Freezer cooking | 130+ easy cook-ahead dinners

Freezer cooking, or the concept of cooking freezer meals in bulk (sometimes referred to as once-a-month-cooking), is a timeworn tradition passed down by generations. It provides sanity for frugal foodies across the globe!

Why cook in bulk & get good at freezer cooking

The idea of cooking in bulk is that you stand in your kitchen for a day once a month or half a day once a week.

Whipping up meals in bulk saves slaving away each chopping onions and washing pots and pans. Instead you can spend the time with family and helping the kids write their homework stories completed. You can get Missy into the bath earlier and plan to sit on the couch earlier watching your favourite TV show.

Ideally take an entire day once a month and cook enough up Tupperware containers of Spag Bol, Beef Stew, Lasagna, Chicken Carbonara and Beef Stroganoff to last the month. Label the meals and stack them neatly in the freezer to induce a warm and fuzzy feeling of organisation, happiness and sanity!

Resources for cook-ahead dinners

There are plenty of websites and resources related to cooking in bulk. And I’d be silly not to plug my own book Table Tucker! My book takes the bulk cooking concept further by helping readers to cook in bulk three nights each week. The concept involves cooking two meals at once and delivers grocery lists for the entire year. You can use the book to cook for the month by purchasing the grocery lists for the entire month. All the meals called Combo Meals are suitable for bulk cooking.

Cooking in bulk is extremely effective in helping busy people feel a greater sense of clarity, sanity and happiness. If you can picture coming home to beautiful meal sitting labeled in the freezer every night, then you are on the road to achieving this goal. People cook in bulk because it greatly reduces stress during a busy week of fighting traffic and long work hours. Since I’m not a fan of stress I cook freezer meals regularly. Usually my Sunday cook-ups are enough to keep our freezer well stocked but if time permits, I’ll be moving to once-a-month-cooking soon!

Save money by cooking in bulk

The other purpose of  cooking freezer meals is to save money by buying ingredients in bulk. Time is also saved at the supermarket, as is the petrol getting there. If you get milk, bread, fresh vegetables, dairy products and toiletries delivered to your home via sites like Aussie Farmers Direct you can avoid shopping weekly altogether!

Finally – freezer meals are a healthier option. Cooking meals from scratch  because meals avoids purchasing convenience supermarket meals. You will also know what goes into every dish. You won’t have to read labels to figure out what you are actually eating.

Whether you are a lover of Apricot chicken, a good Bacon and Egg Pie or a Bacon and Mushroom Penne, you will find many great ideas using this cheat sheet.

Use it in conjunction with my Supermarket Chicken, Beef Mince and Sausages tips and you’ll be ready for some quick bulk-cooking adventures!

130+ easy cook-ahead dinners

1. Apricot chicken
2. Bacon and egg pie
3. Bacon and leek soup
4. Bacon and mushroom pasta
5. Bacon and mushroom penne
6. Bacon fritters
7. Baked fish
8. Baked honey ginger chicken
9. Bean and barley soup
10. Beef and cheese pie
11. Beef and mushroom pie
12. Beef and veggie pie
13. Beef calzone
14. Beef cannelloni
15. Beef chow mein
16. Beef crepes
17. Beef crumble
18. Beef curries
19. Beef curry
20. Beef in black bean sauce
21. Beef lasagne
22. Beef pasta bakes
23. Beef pasties
24. Beef patties
25. Beef stews
26. Beef stir-fries
27. Beef stroganoff
28. Beef wellington
29. Butter chicken curry
30. Chicken and BBQ pizza
31. Chicken and corn soup
32. Chicken mushroom casserole
33. Chicken mushroom pasta
34. Chicken tomato casserole
35. Chicken vegetable casserole
36. Chicken vegetable pie
37. Chicken vegetable soup
38. Chicken cacciatore
39. Chicken chow mein
40. Chicken curry soup
41. Chicken fettuccine
42. Chicken filo’s
43. Chicken lasagne
44. Chicken loaf
45. Chicken parmigiana
46. Chicken pie
47. Chicken risotto
48. Chicken soup
49. Chicken spinach risotto
50. Chicken stews
51. Chicken strudel
52. Chilli con carne
53. Coq au vin
54. Corn chowder
55. Cornish pasties
56. Cottage pie
57. Creamy onion soup
58. Creamy sausage pasta
59. Curried sausages
60. Devilled sausages
61. Egg, bacon and potato bake
62. Fish cakes
63. Fish fingers
64. Fish nuggets
65. Fish pie
66. Fish stew
67. Hamburger patties
68. Honey mustard casserole
69. Lamb curry
70. Lamb cutlets
71. Lamb filo’s
72. Lamb hot pot
73. Lamb stew
74. Lamb veggie casserole
75. Lasagne
76. Meat lover’s pizza
77. Meat sauce variations
78. Meatballs
79. Meatloaf
80. Mexican chicken
81. Mince and cheese pie
82. Mince filo recipes
83. Minestrone soup
84. Moussaka
85. Mushroom soup
86. Osso bucco
87. Pea and ham soup
88. Pork stew
89. Pork stir-fry
90. Potato and leek soup
91. Potato chowder
92. Pumpkin ravioli
93. Pumpkin soup
94. Quiche Lorraine
95. Ratatouille
96. Rissoles
97. Roast beef dinner
98. Rogan josh
99. Salmon and dill linguine
100. Samosas
101. Satay beef on rice
102. Satay chicken
103. Sausage and veggie pasta
104. Sausage cannelloni
105. Sausage rolls
106. Sausage tomato bake
107. Sausage, egg and veggie slice
108. Seafood pizza
109. Spaghetti bolognese
110. Spinach and ricotta cannelloni
111. Spinach and ricotta ravioli
112. Spring rolls
113. Steak and cheese pie
114. Sun-dried tomato chicken pasta
115. Sweet and sour pork
116. Taco beef
117. Thai green chicken curry
118. Thai red chicken curry
119. Tomato soup
120. Tuna Mornay
121. Tuna pasta bake
122. Tuscan casserole
123. Veal casserole
124. Veal cordon bleu
125. Veal ragout
126. Vegetable casserole
127. Vegetable lasagne
128. Vegetable soups
129. Vegetarian filo’s
130. Vegetarian pizza