Love the simplicity (or idea) of freezer meal planning but don’t know how to set up a meal plan? This freezer meal planning worksheet (and step-by-step guide) will walk you through everything you need to think about when making a meal plan out of freezer meals.
How Do You Plan Meals for a Freezer?
The easiest way to create a freezer meal plan is simply to make a meal plan and then double each recipe, freezing one entire meal for another day.
I love using done-for-you meal plans from MyFreezEasy.
Normally, you do not need to cook both recipes. Instead, gather the ingredients for two recipes. Follow the recipe to cook one meal and combine the ingredients for the other recipe in a freezer bag or disposable pan.
How Far in Advance Can You Make Freezer Meals?
Most freezer meal plans are for one week or one month of meals. That means that you’ll prepare double the recipes on the meal plan, but only cook half – saving the other half for a different week or month.
However, it’s important to properly label and record the contents of each meal as you freeze it so that you don’t forget how to finish cooking it (or even forget that it’s in your freezer).
While you can make freezer meals as far in advance as you want, I recommend only doing it one to three months in advance, especially if you don’t have a deep freezer.
Refrigerator freezers only keep food fresh for one to three months, and deep freezers may cause freezer burn after six months to a year.
What Are the Best Meals to Freeze?
I absolutely love MyFreezEasy’s meal plans. With a subscription, you get access to an app and your choice of several customizable monthly meal plans. Then, you can simply prep two of each meal, cook one, and save the second for next month!
Baked, slow cooker, and Instant Pot recipes the best meals to freeze, because those are easiest recipes to freeze and thaw. However, MyFreezEasy has some delicious skillet recipes, too.
What Foods Do Not Freeze Well?
Cooked rice or pasta and raw potatoes don’t freeze well, but most other ingredients, especially uncooked, freeze well.
Typically, as you create a freezer meal, you’ll combine uncooked ingredients in the freezer meal.
However, it’s easy to batch cook chicken and ground beef in an Instant Pot, so I often prepare large quantities of meat and freeze it in individual portions, ready to quickly add to a recipe.
Printable Freezer Meal Planning Worksheet
This free printable meal planning worksheet will help you organize your freezer meals and properly label each freezer bag or pan so that you know what’s inside, how to cook it, and when to use it.
Sign up to download it here:
