Our Favourite Freezer-Friendly Batch Cooking Recipes (2024)

Our Favourite Freezer-Friendly Batch Cooking Recipes (1)

There's nothing worse than needing a super-speedy weeknight dinner and discovering you've got nothing left in the fridge, especially when you're craving something hearty and filling for tea. But there's a way to avoid this heartache, and all it involves is a few batch cooking recipes. From Slow Cooker Bolognese to and , there's plenty of easy, fuss-free recipes you can batch cook and then freeze for the week ahead. For 53 of our favourite batch cooking recipes, keep sliding...

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1

Moussaka

Our Favourite Freezer-Friendly Batch Cooking Recipes (3)

Moussaka's perfect if you're after something relatively easy, but incredibly tasty to cook up at the weekend. Not to mention, it's an instant crowd pleaser!

Get the Moussaka recipe.

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2

Sausage Casserole

Our Favourite Freezer-Friendly Batch Cooking Recipes (5)

Delightfully rich and hearty, with the perfect balance of tomato and smoky paprika as the base. You can’t get more classic than a sausage casserole, and this really is it done properly.

Get the Sausage Casserole recipe.

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3

Minestrone Soup

Our Favourite Freezer-Friendly Batch Cooking Recipes (7)

One of the best ways to ensure you get lots of flavour in your soup is to cook the onion, celery and carrot slowly until they begin to caramelise. This is called a soffritto, and is the base for most sauces and stews in Italian cooking.

Get the Minestrone Soup recipe.

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4

Beef Stew with Dumplings

Our Favourite Freezer-Friendly Batch Cooking Recipes (9)

Dumplings are super simple to make and taste amazing in a stew – especially when they’re super stodgy and soggy.

Get the Beef Stew with Dumplings recipe.

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5

Turkey, Tomato & Butternut Squash Cannelloni

When you're craving cheese and carbs, there's really nothing better than cannelloni. Popular stuffings include spinach and ricotta or beef mince, but we've switched our recipe up to use turkey mince and butternut squash (the end result is crazy-delicious).

Get the recipe.

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6

Shepherd's Pie

Our Favourite Freezer-Friendly Batch Cooking Recipes (13)

Rich and tasty, this shepherd’s pie is a guaranteed crowd pleaser.

Get the Shepherd's Pie recipe.

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7

Lamb Casserole

Our Favourite Freezer-Friendly Batch Cooking Recipes (15)

We’ve kept this recipe super simple, and have packed it with pearl barley and potatoes, meaning that if you like, this can be a dreamy one-pot.

Get the Lamb Casserole recipe.

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8

Chicken and Sweet Potato Curry

Our Favourite Freezer-Friendly Batch Cooking Recipes (17)

This chicken and sweet potato curry is absolute comfort food goals. Thanks to the spices, it's gorgeously fragrant, and the addition of coconut milk makes it creamy.

Get the Chicken and Sweet Potato Curry recipe.

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9

Chicken Balti

Our Favourite Freezer-Friendly Batch Cooking Recipes (19)

The key to a brilliant chicken balti is marinating the chicken pieces in yoghurt, spices and lime juice the chicken gets tenderised, if you want to get ahead you could do this the night before!

Get the Chicken Balti recipe.

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10

Broccoli & Stilton Soup

This delicious broccoli and stilton soup is a classic for a reason. The flavour of creamy broccoli works perfectly with tangy and savoury Stilton. You could also use a different cheese such as cheddar on the toasts, if you prefer.

Get the recipe.

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11

Sweet Potato & Chickpea Curry

Our Favourite Freezer-Friendly Batch Cooking Recipes (23)

If you've got a well stocked cupboard, you should have all these ingredients already in stock. This curry is seriously worth the TLC.

Get the recipe.

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12

Chicken Tagine

Our Favourite Freezer-Friendly Batch Cooking Recipes (25)

This chicken tagine recipe is super tasty and is perfect for a midweek meal, OR your next dinner party.

Get the Chicken Tagine recipe.

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13

Cottage Pie

Our Favourite Freezer-Friendly Batch Cooking Recipes (27)

Cottage pie is essentially a shepherd's pie but with beef. It's a meat pie, filled with beef and topped with cheesy mashed potatoes.

Get the Cottage Pie recipe.

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14

Leek & Potato Soup

Our Favourite Freezer-Friendly Batch Cooking Recipes (29)

The trick is to cook those leeks and potatoes properly! Cut them small, and allow them to sweat in all that butter for about 20 mins altogether.

Get the recipe.

