Crock Pot Freezer Meals??!?
Epic idea! 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!
Here are the numbers…
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 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 (aff links) and labelled each large Ziploc 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.
Tips for making Crockpot Freezer Meals:
- Use 1 gallon, large freezer bags (aff link). Label bags with the date, recipe and cooking instructions.
- Lay ingredients flat in the bag for easier storage in the freezer.
- 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.
Crock Pot 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}…
Teriyaki Chicken Recipe
Honey Teriyaki Chicken
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Author: Heather @ Twin Dragonfly Designs
Serves: 5 servings
Ingredients
- 5-6 chicken breasts
- ½ cup diced onion
- 2 tsp diced garlic
- ½ cup honey
- ¼ cup ketchup
- ½ cup soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- add to sauce at the end
- 4 tsp cornstarch
- ⅓ cup water
Instructions
- Place all ingredients into a crockpot.
- Cook on low for 4-6 hours.
Sweet and Sour Meatball Recipe
Sweet and Sour Meatballs
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Author: Heather @ Twin Dragonfly Designs
Recipe type: Slow Cooker
Serves: 5 servings
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 Recipe
BBQ Chicken
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Author: Heather @ Twin Dragonfly Designs
Recipe type: Slow Cooker
Serves: 5 servings
Ingredients
- 5-6 chicken breasts
- 2 cups cubed potatoes
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 1 cup chopped mushrooms
- ½ 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.
Salsa Chicken Recipe
Salsa Chicken
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Author: Heather @ Twin Dragonfly Designs
Recipe type: Slow Cooker
Serves: 5 servings
Ingredients
- 5-6 chicken breasts
- 1 cup salsa
- 1 can diced tomatoes {14 oz}
- 1 diced onion
- ½ cup diced celery
- ½ 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 Chop Recipe
Teriyaki Pork Chops
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Author: Heather @ Twin Dragonfly Designs
Recipe type: Slow Cooker
Serves: 5 servings
Ingredients
- 6 pork chops
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ⅓ cup chicken broth
Instructions
- Place all ingredients into a crockpot.
- Cook on low for 4-5 hours.
Butter Chicken Recipe
Butter Chicken
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Author: Heather @ Twin Dragonfly Designs
Recipe type: Slow Cooker
Serves: 5 servings
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 Recipe
Coconut Curry Chicken
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Author: Heather @ Twin Dragonfly Designs
Recipe type: Slow Cooker
Serves: 5 servings
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!
#nomnom
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!
