Crockpot freezer meals are just one amazing reason to use your slow cooker. Slow cookers are versatile and can cook just about anything! The legendary kitchen appliance cooks food slowly, taking anywhere from 2 to 9 hours to cook a meal. They’re popular because it’s easy to dump your ingredients into a slow cooker and let the appliance do the cooking for you. That’s why crockpot freezer meals are especially convenient when using your slow cooker!
Preparing Crockpot Freezer Meals
As simple as it sounds, crockpot freezer meals are meals you make ahead of time and freeze, then cook in your crockpot or slow cooker. The kitchen staple can be used to prepare several different meals: Think soups, stews, casseroles, and all those dump-and-go, one-pot recipes that are easy and convenient. Preparing and cooking these easy freezer meals is helpful for meal planning, cooking in bulk, saving time, and much more. In general, these are some great reasons to use a crockpot or slow cooker:
- Easy planning with crockpot freezer meals: Using your slow cooker for crockpot freezer meals means you can easily plan and meal prep ahead of time. When you head to the kitchen for dinner, the meal is already ready to go. Plus, these meals last for a couple of months in the freezer, so you can have many choices for dinner with little day-of planning necessary.
- Save money by cooking in bulk: Freezer meals are less likely to spoil since they last longer than food stored in the refrigerator. You can prepare a larger amount of ingredients this way, shopping and cooking in bulk. Then, you have several meals on hand which means less trips to the grocery store, or out for restaurant takeout.
- Simple ingredients and few steps are required: Crockpot meals are inherently simple recipes, with ingredients like canned goods, meat, and produce. And since it’s all going to be thrown in together, multiple steps to prepare and cook your ingredients aren’t necessary.
- Hands off cooking saves time: If you don’t want to “babysit” your food while it’s cooking, slow cookers are a great option. You can walk away or even leave your house while dinner cooks itself, leaving extra time for the rest of your day’s activities.
- Clean-up is quick and easy: One pot meals like crockpot freezer meals are often popular because the clean up is a breeze. After all, you only use one pot!
How to Use a Crockpot
While many people may be familiar with how to use a crockpot, it might be foreign to others. Crockpots tend to have just two or three settings and no extra buttons or fancy equipment. And the recipes tend to be quite simple — If you’re unsure about how to use a crockpot, it’s easy to get started. Just dump all the ingredients into the pot and turn on the heat. The handy kitchen appliance does all the work for you. In general, these one-pot meals require a few other steps or time spent actively cooking.
For some more guidance on how to use a crockpot, check out some more tips here!
Cooking with your crockpot can be versatile and delicious. But it’s usually not one to go for when you need to cook something really quickly. Of course, this is part of why freezer meals are so efficient! The ingredients are prepped, measured, and ready to go for you. All you have to do is dump it in the crockpot and walk away. Or, opt for an instant pot or pressure cooker, if you can, for a quicker cooking time.
Slow Cooker Recipes
When you’re ready to get started with cooking slow cooker recipes, FreezerFit is here for you! If you’re not sure what to cook, check out our variety of easy freezer meal recipes (Sign up to get full access): Different diet types and preferences means there’s something for everyone to enjoy cooked in the crockpot. Slow cooker recipes have long been handy and simple for home cooks and families. You could try anything from zucchini basil risotto, to stews and soups like mushroom soup in the slow cooker. In fact, just about any soup should do well in the slow cooker.
You can also easily make sweet slow cooker recipes, and desserts, too! That includes brownies, pies, and fudge, plus FreezerFit’s own dessert slow cooker recipes like cakes. Dig in!
