42 Easy to Gift Freezer Meals and Tips for Sharing
This post was originally part of our Freeze it Forward Challenge in 2016, but it is really useful anytime you want to share a meal with someone in need.
We all know someone who could use help with a meal – new baby, a recent move, single parent, chronic illness, or surgery – the list goes on. Sometimes you want to help, but you aren’t quite sure where to start. We recommend you start with a freezer meal! We have a quick list of favorites, but these aren’t the only easy meals you can make. If you are already a freezer cook and member of Once A Month Meals*, simply add a few recipes to your meal plan to have on hand to share with a friend. If you’re new around here, then maybe just pick 2-3 meals to start with.
Once you have the freezer meals made, then you can pull them out and heat them up to bring to someone at a moment’s notice! Or if you know that someone needs ongoing help, just bring them the freezer meals (complete with instructions) and stash them in their freezer to use when they need them. It really is easy to gift freezer meals!!! Much more so than cooking from scratch every time you want to share.
*To learn more about the different levels of membership and the benefits associated with each, click here.
Create a no-credit-card-needed OAMM membership account to explore and see if OAMM is the right fit for YOU!
You’ll be able to:
- search the 13,500+ freezer recipe database with hundreds of filters available.
- build and save for later use up to 3 meal plans of 5 recipes each.
- favorite recipes you find and want to try later or have cooked and love.
- view nutritional data of each recipe.
*For more information on paid vs free membership check this out.
Tips for Easy to Gift Freezer Meals
- Keep in mind that you are trying to make life easy for the person who receives your meal, so give them something that doesn’t have to be cooked on the serving day (No-cook Serving Day) or can be simply “dumped” in the slow cooker. (Or as we said above, you can heat it for them.)
- Dinner is the meal we typically think to share, but breakfast, lunch, and even snacks are an enormous help to someone who is ill, has a new baby, works long or unusual shifts, or is on the road.
- If you do only bring dinner, make it a complete meal by adding a salad, bread (try this simple Artisan Bread), a side dish, or dessert.
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Use Menu Builder to easily search and filter recipes and create your own easy to gift freezer meal plan:
Mini Meal Plans for Gifting
We have compiled several meal plans specifically for the purpose of giving. They include full meals – the main dish and side dish. And some will also include a dish that can be served for breakfast, snack, or dessert. These are easy to adapt for single servings or multiply for a large family.
Get Multicourse Mini Meal Plans
Our Favorite Easy to Gift Freezer Meals by Meal Type
Breakfast
- Mini Snickerdoodle French Toast
- Classic Homemade Yogurt Banana Bread
- Egg and Pepper Sandwiches
- Mexican Breakfast Burritos
- Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Pancakes
Lunch
- Copycat Amy’s GFDF Shepherd’s Pies
- Paleo Balsamic Vegetable Meatloaf
- Thai Chicken Peanut Sliders
- Hearty Paleo Vegetable Soup
- Healthy Hidden Veggie Pasta Dish
Snacks/Treats
- Orange Banana Smoothie Pops
- Raspberry Lemonade Smoothie
- Honey Nut Cereal Bars
- Homemade Cereal Bar Cookies
- Ham and Cheese Picnic Pinwheels
- Chocolate Chip Cookies
- GFDF Brownie Mix
Dinner/Main Dish
- Beef and Bean Taco Topping (choose lettuce, or potato/sweet potato for serving)
- Chicken Pesto Sandwiches (bring with a salad or a bag of chips)
- Slow Cooker Italian Beef Stew (with Artisan Bread or bakery bought bread)
- Crockpot Ranch Pork Chops (only 3 ingredients! just add sides)
- Mama Rita’s Meatballs (add some pasta and salad for a full meal; great for a crowd or to split into individual portions)
Sides
- Freezer Mashed Potatoes
- Garlic Butter Knots
- Oven Potato Fries
- Refrigerator Rolls
- Sauteed Summer Veggies and Quinoa
- Pumpkin Macaroni and Cheese
- Add the following Simple Sides to your custom menu: white rice, brown rice, peas, broccoli, mashed potatoes, carrots, green beans, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, corn, zucchini and summer squash, pasta and marinara, and creamy mashed potatoes.
The details for our Freeze it Forward challenge so you can join us:
The challenge: Gift a freezer meal and share with the OAMM community using #freezeitforward or in the comments below.
The goal: The one who gives and one who receives will be both full and fulfilled.
