I’ve been sharing my freezer cooking days on YouTube for years now. I recently shared all the way back to the beginning of my freezer cooking journey here on the blog. I hear from ladies all the time who want to know how to start freezer cooking. So today I’m going to share with you what I’m calling The Ultimate Guide on How to Start Freezer Cooking for your family!
While you’re at it Click here to sign up for my brand new Free Feeding My Freezer 5-Day Freezer Cooking Challenge! You get the new Quick Start Freezer Cooking Guide including recipes, grocery shopping list, cheat sheets, and more!! It’s going to be so fun and you won’t want to miss out. More on this to come, but right now let’s dive into freezer cooking and how to get started!
Do you cook freezer meals before freezing?
You don’t usually cook the meal completely before freezing although there are exceptions. Sloppy Joes are cooked and just need reheating. Most recipes that you pull out and bake in the oven have some sort of cooking already done whereas the Instant Pot or Slow Cooker Freezer Meals are packaged together raw and ready for cooking. Freezer sandwiches are ready for consumption once thawed from the freezer. All this to say the answer is yes and no depending on the freezer meal recipe.
What is the proper way to freeze meals?
I like to wrap casseroles in aluminum foil then plastic wrap to keep them nice and tightly packed while hanging out in the freezer. You should flash freeze muffins, sandwiches, or cookie dough then add them to freezer bags so you can get out the number you need for each meal. Pizza dough gets wrapped in plastic wrap then aluminum foil then plastic wrap again before being added to a freezer bag to keep it contained. At the minimum, you will need aluminum foil, plastic wrap, and gallon freezer bags. ALWAYS be sure to label your freezer meals, too!
How do you heat up freezer meals?
Always follow the freezer meal recipes directions. Most will have you take the freezer meal out of the freezer the night before so it has time to thaw before cooking. This lessens the time it needs to be in the oven. Instant Pot freezer meals or slow cooker recipes can sometimes be prepared from a frozen state. I like to write the cooking directions on the aluminum foil before covering with plastic wrap so I know at a glance.
What is the best container to freeze food in?
Foil pans are great for casseroles or oven meals and freezer bags are great for Instant Pot or Slow Cooker meals. I use foil pans when I know I’m going to be sharing freezer meals with others such as when I made 40+ Postpartum Freezer Meals for New Moms.
Check out my Must Have Large Family Freezer Supplies for everything you need! Over time I’ve built a nice stash of large glass casserole pans as well that are both freezer and oven safe. When using glass for cooking it’s always best to follow the manufacturer’s directions and guidelines.
How to Start Freezer Cooking – Get Started!
Here are several more how to get started freezer cooking articles, helps, and resources to help you get started!
Freezer Cooking – Where to Start – Good Cheap Eats
Start Freezer Cooking – 5 Easy Steps from Once A Month Meals
Beginners Guide to Freezer Cooking from Organize Yourself Skinny
Freezer Cooking 101 by Thriving Home Blog
Freezer Meal Tips from Happy Money Saver
Step-by-Step Freezer Cooking Guide from Don’t Waste the Crumbs
Learn How to Freezer Cook Like a PRO
A Beginner’s Guide to Freezer Cooking from my friend Crystal at Money Saving Mom
JOIN the FREE Feeding My Freezer 5-Day Freezer Cooking Challenge with ME!!
Don’t forget that I have launched my brand new Feeding My Freezer 5-Day Freezer Cooking Challenge!! You can sign up today for free to get the Quick Start Freezer Cooking Guide including all of the details for the 5-day Challenge, grocery shopping list, freezer meal recipes, and more!
THE FREE Freezer Cooking Guide
Isn’t this Quick Start Freezer Cooking Guide all kinds of cute?! It’s about 20 pages and you get it for free when you sign up today.
