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Instant Pot Freezer Meals. How one morning we cleared out our pantry and paired it with our weekly grocery shopping to make 15 delicious Instant Pot freezer meals using REAL FOOD. All done in less than 3 hours and at the expense of $30.
If you think you’re dreaming and that you thought it was a typo, well it’s NOT. I am even AMAZED myself. One cold Thursday morning in Portugal Dominic and I made 15 delicious freezer meals, put them all in the freezer, got the calculator out and even amazed ourselves that it had all come in at less than $30.
It was also done on a whim, with no plans to do freezer meals until the night that we brought our groceries.
Instant Pot Freezer Meals
I have to say from the start that until this cold Thursday morning, we had never prepared freezer meals before and it was totally new to us.
We had always bought reduced price (or clearance as you might call it) meat or vegetables and thrown it in the freezer for another day.
But we had never made proper meals, so that all we throw it in the Instant Pot from the freezer when we can’t be bothered to cook.
As well as this we have always thawed freezer food before cooking it, but really wanted to see what all the fuss was about with Instant Pot Freezer Meals and decided to give it a go.
Just by chance we managed to get some clearance meat from the supermarket that included:
- Turkey Pieces
- Pork Sausages
- Whole Chickens
- Spatchcock Chicken
We got a fantastic price on them and decided that they would be perfect alongside all the spare vegetables we had in the bottom of the fridge, food we had in the pantry and of course our weekly grocery shop.
Instant Pot Freezer Meals – Pantry Clearance
Last summer I emptied out my aunt’s pantry and bagged and binned about 3 large black bin bags full of food that was no longer safe. Some of the food in there that was out of date by up to 7 years.
A lot of the food looked very nice and would have been fantastic once.
I hate food waste and always keep an eye on my food pantry, but as you stock it up with clearance deals and special offers, you can soon end up with more pantry food than you need.
Making it AMAZING for a pantry clear out and to use it towards some Instant Pot Freezer Meals.
If your pay is late or you’re a low-income family, it’s a great way to have a cheap grocery week or month.
We found the following in our pantry that was perfect for Instant Pot Freezer Meals:
- Herbs & Spices
- Coconut Milk
- Tinned Tomatoes
- Tinned Chickpeas
- Tinned Black Beans
- Garlic Puree
- Tomato Puree
- Chicken Stock
- Olive Oil
- Honey
- Oats
- Eggs
- Leftover Wine
- Spaghetti Pasta
- Mozzarella Grated Cheese
- Tortilla Wraps
- Mayonnaise
- Ketchup
- Barbecue Sauce
Instant Pot Freezer Meals – $30 Grocery Shop
We got the calculator out after doing our Instant Pot Freezer Meals and found out that what we bought worked out at less than $30. Thanks to shopping the deals and getting some good clearance items we spent the following:
Clearance Meat:
- 2 packs of pork sausages @ 3,72€
- 1 spatchcock chicken @ 2,22€
- Turkey drumstick pack*2 @ 2,00€
- 3 whole chickens @ 7,01€
Fruit & Veg:
- 3 Kilo Bag of Potatoes @ 2,29€
- 1 Kilo Bag of Carrots @ 0,79€
- 3 Large Butternut Squash @ 2,00€
- 1 Small Broccoli @ 0,69€
- 1 Bag of Onions @ 0,69€
Pantry:
- 1 625g Bag of Pasta @ 0,49€
- Bread Flour @ 1,42€
- Tinned Tomatoes*6 @ 2,70
In the end our grocery shopping worked out at 26,02€ or converted to pounds is £23.03 or converted into dollars is $29.87.
Instant Pot Freezer Meals – Real Food
I am 37 years old and that meant that my school years covered when the world first got obsessed with processed foods. Dominic who is 5 years older than me had a similar experience.
Dinner after school was often a can of pasta, heated up for 2 minutes in the microwave and served with a couple of slices of cucumber. If you were lucky you got some grated cheese on top.
Then an hour or so later you saw your dad have a homecooked meal especially for him that looked much better.
You might have swapped stories with your friends at school and they would have a similar experience but theirs might have been chicken nuggets from the freezer or a frozen pizza or frozen fries deep fried.
None of us had healthy freezer meals though and if you ate a lot of vegetables then you were considered to be a hippy!
But every day I put real food on the table for myself and the kids. Like most families living in Portugal, you all eat at the same time and talk about your day.
