Want to get ahead of the game and fill your freezer with some easy lunches? Have I got the plan for you! Load your freezer with burritos, chili, stir fry, and lettuce wrap filling for easy lunches to please you for weeks to come.
Freezer meal prep can be easy as well as cost-effective if you plan well. Follow this easy cooking plan to get lunches made lickety-split.
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Lunchtimes can feel harried. You’ve got work to do, perhaps too much to take a full lunch break, but you gotta eat. No time to get take-out, let alone prep something fresh.
That’s when an easy lunches freezer prep plan comes in handy. You’ll be able to easily grab a meal from the freezer to reheat at lunchtime. Mischief managed.
Why Do This
It’s easy! These four recipes come together very quickly so that you can get in and out of the kitchen in a flash.
There’s variety. While a weekly lunchtime meal prep is great, sometimes you want something different than whatever else you ate this week. With a freezer stash of easy lunches, you can add variety to your weekly routine without breaking a sweat.
You deserve a great lunch. No matter how you spend your days or how busy things get, you deserve a midday break to refuel and regain energy for the rest of the day. Having a few easy lunches in the freezer can provide that.
What a bargain! At just $18.84 to prep all four recipes, you’ll have 20 lunches for a veritable steal, less than $1 per serving on average!
Recipes Included
Check out these recipes for easy lunches:
This easy lunches freezer meal prep plan includes:
- Turkey Lettuce Wraps ($1.03/serving) – the filling can be frozen, you’ll add the lettuce leaves when you serve it. The recipe makes four servings.
- Easy Chicken Stir Fry ($1.30/serving) – both the stir fry and the cooked rice can be frozen (in separate containers) or you can add fresh cooked or microwaveable rice when you serve it. The recipe makes four servings.
- 30-Minute No Bean Chili Recipe (92 cents/serving) – super delicious on its own or with chips or tortillas. The recipe makes four servings.
- Spicy Chicken Fajita Burritos (73 cents each) – easy to make in a large batch and keep for weeks! The recipe makes eight burritos.
The ingredients for this freezer meal prep plan should cost you about $18.84 and result in 20 meals!
You can easily increase or decrease the number of servings on the grocery list below.
Adjustable Grocery List
Gluten-Free Notes
If you need to eat gluten-free for health reasons, you can replace the soy sauce with gluten-free tamari and use gluten-free wraps in the burritos.
Tips for Success
A couple reminders to help you truly make these easy freezer meals:
- Start with a clean kitchen.
- Print out the recipes and read through them to make sure you know what needs doing.
- Clear space in the fridge to chill food as the recipes are complete.
- Wash dishes as you go.
- Take breaks when you need to, but stick to it. You’ve got lotsa meals to make!
- Be sure to label everything with the date, the name of the recipe, and cooking/serving instructions.
Equipment Needed
You don’t need any special kitchen equipment to pull together these easy freezer lunches besides regular cooking tools.
You will want to have The Best Tools & Containers for Freezer Cooking, so be sure to read each recipe and see what containers are needed for storing these easy lunches.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here’s how to assemble your easy lunches:
Prep the Ingredients.
For this freezer cooking plan, you’ll want to:
- Chop the onion for the chili, burritos, and stir fry.
- Chop/slice the jalapeño for the chili and the burritos.
- Mince the garlic for the chili and lettuce wraps.
- Chop the peppers for the burritos, lettuce wraps, and stir fry.
- Chop the green onion for the lettuce wraps.
- Slice the mushrooms for the stir fry.
- Shred the cabbage for the stir fry, if not using coleslaw mix.
- Cook the chicken for the burritos. Chill this completely before assembling burritos.
- Chop the chicken for the stir fry.
- Sauté the fajita filling for the burritos and chill prior to assembly.
- Shred the cheese for the burritos if you didn’t purchase it shredded.
Assemble the Recipes.
Most of the prep work will be done on the counter and the stovetop. Here’s a recommended order of prep:
- Prepare the filling for the Turkey and Pepper Lettuce Wraps. You will add the lettuce leaves on the day of serving. Allow this to cool briefly before packaging to freeze. Chill in the fridge until very cold.
