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In about 1 hour you can prepare 5 Dump-and-Bake Freezer Meals that require no cooking and no prep work! These family-friendly, easy dinners are simple and delicious solutions for your busiest weeknights!
I’m a huge fan of freezer meals because they just make life so much easier. I can set aside some time on the weekend to assemble all of our dinners for the week ahead, and then I don’t have to worry about it again. There’s no need to make last-minute runs to the grocery store, no need to rush around the kitchen to pull together a meal when I get home late, and no need to order take-out. I save money, time, and stress with this simple process, and today I’m sharing all of the details (including my Shopping List) from my latest freezer meals.
A Few Quick Tips for Easy Dump-and-Bake Freezer Meals:
- I tried to create a variety of recipes here so that we don’t end up eating chicken casseroles every single night! The 5 dinners include beef, turkey, chicken, and a vegetarian option, as well as different cuisines.
- Remember, for these freezer meals, you simply assemble the raw ingredients, wrap them tightly, and pop them in the freezer. I recommend thawing the dishes in the refrigerator the night before so that they cook in a reasonable amount of time when you’re ready to use them.
- I also like to use disposable pans and zip-top bags to store my freezer meals, and that way I don’t stash all of my nice pans away in the freezer indefinitely. Plus, it makes clean up a lot easier at the end!
With all of that said, go ahead and download the printable PDF copy of my Freezer Meals Shopping List HERE, and let’s get started with 5 new freezer meals!
1. Herb Roasted Chicken and Veggies
Labeled, wrapped and ready for the freezer!
Herb-Roasted Chicken and Vegetables
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 1 hour
Total: 1 hour 10 minutes
Simple seasonings, fresh vegetables, and chicken pieces all cook together in one dish for an easy and satisfying freezer dinner!
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. bone-in chicken pieces thighs, breasts, and/or drumsticks (I used 8 drumsticks)
- 1 pound baby red potatoes you can leave them whole if they’re small, or cut larger potatoes in half
- ½ pound carrots peeled and sliced into large chunks (or whole baby carrots)
- 1 onion chopped into large chunks
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon minced dried onion
- ½ teaspoon minced dried basil
- ½ teaspoon minced dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon minced dried garlic
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Place chicken and vegetables in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Drizzle with oil, sprinkle with herbs and salt, and toss to coat.
- Cover tightly with plastic wrap and foil; freeze until ready to bake.
- When ready to bake, thaw dish in refrigerator overnight.
- Remove the cover and bake in a 375-degree oven for 1 hour. Check to see if the chicken is cooked through. Return to the oven, if necessary, until chicken is done and vegetables are tender.
2. 4-Ingredient Black Bean Enchilada Casserole
4-Ingredient Black Bean Enchilada Casserole
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 35 minutes
Total: 45 minutes
A healthy, affordable vegetarian dinner goes from your freezer to your oven -- with just 4 simple ingredients!
Ingredients
- 2 15 ounce cans black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 ½ cups enchilada sauce
- 1 cup reduced-fat shredded Mexican-blend cheese
- 8 6-inch corn tortillas
- Optional garnish: sour cream sliced green onion, sliced olives, diced avocado or guacamole
Instructions
- Spray a 2-quart baking dish with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, combine half of the enchilada sauce (about ¾ cup) with beans and half of the cheese (about ½ cup).
- Place 4 of the tortillas in the bottom of the prepared dish, tearing them as necessary to cover the bottom (overlapping is fine).
- Top with half of the bean mixture and drizzle with ¼ cup of enchilada sauce. Repeat layers one more time, ending with remaining ½ cup of cheese on top.
- Cover tightly with foil.
- Freeze casserole until ready to bake.
- Thaw in refrigerator overnight before baking.
- When ready to serve, bake casserole (covered) at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes.
Notes
You can double all of the ingredients and prepare the casserole in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish to serve a larger crowd!