I now cringe when I see Instant Pot Freezer Meals that are loaded up with canned mushroom or chicken soup, or lack simple vegetables and this is the kinds of foods that are banned during our Instant Pot Freezer Meals.
Looking through our menu you we have a few with pasta in as pasta is so comforting, but apart from that, all our recipes fall under the clean eating regime.
Instant Pot Freezer Meals – Family Of Four
Each of our Instant Pot Freezer Meals are based on feeding a family of four. We’re mum and dad, teen and 2 under 5’s. But because our teen has a big appetite and our pre-schoolers don’t eat as much, then it would convert to a typical family of four.
If there is just two of you, then you could easily make 30 freezer meals or if you’re a bigger family, then a side of potatoes would be needed to bulk it up a bit.
Instant Pot Freezer Meals – 2.5 Hours
I want to jump up and down on a table and celebrate just like Chandler does in Friends. I want to celebrate the fact that ME who is the slowest person ever at prep, managed to achieve 15 Instant Pot Freezer Meals in just 2.5 hours.
Obviously, there was a lot of testing to achieve this and prepping in a certain order, but 15 freezer meals in 2.5 hours must be celebrated.
Instant Pot Freezer Meals – The Recipes
I am sure what you really want to know is what are we going to be cooking. Well we a mixture of vegetarian, chicken, sausage recipes. Along with a turkey recipe. Many of our recipes are also Whole30, Paleo and Slimming World friendly.
Our favourite part of our Instant Pot Freezer Meals is that we have paired up with some of our other kitchen gadgets too.
We have made homemade bread with our bread maker, used the hand blender to blend our vegetable soups and our trusted air fryer for making crispy chicken.
Here is the full Instant Pot Freezer Meals Recipe List:
- Sausage Casserole
- Leftover Sausage Bake
- Instant Pot Garlic Chicken & Potatoes
- Instant Pot Whole Chicken
- Spanish Traybake
- Breakfast Hash
- Sticky Turkey
- Curried Butternut Squash Soup + Homemade Bread Buns
- Broccoli Cheese Soup + Homemade Bread Buns
- Pumpkin Soup + Homemade Bread Buns
- Vegetable Ragu Pasta
- Lemon Pasta Bake*2
- Veggie Loaded Macaroni Cheese*2
Instant Pot Freezer Meals – How We Did Our Freezer Meals
To follow our lead and do your own Instant Pot Freezer Meals that are cheap, quick to make, suitable for families, free of processed foods and use up the contents of your pantry you need to do the following:
#1 Audit your fridge and pantry
See exactly what you could use up to go into your recipes. Do you have tinned tomatoes, coconut milk, some old sauces? What about old vegetables in the bottom of your fridge that can go into a soup?
Make a list and then see what you have to work from. This is often the best list as it is costing you nothing.
#2 Get some cheap clearance meat
This is what makes the difference is bringing down the cost of your freezer meals. Shop at the time of the day when meat gets the reductions. Or browse online to see what meal deals are currently available.
For example, the week we did our freezer meals we noticed that chicken breasts at Aldi’s in the US was down to $1.69 a pound. We also spotted that pumpkins were $2.69 each and that big bags of cheese were just $2.59.
#3 Plan your freezer meal recipes
Download the ebook where we provide you with a grocery shopping list as well as freezer meal labels. Then you’re ready to go shopping and get all your supplies.
#4 Get prepping
Now that you have planned everything its time to put it all into actions and do your Instant Pot Freezer Meals.
Step #1 – Get out your food storage and tools
I always start by looking around and seeing what storage containers that I have and that I can use in my freezer meals. I found lots of silver foil containers with lids, glass bottom storage containers, ceramic dishes and plenty of large zip loc style bags.
I also go out other things like a pen and some stickers, ladles, wooden spoons, a couple of sharp knives as well as a sieve and anything else I think I will need.
The internet is full of recommendations of all these different storage containers that you need to buy, but the frugal way, is to go around your kitchen and pantry and see what you can use without spending more money on it.
Step #2 – All the food
Any of the food that I plan on using is out and on the work bench and waiting until I need it. This includes the full ingredient list of each of the recipes so that I can just get on with it. That way, you don’t spend ages looking for something, you can just grab and add.
Step #3 – Clean kitchen and hot soapy water
Whenever I go into the kitchen to cook, I always run a bowl of hot soapy water first. This is because as you cook, your hands get dirty and you need to quickly wash them as you’re cooking. This is especially the case if you’re dealing with raw chicken or sticky foods.
