How to Make 10 Freezer Meals in 3 Hours

During the latter half of the summer, I made one or two freezer meals every weekend. This was in preparation for the arrival of my third child. As August approached, I got together with a friend who was also pregnant and we spent an afternoon together making freezer meals.

I’ve seen lots of blog posts on how to make a significant number of freezer meals (e.g., 15, 20, 30) in just a few hours. I would have loved for us to do this, but I’ve never made a bunch at once, so I didn’t want to bite off more than I could chew. Additionally, I wanted to make meals that I’d frozen before so I knew they would freeze well.

In this post, I’ll provide you with a grocery list, recipes, and tips so that you can make the same freezer meals we made. Before I get into these details, let me clarify that we didn’t make 10 different meals. We doubled 5 recipes so we each ended up with 5 freezer meals (this means we made 10 meals in total). Each recipe yields a meal that feeds a family (4-6 people). My friend was pregnant with her first child, so she just needed to feed herself and her husband. Thus, she actually walked away with more than 5 meals because we froze each of hers in two portions! This sounds complicated, but I assure you that it’s not.

The meals

Here are the meals we decided to make:

• Chicken Noodle Casserole
• Mexican Rice Bake
• Creamy Turkey Mushroom Spaghetti
• Pepper Jack Chicken Burritos
• Baked Ziti

We made a few adjustments to these recipes in order to streamline their preparation. I’ll explain these changes below.

The grocery list

In order to keep this grocery list organized, I’ve divided it into categories. Look carefully over the list because you likely have a number of these items on hand already! Cross off the items you already have and purchase the others. The quantities listed on this grocery list will allow you to prepare each of the recipes listed above twice. In other words, if you only want to prepare 5 meals, then cut the quantities in half.

Freezer Meal Grocery List

If you follow the links to the recipes, you’ll notice that the ingredients on the grocery list don’t line up exactly with the ingredients listed for each of the recipes. This is because we wanted to simplify preparation of the meals. One way we did this was to use just one type of pasta. Instead of using spaghetti in one dish and ziti in another, we used penne in both. This saved time because we could boil all of the pasta together. Likewise, we used ground turkey in the Mexican Rice Bake instead of hamburger. We already needed ground turkey for the Creamy Turkey Mushroom Spaghetti, so this allowed us to buy and prepare just one type of ground meat and use it in two dishes.

A few things to consider before you begin

In order to prepare these meals in a 3-hour timeframe, you need to have your chicken cooked before you begin. I suggest throwing it in a slow cooker a few hours before you begin preparing the recipes (you could also cook it the day before).

It is very helpful to have a couple of stockpots and large mixing bowls available when preparing these meals. You will be working with some large amounts of food, so medium bowls and pots won’t work well.

I put all of my freezer meals in disposable baking dishes (I found some pretty good ones on Amazon for an affordable price). This worked for me because we have an extra freezer in our garage. However, my friend has a very small freezer, so she chose to freeze hers in gallon zipper baggies in order to save space. You can choose whichever option works best for you. If you use zipper baggies, you will want to thaw each meal and dump it in a baking dish before heating it.

Prepare the meals!

Click on the name of each dish in order to view the recipe for it. If you are preparing 10 meals, then remember that you need to double each recipe!

Chicken Noodle Casserole

Notes: For this recipe, we used panko bread crumbs instead of buttery crackers for the topping. I topped my casserole before freezing it. My friend, who placed her meals in gallon zipper baggies instead of baking dishes, will add her breadcrumbs and butter after she thaws the meal and places it in a baking dish for heating.

Heating instructions: Thaw overnight in the fridge. Allow to warm on the counter while the oven preheats, then bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Mexican Rice Bake

Notes: We used ground turkey in this dish so we could use the same meat for it and the Creamy Turkey Mushroom Spaghetti. We also added frozen corn and a can of black beans to the dish. I topped my casserole with cheese before freezing it. However, my friend (who placed her meals in gallon zipper baggies) will top the bake with cheese after she thaws the meal and places it in a baking dish for heating.

Heating instructions: Thaw overnight in the fridge. Allow to warm on the counter while the oven preheats, then bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Creamy Turkey Mushroom Spaghetti

Notes: Aside from using penne pasta instead of spaghetti, we prepared this recipe as described. I topped my dish with cheese before freezing it. My friend, who placed her meals in gallon zipper baggies, will top hers with cheese after she thaws the meal and places it in a baking dish for heating.

Heating instructions: Thaw overnight in the fridge. Allow to warm on the counter while the oven preheats, then bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Pepper Jack Chicken Burritos

Notes: We found this recipe on another website. It is the only recipe we used that I haven’t tried before. However, burritos tend to freeze well, so I felt comfortable giving them a try. The original recipe provides details for making taquitos, but we didn’t want to take the time to roll and flash freeze taquitos. We made burritos instead. We wrapped each burrito in aluminum foil after rolling it up.

Heating instructions: Thaw overnight in the fridge. Leave wrapped in the foil and place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 425°F for 15-20 minutes.

Baked Ziti

Notes: Aside from using penne instead of ziti, we prepared this recipe as described. Because it is best when assembled in layers, my friend froze this one in a baking dish instead of a zipper baggie.

Heating instructions: Thaw overnight in the fridge. Allow to warm on the counter while the oven preheats, then bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Final thoughts

As I noted above, I’ve never prepared several freezer meals at once. It’s definitely something I’m willing to do again, though, because it was fairly easy. I particularly enjoyed doing it with a friend! Hopefully this will give you some guidance if you want to try something similar.

Do you prepare a lot of freezer meals? What are your favorites? What tips can you share for choosing good recipes and expediting the work?

Shared at the following:

Busy Monday, Wonderful Wednesday, Creative Inspirations, Tuesdays with a Twist, What’d You Do? and Over the Moon.