10 Crock Pot Make ahead Meals in under an Hour

Learn how to make 10 Crock pot make ahead freezer meals in just one hour. Take the stress out of meal time with these delicious ideas that will save you time and money.

Easy crock pot make ahead freezer meals!

We have 10 crockpot make ahead Meals meals that you can put together in under 1 hour! If you loved our first round of crock pot freezer meals then you are going to love these new recipes. These are all completely different recipes, but you can still make them all and have them in your freezer in under an hour. You might also like our Healthy meal plan as well.

These really are a huge time savers for my family plus the meals are so delicious. Make ahead meals are truly awesome to have on hand. When the prep work has already been completed, you just toss and go on the day you want to enjoy for dinner.

Simply toss it in the crock pot before you head to work or get the kids off to school. You can come home to dinner ready and your house smelling amazing.

One hour of work and your life is so much easier. Plus, when I have simple make a head meals in my freezer, I’m less likely to run through the drive thru for burgers or to call in pizza which in the end… saves me a lot of money.

See a Video on make ahead freezer meals

10 crock pot make ahead freezer meals

You will need the following supplies:

• 10 gallon sized freezer bags
• Labels or a permanent marker
• Can opener
• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• Long handled spoon
• JOKARI Hands-Free Baggy Rack Storage Bag Holder (These are not necessary, but make it so much easier to put the meals together. Imagine having an extra set of hands! )

These hands free bag holders are seriously a life saver. You can see them in action above. They keep your bags open so you can just dump your ingredients inside. You can snag them very inexpensively on Amazon.

Here are the easy make ahead freezer meals:

1. Cranberry Orange Pork Tenderloin
2. Cashew Chicken
3. Cheesy Enchilada Quinoa
4. Hawaiian Chicken
5. Creamy Italian Chicken
6. Korean Beef
7. Chicken Parmesan
8. Beef Tips
9. Ham and Bean Soup
10. BBQ Chicken

How to make make ahead freezer meals

Below I’m going to show you how to make each meal quickly and easily. Then if you scroll to the bottom of this post, you can create your own custom shopping list making this even easier for you! Each one will represent one bag and one meal.

1. Cranberry Orange Pork Tenderloin

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 can whole berry cranberry sauce
• ½ cup Catalina dressing
• tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp corn starch
• 2-4 lb pork tenderloin

¼ cup orange juice

Put all ingredients in your freezer bag and freeze. Put contents in the crockpot (frozen or thawed) and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high 4-6 hours. We LOVED this one! We ate it with mashed potatoes and peas. It tasted even better the next day for lunch, too.

2. Cashew Chicken

• ¼ cup flour
• ½ tsp pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp ketchup
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 cup of water
• 4-6 chicken breasts
• ½ cup cashew halves

Put all ingredients in your freezer bag except the cashews. Place contents in your crockpot frozen or thawed. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-6 hours. Remove chicken and shred. Return chicken to the crockpot, mix everything up and top with cashews. This was my husband’s favorite meal. We added frozen Asian veggie medley to this and served it over rice. I added extra red pepper flakes for a little extra pop.

3. Cheesy Enchilada Quinoa

• 1 can black beans
• 1 can corn
• 1 can Rotel
• 1 cup red enchilada sauce
• 1 diced onion or ⅓ cup dehydrated minced onions
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 cup water
• 1 lb ground beef or turkey
• 1.5 cups uncooked quinoa
• 2 cups shredded cheese

Add all ingredients into your freezer bag except the cheese and put it in the freezer. You can either put the ground meat in cooked or raw. I’m lazy so I put it in raw and break it up once it’s cooked. Place contents in the crockpot frozen or thawed. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-6 hours. The quinoa cooked perfectly in the crockpot all day! Once everything is cooked, mix together and top with cheese. We added diced avocado, sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt), and salsa. My girls loved this one. They loves Mexican food like their mama.