Step #4 – Get the homemade bread buns on
Place into your bread maker:
- 700g of whole wheat flour along with 4 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of salt
- Add 400ml of water along with 1 teaspoon of white sugar
- Finally add 2 teaspoons of yeast
- Set it to the dough setting for 23 minutes
- When it beeps make into small bread rolls and cook in the air fryer for 9 minutes on 180c/360f.
- Once they are cool bag them up
Out of the freezer the night before:
- Place the bread buns into the air fryer on the grill pan (or directly in the basket) and cook on 160c/320f for 5 minutes
- Slice open and add a little butter before serving with your soup
Wholemeal Bread Maker Buns (original recipe)
Step #5 – Start Chopping
- Peel and thinly dice 4 large onions
- Peel and grate 1 and a half garlic bulbs
- Peel and quarter 2 kilos of white potatoes
- Dice 2 large courgettes/zucchini
- Chop a broccoli into florets
- Peel and dice your 1 kilo of carrots
- Peel then remove seeds and dice the butternut squash and pumpkin
- Peel and dice any spare vegetables you have in the bottom of your fridge that need using up
Chop The Chicken
Next on the agenda is to chop the whole chickens to how you want them. We had three and a spatchcock. We quartered the spatchcock and then chopped 2 of the whole chickens into wings, drumsticks, thighs and breasts and then disposed of the carcasses. There is a tutorial for doing this here.
Step #6 – Let’s Prep
The following freezer meals require cooking before freezing:
- Curried Butternut Squash Soup + Homemade Bread Buns
- Broccoli Cheese Soup + Homemade Bread Buns
- Pumpkin Soup + Homemade Bread Buns
- Lemon Pasta Bake*2
- Veggie Loaded Macaroni Cheese*2
To save time you want to split your kitchen into cooking in progress and the raw bags of food that you’re bagging up for the freezer. Many of our quick freezer meals that do need cooking, cook for 4-7 minutes each in the Instant Pot Pressure Cooker.
You can be bagging up other meals while you’re waiting on the Instant Pot. I recommend you follow the same order as us and then you can easily do it all in 2.5 hours.
Recipe #1 – Curried Coconut Butternut Squash Soup
Place into the Instant Pot inner pot:
- 200g Butternut Squash & 200g of carrots
- Add the seasonings = 1tsp each of mixed spice, coriander, cumin, garam masala and paprika
- Season well with salt and pepper
- Add ½ cup of water
- Cook on manual for 4 minutes and then use quick pressure release
- Add a pinch of chilli flakes and a can of coconut milk
- Blend with a hand blender until smooth and place into a freezer bag
Out of the freezer the night before and semi thawed:
- Pour the contents from the bag into the Instant Pot
- Place the lid on and set the valve to sealing
- Cook for 0 minutes on manual
- Use quick pressure release and serve with your warm bread
Soup Maker Curried Butternut Squash Soup (original recipe)
Recipe #2 – Sausage Casserole
Place into a freezer bag:
- 6 Sausages that have been quartered
- 1 onion, quarter of a courgette, a handful of carrots and a can of tinned tomatoes
- Add to the bag a tablespoon each of parsley and oregano
- Along with a sprinkling of salt and pepper
- Pour in 175ml of red wine
- Seal the freezer bag and shake it so that the wine and tomatoes get evenly spread
From the Freezer:
- Remove the zip loc bag from the freezer meal
- Place the contents of the freezer meal directly into the Instant Pot inner pot
- Pour ½ a cup of water over
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot, set the valve to sealing and cook for 10 minutes on high pressure
- Manually release pressure, stir and serve
Slow Cooker Sausage Casserole (original recipe)
Recipe #3 – Leftover Sausage Bake
Place into a freezer bag:
- 2 Sausages that have been quartered
- A handful of diced onion, a teaspoon of garlic, a tablespoon of courgette
- A handful of skin on potatoes that have been quartered
- Dice 3 large tomatoes into quarters, season with salt and add to the bag
- Add to the bag a tablespoon each of parsley and oregano
- Along with a sprinkling of salt and pepper
- Pour in 175ml of red wine
- Seal the freezer bag and shake it so that the wine and tomatoes get evenly spread
From the Freezer:
- Remove the zip loc bag from the freezer meal
- Place the contents of the freezer meal directly into the Instant Pot inner pot
- Pour ¼ a cup of water over
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot, set the valve to sealing and cook for 8 minutes on high pressure
- Manually release pressure, stir and serve
Recipe #4 – Breakfast Hash
Place into a freezer bag:
- 2 Sausages that have been quartered
