Freezer Cooking in an Hour (Gluten Free & Real Food!)
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Sometimes life just comes at you from all directions and the last thing that you want to worry about is what you are putting on the table for supper. To make things easier, I put together these Gluten Free Freezer meals that I can simply pull out, place in my slow cooker, and enjoy when it’s time to eat.
Gluten Freezer Meals in an Hour
This week I wrote up a menu of meals I could make and put in the freezer. This was an interesting challenge for me since I haven’t done this yet since I’ve been gluten-free. So today I made meals to be able to get us through the next week at least, and I made them all with real food, and all gluten-free! Plus I focused on making crock-pot meals so when I do go to cook them I don’t have to do anything besides open the bag and pour in my crock-pot.
I started by gathering all of my supplies. Most of the vegetables I needed I had put away in the freezer already cut up or canned. I put everything out on the counter. I had gotten all my meat out the night before so it could thaw to be able to bake or soak up the juices.
Meatloaf Freezer Meal
I started by making Cheesy Meatloaf. This one has to bake for 45 minutes so I made it first so I could let it bake while I finished the rest of the meals.
–Here’s an Old Fashioned Meatloaf Recipe you might enjoy also.
Cheesy Meatloaf
A fun twist on the classic meatloaf.
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground meat (I used beef)
- 1 cup shredded cheese
- 1/2 cup milk
- 3/4 cup oats
- 2 Tablespoon minced onion
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
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Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Shape in a loaf pan and bake at 350F for 45 minutes. Once it's done, let it cool and pop it in a freezer bag.
Sausage and Peppers Freezer Meals
And while that was baking I threw together this Sausage and Peppers. This meal is so simple to throw together but everyone in our family enjoys it!
–To make this meal a little heartier, you can serve it over rice. Add this Cook Ahead Freezer Rice to your freezer cooking day or make it before you serve it.
Sausage and Peppers
A simple freezer meal that the family will enjoy!
Ingredients
- 4 sausages (I just used hot dogs since that's what I had on hand)
- 2 cups chopped green peppers
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1 pint tomatoes (Or 2 cups diced tomatoes if you aren't a canner!)
- splash of olive oil
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
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Throw together in a freezer bag. When you are ready to cook, cook in a slow cooker for 5 hours on low.
Broccoli Cheese Soup Freezer Meal
Then I made Broccoli Cheese Soup! This Soup is perfect for cool fall or winter days.
I divide this recipe into two meals for our family, you can put it away in any size portion you want. You can even do individual servings for a quick lunch option for home, office or school lunches.
–I love soups packed with fresh vegetables. This Homemade Vegetable Soup is another favorite!
Broccoli Cheese Soup
This soup is perfect for cool fall or winter days!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/4 cup flour (can be gluten free) or starch or less
- 2 cup milk
- 2 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 1 1/2 cup broccoli
- 1/2 teapoon salt
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
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Combine all ingredients (except cheese) on the stove top and simmer together until onions are cooked. Add in cheese and cook until melted. Cool and pour into freezer containers or freezer bags. (I separated this into 2 separate meals)
BBQ Chicken Freezer Meal
Then I threw this BBQ Chicken meal together. This easy freezer meal can be made with just a few minutes of prep work.
–Prefer to cook meats fresh? Make a batch of this Fresh Tomato BBQ Sauce for the freezer so you always have it on hand.
BBQ Chicken Freezer Meal
This easy freezer meal features BBQ chicken and can be made in just a few minutes of prep work!
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts
- 2 cupcs chopped green peppers
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 3 potatoes chopped
- 1 cup ketchup
- 1 Tablespoon turbinado (or brown sugar)
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
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Throw together in a freezer bag. When you are ready to cook, place the contents of the bag in the slow cooker and cook for 4 hours on high.
Roast Beef and Beans Freezer Meal
And lastly, I put together this Roast Beef and Beans meal. It’s a simple but hearty meal that is great for cold, winter days.
–These Freezer Beef N Bean Burritos are another hearty option and are great for a quick meal on the go.
Beef & Beans
A simple but hearty freezer meal for the slow cooker.
Ingredients
- 3 lb beef roast
- 1/4 cup rice flour (Or regular flour if you aren't GF)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 chopped onion
- 1 quart tomatoes (Or 4 cups diced tomatoes)
- 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 Tablespoons turbinado (Or brown sugar)
- 16 oz green beans
Instructions
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Throw together in a freezer bag. When you are ready to cook, pour contents of the bag into the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
Yes, all this with prep and clean up time included only took me one hour! And here we have all of our gluten-free frozen meals ready for the next week. Pretty neat, isn’t it? And you can do it too!
–Check out all of our make ahead meal ideas on Little House Living.
Trying to plan better, more frugal meals for your family so that you always have a warm meal on the table and aren’t wasting money at the grocery store? You’ve got to check out my ebook Meal Planning Made Simple. Even if you thought meal planning didn’t work for your family, this ebook will help you find the perfect fit for your family’s style.
Have you tried freezer cooking in an hour? What’s your favorite meal to make?
This post on Gluten Free Freezer Meals was originally published on Little House Living in November 2012. It has been updated as of November 2019.