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15

Healthy Fish Stew

Our Favourite Freezer-Friendly Batch Cooking Recipes (31)

This Mediterranean-style fish stew is really easy, really flavourful, and most of all - super healthy. We left out traditional ingredients like saffron to make it cheaper, and mussels because it was just getting a bit too complicated. We kept it simple with cod and prawns, and it's delicious.

Get the Healthy Fish Stew recipe.

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16

Pork & Ale Casserole With Honey-Glazed Apples

Our Favourite Freezer-Friendly Batch Cooking Recipes (33)

This pork casserole is comfort food to the max. The honey-glazed apples add a delicious fruity sweetness to this rich and hearty pork and ale casserole. Feel free to use any soft herbs you like in the mash.

Get the recipe.

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17

Pork Stroganoff

Our Favourite Freezer-Friendly Batch Cooking Recipes (35)

Pork stroganoff is such an easy, flavourful dinner to make. Using pork fillet is perfect because it's such a tender cut, and really easy to cook with. Load your stroganoff up with mushrooms, mustard and sherry for the most delicious meal.

Get the Pork Stroganoff recipe.

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18

Cheesy Hasselback Shepherd's Pie

Our Favourite Freezer-Friendly Batch Cooking Recipes (37)

This twist on a shepherds pie has a deliciously addictive crispy and cheesy Hasselback topping. Serve with steamed greens and you've got yourself a winning dinner.

Get the Cheesy Hasselback Shepherd's Pie recipe.

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19

Slow Cooker Bolognese

Our Favourite Freezer-Friendly Batch Cooking Recipes (39)

Bolognese is one of our favourite recipes to make during the winter: It instantly warms you up and makes you feel sooo cosy.

Get the Slow Cooker Bolognese recipe.

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20

Slow Cooker Chicken Casserole

Our Favourite Freezer-Friendly Batch Cooking Recipes (41)

This slow cooker chicken stew is comfort food at its best. We have cooked this one with salty and slightly smoky pancetta and added whole shallots which break down over the cooking time.

Get the Slow Cooker Chicken Casserole recipe.

Our Favourite Freezer-Friendly Batch Cooking Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What food can I batch cook and freeze? ›

Freezable family recipes
  • Sausage pasta bake. A star rating of 4.4 out of 5. ...
  • Meatballs in tomato, cardamom & lime sauce. A star rating of 3.8 out of 5. ...
  • Chicken & chorizo ragu. ...
  • Broccoli stem falafel bowl. ...
  • Creamy halloumi & tomato curry. ...
  • Chicken & bacon pie. ...
  • App onlyCheesy potato patchwork pie. ...
  • Peanut butter chicken.

What bulk meals freeze well? ›

  • 1Cheesy Italian meatloaf. ...
  • 2Get-ahead chicken tikka masala. ...
  • 3Spaghetti, pepperoni and lentil bake. ...
  • 4Chicken & feta filo parcels. ...
  • 5Lasagne parcels. ...
  • 6Better-for-you chicken cacciatore. ...
  • 7Vegetarian pasta bake. ...
  • 8Spanish-style meatballs.

Can you cook batch cooked meals from frozen? ›

Once you've mastered the art of batch cooking, your freezer will be filled with beautifully homecooked food that you can defrost and reheat whenever you need a quick meal.

What foods are good to cook and freeze? ›

Here are 10 faves for the freezer – most will keep for up to six months.
  • Fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs**
  • Stocks and soups.
  • Hot and cold sauces (such as marinara and pesto**)
  • Chili and stews.
  • Baked pasta dishes**
  • Cookie dough (shape into balls before freezing)**
  • Baked brownies.
  • Bread, rolls and flour tortillas.

What cooked food can you not freeze? ›

Here are 12 common ingredients that don't freeze well due to quality issues and safety concerns.
  • 01 of 12. Milk. ...
  • 02 of 12. Mayonnaise. ...
  • 03 of 12. Cream Cheese. ...
  • 04 of 12. Cucumbers. ...
  • 05 of 12. Zucchini. ...
  • 06 of 12. Lettuce and Cabbage. ...
  • 07 of 12. Tomatoes. ...
  • 08 of 12. Baked and Boiled Potatoes.
Oct 5, 2022

What is best to freeze prepared meals in? ›

Freeze in Airtight Bags or Containers. Using an airtight container or bag to freeze your food will help increase the quality of your frozen food for a longer period of time because it will limit the food's exposure to air.

