35 Best Meals to Freeze and Reheat
These easy meals to freeze and reheat are perfect for stocking up your freezer before a busy season of family life. Whether you want to have easy dinners to bring to a friend or for cooking quickly on a school night, these kid-friendly dishes are a big hit.
Ask any busy parent on a typical school night and they'll tell you that easy meals you can freeze and reheat are family dinner GOLD.
It is so nice to have a few delicious dinner recipes stashed in the freezer that you can pull out and pop in the microwave or oven.
Plan ahead and split these dishes into smaller containers and your family can have a few single serving dinners to grab when everyone sitting down together isn't an option.
Or perhaps you're looking for ways to help a friend and need easy meal train ideas. It's always smart to to provide the family with meals they can stash for another night.
If you're cooking for your senior parent, many of these easy freezer dinners can be split into single serving containers. What an amazing gift to give them: a freezer filled with healthy meals they can just reheat as needed.
Healthy Soups that Freeze Well
One of the best things to cook ahead and freeze for easy reheating later is a nice healthy soup.
You will be so grateful to have a batch of homemade chicken soup already made when someone in the family gets sick.
I always freeze soups in smaller containers of 2 - 4 portions, just enough for a light lunch or single dinner for our family of 4. They also make excellent work week lunches.
Chicken Soup for Flu & Cold Season
The most popular chicken soup on my site is just what you need to have on hand when someone gets sick.
The recipe makes a big batch. Cook it now and freeze it for later!
Chicken Chili with No Beans
My tomato-based chicken chili is an excellent freezer soup. Keep a few pantry staples on hand for an easy dinner later.
Pantry Items to Keep Ready:
- Tortilla Chips
- Shredded Cheese
- Sour Cream
Ground Beef Chili Bowls
You can eat these ground beef chili bowls with shredded cheese and sour cream on top for a quick dinner but it also works to make amazing chili dogs in a pinch!
Easy Beef Stew
There are no potatoes in my stove top beef stew recipe so I like to buy a container of mashed potatoes at the grocery store to keep in the freezer with the leftovers. You could always make my Crockpot mashed potatoes yourself and freeze them if you prefer.
Instant Pot Ground Turkey Soup
This light and healthy turkey soup is loaded with veggies. Keep a box of crackers on hand or plan ahead and freeze a loaf of Italian bread or homemade garlic bread.
Big Batches of Cooked Meat
While not a complete meal in an of themselves, I find it extremely helpful to cook a large roast and then freeze the leftovers in smaller portions for really easy dinners.
You can use the smaller containers of frozen meat to make:
- Tacos
- Sandwiches
- Rice Bowls
Pulled Pork
Pulled pork sandwiches, a pulled pork platter with sides, or even a pulled pork wrap can all be assembled in minutes when you stash this recipe in the freezer.
Mexican Pulled Pork Carnitas
Delicious and easy tacos are just a microwave spin away when you make this big pork shoulder roast.
Mojo Cuban Pork
This tender mojo Cuban pork has a tangy citrus-based sauce compared to regular carnitas. It makes amazing microwave nachos toppings or adds protein to a Mexican rice bowl.
Shredded Chicken
Prefer chicken? When chicken breasts go on sale, you could stock up and make this easy shredded chicken for all kinds of delicious dinners.
Shredded Beef
Make a batch of Crockpot shredded beef and you have an easy topping to spoon over mashed potatoes or buttered noodles. Just add a bag of your favorite frozen veggies to mix in.
Crockpot Chicken Tacos
Saucy chicken tacos with your favorite salsa come together in a pinch when the meat is already cooked and just needs to be heated up.
Crockpot Bourbon Chicken
Serve bourbon chicken over bowls of jasmine rice. My recipe takes just 3 minutes to cook!
BBQ Chicken Thighs
Just like the pulled pork, there are so many ways to use this tender BBQ chicken recipe. I think my favorite is this bbq chicken sliders recipe.
Mississippi Pot Roast
Tender Mississippi pot roast with potatoes and carrots is an all-in-one dinner you can make for the freezer. Store it in smaller containers if you'd like stretch the dinner out for individual servings.
Crockpot Spiral Ham
ALWAYS freeze your leftover holiday ham, there are so many delicious recipes you can use it for. Don't miss my favorite ham pot pie.
Freezer-Friendly Meatballs
While there are many delicious ready-made freezer meatballs at the grocery store, it only takes a few minutes to make your own from scratch.
The biggest benefit of that is that you get to control the spice level and ingredients or try new flavors.
Italian Meatballs
Yes, you could put these Italian meatballs in tomato sauce over pasta but you could also tuck them into my easy baked meatball subs.
Romano Chicken Meatballs
Looking for something lighter and zestier? Don't miss my favorite lemony chicken meatballs.
Pineapple Teriyaki Meatballs
If you do choose to buy grocery store meatballs, I highly encourage you to look for these pineapple teriyaki meatballs! This is one of our very favorite freezer meals.
Prep Ahead Sandwich Fillings
When it comes to meals you can freeze and reheat, premade sandwich fillings are the most likely to retain their texture.
Thaw and heat these easy fillings and tuck them into fresh bread slices, dinner rolls, or wraps.
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Jerk Chicken and Peppers
Keep this chicken and bell pepeprs mix on hand to make jerk chicken quesadillas at a moment's notice. They'd also taste great in my air fryer chimichangas which you could pre-assemble and freeze, too.
Crock Pot Sloppy Joes
Freeze batches of classic sloppy joe filling and simply pop it in the slowcooker to thaw and heat while you're at work. You could do the same with my ground turkey sloppy joes.