3. Mom’s Meatloaf
Mom's Meatloaf
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 1 hour
Total: 1 hour 10 minutes
This meal is the comfort food of my childhood, and it just happens to make a really easy, quick-prep freezer option!
Ingredients
- 1 large or 2 small slices of bread
- 2 lbs. lean ground beef I used 92% lean
- 1 cup finely diced onion I like to use frozen diced onion to eliminate any chopping or prep work, but you can sub with a medium fresh onion and cut it yourself
- 1 egg
- ½ cup bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- ¾ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- about ½ cup ketchup
Instructions
- Prepare a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray and place bread in the bottom of the pan, trimming as necessary to get it to fit (the bread will soak up the grease as the meatloaf cooks).
- Gently mix remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Just be careful not to over-mix, or the meat will be tough. I like to use my hands for this!
- Shape beef mixture into a loaf and place in the prepared pan.
- Spread a thin layer of ketchup over the top of the meatloaf.
- To freeze, cover pan tightly with plastic wrap and foil.
- When ready to cook, thaw in refrigerator overnight.
- Remove cover and bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour (you might need to increase the baking time if the meat is still partially frozen).
- Slice bread off of the bottom of the meatloaf and serve.
4. Turkey Meatball and Tortellini Soup
Turkey Meatball and Tortellini Soup
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 20 minutes
Have your pasta, meatballs, and veggies all in one bowl!
Ingredients
- 3 15-ounce cans chicken broth
- 1 15-ounce can Italian style diced tomatoes, NOT drained
- 1 14-ounce package frozen cheese tortellini
- 1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach
- 12 ounces frozen turkey meatballs
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- Optional garnish: grated Parmesan and/or mozzarella cheeses
Instructions
- Place all ingredients EXCEPT for chicken broth in a large zip-top freezer bag. Place in freezer until ready to cook.
- When ready to serve, place chicken broth in a large pot and bring to a boil. Add ingredients from the bag and simmer until pasta is tender and meatballs are heated through (about 10 minutes).
- Garnish with cheese, if desired.
5. Baked Teriyaki Chicken, Vegetables and Rice
Baked Teriyaki Chicken Vegetables and Rice
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 45 minutes
Total: 55 minutes
A flavorful Asian-inspired dinner that cooks entirely in one dish!
Ingredients
- ¾ cup prepared teriyaki sauce plus additional for serving*
- 1 ½ cups uncooked instant white rice
- 1 8 ounce can pineapple chunks (NOT drained)
- 1 16 ounce bag frozen stir-fry vegetables
- 1 ¼ cups low sodium chicken broth
- 6 small or thin-sliced boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 24 oz. total)
- Optional garnish: sliced green onions
Instructions
- Spray a 13-x-9-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- In the prepared baking dish, stir together rice, undrained pineapple, frozen vegetables, broth, and ½ cup of the teriyaki sauce.
- Place chicken on top of the rice mixture and season with salt and pepper. Pour remaining ¼ cup of teriyaki sauce over the chicken. Cover tightly with foil.
- Freeze until ready to bake.
- Before baking, thaw in refrigerator overnight. Bake (covered) at 400 degrees F for about 40-50 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through (at least 165 degrees F) and rice is tender. Larger pieces of chicken will take longer to cook, so just keep a close eye on the dish and check it periodically until it's ready to pull out. Garnish with additional teriyaki sauce and/or sliced green onions just before serving.
Notes
* Make sure that you use a thick sauce that’s more like a glaze, as opposed to a thin sauce that resembles soy sauce. I like Veri Veri Teriyaki sauce for these purposes.
Whether you try one of these new freezer meals or all 5 of them, I hope that you find a new favorite to add to your family’s regular routine. Thanks to these dump-and-bake freezer meals, dinner just got a whole lot easier!
I need to make freezer meals more often! It would be so convenient for when I don’t know what to make or don’t feel like cooking. This is such a great post, Blair! I love your printables and recipes! I’ve got to try them ALL, especially the enchilada casserole!
