Get ahead by stocking the freezer with these 7 simple make-ahead dinners. When it’s time to eat, simply reheat with a minimum of fuss.
Life is busy! And most days I struggle to get dinner on the table! To make life easier, our family spends an hour [or 2] meal prepping on a Sunday. We cook simple freezer-friendly dinners ahead of time to stash in the deep freeze for during the busy week. It’s a life saver!
Coming home to dinner defrosting in the fridge and ready to reheat is AMAZING! Today, I’m sharing our FAVOURITE 7 freezer-friendly dinners with YOU!
Why you’ll love these freezer-friendly dinners
- nutritious
- full of vegetables
- simple to make
- defrost beautifully
- full of flavour
- save time
- save money
- feed a big family (with leftovers)
- AND always a big hit with the kids!
How to freeze food
- Choose freezer-friendly recipes
Some recipes are better suited to freezing and reheating than other. Soups, stews, casseroles, ragu, pasta sauce, fritters and pasta bakes handle freezing/reheating beautifully.
- Cool
Once cooked, allow recipes to cool completely before placing in the freezer.
- Store
Choosing the right freezer-safe container will help prevent freezer burn. Freezer friendly snap lock bags are excellent for soup, stews, casseroles etc. Remove air prior to sealing the bags as this helps food stay fresher for longer. Snap lock bags can also be placed flat and stack easily in the freezer.
- Label
Use a permanent marker to label each snap lock bag. Write the recipe name and date it was placed in the freezer.
- Freeze
Do not overcrowd the freezer, allow enough space in between containers/snap lock bags to allow air to circulate.
- Defrost
The safest way to defrost frozen food is in the refrigerator. Place the frozen food into fridge the morning of (or night prior) and dinner will be defrosted and ready to reheat by the evening.
za’atar pumpkin and sweet potato soup with roasted chickpeas
To reheat: simply place the soup (still frozen) into a saucepan with a splash of water or stock and heat until hot and bubbling. Whilst it reheats you have the perfect opportunity to roast the crispy chick peas.
osso bucco ragu with pappardelle
To reheat: Before work, grab a bag of ragu from the freezer to defrost in the fridge. When you return home simply cook pasta, heat sauce, stir together and devour.
veggie loaded fritters
To reheat: These fritters take 20-30 minutes to defrost and are delicious served with a fried egg and bacon for dinner. To reheat the fritters you can either microwave them OR place on a baking tray and place in a 180 C oven for 20 mins. A huge time saver!
pumpkin mac and cheese
OPTION ONE: You can cook the recipe entirely, allow the pasta bake to cool then portion and freeze. To reheat: For the pasta bake, remove from the freezer, allow to defrost then reheat in the microwave.
OPTION TWO: Simply prepare the pumpkin sauce ahead of time and freeze. I love bags of the pumpkin mac and cheese sauce stashed away in the freezer. To reheat: Place the sauce (still frozen) into a saucepan with a splash of water and heat until hot and bubbling. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to packet directions, drain and toss through heated pumpkin mac and cheese sauce. BOOM. Dinner Done. It takes little time and will serve most families TWO nights of dinner.
creamy broccoli soup
To reheat: Place the still frozen soup into a saucepan with a splash of water or stock and heat until hot and bubbling. Whilst the broccoli soup reheats you can prepare the brown butter. Delicious mid-week dinner indeed.
veggie packed spaghetti bolognese
To reheat: Pull the sauce from the freezer in the morning and allow to defrost. After work, heat sauce in a saucepan until hot and bubbling. Cook pasta according to packet, drain and toss through bolognese sauce. It’s such a delicious and simple dinner during the busy week – easy peasy!
spiced sweet potato and chick pea fritters
To reheat: I love to let these defrost in the fridge then heat the fritters up in a preheated oven (20 mins at 180 C) – they taste amazing! And with a soft boiled egg and salad greens these fritters make a perfect freezer-friendly dinner.
Well lovely, you now have 7 Delicious Freezer-Friendly Dinners to add to your meal planner!
I hope these recipes take the stress out of getting dinner on the table during the busy week!
As always, when posting your recipes to Instagram please TAG @mylovelylittlelunchbox! I love sharing your photos!
Kayla x
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