Are you busy? As working moms, there is often not enough time to get a healthy dinner together on a weeknight while juggling afterschool activities. Having pre-made crock pot freezer meals has been a life saver in our home. Working these recipes into your dinner rotations will ease stress in your weekly meal planning, too!
Stock Up on Crock Pot Freezer Meals – in a bag!
One major time-saver with these recipes is the cooking assembly is done for you during the prep time. No more guessing which order to place ingredients into the crockpot! Simply fill your bag in the order listed on the recipe. Then all you need to do in the morning is grab a bag, cut the bottom, dump it into your slow cooker, turn it on low and come home to dinner ready!
Another way this has helped our family is we make a batch of bags every week to keep a stockpile in the freezer. With these 8 recipes, you’ll have more than a week’s worth of dinners at the ready. Or save them for those extra busy nights when you need an easy button.
All of these meals were made from two family packs of chicken and with an hour or so of prep (less if you buy the pre-chopped veggies) you can have nearly 50 servings of dinner ready to cook. These feed a family of 6 with some to spare (but a couple of them are preschoolers – so use your judgment).
1. Chicken Barbecue Roast
Do you like things spicy? Maybe sweet? You can switch up this recipe with your favorite barbecue sauce varieties. Dump the following ingredients into a bag. Put them into the bag in the order listed and try to keep the bag upright in the freezer.
- Small potatoes – fill the bottom third of your bag.
- Sliced onion
- Yellow squash, cut into strips
- Two chicken quarters
- 1/2 of a bottle of barbecue sauce
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- 1 1/2 cup water
When it is time to cook, slit the bottom of your bag so the potatoes fall into your crockpot first and the chicken is on top. Add a cup and a half of water over the food, cover and cook on low for 6 hours (you can leave it in there for 8 and it should be fine!). For a fun variation, you can use soda instead of barbecue sauce for a tangy flavor! This freezer bag recipe feeds our family of 8.
2. Chicken Potato Casserole
This recipe is the epitome of comfort food and it was a HIT with my family! Our youngest boy didn’t even know there was cream of mushroom soup in it.
- Two large potatoes cut into big cubes
- One onion, sliced into thin rings
- Three chicken breasts
- Salt and pepper
- One can Cream of Mushroom soup
- One package stuffing
- 1 1/2 cups water
- One stick butter, melted
Stick the veggies, chicken, and seasoning in your freezer bag. On the day of cooking cut the bottom of the bag to dump the contents into the crockpot and pour the soup on top. Sprinkle on the package of dry stuffing and drizzle the melted butter and water over it. Cook on low for the day (or at least 6 hours.)
3. Lemon Pepper Chicken and Rice
Pour your ingredients into your bag in the order listed. It makes dumping to cook later so much easier!
- 1 1/2 cups of rice (we use brown rice, not the instant kind)
- Green beans (or carrots; that tastes super sweet too!)
- Chicken quartered, skin on – and rubbed with butter, salt, and pepper
- Lemon slices
- 2 cups of water
On the morning of your crockpot meal, slit the bottom of the bag so the rice comes out first, followed by the veggies, chicken, etc. Top the chicken with lemon slices to help your chicken retain moisture. Cook on low for the day (at least 6 hours, but we have had it run for as long as eight). The lemons in this recipe smell amazing as this meal simmer away all day on low.
Video: Freezer Organization Tips
Want to organize your freezer like a boss? Check out this short video to see some super helpful freezer organization hacks for yourself!
4. White Chicken Chili
This chili is delicious and pairs perfectly with some cornbread or muffins. You can also cut down on the cumin if your kids don’t like spice.
- 2-3 cans Great Northern beans
- 1 onion, chopped
- 4 chicken breasts
- 1 tsp. minced garlic
- 2 tsp. ground cumin
- 2 tsp. oregano
- 1 small can be chopped green chilies
- 2 cans chicken broth
- 12 oz shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Dump everything but the broth and cheese into your bag. On the day of cooking pop the contents of your bag into your slow cooker and pour in the chicken broth. Cook it on high for 6 or more hours. Just before serving, shred the chicken with two forks and stir in the cheese. Serve this chili with some warm buttered cornbread, and enjoy!
