Whether you’re staying at home more and cooking for your family, meal prepping for one (or two) and want Primal/paleo, keto, or Whole30 recipes to stash for later, our freezer-friendly recipes provide easy ideas for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert that are ideal for freezing. The recipe roundup includes a wide variety of chicken, pork, beef, and fish recipes that can be frozen and, after defrosting and reheating, served with fresh vegetables and fixings to round out the meal. There are also breakfast, meat-free, and dessert recipes ideal for freezing.
Check out our tips below for tips on freezing and storing already-prepared snacks and meals, plus our tips for getting your frozen foods and meals ready to eat.
How to Freeze Prepared Snacks and Meals for Storage
For small items (think donut holes or blueberries or gnocchi), clear out a shelf in your freezer. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and place the items to be frozen at least a finger apart on the baking sheets. Freeze the food-lined baking sheets for 4–5 hours until frozen, then remove baking sheets from the freezer and store the frozen items in a resealable freezer bag or freezer-safe storage container.
For larger items (think stews, meatloaf, pulled pork, etc.), cool the food down until it’s at room temperature, and then store in a resealable freezer bag or freezer-safe storage container. Food is usually safe to consume when frozen for three to six months after storing it; just be sure to label what you’ve frozen with the name of the food and date.
2 Steps to Get Your Freezer-Friendly Meals Ready to Eat
The best way to prepare already-cooked foods that have been frozen: Remove the portion you want to eat, and defrost in the refrigerator until no longer frozen (may take 8–24 hours, so plan ahead). Once the food is defrosted, you can usually reheat it using the same method you used to cook it before freezing.
If you baked a casserole in the oven before freezing, heat it up in the oven (usually at 375–400ºF). If you made gluten-free waffles in a waffle iron, heat and crisp them in the waffle iron. A toaster can work for this, too—you just might need to set it as a higher temperature if the waffles are still frozen. If you cooked your meal in an Instant Pot or slow cooker, you can reheat in a pot on the stove.
Freezer-Friendly Breakfast Recipes
Whole30 Breakfast Casserole
Easy to make and a dish that the whole family (even non-Whole30’ers) will enjoy, this breakfast casserole includes turkey “sausage”, kale and leeks for a square meal. Freeze any uneaten portions and reheat in a regular or toaster oven.
Keto Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
These keto-friendly muffins use a keto-friendly baking mix that makes them a snap to whip up. If you don’t like lemon poppy, substitute vanilla beans to make vanilla muffins, cinnamon and ground cardamom to make spice muffins, or orange zest and chopped dark chocolate to make orange chocolate muffins.
Gluten-Free Vanilla Coconut Waffles
These egg-free, grain- and gluten-free waffles cook up just as crisp and fluffy as regular waffles. Make a double batch and freeze any extras; reheat in a waffle iron or toaster, and top with fresh or frozen fruit, and a touch of maple syrup or raw honey.
Bacon Pancakes
These pancakes aren’t the giant, carb-packed buttermilk variety with bacon bits scattered throughout, but rather a bit dense, savory, and quite crispy on the outside. If you can manage to save any, pop them in the freezer, hide them in the back, and don’t tell others they’re there.
Almond Banana Pancakes
Just three ingredients and a few minutes of cook time on the stove make these almond banana pancakes Primal-friendly and easy to whip up on a weekend as you’re waiting for the coffee to brew. Freeze these with a piece of parchment paper between each cake so they don’t stick together.
Freezer-Friendly Lunch and Dinner Recipes
Cauliflower Gnocchi
With just seven ingredients, these pillowy, delicate cauliflower gnocchi can be frozen and stored in the freezer for 3–4 months. Heat them in boiling, salted water for two to three minutes, drain, and dry on clean kitchen towels. Heat a couple of tablespoons of avocado or olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and add the gnocchi, stirring frequently until lightly browned and crisp.
Whole30 Lasagna
This no-dairy, no-noodle lasagna takes extra time to create, but freezing the leftovers will ensure you can enjoy the fruits of your labor days and weeks after the initial effort.
BBQ Ranch Keto Cauliflower Pizza
Cauliflower pizza makes a great freezable dinner option—make one to eat now and one to freeze to eat another night. Make this BBQ Ranch chicken pizza without the red onion loops and fresh cilantro, freeze, and then add the fresh toppings after you heat it.
White Chicken Chili
Versatile, filling, and easy to freeze and thaw, a warm and veggie-packed Primal chili is a great one-pot meal to make on weekends to freeze for weeknight meals.
