Did you know that making freezer meals can cut your cooking time in half? Lots of people think cooking meals ahead of time and freezing them is time-consuming, but it’s actually quite the opposite when you approach it right.

Yes, you will still need to spend time on prep, cooking, and cleaning, but it won’t take any longer than it would to make the same meal and not freeze it – and you’ll only have to do the prep work, grocery buying, cooking and cleaning once. This is why lots of people recommend freezer meals for new moms – they just free up so much time in your schedule!

Here’s a look at how freezer meals can cut your cooking time in half.

1. It forces you to plan ahead

When you’re making freezer meals, you automatically need to plan ahead. This means you save time by meal planning and buying all the groceries you need in one go without even trying. Anything that can get you into the habit of meal planning is going to save you time in the long run, and freezer meals are many people’s first foray into this more efficient and organised meal approach. 

2. It works well with simpler meals

One of the most beautiful things about making meals and freezing them is how incredibly simple these types of recipes can be. You can intentionally select simple recipes to use as freezer meals, but you’ll also find that some of the best freezer meals just so happen to be easy and straightforward. This means you’re not spending hours on complicated dishes that will completely disappear 20 minutes after your family sits down at the table. For a small amount of effort, you get multiple meals!

3. You’ll do less cleaning

If the words “less cleaning” spark even a fraction of the joy in your heart that they do in mine, you’re going to be totally on board with the concept of freezer meals. I don’t know about you, but even when I make quick recipes, I often end up with a kitchen full of dirty bowls, appliances and measuring tools that can take just as long to clean as it took to make the meal itself – if not longer! Simpler meals, by definition, require less cleaning, but you’ll also find that the only thing you have to clean the day you eat a freezer meal is the dishes you serve it on. This also means you’ll have a cleaner kitchen!

4. You can save time with a slow cooker

Making freezer meals crockpot recipes gives you double the time-saving benefit because cooking in your slow cooker saves time on its own, whether you eat it right away or freeze and store. So you get to save time on the initial cooking on top of the time savings you’ll enjoy when you serve your freezer meals. Batch cooking is so much easier when you make it in the slow cooker thanks to its large capacity and hands-off nature, and it’s easy to find recipes for kid friendly freezer meals you can make in a crockpot.

5. It lets you cook when you want

Everyone has their own productivity style. I’m an early riser and get things done way faster when I work on them in the morning. Freezer meals let you approach multiple dinners as a single project that you can slot into a slow Sunday morning or a rainy afternoon when you can’t go out for your usual run. As a result, your house will be a lot less hectic at dinnertime on the days you pull out your freezer meals.

Let’s face it: cooking at dinnertime isn’t always convenient when you have kids. Even if they don’t have after-school activities, they often need help with homework (if you’ve got younger kids or children needing more attention, you need to sit with them until it’s done). Plus, we’d all like to spend more time playing with them after they’ve been out all day and less time standing at the hob stirring, right?

If you find yourself short on time in the evenings or you’re just plain tired of cooking every single night, freezer meals are the way to go. There is no shortage of great recipes geared specifically to this convenient way of cooking, and the time this approach can free up for you and your family is invaluable.