10 Batch Cook and Freeze Recipes You Need! (2024)

FAQs

What foods can you batch cook and freeze? ›

Choose from dozens of delicious freezer meals including casseroles, baked pasta dishes, gumbo, pot roast, slow-cooker soups and stews, and more. You guests will never guess that you just popped that Turkey-Noodle-Poppy Seed Casserole out of the freezer.

Can You Freeze Anything for Meal Prep? The short answer is that pretty much any food can be frozen. The US Department of Agriculture explains that you can freeze almost any food, except eggs in their shell and canned products. However, you may not want to eat every food after it has been frozen.

If you're short of containers, put a plastic bag or clingfilm inside one, pour the food into it and put it in the freezer. Once it's frozen, take the food out of the container and store it in the clingfilm or plastic bag.

Best Choices for Make-Ahead Freezer Meals

Tops on the easy-to-freeze list are all kinds of casseroles, meatballs, meatloaf, pasta sauces, and soup, stew, and chili recipes. A smart way to stock your freezer with make-ahead meals is to double a recipe to make a big batch and freeze half for later.

You can also freeze scrambled eggs after they have been cooked. This is a good way to meal prep for the week and to use in dishes like ham fried rice, or for a quick breakfast. They freeze well and taste really good. Let the cooked scrambled eggs cool completely.

Schmidt tells us that, for best results, you can keep mashed potatoes in "a freezer set to 0°F or colder" for "up to one year." At this temperature and for this length of time, frozen mashed potatoes can be thawed and reheated without losing texture or flavor (and without risking the transmission of foodborne bacteria) ...

Does lasagna freeze well? ›

Yes! Lasagna freezes and reheats beautifully, and doubling up requires minimal extra effort. Plus, because the flavors are given more time to come together, reheated lasagna actually tastes better than a slice fresh out of the oven. The layers of sauce prevent the lasagna from drying out when it's reheated.

Soups, stews, lasagna, empanadas, and pie dough are some of our favorites to freeze—check out more ideas below.

Following the FIFO (First In First Out) method can ensure you eat food before it is no longer safe to eat. Batch cooked food left in the fridge will need to be eaten within a few days and meals that are frozen usually need to be eaten within three months.

By having batch cooked food stored in your fridge or freezer, you are less likely to eat impulsively, saving you money and helping you to eat more healthily. Eat healthier meals – When you batch cook food, you are more likely to incorporate healthy and nutritious ingredients.

A simple quick-cooking technique is to make extra food at one meal and freeze for future meals. Or, to prepare food ahead and freeze for enjoying at a later time. One easy method of freezing foods, including liquid foods such as soups and stews, is to freeze them in freezer bags.

After cooking raw foods which were previously frozen, it is safe to freeze the cooked foods. If previously cooked foods are thawed in the refrigerator, you may refreeze the unused portion. Freeze leftovers within 3-4 days.