Thanks, Gayle! These recipes are so easy, and the whole freezer meal process is such a lifesaver for busy weeks!
I need to make more freezer meals! They are so convenient!
Thanks, Jessica! They definitely are! I hope that you’ll try one or two of these options soon! 🙂
Thanks for this handy list, I will make quite a few of them to take to my Granddaughter who has a new baby and sick toddler. It’s just what she needs to have ready to go.
Hi, Junea! These are perfect options for new moms! I know she will appreciate it!
Mom’s Meatloaf: Love the bread in the bottom of the pan. What a clever trick.
Yessss! And it totally works! 🙂 Thanks, SuzieW!
I agree!
I am wishing I made these on the weekend as this week is CRAZZZZY and I am all about quick and easy meals!
Next weekend, Kristy! 🙂
I WISH I had your prep skills and your discipline over creating meals ahead. I’ve heard about meal preps and freezer dinners when I started blogging 1y ago and off course met lovely bloggers like you who actually practice this 😉 I’ve tried it out few times, and I really LOVED it. But then the next week I forget about it… To be honest, we are not used to doing meals ahead in Croatia. We masochistically enjoy last minute shopping and dinner panic hahah I SO need to start practice this more. You inspire me greatly Blair. Thanks! Love all the recipes. Sharing this!
Thank you, Natalie!!! I am definitely not perfect! I do these freezer meal sessions once every couple of months, just so that I have a few options on hand for emergencies. They are definitely lifesavers!
Yikes!! All the recipes look good, but the sodium content in each recipe is almost the full allowed amount on a low sodium diet and almost half the amount of daily sodium on a regular diet. Any suggestions for cutting the amount of sodium down.
Hi, Lana! No, not really any specific suggestions beyond the usual — you can feel free to reduce the amount of salt used (or omit it), look for reduced sodium products when buying enchilada sauce, etc., but otherwise you’re just getting the natural sodium in the meats, cheeses, etc. I hope that helps!
Thank you for the post. I was wondering if you found that the food would stick at the bottom of the disposable pans. The reason I ask is I’m going at a campground that has regular stoves. I wouldn’t want the meals to stick. Should I double my pans?
Hi, Genevieve! I haven’t had any trouble with the food sticking to the disposable pans. Just make sure that you spray the pans with non-stick spray before adding the food. Enjoy! 🙂
My husband add I loved the turkey meatball and tortellini soup! We’ll be moving soon and this is on the menu, only thing is I’ll be doing it in the slow cooker since our appliances will be in transit. Any idea how to adjust the cooking time? Would I add it all frozen or thawed? Thank you! 🙂
Hi, Joanne! That’s great — I’m so glad that you enjoyed it! You can definitely make the soup in the slow cooker. I would thaw everything in the refrigerator first, and then dump the bag in the slow cooker. Since the meatballs are fully cooked, you’ll just need to leave the soup in the slow cooker until the pasta is cooked. I would suggest starting with 2-3 hours on HIGH or 6-7 hours on LOW. Check the pasta as it’s cooking, if possible, so that you can turn off your pot as soon as the pasta is tender. Every slow cooker cooks at a slightly different temperature, so cooking times are just an estimate. Hope that helps! 🙂
Perfect! Thanks Blair. Very helpful 🙂
You’re welcome. Enjoy!
Hi – I accidentally prepped the herb-roosted chicken and the teriyaki chicken incorrectly- by swapping the chicken breasts and the drumsticks…. how do you suggest I adjust the cooking times for each?
Hi, Heather! That’s a bummer!
The bone-in chicken (drumsticks) have a longer cooking time, which is why I paired them with the roasted veggies — because you’ll need about an hour to get the potatoes and big vegetables tender. Since you used the boneless breasts with the roasted veggies, you’ll just have to keep an eye on them in the oven. The chicken breasts will only need about 30-45 minutes (depending on how thick they are), so you’ll probably want to pull them out before the potatoes and other vegetables are done.