The sausage and peppers and BBQ chicken look yummy! I think I am going to work on these this weekend.
Karyn
Yum! I think I may try your meatloaf this weekend!
Meatloaf is one of my fave things to freeze. Growing up on a farm we would cook and freeze a ton of meals in the winter so when summer came I wouldn’t have to come in from whatever the guys had me doing outside and fix a meal from scratch, my mom or little sis could just pull out a frozen meal and pop it in the oven 🙂
I just used up the last of my “Freezer Food” yesterday ,so time for me to start actually cooking again! I love your crockpot freezer meal ideas!
Do you put the meals in the crockpot frozen or do you thaw them first?
I put them in frozen.
they all look soooo good! but i think the broccoli cheese soup is my first try.. new to you site but i definitely do enjoy it… thanks for sharing..
Welcome Liz!
I’ll definitely have to try some of these. I almost didn’t look because I’m on a low carb diet rather than gluten-free for health reasons (and no beef for personal reasons), but with very few modifications or omissions I could do these!
You are so efficient, I love it!
Oh my goodness, this came at a great time. I’ve been wanting to try some freezer to crockpot meals- made form real food- for some time. Thanks for ideas, yum!
Another awesome post, I feel a freezer cooking day coming up!
My daughter is not yet able to eat oats (she also has Celiac disease). Do you have any suggestions for substitutions for the gf meatloaf that would work as well? These recipes look wonderful! Thanks for posting!
You can either add GF breadcrumbs instead or just leave them out altogether.
Crushed GF cereals can work in a pinch as well.
We use crushed gf tortilla chips in meatloaf. (those crushed up chip no one wants to eat) We also regularly eat gf oats in our celiac household.
How do you recommend reheating the meatloaf once it has been frozen? Thank you
I would thaw it in your fridge until you are ready to eat, then heat in a toaster oven, regular oven, or microwave.
Any suggestions on temp and timing ?
SInce it’s already cooked you’ll just need to heat it until it’s warm. I’m not sure how long it would take, I normally heat mine in the microwave just until it’s hot.
In the beef and beans-do you use fresh green beans? New to your website but already love it
Either fresh or frozen works well in that recipe:)
Love your recipes! Making the meatloaf tonight (triple batch, but putting into muffin tins for easy, individual size portions when ready to use the rest later). You said you already had cut up veggies that you’d frozen. Do you need to prep them any special way to freeze? How long are they good for if you freeze them? Any veggies you can’t or shouldn’t freeze cut up ahead of time? Thanks!
It depends on the veggie. Some of them I cook first and then freeze, others can just be put straight into the freezer. I’m not sure of any that you should freeze (at least as far as veggies goes).
I tried your meatloaf this week using ground turkey. It was delicious! I am eating sugar, flour, and wheat-free these days and having a hard time finding suitable recipes. This was perfect! Thanks for sharing. I linked your recipe in a post I did on make ahead meals today. I hope you don’t mind!
Another meatloaf recipe I made, I did not bake the meatloaf first before freezing, I just put the unbaked loaf pan in a freezer bag until we were ready to make it. Would you recommend baking this one first or would this be fine just freezing unbaked? Thanks!
I baked this one first just to have the ease of not baking it later. Otherwise you’d have to thaw, then bake and it might take a while.
That makes sense, thank you 🙂 I’m anxious to try it, it sounds delicious!!
This is amazing! I have been searching the web looking for easy gluten free freezer meals. I am also dairy free so I will just substitute where needed. Thank you!!
Thank you so much for this great idea! I would never have thought of putting together all the ingredients into a meal like that, ready to go! Will be so handy for cooking meals on the afternoons we are at the girls dance lessons
Thanks for this. I love that most recipes are simple and yet seem very yummy. Giving me some new ideas.
Thanks for posting! I just made a bunch of freezer meals for my GF family!
You are just all kinds of wonderful, Lady. I love all your posts! 🙂
These are great recipes. I have struggling lately with getting healthy, gluten free meals on the table with life being so crazy. Thank you!
What are the serving sizes per meal?
These recipes will serve about 4.
This will be a big help….always looking for something healthy and tasty to put in the crockpot
I love to read anything that is about being frugal or self sufficient. I am retired and usually spend my mornings cooking ahead for the freezer or for dinner that night. My husbands hours are crazy so it’s easier to just heat everything up while he’s on his way home. I love to cook and was raised in a family where money was scarce. I learned how to stretch the food budget and to spend the time it takes to cook from scratch. We don’t eat out unless we are celebrating a birthday, etc. We have a budget and track everything we spend. I like to challenge myself to be creative and serve a warm and yummy but inexpensive meal every night. We are full time RVer’s. We had a 3000 sq. ft home and downsized once the kids were grown. Keep the articles coming, I love reading them.
Karen
Thank you for sharing these! I’m trying to be more efficient in the kitchen because I notice that is where most of my time is spent.
Thank You Merissa. Love all your posts. It has taught me a lot about easy meals, storing, crafts. And all recipes you post. I have actually made some. They are delicious and simple.
Thank You. Have a wonderful weekend. 😊