"It Saves So Much Cooking Time": Frugal Home Cooks Are Sharing The Handy Ingredients They Always Have In The Freezer For Easy, Low-Cost Meals
When it's finally dinnertime at the end of a long, long, loooooong day, it's such a relief to be able to reach into the freezer and pull out a quick and easy meal. Recently, frugal people on Reddit shared their freezer essentials for saving time and money in the kitchen, and it gave me some new ideas for things to freeze. Here are some of the top comments:
1."I accidentally sauteed too many vegetables for soup recently — onions, carrots, celery — so I froze the excess and it was so so so convenient to just get them out of the freezer the next time I needed them. I'm going to make this part of my routine now!"
2."Tomato paste. You never need a whole can, so freeze the rest in tablespoon-sized chunks."
"I freeze blobs in ice cube trays. Pop them out after and keep them in a Ziploc or Tupperware."
3."I always freeze bread! There are no scenarios where my sandwich won't be toasted or griddled — like grilled cheese or tuna melt — or just used for straight-up toast. Being frozen doesn't detract from that at all."
4."I freeze my rotisserie chicken carcasses, bones, and veggie scraps and often have 1-3 freezer gallon bags going full before I have a day where I make a bunch of stock, which then gets frozen as well. The stock is then used for anything from chicken and dumplings to gravy to wonton soup."
5."I hate raw celery. But I sometimes cook with celery since it adds good flavor to soups, stews, etc. Usually, only one or two stalks are needed for a recipe, but you have to buy a whole bunch. So I chop the whole thing and freeze the rest. As a raw celery hater, frozen celery for cooking is so useful."
"I slice the stalks into pieces and freeze. The yellow inside parts and the leaves go into a separate bag for adding to soups, stews, and stock. If you freeze the celery bits flat on a tray and then put them into a bag or container to freeze, they won't freeze into a lump. They will pour out of your container."
6."I love batch cooking rice. I soak a huge pot of a mix of brown basmati and black rice overnight so it cooks in even less time. Then I cook up the whole lot, so saving many times worth of gas for cooking in the future. I pack it up in portions as soon as it's barely ready to handle. Cool it fast with picnic ice blocks and freeze it as soon as it is cool enough. I use the microwave usually to reheat thoroughly; I've been doing this for years now and never had a problem. It saves so much cooking time and fuel."
7."I always freeze my ginger. Otherwise, it goes bad before I use a whole chunk of it. It grates perfectly frozen, as well."
8."Fat. I have 4 containers in my freezer. Beef, duck, bacon and chicken. Fat gets added to the freezer container when I cook meats. I use it in sauces, gravy, soups, and just about anything."
"So, how do you get it back out? Thaw the whole container?"
"A spoon, like you would a firm ice-cream."
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9."I bake and do meal prep. So, I make more portions than I need. Refrigerate 3-4 and freeze the rest."
10."Lemon or lime juice and a variety of herbs for marinades or dressings."
"Have you frozen the herbs raw or put them in something else like butter or oil? Wondering about freezer burn, haven’t done it myself!"
"Chop them up and distribute small portions into ice cube trays. Cover each with a little of your preferred cooking oil. Pop them out once frozen and put them in Ziploc bags. Label the bags with a Sharpie because it’s really hard to sniff the difference between the herbs once frozen."
11."I found you can freeze heavy cream, sour cream, and buttermilk. You just need to whisk the fat together after you melt it. I put it in a silicone ice cube tray with a lid, then pop/label it in a plastic bag."
12."Homemade pesto. We have basil growing, so whenever the plant is ready, we pick the leaves, make pesto, and then freeze it in ice cube form. Whenever you want an easy dinner, take out plain chicken or pasta or both and a few frozen pesto cubes."
"An additional tip. Use walnuts, not pine nuts, when making pesto. It's a fraction of the price and tastes very similar."
13."I'll make a large batch of spaghetti meat sauce to be frozen. That way, I'll only worry about boiling pasta and just defrost the sauce when the pasta is cooked."
14."I often buy a big bag of onions at the store, dice them all in one go, and then freeze them in the fridge. Most meals I make could use a tiny bit of diced onions, but I'm rarely motivated to actually cut up part of an onion every meal, especially if I wouldn't even be using a whole onion, so having onions pre-diced on hand is pretty awesome. I'm sure freezing changes the texture a tiny bit, but I've not really noticed any issues with it compared to just using them fresh."
15."If bacon is on sale (the only time I buy it), I separate it into 2-3 slice portions and vacuum seal them. I do the same for sausages. My family really likes having meals with meat and being able to fry up and crumble a few slices of bacon over an otherwise vegetarian potato soup or omelet has helped me to be frugal with meal planning while still making food my family loves. Same with the sausages. I pull the casings off and add them to a huge pot of veggie soup or a veggie pasta dish."
16."Well, I found out, just before the prices went through the roof, that you can freeze raw eggs. Since I only use them for baking, I was forever struggling to use an entire dozen when I only needed one or two for a cake or three for a cheesecake. So I started freezing the unused eggs, and now I have several dozen in my freezer."
17."Peaches. When they’re in season, I chop them into small cubes and freeze them in separate bags. They're one of the few things I crave throughout the year or when I’m sick or have an upset stomach."
18."I mince garlic in a food processor and then put it in Ziplock bags. I use a ruler to 'score' the garlic and just tear off a piece when I’m cooking."
19."I always freeze over-ripe bananas (or any fruit that's getting a little bit past its prime) for smoothies."
20."My new favorite thing is buying a cheap hunk of meat and cutting it into single servings for freezing."
21."Shrimp. Every other month my local store has a sale on the big shrimp at $4-5/lb. They cook up really quickly and don't even have to worry about defrosting."
22."Cheese, especially blocks of feta from Costco. I can get 3lbs from Costco for about $15 and portion it out and freeze it. It’s an incredible savings over regular supermarkets."
23."Whenever I make cookies, I double the recipe and freeze raw cookie dough on parchment paper, 6 cookies per quart ziplock. I usually have a couple of emergency cookie bags in the freezer. I am visiting friends after work and remembered I’d said I could bring something. Bam, homemade cookies in 10 minutes, and it looks like I have my life together."
24."I love to make homemade broth and then freeze it in ice cube trays! It’s super easy to drop a couple in any meal."
25."Cheap wine. I buy small single-serve boxes of red and white wine to use in sauces when needed (red wine is awesome in au jus)."
26.And finally, "I freeze desserts because when I make brownies or something, it's more than my husband and I should eat."
—None
Now I'm curious, what do you always keep in your freezer and why? Tell me all about it in the comments!