Similarly, I paired the boneless chicken with the quicker cooking instant rice, since they require less time in the oven. If you have drumsticks in that recipe, they will need longer to bake than the rice and veggies will. As a result, you may need to pull the drumsticks out of the dish and let them keep baking on a tray in the oven after you’ve pulled the rice and vegetables out. You don’t want to leave the rice in too long or it will get mushy.
Hope that helps!
How you ever had an issue with freezing raw potatoes? I’ve read horror stories online about potatoes turning black and ruining the dish so I’ve always been afraid to try.
Hi, Summer! No, I’ve never had that problem. 🙂
I make very similar recipes and especially the enchilada casserole. One thing you can do to help reduce additives is use 1 (6-oz) can tomato paste, 1 cup water, 1 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp each of garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, coriander and I use ancho powder but you can use any chile or chili powder. That makes about 2 cups. Enchilada sauce is simply tomato sauce with seasoning and why pay more? Tomato paste is only a few cents. You can mash it all together in a sandwich bag or whatever and freeze right in the package. It’s okay to use a sandwich bag so long as it’s double bagged. Since you make tin kits then it can just lay right on top.
You can do a similar thing with a quick Asian sauce. Just keep out the water and cornstarch and add that the day of cooking.
Remember that most basic foods are all the same, it’s the sauces that are different. Become adept at making sauces and you can throw together anything! Just make the sauce and freeze with the kits.Some others I do are squeezing lemon juice and freezing it with some chicken for piccata, then the day of add broth and wine. It really doesn’t take that long.
I used to do freezer cooking. I mean, for 25 years I did. Now the husband and I are living the RV life so I have a shoebox for a freezer. However, my sauces are still easy and I manage to make quick meals.
Remember, it’s all in the sauce…
Hi Blair…I was wondering how your Asian chicken and rice dish would work by substituting chunks of salmon instead of chicken can you freeze it all together or would you freeze separately
Hi, Gail! I would definitely freeze the salmon separately from the rest of the dish. Depending on the size and thickness of your salmon chunks, the baking time will vary. That said, salmon generally cooks a lot faster than chicken. So in this case, I would start the rice (and other ingredients) in the oven first. Bake the rice for about 25 minutes, then stir in the salmon for the final 15-20 minutes of baking. That should work! 🙂
Thanks for the tips and the advice Blair. But now I have another question for you. I couldn’t get any salmon and I’m already doing two chicken dishes. Would Pork work OK with your Asian rice dish and again my question is do I treat the pork as if it was chicken and put it all together, Before freezing?Would it be the same cooking time? Thank you
You can definitely use pork, and the cooking time will depend on the size/type of pork that you choose. If you use thick bone-in pork chops, they will need about the same amount of cooking time as the rest of the dish so you could assemble everything together. If you choose smaller, thinner, boneless pork chops, they will only need about 15-20 minutes in the oven, so I would add those halfway through. 🙂
Hi, I followed the chicken dish with Asian vegetables and thawed everything as it said overnight, it was even longer than overnight. I put it in at 400 degrees for 50 mins and my chicken breasts were still completely raw. Have you had any issues like this? They aren’t that large of chicken breast by any means and I only put in two. It was not cooked at all by any means.
Thanks
Hi, Bridget! Honestly, I haven’t had that problem. Chicken breasts should be cooked through in about 45 minutes (or up to an hour if they’re large). Have you calibrated your oven to make sure that it’s baking at the correct temperature? If your meat was thawed, I can’t think of any other reason that it would have still been raw after 50 minutes in a 400 degree oven. Sorry!
I’ll hav to look up how to calibrate my oven but they are almost bran new appliances and usually cook faster than most recipes call for. It ended up taking an hr and a half for it to all cook.