We are going to have THE MOST FABULOUS time filling our freezers together! By the end of the five-day challenge, you will have 10+ meals in your freezer! You can do this freezer cooking challenge with *any* family size. If your fam is smaller than mine you just might end up with a few extras to go around. Let me tell you, extras are never a bad thing. Also, don’t worry if you miss a day, just jump back in the next day. Total grace here!
You can do this easy challenge with an above-the-fridge freezer or a larger full freezer. If you have dietary issues, want to switch out recipes, or want to make less than 10 meals over five days you can still follow along with each day’s theme using your substitutions.
Here’s a quick peek at the Five-Day Feeding My Freezer Challenge:
- Day One: DOUBLE Dinners (2 meals)
- Day Two: TWO Breakfast Freezer Meals (2 meals)
- Day Three: Make-Ahead Freezer Sandwiches (you can choose to make 12, 25, or even 200! (2-6 meals?! All depends on how you choose to swing it.)
- Day Four: FOUR Slow Cooker/Electric Pressure Cooker Freezer Meals (4 meals – won’t THAT be lovely?!)
- Day Five: Building a Freezer Meals for Kids Stash (2-4 lunches)
As part of the Feeding My Freezer Challenge, you will also be receiving a special email from me each day with more directions, inspiration, and encouragement for that day’s particular challenge.
Sign up here now so you can get the Quick Start Freezer Cooking Guide with recipes, grocery list, freezer cooking tips, and cheat sheets. It’s important you get this now so you can get the groceries you’ll need for the challenge ahead of time. Let’s get 10+ freezer meals in your freezer for the coming weeks! Exciting!!
Freezer Meal Recipes
Here is a nice collection of some of the best freezer meal recipes on the internet today!
Here’s a day of Big Batch Freezer Cooking make freezer fruit bread!
Get inspiration for more Big Batch Freezer Cooking with making tons of pizza dough for the freezer in bulk!
These Healthy Protein Bites make a fantastic freezer friendly snack!
75+ Casseroles that Freeze Well so many great ones here.
20 Healthy Freezer Meals including Instant Pot, Slow Cooker, and oven meals, too!
Here’s a fun freezer meal recipe for freezer friendly blueberry oatmeal muffins!
Here’s how to cook 40+ freezer meals in one evening!
Take a look at this 75+ Gluten Free large family freezer meals!
We love having breakfast ready to go in the freezer! Here are 25 breakfast freezer meals!
Here are make ahead freezer meals for kids – three of our favorites!
Don’t miss 50 Large Family Instant Pot Freezer Meals here. So many good ones!
And don’t miss these 75+ large family freezer meals!!
Finally, you can click here for the full collection of freezer meal recipes to help you get started freezer cooking.
How to Get Started Freezer Cooking Tips & Tricks!
And don’t miss this list of how to get started freezer cooking tips and tricks. There are may
Here are 10 AMAZING Benefits of Large Family Freezer Cooking
Don’t miss the BEST Tips & Methods to Fill Your Freezer FAST with great freezer meals!
Here’s my Realistic Large Family Meal Planning System Using Freezer Meals.
And here’s a look at my large family meal plan system with a free one
I’ve also shared my 5 Best Tips for Grocery Shopping for a Freezer Cooking Day.
Here’s a large family freezer cooking day with crockpot recipes, Twice Baked potatoes, and tons more.
100+ FREEZER MEALS FOR BIG FAMILIES | Including Large Family Freezer Cooking Report
Mega Freezer Cooking | 60+ Freezer Meals | 26 Dinners, 21 Breakfasts, 16 Lunches | Large Family Style!
Freezer Cooking Day | Large Family Style! {Pancakes, Sandwiches, Muffins, Cooking Meat for the Month!}
Freezer Cooking Day Two | Freezer Burritos, French Toast, Apple/Blueberry Muffins {with a towel on my head}
Large Family Freezer Cooking: 75 PBJs, 60 Burritos, 84 Muffins!
Freezer Meals for the Slow Cooker
Easy Freezer Meals: Freezer Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches
Click here for more freezer cooking days and helps!
