony and healthy!
Beef Barley Soup that everyone will love. Made in one pot, this cozy beef and barley soup is delicious, healthy, and hearty!
Italian Wedding Soup Recipe – This recipe is easy to make and loaded with flavor. A delicious, cozy dinner!
Butternut Squash Soup Recipe is so easy to make in yourinstant pot! Let thepressure cookerdo all the work and fill your freezer with creamy butternut squash soup!
Chicken Vegetable Soup recipe is easy to make in yourcrockpot,instant pot, or on the stove. Full of protein and veggies!
Ground Turkey Chili Recipe – Learn how to make turkey chili that’s healthy & delicious in your crockpot, instant pot, or on the stove!
Chicken Chili Recipe! This red chicken chili recipe is so easy to make with simple ingredients. Healthy and delicious!
Slow CookerChicken Stew is a cozy, healthy dinner easily made with less than 20 minutes of prep!Loaded with protein and veggies.
Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup is quick to make, cozy and delicious! Add your ingredients into your slow cooker and let your crockpot cook dinner for you! Freeze the soup and noodles separately for a delicious freezer meal.
Paleo Beef Stew is an easy, healthy dinner that your whole family will love! Gluten free, whole30 friendly + made in the slow cooker or on the stove!
Black Bean Soup is a hearty, comforting Mexican soup loaded with flavors. Made with simple ingredients this irresistibly delicious bean and corn soup is vegan and gluten-free.
Want to make filling your freezer even easier? Get our Fill Your Freezer Ebook! It has 24 printable recipes with instructions for storing and freezing food!
Send me the recipes!
Chicken Freezer Recipes
Healthy Chicken Pot Pie is the perfect light dinner. Learn how to make chicken pot pie in under an hour for a delicious meal!
Crock Pot Chicken Fajitas! The best easy slow cooker chicken fajita recipe that everyone will love. Healthy and delicious!
Buffalo Chicken Meatballs are the best meal or snack! Buffalo chicken balls are perfect for an appetizer or meal prep. Healthy & delicious!
Salsa Verde Chicken that can be made in your slow cooker, instant pot or on the stove. Great for tacos or with rice! Turn them into enchiladas or even serve in chili or pasta.
CrockpotChicken and Rice Recipe! Made with no condensed cream of chicken soup, this is an easy, healthy dinner everyone will love!
Instant Pot Orange Chicken – Made in the pressure cooker, this healthy dinner is easy and delicious! Better than Panda Express!
Chicken Bolognese is the perfect meal for freezing! Simply defrost and toss with your favorite pasta for a quick, healthy dinner!
Orange Chicken Recipe – Paleo, gluten free + delicious – it’s one of the best healthy chicken recipes!
Ground Beef Freezer Recipes
Easiest Unstuffed Peppers come together in under 30 minutes for an easy, delicious dinner that is easy to freeze! Healthy and gluten free!
Best Homemade Meatballs – Learn how to make meatballs the authentic Italian way from ground beef. Easy and delicious!
Taco Skillet Dinner is loaded with ground beef, veggies and rice. An easy one pan, cheesy, healthy dinner!
Hamburger Casserole is easy to make and so yummy! Made with only 10 ingredients, this ground beef casserole is a must try!
Ground Beef, Potato, and Green Bean Casserole is full of the savory, comforting flavors we all love but without any of those store-bought, canned cream soups. You can cozy up to a big, satisfying one-pan dinner knowing exactly what you put in it.
Freezer Meal Recipes
Healthy Turkey Meatballs are juicy while being low fat! Made without breadcrumbs, they’re keto, Whole30, paleo, gluten free and dairy free!
Slow Cooker Pot Roast Recipe. Learn how to cook a roast in a crockpot that comes out perfectly tender and delicious!
Healthy Bolognese Sauce is a delicious, hearty dinner. Paleo, Whole30 friendly and loaded with flavor – this hidden veggie bolognese is one you’ll love!
Buffalo Turkey Meatballs are a delicious, easy weeknight dinner. Easily made paleo, keto and whole30, they’re perfect over a salad or on rice!
Creamy Coconut Chickpea Curry prepared with a selection of warm spices. This is a simple one pot weeknight meal idea to add to your menu rotation.
Italian and Sausage Skillet Packed with flavor, this one pot meal is filled with brown rice, veggies and spicy Italian sausage. It cooks mostly hands off and freezes very well, making it great for meal prep.
Breakfast Freezer Recipes
Egg Muffin Cups are so easy to make! These spinach egg muffins are the perfect breakfast egg muffins for a quick healthy meal!
Healthy Chocolate Peanut Butter Baked Oatmeal is a delicious, healthy breakfast! Gluten free, simple to make, and so yummy!
Healthy Chocolate Chip Muffins are easy to make with pantry staples. Made with oat flour and yogurt, these muffins are fluffy and delicious!
Breakfast Casserole with Bacon! This cheesy bacon breakfast casserole is great for brunch or meal prep! Delicious and healthy!
Ham and Cheese Frittata that everyone will love. This keto frittata is easy to make, cheesy and delicious!
Egg Hash Brown Casserole that is so simple to make. This breakfast casserole with hash browns is great for a crowd or brunch!
Apple Baked Oatmeal is perfect for breakfast! Learn how to make the best baked apple oatmeal that is easy to make and delicious.
