Are you struggling to follow the keto diet?
Sick of having to come up with something to make each night after a long day at work?
And what the heck are you going to make for lunch? Or breakfast?
There really aren’t many prepared foods that are keto so cooking your own meals will help you stay on track. How in the world are you going to fit making so many meals from scratch?
Let’s face it. There are just soooo many fast food and quick to prepare options if you are eating carbs. You can make toast, grab a muffin, buy a pizza or burger, make a sandwich, open a can of prepared soup or toss in a freezer meal in the microwave. Let’s not forget all of the fast food and take out options that are available to you as well. Unless you’re buying jerky or nuts then number of quickly prepared keto meals is pretty low. Unless you put a bit of thought into it.
Here’s where freezer meals can save the day!
My personal thought on creating freezer meals is if I’m already putting the effort into making one meal I may as well double or triple it and save myself some time down the road. How nice would it be to return home after a long day knowing that the only effort you need to put into pulling supper together is to warm something up?
Bonus points for saving you money as well as home prepared meals cost much less than take out.
Here are 10 great freezer meals that will save you time (and money).
Mediterranean Lemon Herb Chicken
Mediterranean Lemon Herb Chicken:
This marinaded chicken cooks up moist and tasty no matter which cooking method you use…..stove top, oven or grill. Create your freezer meal by purchasing 1 chicken breast or 2 chicken thighs per person in your household. Place the needed number of pieces in a gallon sized freezer bag, top with marinade, push the extra air out and freeze. When you are looking to make a meal take a package of lemon herb chicken out and thaw in the refrigerator overnight. While it is thawing it will continue to marinate. Serve with your favorite salad, veggie side dish or even cauliflower mashed potatoes.
Seasoned Taco Meat
Seasoned Taco Meat:
The next time you’re making taco why not double or triple the amount of seasoned meat you’re making. Seasoned ground beef, shredded chicken and shredded pork all freeze very well. Since you’re already spending the time to make a meal one night why not prepare extra for future meals. It only takes minutes to pull a batch of already cooked meat from the freezer and reheat it. The texture doesn’t change and it stays just as flavorful as the day you made it.
Toss the meat into your favorite keto friendly shell, low carb burrito or serve over a salad mix for a delicious taco salad. Most taco toppings are quick to prep….jar of salsa, shredded cheese, diced onions, jarred sliced jalapenos, shredded lettuce, etc. You can easily have dinner on the table in 15 minutes! How’s that for a quick keto meal.
Hamburgers
Hamburgers:
Burgers are another quick fix meal that can be kept on hand in the freezer to create a fast and tasty meal. You can use either store bought burgers or create your own from fresh ground beef, pork or chicken. Keep some on hand in the freezer ready to be grilled or even cooked up on the stove top. Top with your favorite condiments, cheese, guac, salsa, sliced onions, pickles and more. Go bunless for a low carb meal by wrapping your cooked burgers in some lettuce leaves.
Want some great burger ideas? Check out the keto burger round up here.
Meatballs
Meatballs:
Meatballs are the perfect keto meal item to keep in the freezer. They can be frozen already cooked or before cooking. To freeze them place on a cookie sheet and freeze for several hours before placing into a freezer bag. This will keep them from freezing into one giant mass. It makes it easy to remove as many meatballs as you need for a meal without having to chip them out.
Go with a traditional meatball containing finely diced onion, celery, salt and pepper.
Or mix it up and add a variety of seasonings/ingredients. Create Italian meatballs, Greek meatballs (think feta and spinach), Mexican meatballs (add in your favorite salsa and taco seasoning) or even Curry meatballs. Use your meatballs to create dishes like this low carb Parmesan Meatball casserole.
Image: Todd & Lindsey
Cilantro Chicken Burgers and Salad
Cilantro Chicken Burgers and Salad:
These chicken burgers are super easy to make. If you check out this post you can see how I prepare the burgers for freezing. This method makes it easy to take out one burger or as many as you need. I’ve tried other methods and ended up with one huge frozen burger mass. Then you need to thaw them all in order to use them. But with this method you can take even a single burger out of the freezer, toss it in a pan or on the grill and in about 5 to 7 minutes end up with a perfectly cooked burger.
Serve it bunless (wrapped in several lettuce leaves) with ranch and slices of avocado or eat it with your favorite veggies or salad mix.
Chili With Your Favorite Toppings
Chili with your favorite toppings:
Chili freezes amazingly well. Whenever I make a batch I always cook two or three times as much as I need for that night’s meal. I portion the remaining chili into single serving containers and freeze them. Need something for lunch? Pull out a container and bring along some shredded cheese for a hot lunch time meal. Come home late and don’t want to cook? Pull one out and heat it up. Top your chili with your favorites….shredded cheese, diced onions, diced jalapenos or whatever you enjoy. Chili is always a great keto freezer meal.
Keto Muffins
Keto Muffins:
In a rush in the morning? Never have time to grab something to eat before you head out the door to work? Keeping some keto muffins on hand in the freezer can help with that. You can either pop them into the microwave to thaw and heat them. Or just simply toss several in your lunch bag before you head out the door. They don’t take long to thaw on their own. Bring along a little bit of peanut butter, almond butter or even just plain old butter in a small container to top your muffins and you’ll be satisfied until lunch rolls around. Check out these great keto muffin recipes:
Pumpkin Spice Keto Muffins
Lemon Poppyseed Keto Muffins
Carrot Cake Keto Muffins
Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps:
Put your crockpot to work for you in helping to create keto freezer meals. Use your crockpot to create the buffalo chicken needed for these wraps. Once it’s done you can portion out the chicken into containers or freezer bags and freeze until a fast meal is needed. Then all that’s left is to warm up the chicken, spoon it into some lettuce leaves and top with dressing and a bit of crumbled blue cheese.
Chicken Soup
Leslie’s Soon To Be Famous Chicken Soup:
My co-worker gave me her chicken soup with a Texas twist recipe. Originally it contained recipe but you can swap it out for some cauliflower rice and it’s just as good. Eat it as is or top with some shredded cheese. You can portion out the soup into single serving freezer containers to keep on hand for those days when you need a quick meal. It also makes a great meal to pack for a lunch.
Tuscan Chicken
Tuscan Chicken:
You can use boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs for this meal. This recipe is super easy to prep for a freezer meal. Add all the ingredients to a gallon sized freezer bag and when needed it can be cooked in the crockpot. Fill your bags, push the extra air out and seal. Place the bags flat on a cookie sheet and freeze. Once frozen they can be easily stacked to take up less room in your freezer.
Freezer meals can help you stick to your keto diet by allowing you to quickly pull together a meal when you are short on time. Having some options on hand really helps when you might be tempted to go for a high in carb meal option. Try some of these meal ideas out. Got a favorite keto freezer meal idea? Why not share a link to your favorite recipe below.