Wow we just had the teriyaki chicken and it was the biggest hit in my hose! I used chicken tenderloin . it was done at 40 minutes. My 9 yo would normally eat maybe a half a tenderloin. she ate 3! there were no leftovers in our family of 4. If we had teenage sons we would have needed double this recipe. It was so good!
I am making the teriyaki chicken dish and my chicken was still raw after 50 minutes when I checked. Not sure what I did wrong? Maybe the foil wasn’t tightly covering it enough? I just put it back in for another 20 minutes but I’m hoping the rice won’t burn now…
All of these sound wonderful and things my family will actually eat! I’m taking a 7 day trip in May and these will be perfect to leave for my daughter to cook!
Perfect, Mary! Have fun on that trip, too! 🙂
For the Herb-Roasted Chicken and Vegetables, do you take the foil off when you bake and let it cook open faced in the pan? Thanks!
Hey, Liz! Yes — in the instructions it says to remove the cover and then bake. 🙂
This might be a dumb question. I made the first recipe before (with the chicken, potatoes, and carrots), but without freezing it and it came out so well! A couple of the teachers that I work with have new babies at home and I thought I’d make it for them to freeze and thaw when they wanted. I’ve tried freezing raw potatoes before without blanching, and they never fair well. Do you do anything special with the potatoes before you freeze this, or do they freeze well because they’re the red potatoes? If I was making for me I would just try and see how it comes out, but I’m making for coworkers 🙂
Hey, Lauren! That’s not a dumb question at all, because potatoes can definitely have an undesirable texture when frozen. The red potatoes definitely work better for freezing because waxy potatoes (like the red) have less moisture content than starchy potatoes. If you want to spend the extra time, the potatoes will freeze even better if you parboil them first. That’s an optional step, but may be worth the effort if you want them to be the “best” quality for your coworkers. Hope that helps! 🙂
Hello I’m sorry tried sending my own question but can’t seem to find where to generate it. On the chicken teriyaki can I use reg cooked rice instead of the min rice. If so will I cook it first ? Or does it only work with min rice?
Hi, Elizabeth! The regular cooked rice will work, but you’ll need to use less liquid in the dish because the cooked rice won’t absorb quite as much liquid as the parboiled rice. Maybe cut the amount of chicken broth in half? That’s just a guess, though — I haven’t actually tested it myself with the cooked rice. Also, you may be able to reduce the total baking time if you’re using cooked rice — it just depends on how large your chicken is. Hope that helps, and enjoy!
Love these recipes! All foods my family will actually eat, and they’re so simple! I just have to double them ha! Thank you!
That’s wonderful to hear! Thank you, Danielle!
Thank you so much.
I’m 69 and so sick of cooking daily.
I think this will help. So much.
Happy New Year!
Awesome! Enjoy, Dirose! I hope that you find a few new recipes that you like. 🙂
If I use regular rice instead of instant rice will I have to adjust anything?
Hi, Danielle! Yes, if you use regular long grain white rice you will need to increase the baking time to closer to 75-90 minutes and you’ll need more liquid — probably an additional cup of broth. If using regular brown rice, the cooking time is even longer, so I don’t recommend going that route (or you’ll probably end up with over-baked chicken by the time the brown rice is done). Hope that helps!
How could I substitute beef (steak tips perhaps) in the teriyaki and rice recipe ?
Hi, Leslie! I would use about 1.5 lbs. of ground beef (brown it in a skillet first). You could try the steak tips, but I’ve never actually tried baking those (we usually grill them), so I worry that they would get overdone and tough/dry in the oven by the time the rice is cooked through.
Hi Blair:
Love your recipes, photos and grocery lists! Is there any way you could translate cooking time & temperature for cooking in an Instant Pot Pressure Cooker? I love using mine and it doesn’t heat up my kitchen in the summer!
Thank you!
Sara Collins
Hi, Sara! I will definitely keep that in mind going forward, and will add that alternative cooking method when I think it will work well. Admittedly, I don’t use my Instant Pot a ton, so it’s not something that I have on my mind regularly. I agree, though — it’s a convenient appliance that I know a lot of folks love. Thanks for the suggestion!
