When making recipe after recipe for the One Dish Dinners cookbook, I found myself with lots of extra food on hand. I gave away about 90% to friends and family members. And either ate or froze the other 10%.
For the most part, one dish dinners freeze well…with the exception of a few things!
What Freezes Well
- Cooked pasta/casseroles
- Enchilada casseroles made with tortillas
- Brown rice dishes
- Shredded chicken, beef or pork
- Grilled chicken, sliced or diced
- Sauces – spaghetti, enchilada sauce, etc
- Browned ground beef
- Cooked beans
- Meatloaves, meatballs
- Soups, stews, chili
What Doesn’t Freeze Well
- Cooked Potatoes, they get mealy (although mashed potatoes freeze well)
- Soups or stews made with cornstarch
- Quick cooking rice
- Mayonnaise based meals, as the mayo will separate as it freezes and thaws
- Fresh vegetables, that you want to use later as “fresh.” (You can blanche and freeze many vegetables, or even freeze fresh vegetables as they are if you plan to use them cooked into a soup or stew. They will not hold their crunchiness after they thaw.)
Also, remember…it’s best for foods to be at room temperature before you freeze them, to reduce freezer burn.
Did I forget anything?! What has worked for you (or not), when it comes to freezing dinner?!
Thank you so much for posting this! I freeze things often and I almost sent you a message a few weeks ago to get your opinion on whether something would freeze well. One thing I found that doesn’t freeze well is a soup that I make with squash… the squash gets all mushy! In the freezer right now I have a marinade that I made for a brisket. The marinade was for about 5 pounds of brisket, but I only made 2.5 pounds…so I’m hoping that the marinade will still be good for the next round!
Yeah Kim…good to know about the squash!
Thanks friend!
Erin
Question – if you cook things like hamburger with taco seasoning, meatloaf, etc – how do you reheat it? Just pop it in the oven or on the stove for a few minutes after thawing, or do you recook it frozen? Thanks!
Hey Katie,
I always brown ground beef along, and occasionally with a seasoning or sauce. To reheat already cooked beef, I place the baggie or plastic storage container into a bowl of warm water. Depending on how thick the bag is, it can thaw in as little as 20 minutes. If it doesn’t thaw within 30 minutes, then I put it in the fridge in the bowl with the water to finish thawing. Then I use it from thawed.
Meatballs and meatloaf can be cooked from frozen, it will just take longer than normal. I drop frozen raw meatballs into the slow cooker all the time. And when baking frozen meatloaf (that’s raw), I’d plan on an additional hour of baking, than the recipe calls for.
Hope this helps!
Erin
homemade chicken stock freezes well too
Freeze chicken stock as ice cubes – works like a charm! : )
Garlic freezer pickles were a flop. When I made moussaka the peeling came off the eggplant Once reheated but still tasted good. French onion soup is very time consuming plus the onions make me cry, so I freeze in individual servings and what a treat. I also freeze most everything on your list along with homemade enchilada and tomato sauces. Good to know about the cornstarch.
Boo on the garlic freezer pickles! Yeah for the rest!
Cooked, shredded potatoes freeze fine for future hash browns. Cook like a normal baked potato, allow to fully cool before peeling. Shred and then flash freeze them in half cup clumps. I do several at a time when potatoes go on sale around the holidays.
Love it Jodi!
Does your new cookbook recommend which recipes can be frozen?
Yes Kristine. It has a “freezer friendly” recommendation for those recipes that do well in the freezer.
Erin
I’ve been thinking about making egg breakfast sammies and freezing them. I thought I would cook all of the ingredients, freeze them separately, then assemble once frozen and wrap and store in freezer. Do you think this would work…especially with the eggs? Thanks!
I also freeze lots of meals and pre-cooked meats/chicken for later meals. I love having a huge freezer!
Yes Janene…that should work. You could also assemble them all ahead of time, when the ingredients are cooled. Then freeze that way too!
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Hello, I would like to know, as I am cooking a rather large batch of french onion soup, if you can freeze it to consume at a later date?
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Sodium Nitrite in lunch meat,
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