- A tablespoon of diced onion, a teaspoon of garlic, a handful of courgette
- A couple of handfuls of skin on potatoes that have been quartered
- Add to the bag a tablespoon each of chives and basil
- Along with a sprinkling of salt and pepper
- Pour in a can of tinned tomatoes
- Seal the freezer bag and shake it so that the tomatoes get evenly spread
From the Freezer:
- Remove from its bag and place the contents inside the Instant Pot inner pot
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot, set the valve to sealing and cook for 8 minutes on manual pressure
- Remove the lid and do QPR
- Serve
Instant Pot Chorizo Hash (original recipe)
Recipe #5 – Broccoli Cheese Soup
Once the Instant Pot has been cleaned out from Recipe #1 then add to your Instant Pot:
- Broccoli + 1 cup of vegetable stock
- Along with a sprinkling of salt and pepper and a tablespoon of mixed herbs
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot, set the valve to sealing and cook for 4 minutes on manual
- Using quick pressure release, remove the lid, blend with a hand blender and add in half of the bag of cheese
- Bag it up
Directly from the Freezer:
- Pour the contents from the bag into the Instant Pot
- Place the lid on and set the valve to sealing
- Cook for 0 minutes on manual
- Use quick pressure release and serve with your warm bread
Soup Maker Broccoli Cheese Soup (original recipe)
Recipe #6 – Sticky Turkey
Place into a freezer bag:
- The 2 turkey drumsticks and the 2 turkey wings
- Add a tablespoon each of olive oil, honey and garlic puree
- Add a teaspoon of mustard powder
- Along with a sprinkling of salt and pepper
- Seal the bag and shake so that the marinade can mix
From the Freezer:
- Remove the turkey from the bag and place it into the Instant Pot inner pot.
- Add 1 cup of water making sure you pour it over the turkey to give it moisture.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot, set the valve to sealing and cook for 22 minutes on manual.
- Use QPR and serve.
Recipe #7 – Spanish Traybake
Place into a freezer bag:
- Spatchcock chicken quartered into thighs/wings
- A handful of the skin on potatoes that have been quartered
- A large tomato that have been quartered
- A tablespoon of carrot and onion
- Pour in a can of tinned tomatoes along with a cup of red wine
- Add a teaspoon of garlic along with a tablespoon of oregano, thyme and olive oil
- Seal the bag and shake so that the marinade can mix
From the freezer the night before and semi thawed
- Place the chicken pieces into the air fryer and cook on the air fryer grill pan for 30 minutes at 160c/320f
- Though turn the chicken half way through the cooking process
- Place the semi frozen vegetables into the Instant Pot and add the lid and set the valve to sealing
- Cook for 7 minutes on manual and use quick pressure release
Spanish Traybake (original recipe)
Recipe #8 – Pumpkin Soup
Once the Instant Pot has been cleaned out from Recipe #5 then add to your Instant Pot:
- All of your diced pumpkin as well as a tablespoon of onion and a teaspoon of garlic
- Season it with a teaspoon of mixed herbs and salt and pepper
- Add in 1 cup of vegetable stock
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot, set the valve to sealing and cook for 4 minutes on manual
- Using quick pressure release, remove the lid, blend with a hand blender and add in a tablespoon of Greek yoghurt
- Bag it up
Directly from the freezer:
- Pour the contents from the bag into the Instant Pot
- Place the lid on and set the valve to sealing
- Cook for 0 minutes on manual
- Use quick pressure release and serve with your warm bread
Pumpkin & Onion Soup (original recipe)
Recipe #9 – Vegetable Ragu Pasta
Place into a freezer bag:
- ½ a small onion
- The last of the courgette
- 2 small cups of uncooked pasta
- The last of the fresh tomatoes
- A can of tinned tomatoes
- A tablespoon each of oregano, thyme and basil
- Seal the bag and shake so that the marinade can mix
Directly from the Freezer:
- Place the contents of your freezer bag into the Instant Pot Inner Pot.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot and set the valve to sealing
- Cook for 8 minutes on manual and use quick pressure release
- Give a quick stir and serve
Instant Pot Ziti (original recipe)
Batch Cook Pasta
After the pasta you have used in your ragu, place the rest of the dried macaroni pasta into a medium sized pan. Cook for approximately 7 minutes or until the pasta has come to the boil for a couple of minutes and the water is starting to evaporate. Drain the pasta in a sieve with cold water and put to one side.