Herb roasted veggies and chicken.
A few weeks ago my 9 month pregnant self decided to make some freezer meals…. yeah!!! So exciting!!! I picked a few with good reviews…But I have to say this did not turn out. First off I made it as suggested and made sure the potatoes were covered and at the bottom. Wrapped it in plastic wrap 4 Times and then with tin foil. Stuck it at the very bottom of my chest freezer. Fast forward 11 weeks…. today I cooked it. First off I defrosted it in my fridge for 14 hours and then on the counter for 10 hours before cooking it. It was still a tad bit frozen prior to me placing it in the oven. Next, I roasted it at 425 because who roasts things at 375??? I know I don’t! Anyhow. Fast forward 1 hour and 50 minutes later. I finally think it’s done. But the potatoes are black, the veggies are rubber and the chicken was still pink inside…. dinner ruined. Wasted time and money. Oatmeal made and served instead. I think this is the last time I make a freezer meal similar to this…. don’t mean to be rude, this is just my honest thoughts of this dish. Only roast this one from fresh ingredients…. don’t freeze it. I have no doubt it would have been fine had it not be previously frozen.
Super excited to have come across these recipes on pinterest today! I love how simple the ingredients are and easy prep. I look forward to making these yummy dump freezer meals in the oven for the next couple of cold months.
Wonderful! Hope you enjoy, Lisa!
Out of curiosity how do you keep potatoes from turning black after thawing them out from being frozen? Should I have blanched them before I froze them?
Hi, Megan! I think that using the little ones that you don’t have to peel helps, and yes — blanching them first might help too.
Do you need to use bone in for the first recipe or would they cook the same boneless?
Hi, Katlyn! You can definitely use boneless chicken, you’ll just need to decrease the total cooking time. The boneless pieces will cook faster than the bone-in pieces. The total time will depend on the size, thickness, and type of chicken pieces that you choose, but you’re looking for an internal temperature of 165 degrees F to know that it’s done. Hope you enjoy!
For these recipes do you bake with the foil on or off?
Hi, Jessica! It depends on the recipe, but each individual recipe includes instructions with whether or not to remove the cover or bake covered.
Can I use regular rice instead of instant?
Hi! Yes, but you’ll need to cook the dish for longer, and you’ll likely need more liquid in the pan, since the instant rice doesn’t absorb as much liquid in the cooking process.
Thanks very much for all of these. I will be scaling them down to meals for one but they’re all very useful to me
Thanks, Lois!
Recipes look delicious I am definitely going to try them
Thank you so much, Joan!
I’m so glad I came across these. Dinner are getting more and more hectic with 2 high schoolers and 1 middle schooler all with after school activities. I can go home throw in the oven and run out to get them. They all look delicious!
We’re so happy to have you here, Kate! We hope you enjoy the recipes!
Hi – I have not tried these recipes yet, but they all look great! It’s not often I print out all the recipes from one person, but I have with yours. And the shopping list is AWESOME! Thank you!
So, so glad to hear that, Pam! Hope you enjoy!
I had high hopes for the roasted chicken and veggies recipe, but it did not turn out well. Even after an hour and a half in the oven, the chicken skin was limp and chewy and the vegetables were swimming in juice and very unevenly cooked. Everything was very wet and not really what you would consider “roasted”. Darn it! I was really hoping this would be that super easy freezer meal I’ve been searching for.
Hi Teri,
Thank you for your feedback. We’re sorry this recipe didn’t work for you! We have never had that problem. Did you happen to change anything in the recipe? We want to make sure we make any necessary modifications or notes.
No, I didn’t change anything other than cooking for longer since lot of the carrots and potatoes weren’t getting tender.
Thank you for the feedback, Teri! We will be sure to test this one again and hope you give some of our other recipes a try.