4. Hawaiian Chicken

• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup vinegar
• 3 tsp garlic powder
• 1 can pineapple chunks with juice
• 4-6 chicken breasts

Place all ingredients in your freezer bag and freeze. Put contents in the crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-6 hours. Remove chicken, shred, and return to the crockpot. We served this over rice with a side of broccoli. It is very yummy!

5. Creamy Italian Chicken

• 8 oz cream cheese
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 Italian dressing mix packet
• 4-6 chicken breasts
• ¾ cup water

Place all ingredients in your freezer bag and freeze. Put contents in the crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-6 hours. Remove chicken, shred, and return to the crockpot. We served this over pasta with asparagus. This was another family favorite!

6. Korean Beef

• ¼ cup corn starch
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ½ cup soy sauce
• ½ tsp chicken or beef granules
• ¾ cup brown sugar
• 1 diced onion or ⅓ cup dehydrated minced onion (remember I’m lazy)
• ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
• 1.5 lbs flank steak

Put all ingredients in your freezer bag and freeze. Place contents into your crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-6 hours. Remove meat and cut into pieces. You can do this step prior to cooking, but I’d rather cut up cooked meat than raw meat. Return to the crockpot. We served this over rice with a side of stir fry veggies. This was very good! Honestly, I was surprised by the awesome flavor.

7. Chicken Parmesan

• 1 jar pasta sauce
• mozzarella cheese
• 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
• 4-6 chicken breasts
• 1 tsp garlic powder

Place all ingredients except cheese in your freezer bag and put into the freezer. Place contents in your crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-6 hours. Once it is cooked, top with shredded mozzarella cheese. We served ours over angel hair pasta with a side salad. You can take the extra step to bread your chicken prior to freezing it, but skipping that saves time and makes it a little healthier!

8. Beef Tips

• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 3 tbsp brown gravy
• 1 tsp beef or chicken granules
• 1 diced onion or ⅓ cup dehydrated minced onion
• 1 cup water
• 2 lbs stew meat

Place all ingredients into your freezer bag and freeze. Put contents in your crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4-6 hours. We served this over rice (it would also be great over mashed potatoes) and peas. I love this one! It is a very comfort style meal and very simple to make.

9. Ham and Bean Soup

• 1 bag of dried a Northern beans
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 6 cups of water
• 1 lb ham bone

Place all ingredients in your freezer bag and freeze. Put contents in the crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-6 hours. Remove ham and shred. Make sure you remove the bone too! We had corn bread with this meal and topped it with mozzarella cheese. I thought this was a very simple and filling meal.

10. BBQ Chicken

• 1 cup BBQ sauce
• ¼ cup Italian dressing
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 4-6 chicken breasts

Place all ingredients in your freezer bag and freeze. Put contents in your crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-6 hours. Shred chicken and return to the crockpot. We served this on buns with a side of sweet potato fries. We all agreed this was the best BBQ chicken!

Now you’re done and you have 10 make ahead meals in your freezer ready to go! Which recipe are you going to try first?

Tip for make a head freezer meal recipes:

Go ahead and make 2 of each meal and you will have 20 make ahead meals in less than 2 hours. YEP! I actually did this and it only took an hour and half to double them all.

It is super easy to double this and have even more recipes in the freezer. After all – you are going to want these delicious recipes more than just once!

Don’t forget the baggie stands. These will make the process go even faster. I hope your family enjoys the meals as much as my family has!

Try these Easy family freezer meals!

Now below you can see all the meals and ingredients listed. All you have to do is click next to the ingredient and it will add to a customized shopping list. Then you can go shopping and start your freezer session.

Meal planning is so easy when you try these simple recipes. Your family can enjoy a healthy meal without much work.

I hope you all enjoy these crock pot make ahead meals!

Once you try these, it will change dinner time!

More easy freezer tips:

• Freezer tip: You can freeze butter
• Freezer tip: how to freeze a loaf of bread
• How to freeze milk
• How to freeze rice
• Can you freeze cheese? 
• Freezer tip: Can you freeze tortillas
• How to freeze pasta

 

Create your printable shopping list below: