Freezer cooking! Have you heard about this? You spend one day preparing meals for the month to keep in your freezer so you don’t have to think about it later. The meals can either be fully cooked and just need to be warmed or they can be raw but prepped and ready to go when you need them. It saves time, money, and your sanity! I am in school full time, working part time, and still have to maintain my full time mom and wife duties as well. There are some days that I don’t even get home with the kids until 6:30 and bedtime is around 7ish. That does not leave much time to cook dinner (and for some strange reason, my kids want to eat every.single.night!). That’s where the freezer cooking comes into play. All I have to do is pull a bag out of the freezer the night before and place it in the fridge to defrost. The next morning I dump it into the slow cooker and turn it on. That’s it! Dinner (at least the main dish) will be done and ready to serve the minute we walk in the door. (Use the slow cooker liners for super easy clean up too!) How amazing is that?! I loved the idea of it so I started collecting recipes I thought might work for the freezer and that my family would eat. I finally compiled a list of 19 different meals and planned to double each one. Want to make all these recipes for your family? Go HERE for the master shopping list! (I use a 5 qt slow cooker for all of these recipes)
I created a freezer cooking pin board for the recipes on pinterest if you’re a visual person and for easy repinning 
. Go here and check it out! I will also be adding to the board so be sure to follow us!
We are having a giveaway for a Crockpot freezer cooking start up kit! Go enter here!
My sweet helper. She was home from school sick. She sure looks sick, doesn’t she?
Applesauce bbq chicken
Buffalo chicken
Pesto chicken (only do the chicken part of this recipe)
Maple dijon chicken thighs
Cilantro lime chicken
Green chile pork stew
Easy pulled pork
Mongolian Beef
Chicken tacos
Ranch chicken tacos (I just added ranch dressing to this recipe)
Island chicken
Chicken cacciatore
Hearty beef stew
Beef/chicken fajitas
Balsamic glazed drumsticks
Orange chicken
Honey garlic chicken
Beef tips
Teriyaki chicken
**some of the recipes above don’t have specific crockpot instructions – I cooked them all on low for 6-8 hours**
I happened to hit a great sale at Kroger on meat ($1.68/lb for boneless skinless breasts and thighs!!) so my total for all of the ingredients was $225. I also ended up tripling two of the recipes so my grand total of meals for the freezer was 40. Divided out, that’s $5.63 per meal(main dish)! Feeding a family of 5 with 4 of the 5 eating like adults, I am very happy with that number! I didn’t add a ton of vegetables to these meals because I am not a huge fan of super cooked veggies (it’s a mushy texture thing), so we will add fresh cooked veg to serve on the side for most of these meals! The steam bags of frozen vegetables are the best thing since sliced bread .
I decided to take the process step by step. First I labeled all of the freezer bags. After that was done, I prepped and chopped all of the vegetables I would need.
Then, I put all of the meat into each freezer bag. Raw meat skeeves me out so I was super happy to get all of the raw meat touching out of the way at once. I was able to wash my hands a million time and bleach the counters after I finished this step ha…
Lastly, I added any remaining ingredients to each bag. I had a notebook set up on the counter with each meal and the additional ingredients so I feel that this step went pretty fast. I do admit I am not the best measurer, I tend to eyeball a lot. SO far for the meals we’ve tried- eyeballing works just fine!
After 4 hours from start to finish (clean kitchen!) I had 40 meals prepped and ready to go in my freezer. I felt so accomplished! We have eaten many of the meals since then and so far they have all been big hits! I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to come home at 6:30 (with the house smelling delicious, by the way), pop a steamer bag of veggies in the microwave and have dinner on the table in less than 10 minutes. This whole experience has made evenings so much less stressful. I will definitely be making this a regular thing in our house. If you guys have any recipe suggestions for me to try next time, leave me a comment- I am always looking for new ideas.
**EDIT** First I want to thank all of our readers- I am thrilled that there are so many people excited about this post. I have been asked many many times for a master shopping list for these recipes and a wonderful reader took the time to make the list for me! Go HERE for a shopping list for all 40 recipes! Many thanks to Anna for compiling this list for me!
This is brilliant! I’ve bookmarked this because I’ll definitely use this soon!
This greatly appeals to me as both a huge fan of Crockpot meals, and a college student.
One thing I’m curious about… Recipes where you have to prepare the meat before (for example the Mongolian Beef, which requires browning the beef before adding to the other ingredients…) Do you do the browning before, let it cool, then add it to the bag with the rest and freeze?
Or leave it unbrowned and freeze, then brown it in the morning before adding it?
Sorry if I sound like a total idiot asking this (what might be totally obvious) question, but if you don’t know…
I’ve done it both ways, not sure what she did but I either brown it then cool and freeze or brown it quickly before we eat.
John, I suspect she browns the meat, allows it to cool, then adds it to the rest of the bag and freezes it. Using raw meat when the recipe calls for cooked rarely turns out well…. don’t ask me how I know this
I did not brown anything before throwing it in the bag nor did I brown it before putting in the crock pot- so far I haven’t found it a necessary step for flavor
. I also left out any flour, etc. so I could make the recipes gluten free. The mongolian beef was DELICIOUS, no browning necessary!
Thank you katie, as well Keley and Diane
I think about beef specifically….do you have issues with the grease from the meat being in the crockpot all day and everything tasting greasy…
Use grass fed beef…. There is hardly any fat and it’s healthier for kids and you!
The fat (good, bad or otherwise) is truly what gives meat much of it’s flavor, plus soaking up any spices you use – many recipes call for oil/butter to add flavor, but the meat juice does that for you. Cooking all day in it’s own juices is the beauty of slow-cooking meat, nice and juicy and moist, plus “au jus” sauce left over for serving! Perhaps not fabulous for you, but the grease would be there if you roasted in the oven too…
I made the beef tips last night and the Mongolian beef two nights ago…trust me, they are delicious! Just follow the recipes as they go ..my husband rushes home for dinner excited ever since I’ve been cooking all these recipes and so far the beef ones has been his favorites! No, there is not a grease issue, you need the grease because that is how you get the gravy, otherwise it would be dry!
Oh wow! That’s good/interesting to know. I have recently gone gluten free and lost all my stamina to cook. I do know that you can get gluten free cornstarch to use as thickener. I’m thinking this would be great to do for the next few months with things getting crazy before the holidays . Will cut down in all these nights of grabbing something while out too!