5. Chicken Taco Soup
This is a terrific soup for a chilly day. Start it in the morning and it will be ready when you get off work.
- Can of pinto beans, drained (roughly 1 cup of pre-cooked beans).
- Can of black beans, drained (roughly 1 cup of pre-cooked beans).
- 3/4cup of rice, uncooked.
- 3/4 cup of frozen sweet corn
- Diced onion
- Diced bell peppers
- Chipotle pepper (I use the canned ones, you can also replace this with jalapeño peppers, but I love the smoky flavor from the Chipotle)
- 3-4 chicken breasts – uncooked – you can also substitute beef in its place.
- Can of diced tomatoes
- 2cups of water
The above recipe is adapted from this Crock-Pot Soup Recipe – we have added it to our bag collection so I don’t have to hunt for cans, just grab, dump and come back and eat at dinner time! We buy the big giant cans and make a double batch we can enjoy leftovers the next day.
6. Classic Chicken, Beans, and Rice
It is comfort food! One-pot of warm goodness. This meal is hearty, filling, and full of heart-friendly fiber.
- 1 1/2 cups of wild rice
- 1/2 an onion, diced
- 1 can of pinto or red kidney bean
- 3 chicken breasts
- 1 can of diced tomatoes
- 2 cups of chicken broth
- Salt and pepper to taste
Layer your ingredients in your freezer Ziploc bag. You will want the rice to be on the bottom, topped by the beans and chicken, then the liquids poured over the top. The broth really makes this recipe hearty, don’t skip it. Serve with a side salad of mixed greens.
7. Tangy Chicken Cranberry Rice
- 2 cups of rice (we use brown rice, not the instant kind – our favorite brand is a wild rice blend)
- 2 cups of uncooked cranberries (we use frozen berries)
- 1/2 cup almond slivers
- 2 pieces of quartered chicken, with skins on
- Sliced orange
- 2 cups of water
Layer your ingredients in the bag, in the order listed; rice goes first orange slices laid over the chicken to help keep it moist. Pour the water in just before cooking. Cook for 6 hours give or take. Then remove chicken from the slow cooker. Fluff the rice and add the shredded chicken. Tangy and tasty.
8. Sweet Cashew Chicken
Pour your ingredients into your bag in the order listed. It makes dumping to cook later so much easier!
- 1 1/2 cups of rice (we use brown rice, not the instant kind)
- Broccoli crowns, lightly chopped (or carrots – that tastes super sweet too!)
- 1/2 cup onion, diced
- 3/4 cup cashews
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 small can of diced pineapple, juice reserved
- 1 1/2 cups of water
As with the other recipes, layer the ingredients in your bag with the rice on the bottom and the chicken on top. Then, cut the bottom of the bag to drop the ingredients into your crockpot. Pour your liquid (pineapple and water) over the chicken prior to turning on your crockpot. Yummy! Your meal will be ready 6 hours or so later. This is a HUGE hit with the kiddos! You can remove the rice and substitute the cashews with a half cup of peanut butter for a creamier recipe that tastes terrific over ramen. Not healthy, but the kids gobble it up!
Easy Crock Pot Meals
Are you super lazy? Looking for a way to make this process EVEN easier? Crockpot liners are your best friend! Get these bags and you can literally cook your meal in the bag, so there is no scrubbing your crockpot to clean up after dinner, just lift and discard. Brilliant! If you do a lot of roasts in your crockpot this little rack will serve you right for a long time! Even more crockpot recipes… They’re perfect for soups during those chilly months!
Freezer Meals for the Win
If these recipes have convinced you that freezer meals are the way to win the busy weeknight battle of mealtime you may also like:
- 29 Convenient Make Ahead Freezer Meal Recipes
- 31 Days of Freezer Meal Recipes
- Freezer Meals: Easy Breakfast Edition