What are three foods that don't freeze well? ›

Foods That Do Not Freeze Well (SP 50-766)
FoodsUsual use
Icings made from egg whitesCakes, cookies
Cream or custard fillingsPies, baked goods
Milk sauces and graviesFor casseroles or gravies
Sour creamAs topping, in salads
15 more rows

Can I freeze cooked pasta? ›

You can! Just make sure to cool the spaghetti completely before freezing, transfer properly in an airtight container or freezer bag, and label it with the date. Can you freeze cooked pasta with sauce? You can, but if possible, it is best to freeze the sauce and pasta separately for best texture.

What containers are best to freeze meals? ›

The Best Types of Packaging for the Freezer
  • Wrap. Whether foil, paper, or plastic, there are a number of wraps to help you insulate food from the colder air (and frost) of the freezer. ...
  • Zip-Top Freezer Bags. ...
  • Plastic Boxes with Lids. ...
  • Aluminum Pans with Lids. ...
  • Glass Jars, Bowls, or Pans with Plastic Lids. ...
  • Vacuum Sealer.

Is it cheaper to batch cook? ›

If you're looking for a healthier, quicker and slightly cheaper way of enjoying delicious home-cooked food, then batch cooking for the freezer could be for you. It involves cooking larger batches of meals and then freezing some for later, ideally in separate portions. Buying ingredients in bulk is invariably cheaper.

How long can you keep batch cooking in the freezer? ›

In a freezer, however, you can keep batch-cooked sauces, meat stews, and most things for 3 months! If your food has been in the freezer longer, it's actually still fine to eat, but it will have started to dry out and taste less good, so aim to eat it within the 12 weeks if you can.

Is batch cooking worth it? ›

Batch cooking is a great way to simplify meals and make them more nutritious but it can also be a recipe for monotony, especially if you're eating the same meals over and over again. You can get so bored that eating itself starts to seem like a chore. Find more tips here on how to make healthy eating less boring.

What are good casseroles to freeze? ›

This gallery is proudly brought to you in partnership with Coles.
  • 1One-pot sausage stew. ...
  • 2One-pot French-style chicken casserole. ...
  • 3Classic one-pot beef stew. ...
  • 4Fish, fennel and tomato stew. ...
  • 5Pork and mushroom stew. ...
  • 6Chicken casserole with mushrooms and carrots. ...
  • 7Korean beef and tofu stew. ...
  • 8Mexican chicken and bean stew.

What foods should you not freeze in the freezer? ›

14 Foods You Should Never Freeze
  • 01 of 14. Leafy Greens. Akepong Srichaichana / EyeEm/Getty Images. ...
  • 02 of 14. Raw Eggs. Mint Images/Getty Images. ...
  • 03 of 14. Cheese. Westend61/Getty Images. ...
  • 04 of 14. Avocado. Westend61/Getty Images. ...
  • 05 of 14. Sour Cream. ...
  • 06 of 14. Yogurt. ...
  • 07 of 14. Jell-O. ...
  • 08 of 14. Cream Cheese.
Aug 27, 2023

What to avoid in frozen foods? ›

Quickly scan the nutritional content to avoid frozen meals filled with sodium, added sugar, and saturated fat, and make the best choice that aligns with your family's dietary preferences and health goals.

Is batch cooking and freezing healthy? ›

By having batch cooked food stored in your fridge or freezer, you are less likely to eat impulsively, saving you money and helping you to eat more healthily. Eat healthier meals – When you batch cook food, you are more likely to incorporate healthy and nutritious ingredients.

What meals freeze and reheat well? ›

Reheat-and-Eat Dinners
  • 1 / 10. Slow Cooker Pasta e fa*gioli. ...
  • 2 / 10. Stir-Fry Freezer Meals. ...
  • 3 / 10. Slow-Cooked Bolognese Sauce. ...
  • 4 / 10. Baked Ziti. ...
  • 5 / 10. Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff. ...
  • 6 / 10. Easy Vegetarian Tikka Masala. ...
  • 7 / 10. Easy One-Pot Chicken Taco Soup. ...
  • 8 / 10. Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas.

Can you cook food and then freeze it? ›

After cooking raw foods which were previously frozen, it is safe to freeze the cooked foods. If previously cooked foods are thawed in the refrigerator, you may refreeze the unused portion. Freeze leftovers within 3-4 days.

What food is good to make in bulk? ›

Best batch-cooking recipes
  • Melted leeks with spinach and basil ricotta.
  • French onion soup.
  • Butternut squash, tomato and rosemary sauce.
  • Beef, beetroot and butter bean stew with Stilton dumplings.
  • Batch-it-up family Bolognese.
  • Macaroni cheese chorizo bake.
  • Melted leeks with spinach and basil ricotta.
  • French onion soup.

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