I believe that tapioca (which works well in the crockpot) and arrowroot powder (same as tapioca but in powder form- good for stove top) are gluten free… and healthier altogether.
If you sub cornstarch for flour, use half as much!
This is awesome!! I am all about making meals ahead of time and using my magical Crockpot to do the work for me!
Thanks for your list of recipes … pinned your post to Pinterest for future reference. I think my family will actually eat most of these without complaint. It’s been challenging looking through loads of crockpot freezer recipes and finding ones that would be beneficial in terms of time, budget and taste
Awesome! Thanks for sharing all these recipes! I have somehow jumped onto the freezer cooking bandwagon (a slow, hesitant jump), and it really IS a sanity saver! For these recipes that are not originally labeled as slow cooker recipes, is there anything you’ve done differently (i.e. add more water, sauce, etc.) before throwing it all together? Or did you follow the original recipe as is and it turned out just fine?
For the most part I kept the recipe as is. When I go to dump the bag into the crockpot I have been adding a touch of extra chicken broth and whatnot to help keep the recipe from drying out during the day.
So for the Pesto chicken recipe, so you freeze the meat/marinade and the sauce? same bag, two bags?? then when you put it in the crockpot you add pasta? did you write a note on your bag that you need to add pasta or did you already have it in the freezer bag??
No, all I made from that recipe was the chicken. I rarely eat pasta so I didn’t even plan on making that part of the meal. I put the chicken, marinade, and pesto in one bag and froze. Then when I made it I defrosted the bag and dumped it in the crockpot. No pasta at any point. I think I will need to make my own post for that recipe soon because it has definitely gotten the most questions!
This is an absolutely amazing post. The idea of freezing up batches of crockpot meals is pure brilliance. I am so doing this! Thanks for sharing
some of the recipes dont have crockpot instructions. on average how long do you cook yours? do you add them frozen or thaw first?
thanks!
I pull a bag out of the freezer the night before so it thaws in the fridge overnight. Then I just dump it in the crockpot the next morning and go! I almost always cook on low for 6-8 hours depending on how long I am gone during the day. If I am going to be gone longer I will add extra chicken broth so the recipe doesn’t dry out during the day.
One thing I’ve done if I’m going to be gone for longer than the recipe needs to cook, is to add the meat frozen. I’ve found that by doing that, it gives me a good hour of “buffer” cooking time so as not to dry it out. You could just peel off the plastic bag and stick it in there frozen.
btw, absolutely brilliant post! I’m going to try that Mongolian Beef for sure.
Thank you so much- that’s a great idea!!! And the mongolian beef is to die for- I couldn’t stop eating it!
USDA guidlines indicate that you should not add frozen meat to crock pots. Adding the meat frozen can lead to excessive bacteria growth because the temp stays to low for too long. This can lead to you getting sick.
I often do frozen meat and have NEVER been sick from it…. but to each his own
this is weird, even on low, the food in my crockpot gets to boiling point. maybe they mean on warm.
Amanda and Erin, I do it all the time to and never have trouble. It always boils on low for me too!
I really wish these were exact, step-by-step, recipes set out JUST for the slow cooker. I am new to this! I suck at cooking, honestly. And I want to try this but the things that you add in, I would know nothing about. And I also know nothing about the slow cooker settings.
I need step by step directions and help.
Jennifer maybe we’ll do a slow cooker 101 guide in the future! Keep us bookmarked!
oh and I forgot to mention if you look at some of the posts like the Mongolian beef and the Crockpot Tacos, you will find more details there!
how do you keep your chicken from tasting grainy or yucky when it cooks that long in the crock pot? I have stopped cooking chicken in the crock pot because the chicken always gets over-cooked or something and tastes bad. help!!!
Love it. Thanks for sharing!
I love this – it has made my life so easy! I have create 3 part so far that is an hour in the kitchen to make 5 meals. My plan is to get 4 part so there are enough meals for a month. I will have to check out the recipes you used above
Here’s my link if you haven’t seen it yet – http://bit.ly/OTYwmn
I need another freezer to do 40 meals
didnt see a link to Pin your recipes.
I know it’s in there but here it is again http://pinterest.com/whoneedsacape/freezer-crockpot-cooking/ all the recipes are in there plus a few extras.
and here’s our whole pinterest http://pinterest.com/whoneedsacape/
can you come over to my house? I’ll pay for the ingredients
This looks great! I was planning at picking up a big pork loin at the warehouse store tonight, and I think I could make a lot of these with it. It will be good to try something new.
Thanks so much for the recipe links. I am headed over to pin your board and take a look.
Do you package the veggies separate from the meat if they aren’t to go in the crockpot together? I see you have lots of veggies, but also mentioned not putting them in the crockpot for fear of the mush.
Oh no, the veggies in the picture all went into the bags and into the crockpot. Besides a few of the dishes, the veggies are lacking in the meals I prepared. I just felt like I should mention that we don’t just eat meat for dinner! Those microwave steamer bags of vegetables accompany most of our meals
Sorry if I missed something obvious….I don’t normally use pinterest…is there one big grocery list somewhere to purchase EVERYTHING to make the 40 meals? I have an empty freezer and a new crockpot ready to go.
Sorry, I don’t have a grocery list typed out for all of this. I didn’t expect anyone to want to make all 40 meals the exact same way that I did.
I would also find this extremely helpful as well.
Ha ha! I guess you were wrong. That would really be over-the-top awesome.
I agree! I would very much appreciate a list, too!
I would love to do this but a couple of my kids won’t eat meat. Any ideas for vegetarian dishes?
Late reply I know but there ate multiple cookbooks now specializing in crock pot cooking for vegetarians. Looking through them they are pretty easy to convert to freezer meals.
I think this is a great idea and one I plan to share with some friends who are getting together to do freezer cooking. I do want to stress that your meat should not sit on the counter for 4 hours while you put the bags together. That could possible cause bacteria to grow rapidly. If you divide up your meat and put it back in a cooler with ice or the refrigerator while you make up your meals, you’ll be fine. Just keep it below 40 degrees F.
Adding the meat at the very end, before putting the bags in the freezer, might be easiest
That’s a great idea, thanks!
