These easy to make Crockpot Freezer Meals are an epic idea. Batch out these freezer meals and make weeknight meal planning easy!
Why have I never done this before? Seriously!
It was a lot of work to put these together but I have to say that the peace of mind that it has given me over the last two weeks has been brilliant!
I made eight great meals that I could just pull out of the freezer to defrost the night before putting it into the crock pot the next day. Truly amazing for those busy days between work and kids activities!
I used some of our favorite crock pot recipes and modified a few new ones to add to our meal planning. Be sure to join the conversation on Facebook – I have been sharing even more recipes over there!
How to make crockpot freezer meals:
- 4 hours of total prep time {1 hour planning, 1 hour shopping, 2 hours preparing}
- 8 meals {5-6 servings each}
- $160 total
- $20 average cost per meal
- 100% peace of mind
I did not shop the sales. So you could save a ton of money too if you planned to stock up and shop whenever there were sales in store. For us this saves a lot of money because I am not throwing away produce or ingredients that I had intended to use but forgot about.
I had planned meals that used a lot of overlapping ingredients which made preparation even easier. I cut up all of our ingredients and just scooped out the required amount into each recipe.
Before I could begin putting recipes together I grabbed a Sharpie and labelled each large freezer bag with the recipe and directions.
Then I filled each freezer bag with all of the required ingredients for each recipe. Tip: place the bag into a bowl or large measuring cup before dumping ingredients into it. Finally I squeezed all of the air out of the bag and stuck them into the freezer.
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Tips for making Crockpot Freezer Meals:
- Use 1 gallon, large freezer bags. Label bags with the date, recipe and cooking instructions.
- Lay ingredients flat in the bag for easier storage in the freezer.
- This 7-Quart Oval Crockpot is the only one that I use and has lasted for over ten years!
- Defrost meals in the refrigerator or place frozen into the crockpot. If the meal is defrosted, reduce the cooking time accordingly (subtract two hours for most crockpot meals).
- Crockpot meals can easily be converted to Instant Pot recipes using this handy guide from Taste of Home – How to Convert Slow Cooker Recipes for the Instant Pot.
- Store meals for up to three months in the freezer.
Crockpot Freezer Meal Recipes:
{**update – I wrote some of the temperatures and times on our Ziploc bags incorrectly so be sure to follow the written recipe}…
Honey Teriyaki Chicken
Yield:
5 servings
Prep Time:
10 minutes
Cook Time:
4 hours
Total Time:
4 hours 10 minutes
Ingredients
- 5-6 chicken breasts
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 2 tsp diced garlic
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- add to sauce at the end
- 4 tsp cornstarch
- 1/3 cup water
Instructions
- Place all ingredients into a crockpot.
- Cook on low for 4-6 hours.
Sweet and Sour Meatballs
Yield:
5 servings
Prep Time:
10 minutes
Cook Time:
4 hours
Total Time:
4 hours 10 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 pkg cooked meatballs
- 1 diced onion
- 1 cup diced green pepper
- 1 cup diced red pepper
- 1 bottle sweet and sour sauce
- add one hour before serving
- 1 can pineapple tidbits
- Rice, cooked
Instructions
- Place all ingredients into a crockpot.
- Cook on low for 4 hours.
- Serve over rice.
BBQ Chicken
Yield:
5 servings
Prep Time:
10 minutes
Cook Time:
4 hours
Total Time:
4 hours 10 minutes
Ingredients
- 5-6 chicken breasts
- 2 cups cubed potatoes
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 1 cup chopped mushrooms
- 1/2 cup diced onions
- 2 Tbsp flour
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 bottle BBQ sauce
Instructions
- Place all ingredients into a crockpot.
- Cook for 6-8 hours on low.
More crockpot freezer meals:
Salsa Chicken
Yield:
5 servings
Prep Time:
10 minutes
Cook Time:
4 hours
Total Time:
4 hours 10 minutes
Ingredients
- 5-6 chicken breasts
- 1 cup salsa
- 1 can diced tomatoes {14 oz}
- 1 diced onion
- 1/2 cup diced celery
- 1/2 cup diced carrots
- 1 pkg taco seasoning
- add when serving
- 3 Tbsp sour cream
Instructions
- Place ingredients into a crockpot.
- Cook for 6-8 hours on low.
Teriyaki Pork Chops
Yield:
5 servings
Prep Time:
10 minutes
Cook Time:
4 hours
Total Time:
4 hours 10 minutes
Ingredients
- 6 pork chops
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/3 cup chicken broth
Instructions
- Place all ingredients into a crockpot.
- Cook on low for 4-5 hours.
Butter Chicken
Yield:
5 servings
Prep Time:
10 minutes
Cook Time:
4 hours
Total Time:
4 hours 10 minutes
Ingredients
- 5-6 chicken breasts
- 1 cup diced green pepper
- 1 cup diced red pepper
- 2 cups diced mushrooms
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 bottle butter chicken sauce {340 ml}
Instructions
- Place all ingredients into a crockpot.
- Cook on low 6-8 hours.
Coconut Curry Chicken
Yield:
5 servings
Prep Time:
10 minutes
Cook Time:
4 hours
Total Time:
4 hours 10 minutes
Ingredients
- 5-6 chicken breasts
- 1 cup diced carrots
- 1 cup diced celery
- 1 cup diced red pepper
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 2 Tbsp red curry paste
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 can coconut milk
Instructions
- Place all ingredients into a crockpot.
- Cook 6-8 hours on low.
My favorite so far has to be the Salsa Chicken. But the rest have been pretty amazing too!
This was a huge time and sanity saver this month. I am hoping to plan more crock pot freezer meals in the future. Do you have any recipes to share? Ones with more red meat? Ha ha. Thanks for reading!
If you love these crockpot recipe, please help me share it on Facebook and Pinterest!