Freezer Breakfast Burritos are the perfect make ahead breakfast idea!
Broccoli Smoked Salmon Quiche – A creamy, cheesy and tasty breakfast. Made with broccoli, onion, eggs, herbs, cream, cheddar cheese and smoked salmon. Then baked until the quiche top and crust edges are perfectly golden.
Sausage Egg and Cheese McMuffin – While not as easy as simply buying it at a drive-thru, this homemade version is super delicious and hits the spot every time. This sausage McMuffin is freezer-friendly so you can make a huge batch and have an easy grab-and-go breakfast for the month!
Need help stocking your freezer? Get our Fill Your Freezer Ebook! We put together our 24 best recipes in a printable ebook with instructions for storing and freezing food!
Less than $10!
What Are The Best Containers for Freezing Food?
If you’re going to take the time to make delicious freezer meals, make sure to store them correctly!
- Souper Cubes – I LOVE these containers for freezing in perfect portions! They are great for freezing pretty much anything. You can read more about them in our Souper Cubes Review post. Once frozen, I put the cubes in freezer safe Ziploc bags.
- Vacuum sealer – great for meats
- Ice cube trays – for stocks, herbs in water or oil, juices, etc
- Reusable zip top bags- I love Stasher Bags & ZipTop Bags. Both are awesome for freezing.
- We don’t recommend freezing in glass. Liquids can expand when frozen and often crack glass as it expands.
How to Reheat Freezer Meals:
All healthy freezer meals are different and most should be heated up according to the instructions in that recipe. As a general rule here is what we recommend for reheating:
- Soups & Stews – Soups and stews are safe to microwave or heat on the stovetop in a pot
- Rice/Pasta Dishes – We recommend baking rice/pasta dishes like casseroles and lasagnas. This can help rid them of excess moisture so they’re not soggy.
I put together the exact recipes I used for postpartum meal prepping in a printable ebook! Get our 24 best freezer friendly recipes for less than $10!
Get your copy!
Freezer Friendly Butternut Squash Soup
Recipe by: The Clean Eating Couple
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Butternut Squash Soup Recipe is so easy to make in your instant pot! Let the pressure cooker do all the work and fill your freezer with creamy butternut squash soup!
Prep Time : 15 minutes minutes
Cook Time : 12 minutes minutes
Total Time : 27 minutes minutes
Serves : 8 1.5 cup servings
(hover over # to adjust)
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Ingredients
- 4 cups butternut squash cubes 1 2.5 lb butternut squash
- ¾ cup celery chopped
- 1 cup carrots peeled and cut into about ¼ inch rounds
- ½ cup shallots diced (2 shallots)
- 4 cloves garlic mixnced
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger peeled & grated
- 5 large sage leaves minced
- 6 sprigs of fresh thyme
- ½ cup Anjou pear cored and diced (1 pear)
- 3 cups vegetable broth low or no salt
- 1 1/2 cups full-fat coconut milk or milk of choice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cardamom
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar optional
Instructions
Prep your ingredients. Peel and remove the seeds from the butternut squash and dice into about ½-inch cubes. Peel and dice the shallot. Peel and mince the garlic.
Remove the tops and ends from the celery and chop. Peel and cut the carrots into about ¼-inch rounds. Peel the ginger and grate. Remember the soup will be blended so the size and shape of the cuts are not too important.
Add the butternut squash, carrots, celery, shallot, garlic, ginger, pear, minced sage, coconut sugar, salt, and spices to the basin of the Instant Pot. Top with broth (the coconut milk will be added after cooked and blended) and stir. Before replacing the lid top with thyme sprigs. Select the manual setting and set it to high pressure. Set the time to 12 minutes, then close the lid and valve. If your Instant Pot has a "Soup/Broth" setting, this will also work.
Top with broth and stir. Do NOT add the milk. Before replacing the lid top with thyme sprigs. Select the Manual setting and set it to High pressure. Set the time to 12 minutes, then close the lid and valve. If your Instant Pot has a "Soup/Broth" setting, this will also work.
Once finished cooking, release the pressure based on the manufacturer’s instructions.
Remove the thyme sprigs. Gently run fingers down each sprig to release the leaves into the basin and discard the woody pieces.
Using an immersion blender, blend the soup until the contents are fully pureed. Be careful as the soup will be very hot. You can also do this by using a high powdered hot/cold blender. You may want to allow the soup to cool slightly before transferring it to the blender pitcher.
Once pureed, add in the coconut milk and stir until it is no longer visible.
Serve hot, topped with pepitas, chopped chives, and a swirl of coconut cream.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
To reheat from frozen simply place in the microwave or a pot on the stove.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition Facts
Freezer Friendly Butternut Squash Soup
Amount Per Serving (1 cup)
Calories 188Calories from Fat 99
% Daily Value*
Fat 11g17%
Saturated Fat 10g63%
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.2g
Monounsaturated Fat 0.5g
Sodium 110mg5%
Potassium 599mg17%
Carbohydrates 23g8%
Fiber 4g17%
Sugar 8g9%
Protein 3g6%
Vitamin A 12721IU254%
Vitamin C 25mg30%
Calcium 77mg8%
Iron 3mg17%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. This is an estimate and can vary pending your ingredients
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