After I took the first grocery photo and also after I took the photo of the bags lined up on my counter the meat went back into the fridge. It did sit on my kitchen table for about 30-45 minutes while finishing up all the other ingredients. Thanks for looking out for me! I think I will try adding the meat in last next time like the poster below suggested!
Sorry if this is a silly question but do you put pasta in the freezer bags or just add it the day you put the ingredients in the crockpot (ie, pesto chicken)?
No, I only made the chicken part of that meal. Not a silly question at all
.
Love the compilation of meals….Do you think you could give us your grocery list? Why reinvent the wheel, right?
Sorry, I had already thrown away the grocery list when I made this post. Next time I will be sure to type it up though!
I shared you post on my blog. Thanks for all the great recipes and inspiration.
Hello. Great meal list. I just have a quick question–which recipes did you triple? And did you double all of them (the ones that weren’t tripled?) Sorry I’m a bit confused on the math!
Yes, everything was doubled. I just happened to have more chicken leftover so I got an additional two meals. I tripled the maple dijon chicken and the balsamic glazed drumsticks. So 19 meals doubled = 38 + the 2 additional from ‘leftovers’ = 40 total meals.
Thanks!
Just one more thing–did you notice that “Chicken Tacos” and “Ranch Chicken Tacos” are the same link? Did you just use a ranch packet instead of chicken seasoning? Thank you!
All I did differently was add some ranch dressing into the bag too
. I eyeballed it, but 1/2-3/4 cup I’d guess!
I do have a recipe where the chicken taco mixture has a ranch packet added to it so that might work well.
Thank you for this post. I love the idea of prepping recipes for the crockpot ahead of time and freezing them.
Thank you for adding all of the links to the recipes. I already have some that I want to try. Definitely bookmarking this.
Thanks so much for this post! I love the idea of having many meals ready in the freezer for busy days. This just may be my project for this weekend. I appreciate your sharing!
Also, your little helper is adorable! She looks happy to be home helping her mommy.
Thank you for this post. Would love your advice on where to find a crockpot that I can set to start AFTER I leave the house. Our routine is out the door by 7:00am and not back to the house until 5:00-5:30pm. Suggestions?
I have seen those! that have timers and start and stop at a certain time…My old one used to turn itself to warm after it was done with the cooking time – it was a Kitchen Aide…my she died
If ur crock doesn’t have a timer…you can always buy a timer that you plug the crock into. We had one for one of our lamps that we used to have it go on when we were out of time….and I used it for my crock…worked great!!
What an awesome idea about the timer! I am usually gone about 12 hours and that is too long to cook anything in the crockpot. I usually rely on the hubby (who telecommutes) to throw the meals in a little before lunch time.
Viki why have I never thought of that? I cheaped out when buying my new crockpot and I never thought of using one of my light times! GREAT IDEA!
I think a better option would be a crockpot that sets to warm when cooking is completed. Otherwise you have raw meat sitting at room temperature for far too long to be considered safe.
I’m excited to do this! And I felt like I was reading about myself when I read your description of handling raw meat…..yuck-O! =)
Question – can you fix the link to the ranch chicken tacos? That sounds really tasty, but it links to the crockpot chicken tacos recipe.
Thanks for the idea – I think I know what I’ll be doing this weekend!
Actually, that’s the right link. All I did differently was add some ranch dressing to that recipe
.
1st of all thank you for the great idea!
2nd do any of these recipes’ leftovers freeze well? I’m only cooking for my 9 year old daughter & myself and still haven’t figured out how to Crockpot small meals without burning them! Leftovers tend to turn into science experiments in our refrigerator unless frozen.
I’m going to pre-prep & freeze a couple of our favorite recipes
You might try subdividing them into smaller amounts and using a smaller crockpot. I have a small one which I use for making rice or 2-3 chicken breasts.
Otherwise, I think it would be fine to freeze the cooked leftovers if you did it right away (as soon as they are cool enough–that evening or the next day). I don’t know that putting them back in the crockpot would work well.
You mentioned that you don’t add much veg to the plastic bags. Have you added raw potato before (i.e. for the Hearty Beef Stew) and if so, did they turn out okay after being frozen, thawed and then cooked?
Thank you SO much for this post! I’m expecting my 4th baby in 4 weeks time and have been working on stocking my freezer ahead of time. I really think this “meals in a bag” idea is going to be a great help!
I haven’t had the beef stew yet, it’s been too hot here in TX still for stew
. But I think the potatoes will do fine, they can stand a lot of cooking in my opinion! Also the carrots, onions, and celery will do fine too.
Let us know how that works. Usually potatoes don’t freeze well–the texture changes. But I don’t think I’ve frozen raw chunkc of potato before!
I use the whole bite sized potatoes in the crockpot, they stand up very well to the longer cooking. Sometimes cut potatoes turn to mush and disappear.
Thank you, thank you! I am preparing to start making more of these freezer meals once we buy our new garage fridge/freezer. It’s awesome that you have put all of these recipes in one place! I’ve also begun following your board on Pinterest! Thanks for doing all the dirty work for us:)
Kathleen one way to fill up your freezer is when you make things make double…or when you make something make a VAT
I do it with spaghetti sauce, chili, soup (I don’t freeze the noodles though add those the day you cook) 
I agree Heather! Most weeks I only cook twice with each meal doubled, tripled or even quadrupled. An extra portion from Monday becomes Wednesday’s supper, an extra portion from Tuesday becomes Thursdays meal, ideally a portion from each is frozen in our large chest freezer to cover days/weeks I’m too busy to cook and Fridays are along the grilled cheese sandwich lines because my husband and older children are involved in Church activities and something quick & easy to individually prepare is best. Weekends are relaxed and the whole family is involved in meal prep so this is when we get to eat the more ‘special’ kind of meals that involve more work. (BTW, this has also kept my food budget down in a time of rising costs and saves time cleaning up the kitchen too.)