- Prepare the Chicken Stir Fry. If desired, cook the rice. Allow these to cool briefly before packaging to freeze. Chill in the fridge until very cold.
- Prepare the Chili. Allow this to cool briefly before packaging to freeze. Chill in the fridge until very cold.
- Assemble the burritos, being sure to use cold fillings for best results.
Wrap, Label, Chill, & Freeze.
Allow the steam to blow off the lettuce wrap filling, stir fry, and chili. Divide into meal prep containers, label, and store in the fridge until very cold. This may take several hours. Once they are very cold, transfer to the freezer.
As soon as the burritos are assembled and wrapped, place them in a ziptop freezer bag and place immediately in the freezer.
Your easy lunch freezer meals should be good for 6 to 8 weeks. To serve, thaw and reheat in the microwave or in a pan on the stove.
Check out how to plan freezer meals with your own recipes.
This post was originally published on May 10, 2015. It has been updated for content and clarity.
wendy
The link for this page is not working. When I click on it it just goes back to the original page.
Jessica Fisher
Thanks so much for letting me know! We did some site changes last week and you found a bug. The post is updated and you can find the cooking plan here: http://lifeasmom.com/easy-lunches-freezer-cooking-plan-2/
Lori
Hi Jessica-
Did you assemble the pizza’s with all of the ingredients and then freeze?
Thanks!
Jessica Fisher
Yes, I laid out all the pita breads on trays, sauced and topped them, and then frozen them until the toppings were firm. Then I wrapped them for freezing. Bake from frozen like you would a pizza from the freezer section of the store.
AmyG
So here’s a question and/or a challenge. My daughter goes to college and works, so is rarely home for meals. I often run out of leftovers to send with her and she gets tired of sandwiches and salads, although this chicken and bacon sandwich is next on my list to make for her. At Costco (oh, how we love Costco!) we have seen Asian noodle bowls that she thinks look good. I would like to make my own, add beef, pork or chicken for protein and her favorite vegetables. She isn’t a fan of rice which would make these easy because I know cooked rice freezes well. She likes the somewhat chewy wheat noodles, a little wider and flatter than spaghetti, that I find in the Asian section of my Grocery store, called yaka soba. As the Internet has not revealed a recipe for freezer noodle bowls, I have questions. I “think” the noodles will freeze successfully if cooked al dente and cooled (that must be how they make the frozen noodle bowls), the broccoli and carrots if first blanched and cooled, the protein if stir fried and cooled. Should the sauce, probably teriyaki, be mixed with the vegetables and protein component before freezing, poured on top of the bowl contents before freezing or packed separately to be added when the frozen bowl is heated. Any tips on successfully freezing something like this or is the only way to know just doing it.
Jessica Fisher
That sounds yummy! I think your plan is a good one. Maybe make one and see how it works before you make 20? I’d be tempted to add the sauce later as it could make the noodles soften more, that can happen during freezing.
Rose
I almost died at what you spend shopping. I went this past week and spent just under $60.00 to feed a family of four. I have a budget of $180.00 a week but usually spend under $100.00
Jessica Fisher
Just for clarification. I don’t spend that every week. I bought a month’s worth of lunch groceries at one time plus stocked up on breakfast stuff. My budget is $1200 for the month, which is less than your budget doubled for 8 people. 🙂
Cherie
Nice work! I realized yesterday I need to start thinking about summer lunches – and need to figure out some fast eats for my teens – they work with special needs kids in the summer and the goal is always to eat in as few seconds as possible because your buddy is usually off and running as soon as you blink LOL – I am going to show them this list to start the conversation . . .
Jessica Fisher
What a wonderful way they’re serving your community! Love that!
Cherie
As with most things – they feel they gain more than they give 🙂 But they would like to not come home starving LOL
Tara
Do you wrap each torta for the chicken bacon sub individually in foil? Do you heat them up in oven from freezer or fridge?
Jessica Fisher
Yes, I wrap them individually and reheat either way, frozen or thawed. I’m going to try reheating in the Crock-pot. I think it should work well. Hoping.