Lamb and Sweet Potato Stew
Gamey, meaty, comforting, and rich, this lamb and sweet potato stew features unique flavors such as cinnamon, ginger, and saffron.
Freezer-Friendly Meat, Fish & Poultry Recipes
Whole30 Instant Pot Ranch Chicken
Four ingredients transform boring chicken thighs and bland breasts into a palate-tingling protein perfect for weekly meal prep or make-ahead meals for the family. Made with two pounds of chicken, you may want to double the recipe to stock your freezer with ready-to-heat zippy chicken.
Keto Buffalo Chicken Wings
Stock your freezer with these ready-to-heat spicy keto buffalo chicken wings, and you’re halfway to happy hour at home.
Savory Salmon Cakes
Made with canned salmon, flaxseed, seasonings, and Primal Kitchen Mayo and Tartar Sauce for creamy oomph, these salmon cakes are a grain-free switch-up to salmon or crab cakes made with bread crumbs. Wrap each uneaten salmon cake in parchment paper before freezing to make them easy to defrost and heat later.
Frozen Primal Burgers
If you have extra ground meat, or if you’ve made a lot of your own, season the ground meat, form the meat into burger pucks, and wrap each burger in parchment paper before freezing. Dress up frozen turkey, chicken, or grass-fed beef patties with Primal mayo, dressings, or sauces.
Paleo Lettuce Cups (Ground Pork Filling)
Freeze the ground pork filling, and you can have lettuce cups ready to heat and eat anytime. These paleo and Primal lettuce cups taste every bit as sweet and savory as the restaurant-style ones, without the need for the deep-fried rice noodles on top.
Dreamy Italian White Fish Packets
These parchment-wrapped fish packets make an ideal freezer situation—simply prepare the packets with fresh fish, seasoning, and lemon slices, wrap and fold over the parchment paper, and freeze. Defrost the fish parchment packets on a baking sheet in the refrigerator, and slide the baking sheet into the oven when ready to cook. If you make the veggies suggested in the recipe, cook those from fresh when you cook your frozen fish packets so the veggies don’t get soggy. Garnish the cooked fish with parsley, dressing, and seeds.
Keto Meatloaf
Slice any uneaten meatloaf you’d like to freeze, and wrap each slice in parchment paper before storing in a resealable freezer bag or container. That way, you can remove individual slices of meatloaf to heat and eat.
Bacon-Wrapped Hot Dog Bites
Salty, meaty, and savory, these bacon-wrapped hot dog bites make great appetizers and additions to kid snack plates. Simply cut up hot dogs, cut bacon slices in half, wrap each hot dog piece with bacon, and freeze.
Instant Pot Pork Carnitas
Make a double batch of these Instant Pot Pork Carnitas, and freeze the second batch entirely for later use—store the batch in four separate batches so you have portioned family meals ready to defrost, heat, and serve.
Ribeye Roast
This mustard-spiced, thyme-, garlic-, and shallot-flavored ribeye roast is the gift that keeps giving—you’ll likely need to freeze slices of this hunk of meat in order to eat it all.
Espresso-Rubbed Prime Rib Roast
Coffee and meat may sound like a strange combination, but it’s a marriage that works well because the espresso highlights the flavor of the rib roast in an unexpected way. We’d recommend freezing in chunks to be able to use in future stews, soups, or sheet pan dinners.
Freezer-Friendly Desserts
Chocolate Peanut Butter Fat Bombs
A little peanut butter, a little cocoa, a little coffee, and a lot scrumptious, these fat bombs contain almond butter, coconut oil, butter or ghee to make a rich two-bite treat. If you have any leftover, store in the freezer, and enjoy as frozen chocolate delights.
Primal Fuel Whey Protein Bars
These substantial bars made with Primal Fuel Whey Protein taste like cakey brownies. Made with seven simple ingredients, these grain-free bars are sweetened with maple syrup and monk fruit.
Easy Keto Donut Holes
These keto donut holes keep in the freezer and refrigerator for easy snacks. Enjoy them frozen—they’re a bit like the inside of bon bons when frozen—or take out a frozen bag to defrost in the refrigerator or on the countertop for 3–4 hours.
Avocado Oil Ice Cream Sandwiches
Who doesn’t love cookies and ice cream? Our version of this classic combo uses a grain-free cookie dough and a homemade dairy-free ice cream made with Avocado Oil and coconut milk.
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