I think other recipes you might like for cr
crockpot include taco soup (a Paula Deen Recipe) and lasgana (you could prep meat sauce for freezer, I use a small jar of store brand sauce then add large can tomato purée to stretch that dollar)
SHOPPING LIST FOR CHICKEN RECIPES :
FREEZER ZIPLOCK BAGS in appropriate size (obviously very important
29 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (I did not double the recipes, although two of the recipes linked from the blog post are already doubled, the rest are not)
1.5 lbs Chicken Thighs with skin and bones
1 ½-2 lbs. + 8 individual boneless skinsless chicken thighs
8 Chicken drumsticks
Chunky apple sauce
17.5 oz bottle of buffalo wing sauce
Pesto
Lawry’s Herb and Garlic marinade
Chicken broth (I will get a couple in the cartoons that can be reclosed rather than a can)
Dijon Mustard
Rice or rice wine vinegar
Chicken taco seasoning
Fresh limes
Cilantro (enough for 2 cups when chopped)
Large bag frozen corn
2 cans black beans
28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
Balsamic vinegar
Teriyaki sauce
Red and green bell peppers
Bag of carrots
Red onions
2 large cans of pineapple in juice (not syrup)
CHECK IF YOU HAVE ON HAND (either for recipes, of if to complete meal, that meal is in parenthesis)
Salt
Pepper
Brown sugar
Chili powder
Fresh garlic
Cumin
Onions
Soy sauce (will also use this to replace Tamarin in Balsamic Glazed Chicken recipe)
Oregano
Honey
Lemon Juice
Maple Syrup
Olive oil
Coconut oil
Half and Half (Pesto Chicken meal completion)
Fresh pico de gallo (Chicken Tacos)
Fresh rosemary (Maple Dijon Chicken Thighs)
Zucchini or squash, maybe mushrooms (Chicken Cacciatore)
Ranch dressing seasoning packages (dry)
A Sharpie to write on outside of bag any directions/aditions/meal suggestions
What I will need to add to make it a meal (these are my ideas, not necessarily suggested from the recipe links):
1. Apple Sauce BBQ Chicken: potatoes and green beans
2. Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches: Hoagie rolls, green salad or cole slaw, chips
3. Pesto Chicken: Noodles with sauce (recipe for sauce is at link for recipe for chicken)
4. Maple Dijon Chicken Thighs: Bushes beans, French fries or tater tots
5. Cilantro Lime Chicken: chips and salsa, tortillas, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, corn, Spanish rice
6. Chicken Tacos: tortillas, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream
7. Island Chicken: Green beans, mashed potatoes
8. Chicken Cacciatore: Pasta
9. Balsamic Glazed Chicken (use soy sauce, not Tamarin in recipe): brocilli with cheese, rice
10. Honey Glazed Chicken: Rice, Asian vegetables (from Aldi)
11. Teriyaki Chicken: rice
Excuse the typos in my previous post, I am sitting in Ukraine during the 10 day waiting period of our family’s adoption a teenage girl, and after having been here now 4 weeks as of today, creating this list was a very productive thing for me to do during this time of waiting…since I noticed there were so many chicken recipes, I focused on those and will make my own list with more beef and pork recipes
Hope this is a blessing! Thanks, Katie, for coming up with all these great ideas and posting them 
Wow Desirae, Thanks for sharing! Very much a blessing
Best of luck with the adoption!
Wow! Thank you so much!
Thank you very much for the list. Congratulations on the adoption. Best of luck!
I love this post and I actually think it’s genius!
Thank you so much for sharing this at Wednesday Extravaganza! Hope to see you there this week too
I made the maple Dijon recipe but with wild turkey and oh my delish, not to mustardy for us at all! i plan on making the Mongolian beef but with venison as well. So I was just wondering because I’m not freezer meal savoy at all, I already have lots of frozen wild turkey and venison so could I make all of the ingredients exclude the meat, freeze them and then defrost along with my meat for the following day and the dishes will still turn out tasty or does having the ingredients with the meat freezing together add to the taste of the dish?
Awesome website! I am new to freezer cooking – could you clarify something for me? Do I just put all of the ingredients into the bags and ignore the directions for cooking? Thanks!
Yep, that’s what I did. I cook all of the meals in the crockpot on low for 6-9 hours depending on how long I’ll be gone. If it’s towards the longer end- I’ll add some extra liquid so it doesn’t dry out through the day.
So how did you prepare the chicken pesto? did you still put everything in the crockpot or just the chicken and marinade and make the sauce at dinner?
I only made the chicken and the marinade.
Just wondering, and you may have answered this question for someone else, but what size crock pot are you using? I know if there is too much space left at the top of the crock, your contents will cook quicker than you want them to ie: 8 hours. Do you use a 4 quart for most of your recipes? I look forward to giving this a try.
I am pretty sure mine is a 6 qt. cooker. If I am going to be longer than 6-8 hours away I will add extra liquid so it doesn’t dry out.
Do you have a grocery list for all these great recipes?
I’m being really lazy I know…but hoping you might share the grocery list as well. This has been my biggest challenge of late..(daily meals)…after 7 kiddos and 23 yrs of marriage you would think I would be a pro. {:-x
Just noticed the shopping list a few posts above! Thank you!
You are a god to me! Thanks!
I love this idea. I just wish there were some vegetarian dishes!
The shopping list has flank steak listed on it. What recipe is this for? I have searched through them all and can’t find it. All of the beef ones seem to require stew meat. Please help! I bought 3 lbs! -)
I used flank steak for the beef fajitas. It was also originally used in the mongolian beef recipe but I used stew meat there because it was cheaper. Hope that helps!
Do you freeze the raw meat and the raw veggies in the same bag?
Yep- everything in the same bag.
How many people did you prepare these meals for? I have a family of 8 should I make more?
I am feeding 5- 2 adults, 3 kids. For 8 I would most definitely double every recipe.
That’s what I thought too. Thank you.
quick questions… does each recipe make a double batch? is that how you ended up with so many meals?
Each recipe is only meant to make one batch so I did double every recipe and then had enough chicken leftover to make a triple batch of the balsamic chicken and the maple dijon chicken. So that is where the 40 meals came from. Thanks for asking!
I love this plan. I am nervous/curious about freezing the raw potatoes but I will give it a try and see what happens.
For easy planning ahead of these recipes (we are a family of 8 with five boys!) I love the Excel Spreadsheet from FoodStorageMadeEast.net. I entered every meal (in the doubled amounts) plus a few extra meals we normally eat and it automatically calculates how much of every ingredient is needed for one and three months. Here’s the link:
http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net/babysteps/step-3-three-months-of-normal-food/
Are all recipes for a serving size of 4 adults? It’s just me and my husband and our 2 month old at home, so would I theoretically be able to make 4 bags per recipe if I bought what is listed on the grocery list?
