29 Crockpot freezer meals make for the most effortless weeknight dinners...just dump them into the slow cooker and set the timer! These ideas will help you stock up your freezer with tacos, soups, chili, fajitas, curry, and more!
Once you've learned the basics of how to meal prep and read up on our budget-friendly meal prep tricks - you're likely feeling inspired to stock your freezer with some easy crockpot freezer meals!
These life-saving crockpot freezer meals are one of my all-time favorite ways to meal prep! Not only are these meals perfect for busy weeknight dinners, but they are also ideal for expecting parents looking to stock the freezer for those early newborn days.
Reasons You'll Love These Recipes
- they are so easy to prepare - just wash, chop, and freeze for later!
- you can quickly prep a large freezer stash of delicious meals
- you'll save so much time and $$ with these simple, budget friendly meals
What is a Crockpot Freezer Meal?
Crockpot freezer meals are one of our favorite meal prep options - because they are so easy! Simply combine the ingredients in a freezer bag or container, freeze, and thaw when you're ready to cook. The ease of dumping your prepped ingredients into the slow cooker, pushing the button, and walking away, is just so amazing! No chopping or no cooking; just dump, press the button, and you're on your way to dinner!
How to prepare crockpot freezer meals - chop, measure, and portion out all ingredients. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw and cook as directed in the recipe.
Cooking Tip - Meals containing meat must be thawed before cooking. Vegetarian or vegan meals may be cooked from frozen.
Quick tips for easy freezer meals
- for max efficiency - pick recipes that have no pre-cooking, use pre-chopped veggies (frozen is great), get an assembly line going
- for best taste - eat within 3 months
- for organization - always label your containers, group similar meals in same location (ie: chicken marinades on one shelf, freezer crockpot on another, etc), upright freezers are 1000x more easy to organize than chest freezers, take stock of your freezer regularly and eat those meals
- Batch prep - prep meals with similar or overlapping ingredients, so you can chop/trim/measure your ingredients all at once.
- Double or triple up on the recipes for maximum output for your efforts...they are good for up to 3 months in the freezer!
- Soups & stews - you can leave out chicken broth, or other liquid until cook day, to prevent over-filling the bags.
- Efficiency - Use these handy baggy holders to hold your bags open, and I recommend a good quality gallon freezer bag to reduce risk of leakage during the freeze/thaw process. Remember to squeeze out as much air as possible.
- Freshness - Potatoes may brown during the freeze/thaw process. If this bothers you, consider adding them on cook day.
- For Mother Earth - avoid plastic waste by using large meal prep containers, or reusable silicone bags (the ยฝ gallon silicone bags are a good size for freezer crockpot meals and the sandwich size silicone bags or stasher bags are great for chicken marinades)
Pulled Chicken and Pork
Tacos + Fajitas
Soup
Chili
Vegtarian + Vegan
Miscellaneous
FAQ
Vegetarian meals *should* be fine to cook from frozen, but anything with meat must be thawed before cooking. This is because slow cooker brands cannot guarantee that the internal temperature of the meat will get hot enough to kill off harmful bacteria. Translation- you could be putting your family at risk for food poisoning.
I have a general 3 month rule for the freezer as I feel this keeps the food tasting better, and helps prevent things from getting lost in the freezer. However they would technically be safe indefinitely (they just might not taste as good when stored for longer).
Maybe? The only thing to worry about is whether you have enough thin liquid to create pressure in an Instant Pot. Check the directions on each recipe to see if there are Instant Pot directions.
These aren't like storebought meals, no seasoning packet here! Each recipe above includes all of the spices and they are added to the freezer meal itself.
When serving, add salt and pepper to taste, as well as any fresh herbs like oregano, basil, or thyme you might like.
And don't forget any other toppings you might like, such as fresh herbs, sour cream, or shredded cheddar!
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Nora says
Is there a master list on here that shows what I would need to buy if I was going to prep all of these at once and freeze?
Denise Bustard says
Hi Nora, no unfortunately I don't have a shopping list for this post, but you can check out all my meal prep plans here: https://sweetpeasandsaffron.com/7-meal-prep-plans-with-shopping-lists/
Kristina says
Can you cook this slow cook-recipe in a instant cook (pressure)? The same mix and faster?
Denise says
Hi Kristina! Which recipe are you referring to?
Rachel says
Can you cook these in the slow cooker and then save them in freezer bags and just reheat them?
Michelle L Twitchell says
This is perfect I cant use my stove as I tend to leave it on chemo has muddled my brain cells. I have looking for healthy meals to use in my crockpot. Next weekend will be preparing and freezing.
Denise says
Hi Michelle! Sending you lots of love as you go through chemo. I hope these recipes make your life a little easier <3
Tabitha says
Thank you for the tips and recipes. I had no idea how long these were good for in the freezer or that I needed to completely thaw. I will be trying several meals with my picky kids.
Denise says
I hope you find some good ones, Tabitha!
Lizzie says
I can't even begin to explain how much I use these recipes. With 4 kids, 4 jobs between my husband and I, sports, music lessons, school, housework, and somewhere in there I sleep, I need food that can be prepped ahead of time and cooked while I do the millions of things I need to each day. I love that these are healthier than most crock pot meals out there, and it doesn't use pre packaged mixes. Honestly, if I didn't have my crock pot I don't think we would eat more than peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!
Denise says
I am SO happy reading your comment, Lizzie! Slow cooker meals really save me, too! Thanks so much for your comment!
Lorraine Viala says
Denise, the Slow Cooker Pork Chops with Apples and Sweet Potatoes recipe goes to Coconut Curried Sweet Potato and chickpea Stew recipe. I'd really like to see the Pork Chop recipe. Can you fix?
Lorraine
Stef says
https://www.stockpilingmoms.com/slow-cooker-pork-chops-with-apples-and-sweet-potatoes/
Denise says
Thank you, I've updated it now! Here's the link: https://www.stockpilingmoms.com/slow-cooker-pork-chops-with-apples-and-sweet-potatoes/
Ria Hawk says
The links for the curried sweet potato soup are pointing at the chicken teriyaki, which is sad because the curried sweet potato soup sounds very interesting.
Denise says
Thanks Ria I will fix them ๐