Philly Cheese Steak Sloppy Joes
These philly cheese steak sloppy joes are my favorite sloppy joe variation, I LOVE the addition of the onions and peppers in this mix.
Crock Pot Italian Beef Sandwiches
Make a big batch of this Italian beef and all you'll need to do at dinner time is toast some hoagie rolls and pile up the provolone cheese.
Open Face Turkey Sandwich with Gravy
Don't wait for Thanksgiving to make my easy slowcooker turkey. This healthy white meat makes amazing sandwiches all year long. You could cook the turkey and gravy and freeze it in small containers for an open face turkey sandwich in a pinch.
Italian Chicken Sandwiches
This tomato-based Crockpot Italian chicken sandwich filling could also be used as a quick pasta sauce in a pinch.
For sure make a big batch with plans to eat some for dinner tonight and to freeze the leftovers for easy dinners later.
Pesto Chicken Sliders
Sliders might not be the first thing you think of when you consider a freezer dinner, but these easy pesto chicken sliders actually freeze quite well! You could assemble a batch or two for the freezer for quick dinners in a pinch.
Breakfast Burritos
Breakfast for dinner anyone? My family absolutely loves these breakfast burritos at any time of day. Just add hot sauce.
Make Ahead Casseroles to Freeze and Bake
Freezer casseroles are so popular because who doesn't enjoy taking a pan out of the freezer and popping it in the oven on a busy night?
These dishes might take a little more time to prepare but on the other side your dinner prep is down to almost nothing.
Saucy Pork and Noodle Bake
The Single Most Popular Recipe on my site! For very good reason. This saucy pork and noodle bake uses leftover pork. You can freeze the pork alone and make the casserole fresh or you can prep the whole casserole and freeze it for later.
Easy Sausage Lasagna
This 9x13 pan of lasagna has been my family's go-to Christmas dinner recipe for more years than I can count. We love it because it freezes so well. I prep it in advance and then bake it fresh for our holiday dinner. This sausage lasagna recipe is great for feeding a hungry crowd.
Lasagna Roll-Ups
If you love lasagna but want to divide up the batch into smaller portions or 2 8x8-inch dishes instead of 1 9x13-inch pan, this lasagna roll-up recipe is a much better choice.
The pretty swirls of lasagna are easy to assemble and fill smaller baking dishes easily.
Garden Lasagna Cups
If you're looking for a single serving of lasagna for easy lunches or small dinners, these vegetarian lasagna cups are totally the way to go. Made with wonton wrappers instead of pasta and filled with tons of garden veggies, my kids LOVE this recipe.
Chicken Wild Rice Casserole
This creamy chicken wild rice casserole is big enough to feed a crowd from one large baking pan or you can split the recipe into two baking dishes and freeze one for later.
Chicken Fried Rice
A simple batch of jasmine rice and a rotisserie chicken is all you need to make this easy chicken fried rice recipe with frozen vegetables.
You could keep the rice and pre-shredded chicken in the freezer along with a bag of frozen mixed veggies and make it fresh for dinner OR you could make the dish and freeze it already cooked and ready for reheating.
Chicken Tetrazzini Casserole
When a creamy chicken and pasta casserole is needed for a little comfort food, you can't go wrong with this chicken tetrazzini casserole. My kids love the savory sauce and sweet peas in the mix.
Chicken Enchiladas
My chicken enchiladas recipe is another great casserole that could be assembled and frozen for reheating later OR you could prep some of the elements and freeze them separately. Thaw and assemble them fresh in minutes and bake it fresh. Delicious either way.
Italian Sausage Pasta Casserole
Whenever a friend needs help, this is my mom's pasta casserole of choice. Everyone has loved the savory sausage and spinach with creamy pasta. The secret?? Serve it with fresh pineapple as a simple side dish. It pairs so well!
Irish Beef Pot Pie
You don't need to wait until St. Patrick's Day to enjoy this delicious savory Irish beef pot pie. You could prepare the beef filling and freeze that alone along with a batch of my buttery pie crust dough. Then just assemble and bake them fresh.
OR you can just assemble and bake the whole pie and freeze it ready for reheating later.
Cheesy Chicken Spaghetti
If you're a fan of my Saucy Pork and Noodle Bake, you might also enjoy this chicken variation. Cheesy chicken spaghetti is a favorite with my picky eaters. I always split it into 2 8x8-inch pans for easy dinners while my husband was traveling but you could put it in a 9x13-inch if you prefer.
Chicken Rice Casserole
Chunky and loaded with veggies, this chicken and rice casserole recipe helps you prep a couple of pans for the freezer in one cooking session.
Pasta Recipes that Freeze Well
When it comes to freeze and reheat pasta recipes, more often than not I prefer to freeze the pasta sauce and then just cook the noodles fresh.
There are a couple exceptions to that rule and I think you'll enjoy these delicious pasta ideas with your favorite pasta shape.
Spicy Peanut Butter Noodles with Pork
One of the most requested dinners of all time in my house, my husband absolutely loves this spicy peanut butter noodles dish. We never have anything leftover to freeze, but you could absolutely make it in advance and freeze the whole dish.
Easy Chicken Bolognese
Make a batch of my easy chicken bolognese for the freezer. You can store it in smaller containers and use it for topping pasta, gnocchi, or even spooning over a baked potato.
Classic Beef Bolognese Sauce
With a little more time on your hands, you could make my classic beef bolognese sauce. It makes a huge pot of thick beefy tomato sauce that tastes amazing over rigatoni or penne, gnocchi, or even eaten like a thick chili with garlic bread.
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