We feed 2 adults and 3 small kiddos with these meals. I guess you could get 4 bags per recipe with the shopping list though I’m not sure how the smaller quantities would work in the crockpot. You may need to adjust the cooking time so it doesn’t overcook.
Unable to find individual crock pot recipes the link keeps saying unavailable. Can I find these somewhere else, really want to try the 40 Meals Crockpot recipes!! Thanks!
Hi! Thanks for alerting me, the pinterest board link has been fixed! All of the individual recipe links are in the main post as well.
I clicked on your master shopping list and the recipes & it won’t open? Is there something I’m doing wrong? I own and operate a salon and my husband passed away last December , he had a business i am now CEO of ,so I am extremly busy use my crock pot often and would love to prepare 40 meals ahead of time!!! Is it possible for you to email me the shopping list and recipes? If you can’t I understand ! Thank you!!
Jodi
Applesauce BBQ Chicken and Beef Stew, How long to cook in the crock? The recipe links just mentioned how to cook them stovetop/oven
Thanks!!
I did both for 6-8 hours on low.
Can you use the individually quick frozen chicken in the recipes? We buy all of our meat in bulk at Sam’s and am wondering if this will effect the preparation or end results?
I think that would work no problem!
Thanks so much for sharing! Im just started planning some Freezer recipes, and Im looking forward to it!
Following you from “Marvelous Monday” linky party. =)
Is there a way to print all the recipes at once? Thanks!
No, sorry. I don’t have a document with all the recipes on it.
I wish I had the freezer space for all that! Thanks for linking up to The Best of 2012 Link Party! Diana
YOU ARE MY HERO! I needed someone to organize this for me… thanks so much!
hugs x
Crystelle
Shared at: http://www.foodiefriendsfriday.com/2013/01/foodie-friends-friday-january-4th-2013.html
The shopping list does not list hoisin sauce. Is the 2 bottles of spicy BBQ sauce meant to substitute for the hoisin sauce?
No, the bbq sauce is for the applesauce bbq recipe. I updated the list to include hoisin. Thanks
I threw it in there for fun
I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Thanks so much for linking up with us at Foodie Friends Friday this week. LOVE crock pot and freezer meals!
one of the recipes (balsamic glazed drumsticks) calls for coconut oil, and I do NOT see that on the shopping list. perhaps it can be added.
I don’t think the coconut oil is a MUST HAVE ingredient for most people. Olive oil would do the job just fine
.
Would someone explain how to do the balsamic-glazed-drumsticks http://www.marksdailyapple.com/balsamic-glazed-drumsticks/
Do I just dump everything in a freezer bag or do I pre cook the chicken legs?
Just dump everything into the bag (raw) and freeze. You will cook the chicken legs in the crockpot.
I want to try this but I’m a little leery of freezing fresh veggies… Usually you blanch veggies before freezing them. Has anyone had a problem with this? Maybe I’m just over thinking it??
I haven’t had any problems whatsoever. Even the potatoes in the beef stew held up perfectly!
You usually blanch veggies if you’re doing long-term freezer storage (eating over a year,etc). Since these are used within a month, they should be fine without blanching.
Your picture shows red potatoes and zucchini but they aren’t on the grocery list–is that a different recipe?
The red potatoes I subbed for white potatoes (which is on the list). Just a personal preference. The zucchini I used in the chicken cacciatore and it’s not in the original recipe- just something I decided to add myself
.
Thanks for the great recipes! One questions on the orange chicken. The link has it made stovetop. How have you altered the recipe to freeze and cook in the crockpot?
I just throw all the ingredients into the bag (except the green onions) and freeze. Then defrost in the fridge, dump in crockpot, and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
I was curious about the same thing, but for the Applesauce Barbecue Chicken, just to confirm for every recipe listed that is stove top do you just use the same cook time (low for 6-8 hours)?
Yep, I cook everything on low for 6-8 hours. If I am going to be longer than 8 hours I will add more liquid (chicken broth usually) so the meat doesn’t dry out while I’m gone. I hardly ever use the high setting on my crock pot.
I love your list. I do this every few months and it saves so much time. My husband is a coach and both my kids are involved in sports AND I teach…talk about no time. This allows us to eat healthy! Come visit my brand new blog http://www.lifelaundryandlaughter.com I’m just getting started in the blogging world.
I was very disappointed! this did not take 4 hrs ! It took me a day and a half . I don’t know if this person had some kind of help but they had to to only take 4 hrs ! I hate false advertising. If you are short on time and looking to do this . I would advise against it.
“This person” did not have any help, with the exception on my two year old daughter who was home sick from school. The planning and shopping was not included in the 4 hours but I absolutely did package all the meals and clean up my kitchen in 4 hours start to finish. I am sorry that it took you a day and a half, sounds like you weren’t organized enough. Thanks for stopping by!
“This Person” put all of this togetther for others to share. EVEN prepared the shopping list!!!! My husband actually helped me do it today and it did take us longer then four hours. That does not mean that she didn’t get it done in four hours and either way I appreciate all of the work she put in that I didn’t have to do!! I am sure we were not nearly as organized as her and that is why she was faster. Either way I think this is awesome and I very much appreciate all the work you put into this Katie. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!! I can’t wait to start trying the different meals
No, thank you Felicia for the kind words. I really appreciate it!!
Come back and let me know how you guys liked the meals!
So on recipes like the buffalo chicken, you put the chicken, sauce, butter, and ranch all into the bag and freeze. Then thaw and throw in crockpot. Just making sure that we are just dumping all of the ingredients into the bag?
Thanks so much! Can’t wait to get started!
Also, do you rub the pork before you put it in the freezer or after?
I didn’t rub the spices in, I just put them in the bag over the pork
. I really like taking the easiest way out haha!
Yep, that’s exactly what I do- just dump and freeze! Then when you are ready to make just defrost and dump
. I hope it works well for you too!
Thank you so much! Finding you today has truly been a blessing to me. I plan to have a freezer full of meals by the end of the week.
Aw you made my day, thank you! Come back and let me know how it all goes for you
.
Question….for the pesto chicken….do you put marinade and sauce and chicken – all in the same bag? and then that is what you pour over the pasta? and do you put pasta in the crock – after you cook it? Sorry – i know you might feel like you are repeating yourself. THANKS!!
