13 Slow-Cooker Freezer Meals For The Easiest Weeknight Dinners
There’s literally nothing easier than taking a pre-prepped meal from the freezer and dumping it into a crock-pot. Let it simmer all day, and come home to a meal that’s warm and ready (and smelling so good). It just doesn’t get better than that.
Prep the food over the weekend and throw it in the freezer until you’re ready to make your weekdays so much easier and tastier. Heck, this even beats stopping to pick up fast food for dinner, doesn’t it?
Check out these 11 freezer-to-slow-cooker recipes to make your nights so much simpler — without sacrificing any of the taste or soothing qualities of a home-cooked meal. Enjoy!
1. Hawaiian Pork Chops
Pineapple, brown sugar and soy sauce make a sweet yet sour marinade for pork chops that you’ll be craving all day at work, knowing it’ll be ready to eat as soon as you get home. Top tip from New Leaf Wellness on prepping this freezer recipe (and others, too): “Make an assembly line: Peel, chop, and slice all veggies and fruit, and add to bags. Add sauces, spices, and everything else to bags in any order, except the meat. Add meat to all the bags last.” You want it to be on the top, so it’s poured into your crockpot first. Get the recipe.
2. Scalloped Potatoes & Ham
Potatoes, ham and cheese are three of my favorite things, so combine them in a delicious easy-to-make dinner, and I’m in. Get the recipe.
3. Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
Broccoli, chicken and rice combine into an easy dinner that doesn’t even require additional side dishes — because who has time for that? Get the recipe.
RELATED: 10 Easy Make-Ahead Meal Ideas That Save A Ton Of Time
4. Cilantro Lime Chicken
Slide this chicken into a tortilla, and you’ve got yourself some yummy tacos for dinner that took all of two seconds to make. Pro tips from Ashley at Making Our Marx include adding the liquids to the bags last and that, before cooking, you “make sure each bag thaws for a good amount of time before you dump the contents in the crockpot.” Once everything is in the bag, Ashley recommends “squishing it around with your hands so the contents are distributed evenly.” Get the recipe.
5. Beef & Broccoli
This Asian-inspired dish will go excellent with a little bit of rice. All you have to do is wait for the water to boil, and dinner is served. Get the recipe.
6. Mushroom Spinach Stroganoff
Meatless mushroom spinach stroganoff is healthy, delicious (oh, and did I mention super simple?). Come on, how could you say no to that? Get the recipe.
7. Chicken & Dumplings
Comfort food that’s hot and ready as soon as you get home is the best kind. Get the recipe.
8. Orange Ginger Chicken
Orange ginger chicken is a little sweet and a little spicy, in case you’re looking to add a little punch to your meal. Get the recipe.
9. Pot Roast & Green Beans
A full helping of meat and veggies is just the kind of thing you need after starving for the last half of your workday, wouldn’t you agree? Get the recipe.
10. Butternut Squash Chili
Butternut squash replaces the meat in this recipe, but it’s completely filling and tasty (along with being a sneaky way to eat those veggies), so you’ve got no reason not to give this a try. Kare from Oh My Veggies said about this slow cooker recipe and her other favorites as well: “Oftentimes, when I make slow cooker chili, I buy the ingredients for two batches so that I can freeze one. But here’s the catch: I don’t freeze it after I cook it, I freeze it before.” Get the recipe.
11. Sausage Spinach Tomato Soup
Spinach and spicy Italian sausage make plain old tomato soup so much better. Get the recipe.
12. Make-Ahead Meatloaf In The Slow Cooker
It’s so simple to prepare this crockpot meatloaf! You can take it directly from the freezer to the slow-cooker, but it stays juicy, tender and homemade. Talk about a time-saver! Get the recipe.
13. Freezer-to-Crockpot BBQ Chicken
This unique marinade might sound strange at first (French dressing? Cranberry sauce?), but trust us: It all comes together beautifully. And best of all, it can go straight from the freezer to the crockpot. So easy! Get the recipe.
Pull out the freezer bags, and get ready to prepare yourself some kick-butt meals that will start cooking as soon as you toss them into the crock-pot. I sure hope you’re hungry because you have lots of amazing meals headed your way!
[h/t: Tip Hero]