Recipe #10 – Instant Pot Garlic Chicken & Potatoes
Place into a freezer bag:
- One whole chicken that you have chopped already into breasts, wings, drumsticks and thighs
- A handful of the skinless potatoes that have been quartered
- A tablespoon of onion and a teaspoon of olive oil
- Add in a teaspoon each of garlic, mustard and parsley
- Season well with salt and pepper
- Seal the bag and shake so that the marinade can mix
Directly from the Freezer:
- Place the contents of your freezer bag into the Instant Pot Inner Pot.
- Pour over two cups of water.
- Set the valve to sealing and cook for 30 minutes on manual.
- Use QPR and serve.
Instant Pot Coconut Chicken & Potatoes (original recipe)
Recipe #11 & #12 – Lemon Pasta Bake
Once the Instant Pot has been cleaned out from Recipe #5 then add to your Instant Pot:
- Add the last of the butternut squash, tablespoon of onion and teaspoon of garlic
- Pour in ½ cup of warm water and a good sprinkle of salt and pepper
- Cook for 4 minutes on manual pressure using quick pressure release
- Blend the butternut squash and liquid with a hand blender
- Season the butternut squash sauce with a teaspoon each of lemon pepper seasoning and oregano
- Add half of the cooked pasta and stir
- Add to 2 freezer containers
- Place the lid on once it has cooled
Directly from the Freezer:
- Place the food container without its lid onto the steamer shelf inside of the Instant Pot Inner Pot.
- Pour a cup of water into the bottom of the inner pot
- Pour ½ cup of water over the pasta to give it extra moisture
- Cook for 10 minutes on manual using high pressure
- Use quick pressure release to manually release pressure and serve
Recipe #13 – Instant Pot Whole Chicken
Place into a freezer bag:
- One whole chicken
- 2 cups of chicken stock
- 2 medium potatoes that have been quartered
- A couple of diced carrots
- Season well with salt and pepper and oregano
- Seal the bag and shake so that the marinade can mix
Directly from the Freezer:
- Place the contents of your freezer bag into the Instant Pot Inner Pot
- Make sure the chicken sits breast side up over the potatoes and vegetables
- Add an extra cup of warm water and pour it over the contents so that it helps start the thawing process
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot and set the valve to sealing
- Cook for 45 minutes on high pressure followed by 10 minutes natural pressure release
Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken (original recipe)
Recipe #14 & #15 – Veggie Loaded Macaroni Cheese
Place back into your pasta pan:
- Half of your cooked and drained pasta
- Stir in 3 tablespoons of Greek Yoghurt
- Add in the last of the onion, the last of the garlic (there wont be much)
- The cherry tomatoes that have been halved
- Plus the last of the cheese
- Along with a ¼ cup of white wine
- Add a tablespoon of oregano
- Season well with salt and pepper
- Stir and add to 2 freezer containers
- Place the lid on once it has cooled
Directly from the Freezer:
- Place the contents of your freezer container into the Instant Pot and lay it on top of the steamer shelf
- Place a cup of water in the bottom of the Instant Pot
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot, set the valve to sealing and cook for 10 minutes on high pressure and use manual pressure release
- Stir and serve
Instant Pot Mini Macaroni Cheese Pots (original recipe)
Step #7 – Clean Up & Freeze
Once you have done your freezer meals, all you must do is to make sure they are labelled up, load them in the freezer and then get them out as you need them. However, any of your cooked meals must cool down before you can freeze them.
If you do it in a different order to us, then you can easily change the 2.5 hours into 4 hours and all of a sudden it is no longer quick meal prep.
We have an ebook that shows you everything. Its your PDF version of above but it also includes lots of bonus material too.
We will teach you how to how to:
- Meal prep 15 tasty freezer meals in 2.5 hours
- How to save money so that you can make 15 freezer meals for $30
- How to bulk up your meals even further with home supplies
- Answer to every freezer meals question you have ever thought of
- Teach you a few simple tricks so that you will be a freezer meals guru
- Never over spend on groceries ever again
- Never waste food again
- Chop up chickens to make your meals stretch even further
- And so much more