No, you’re fine! I actually only made the pesto chicken from that recipe – no pasta. But yes, I put the marinade and the pesto in the bag with the chicken. If you wanted the pasta, definitely don’t put it in the crockpot, just cook it that night right before you serve dinner.
I have been reading through some of your comments, I hope to do this tomorrow, it seems to me that you just take the ingredients and throw them all in a bag (uncooked) then thaw and place in crockpot for 6-8hrs on low, am I getting that right? I was going to print the recipes but don’t want to waste paper if its easier to do it this way….. Thank you so much!
Wow! I have never frozen any meals before, but I use my crockpot all the time. I have a new baby and work all day, so this idea sounds like a lifesaver! Just curious- can you do freezers meals with any crockpot recipe? I am on a tight budget so I don’t want to mess up and waste anything. Thanks!
Thank you for sharing your recipes with us! But I have to say, I did not think there was another person in the world like me who hates touching raw meat!!! Everything you did, I do the same thing!! Glad to know I am not alone!
I am a huge fan of this idea. That being said, I am trying to reduce our meat intake and am interested in this same concept but with some vegetarian fare. Have you any vegetarian recipes?
No, sorry. I loosely follow the paleo diet and it is basically meat and veggies, no grains.
Your post says 40 meals, but I only see recipes for 19. Am I missing something?
Yes, if you read through the post- you’ll see that I ended up tripling 2 of the recipes to get to a total of 40 meals.
I had the delight of spending an afternoon preparing crockpot freezer meals with my daughter in law before our grandson was born. Since then I have shared the idea with several of my soon to be grandma friends. And I’m about to spend another afternoon preparing meals with my daughter who is about to bless us with a grand daughter. This is a wonderful way to spend time with my girls and be a genuine help to them. Thank you for sharing all your research with us!
Oh I love this! What a wonderful thing to do with and for your daughters! You are a great mom and grandma
I see that you don’t brown the meat before placing in bag–do you still add the fat (olive oil, etc.) that the recipe called for to brown the meat given you aren’t doing that?
I do still add the fat to the bags, I think it helps a bit with keeping the meat moist. Thanks for asking!
OK for example on the beef and chicken fajitas it is a meal that’s to be cooked in the oven.. So you just throw all the ingredients in the bag and thaw the night before and cook in the oven? Silly question I know, but I want to be clear before I make all this stuff lol
No, I still make it in the crockpot! You *can* cook it in the oven obviously, but I wanted a crockpot meal
. It works GREAT! So thaw overnight, dump in the crockpot, turn it on low and cook for 6-8 hours. Add a touch more liquid if you’ll be gone longer than that.
Awesome. Thank you. I’ve been investigating recipes all morning and am starting to organize this. Baby #2 is due in 10 weeks and my husband is taking off a few weeks we wanted to be able to just enjoy her and not have to really do anything. This will be wonderful. Thank you so much!
You are so welcome! Come back and let me know how it all goes for you. Congratulations on baby2
Thank you!
Just bookmarked this and wanted to thank you for all of the work to put together the info. I ended up unearthing the crockpot not long after the oldest granchild came to live with us. He is ALWAYS hungry at dinnertime and my husband and I have hectic schedules. The crockpot totally came into play six weeks ago when the husband had a car accident and I have been spending a lot of time with care giving and doing all of the driving in addition to my work as a City Council Member and of course there were the holidays ! These ideas and all the instructions help tremendously.
Great idea! I am planning to do my first freezer cooking day soon, thanks for the tips!
I would love to have you share this (and anything else you have been working on) at my linky party! http://domesticrandomness.blogspot.com/2013/01/friday-fascinations-8-everything-linky.html
This is simply amazing! I did something similar before the arrival of my 3rd and would love to do it again! I just don’t know how you managed to do it all in 4 hours! It took make a few days but I’m going to blame it on being full term with two little ones and only having a little time LATE at night.
This is all so great! But some of your recipes don’t have crock pot directions? Like the Pesto Chicken. I even went to your pinterest board and they don’t have the directions either. Any chance of you sharing how you did those recipes via freezer into crockpot?
Any of the recipes that don’t have crockpot directions- I cooked them on low for 6-8 hours after they had been defrosted. Thanks!
Love this! Just wondering which two meals you tripled. Shopping on Sat
I tripled the maple dijon chicken and the balsamic glazed chicken legs. These two aren’t accounted for in the shopping list- I just overestimated the amount of chicken and had some leftover
My sister and law and I did this together a few weekends ago, we each went home with meals (we got 34 out of it), and it was fantastic! We are about halfway through trying them, and I had some suggestions.
-BIGGEST ADVICE: REVIEW THE RECIPES AND MEAT QUANTITIES BEFORE YOU SHOP!!
-Following the directions, and accounting for larger portions, we still WAY underestimated the chicken. I was under the impression that each recipe served 4, and I could have mis-read it, but based on the directions we easily needed to double the drumsticks and thighs, and still didn’t make it, even though we had 3 extra bags of boneless skinless chicken. We are feeding a family of 5 (2 adults and 3 kids) who don’t eat a whole lot and a family of 4 (2 adults, one who eats like 2 adults, 1 kid, 1 toddler). BUT, boneless skinless chicken came to the rescue, and we were able to supplement with those.
-I did not defrost before adding to the crockpot, and everything was great!
-We had a lot of canned tomatoes left over. Don’t know if again we mis-read, but we followed the grocery list to a T. (don’t open all your cans at once, open as you go to avoid this)
-We added fresh vegis to the following: zucchini and mushrooms to the cacciatore, zucchini to the beef stew) *** we chopped all into larger chunks and it worked out well, they did not disintegrate
- Keep some stock and CORNSTARCH on hand. If you need to thin out, or thicken.. I thickened the cacciatore and the man pleasing/honey dijon chicken so far (served over mashed potatoes was great!!) It made a huge difference!
-Pulled pork was AMAZING!! I served like this: French roll sliced in half longways. Butter then toast under broiler. Add meat with some juice = YUM!
All in all this was GREAT! We haven’t had anything we don’t like yet, and I cna’t wait to do it again!! Thank you!
This is so awesome
I can’t speak for katie – But I’m LOVING That you did this 
You explained this perfectly! We just finished prepping all the meals last night. We had to spread it out over a couple of nights. We ended up with 36 meals. You are exactly right about reading the recipes first!! We underestimated the chicken as well and ended up making multiple trips to the store. We also ended up with some extra tomatoes and canned goods, but I’m sure they will come in handy soon. I followed that shopping list exactly, but now wish I had read the recipes and jotted notes. We tried the Mongolian Beef tonight. It was delicious. I would add to your tips to buy BONELESS, SKINLESS everything! (with the exception of drumsticks of course) Deskinning chicken was not fun and added extra time. Excited to try tomorrow’s meal!!
Thank you for sharing. I can’t freeze 40 days worth because I don’t own a generator yet, but I do need to start freezing a week’s worth on Saturdays. Your post has been helpful in my research.
I was part of a neighborhood cooking co-op for many years, and we basically did this every month. It was awesome…we have since moved, and I miss my co-op very much!! I’m going to use this article and do it myself!! So much easier to have frozen meals than to think of something to cook at 4pm… =)
Wow, what a great menu you put up. I’ll look forward to adding some of these recipes to my mix. On wrestling tournament days I love to use the crock pot since we’re too tired to even reheat food at the end of the day.
Bought everything on shopping list. Trying to make sure I just put all ingredients in bags (raw and all), freeze, thaw night before using and cook 6-8 hours following day?
Yep, that’s basically what I did! I hope you love it all
What recipe is the beef flank used in?
The crockpot fajitas. I did a combo of beef and chicken.
Ok Thank you. I have never cooked beef flank before. Do I just cut it up like I would the chicken for the fajitas?
Awesome recipes!! I did 5 of them to start me off. I tried 1 on Sunday to run it through. I know now to thaw before placing in crockpot. Amen to some sanity.
I’m sorry if this was asked already but I don’t have time to read all 200+ comments…
I’m a little confused, some of the recipes you linked to require multiple steps of cooking, do you just skip all that? For example the Pesto Chicken – the recipe says to heat olive oil, cook garlic, add pesto, simmer in chicken broth, etc……. Do you just put all the ingredients in the bag and not do these steps?? TIA!!!!
Yep, I skip all those extra steps and just dump and freeze. I’m a lazy cook
I just wanted to comment on a few of the recipes I’ve made so far. The fajitas were amazing (although I cooked them in a skillet), the cilantro lime chicken was delicious ( I mixed in some cooked brown rice, a little guacamole and some homemade salsa before rolling them in a tortilla shell), the Mongolian beef was good/great (although I’ll add some peppers next time) and the beef tips were soooo good (I thickened the sauce with a little bit of cornstarch before serving over mashed potatoes. these would also be good with mushrooms added during the last 30 minutes of cooking). The only ones that I probably won’t make again are the Orange chicken and the teriyaki chicken. Thanks for the great recipes!!!
applesauce BBQ chicken and pork Chile stew were also yummy! A drop of sour cream, some shredded cheese and crushed tortilla chips took the stew from delicious to OMG!!!
Wow!!!!
Had to pin this!
Have you ever seen potatoes turn a dark color after freezing and then cooking them?
Nope. The red potatoes I used stayed the right color and consistency after freezing and cooking.
Sometimes when potatoes are cut up and sit out in the open while waiting to be bagged, they will turn dark. I like to keep any cut up potatoes in a bowl of water to prevent that from happening. A trick I learned from my grandmother.
So excited! Picked up everything to do this yesterday and today we are going to assemble the bags. We both work full time, run a parttime business and I am the mayor of a small town. This doesnt even take into account that we have three kids still at home! Our 16 year old is going to love this! I would like to see more beef recipes (my hubby is totally a “Beef. It’s what’s for dinner!” kinda guy). Any suggestions?
You had me at $225 for the month! I’m definitely doing this next month and I only have two adults to feed. Thank you!!!
This is extremely Smart. Since 40 or even 20 doubling sounds a little overwhelming to me personally. I am doing this today for about 7-10 dinners. For me baby steps on anything to start. That is why I love this whole blog, you take away what works best for you and your family. You can modify any of these dishes and even add some of your own that you know well.
Great Job. I just finished making my list, now I’m going to shop, then prepare. Thank you for the great idea, and even more the Motivation.
This looks amazing. I feel inspired to start planning ahead more!
What a fantastic post! Even though its summer here in Australia and not the best weather for hot meals, I’m putting this one away in the vault for winter time. Just excellent information. Thank you so much for sharing at Thriving on Thursday last week. I’m featuring this tomorrow. I do hope to see you again.
Anne xx
Thanks Anne, we’ll definitely stop on over.
Hi there! I’ll be guest blogging about my experience doing this “40 meals in 4 hours” starting this Friday. Just wanted to let you know, as I’ll be sure to link to the post!
(I normally would blog via my website for Chicago-area photography at http://www.appelmanimages.com – but this guest blogging spot is obviously about food and family!)
(Sorry, I posted this comment on the wrong page originally!)
Do you have an itemized list of groceries and recipes on one site/area so we can just go shopping and not go to a different site for every recipe?
Kelly – thanks for asking! here is the link
http://whoneedsacape.com/crockpot-freezer-cooking-master-shopping-list/
I noticed for the Maple Dijon Chicken Thighs there is not a specific amount listed for the chicken thighs? How many did you use or would you recommend?
I absolutely LOVE this post and am so excited to get it all prepped. The recipes all sound amazing! Thank you for taking the time to put it all together!
Kate
Depending on the size of the thighs, I’d use 6-8
. I hope you like them all!
When you made the Orange Chicken, what exactly did you just add all the ingredients to the bag and freeze? Silly question I’m sure, but when I went to the recipe, there was nothing there about freezer cooking for that dish. Thanks!
Yep, that’s exactly what I did. Dumped all the ingredients in a bag and froze (except the green onions- I didn’t freeze those since they are a garnish:) )
I’ve fallen in love with freezer cooking! You can see my post about my first time here.
http://craftsbycj.blogspot.com/2012/05/cook-thon.html
Can’t wait to try some of these recipes!
~CJ
I am another mom that is creeped out by raw meat. The solution we came up with was to buy a box of gloves (the kind used in the doctor’s office) to wear during the process. We buy most of our meat in bulk cases of 20 to 40 pounds and repackage it ourselves at home (vacuum seal and freeze). That way, your hands are clean the moment you need to take them off. For my sanity, it was a very inexpensive price. <3
If your recipe calls for beef or chicken broth, does that go into the bag with the meat for freezing as well? I just wonder how the broth would do for freezing. I want to do this for my stepson when we go visit him, but if I tell him that there are additional steps (such as the physically demanding task of having to actually open a can of chicken broth), he likely won’t do it
If it’s just a cup or so of broth, I’ll go ahead and add it. If it’s 2 or more cups I just make a note an dadd it later otherwise it takes up too much space in the freezer.
Awesome job. I am picking and choosing some recipes right now, but will roll out the whole thing over summer. Fringe benefits of being a teacher. That and it will save tons of money in the long run.
Thanks for a great post.
Thank you for posting this! I just had a baby a month and a half ago and made 30 of these! So far 2 of the 3 we have tried have been successes!! My question is – do you add water to the crockpot for any of the recipes? I’m finding that if there isn’t much liquid they are burning/sticking to the crockpot (even after spraying with PAM). I don’t want to ruin the recipes by adding water…but don’t want to burn it either. So water or no water? Or how do you avoid this? I’ve used the liners before but would rather not of possible. Thanks!
If you feel a recipe is dry you can always add chicken/beef/vegetable broth to not take away from flavor.
Just wondering how long these meals are ok to last in freezer? I’m expecting #2 soon and hubby isn’t the best cook so want to be prepared.
Thanks!
I’m disappointed there isn’t a single vegetarian option….
I’m sorry you’re disappointed, I never claimed there would be any vegetarian meals. I am not a vegetarian and probably the furthest thing from it. Here’s a pinterest board with a lot of vegetarian crock pot recipes on it for you : http://pinterest.com/aprilcmast/vegan-crockpot-slow-cooker-recipes/
Had meal #1 last night – Beef Stew – it was delicious! I couldn’t believe how a few simple ingredients could taste so good. Applesauce BBQ Chicken tonight! Thank you so much for all the hard work that went into compiling these recipes!
Hey! I love this idea and would really like to try it, but I am a little confused. It says 40 meals in 4 hours… but, I don’t see 40 recipes. Do you have a list or attachment of all recipes and grocery list that you could email me? Thanks!
All recipes were doubled and a couple were tripled. There is a shopping list above
Thanks!
I’ll use that! I appreciate it.
is there a easy way to print out all the recipes too?
If the recipe is one of ours on our site they are all printable from zip list so yes. If it is on another blog – it’s out of our control;)
whats with the cillantro lime chicken recipe…. cant find a link to the ingredients or the how to… help!
The website for that one seems to be down for me right now, it’s not my website but it should come back up soon! I apologize for that.
I’m assuming that you did not leave all those bags with meat out on the counter for four hours. That you put them back in to the refrigerator and took a few out at a time to fill. Raw meat out for four hours is a recipe for illness. Please tell me you didn’t do that.
She didn’t do that
Wow thanks. Going to try these out. I love freezer cooking . Those slow cooker liners and steam bags freak me out though. I worry about the chemicals leaching out to the food. Thanks again for the recipes!
For the life of me I cannot figure out why flank steak is on the shopping list!!! I have printed and scrutinized every recipe and do not see it!! I also used an average of 3 large chicken breasts for those recipes (some called for 4) and I had to return to the store for more. Same with the drumsticks and thighs….so I think I will revise my shopping list next time….Cannot wait for next Sat. though when a friend of mine is joining me for “Crock Pot Crazy Day”!
I just did it yesterday and found the same thing. Had to go back for more of the meat and we didn’t even make the chicken ranch tacos. Also was missing the half and half on the list as well as the mushrooms. I think there may have been some others as well. Though IO still think it is great and can’t wait to try them.
I apologize for you not having enough meat on hand to make the recipes. I admit I eyeballed most of the meat when I was buying and placing in the bags (which is how I ended up with enough extra to triple a couple of the recipes). About the missing ingredients, the half and half was for the pasta part of the chicken pesto recipe- I did not freeze that part of it, only the chicken part. The mushrooms I’m pretty sure are from the maple dijon chicken and Heather specified that she added those for her own tastes and noted they would not be on the shopping list. I hope you still were able to get through all of the recipes and that your family enjoys them!!
Is the grocery list with the recipes already doubled?
Did you use quart size or gallon size bags? Thanks!
Not Katie but I believe she used gallon sized bags! Let us know how it goes for you!!!!
22 meals in 6 hours even with a school pickup. You must be MEGA organized and quick to have done it in 4! I watch my DVR while I am working though so i think it slows me down
Thanks for all the hard work!
Do you have to defrost these before you pop them in the crockpot? how do you suggest doing this? I am seriously considering this.. My husband and daughter are picky.. no maple anything.. no pesto! ack! Such complainers! Looks great though!
Yes, defrost first. I pull a bag at the night before and defrost it in the fridge. They are usually mostly defrosted by morning
.
I did not defrost, and put everything in frozen. Everything turned out great!
WOWEEEE!! I will do the crock pot recipes, I was just too timid in the past for such an undertaking. Now I can stop being a weenie and bag up my dinners, throw them in the pot and not have to hear my husband ask, whats for dinner and I say I don’t know, what do you want, and he says I don’t know and we stare at each other for 30 mins, then I am too tired to cook, then we order out! EXPENSIVE!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you for saving my marriage and my money, not in that order!
I make freezer meals about 5-6 times a year. I am excited to try some of your recipes. One helpful tip I have is that I created 2″x4″ labels with the name of the meal and any directions needed for my favorite meals. When I make the meals, I update the label with the date and print them out. These adhere surprisingly well to the bags.
The big advantage to this is that my son or husband can prepare the meal. Another plus is that I have been able to share meals with new moms etc. they have a meal ready to go when they need it, and all the directions are easy to see and follow.
Thanks for sharing!
I am going to be reviewing your recipes on my blog, The GOOD Pins. I love the concept and the recipes look simple yet delicious so I cant wait to try them out, photograph them and share them with my readers. Will definitely send them here!
I am totally going to try this! Katie, I have tried to compile everything into a Word document, so if you are interested in having a copy email me and I will send it to you and maybe you can somehow make it available for everyone?
I’m not sure if this question has been asked thus far..so humor me, please.
We have a family of eight and all six kids eat fairly well. Would I need to double these recipes or just some ? And if so, would I need to use two crockpots or just one? I believe my largest is a 6qt. Your thoughts?? Thanks a ton!! I look forward to trying these asap.
that is a lot of chicken! Lol