Inside: Here’s your ultimate list of back to school meal ideas, all make-ahead or freezer-friendly! If you’ve got a busy school year coming up, you’re going to love this roundup of family-friendly ideas!
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Freezer meals are a way of life once you become a mom.
I haven’t met a busy weeknight that doesn’t love a ready-to-go meal right from the freezer!
I always feel more organized when I can pull out some mini muffins from a freezer stash or when I’ve got some hard-boiled eggs already prepped in the fridge.
It may seem little, but having some prepared options ready at the start of a new school year makes everything feel like it’s running just a little bit more smoothly.
Make-Ahead Freezer Meals
I often joke that I am a stay at home mom who is never at home 🙂
Once my 2 older kids started school it was like turbo boost kicked in and suddenly we were busy all week – but in a good way!
Each of my kids (toddler to tween) do activities that they love, and this keeps us on-the-go.
There simply is no time to be whipping up pancakes from scratch (or really even from a mix) at 6:45 AM on a school morning.
Decidedly, there also isn’t enough time to start browning taco meat at 6 PM after arriving home from dance.
Having healthy food prepped and ready to go in the fridge or freezer isn’t just a nice convenience, it’s a lifeline during a busy season.
Of course there are the nights we grab Chick-Fil-A or Marco’s Pizza – in a house of 3 kids, it’s a necessity!
But it’s also no secret that eating at home is healthier and better for the budget.
Read: How I Do Our Family’s Monthly Budget
In this post you’ll find meal ideas that are:
- Healthy
- Kid-friendly
- Freezer-friendly
- Make-Ahead / Meal Prep
- Easy to Make
It should also be noted that all 3 of my kids are picky eaters in some way, so I really tried to include across-the-board favorites in this post!
What is the best way to store food in the freezer?
When it comes to the freezer, air is really the enemy, and that’s the main way you’ll get freezer burn!
To avoid that, make sure all the air is pressed out of your freezer bags before sealing tightly.
Here are a few more helpful freezer food tips that have worked well for me:
- Store food in glass containers
- Wrap food in plastic wrap and then wrap in foil
- Use blue tape (painter’s tape) to label freezer meals & write the date + contents or quick instructions
- Flash freeze items like pancakes, waffles or muffins so they don’t stick together
How to flash freeze food:
- Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper
- Add pancakes in a single layer
- Freeze until set
- Store in a glass container or freezer-safe bag
What are good meals to freeze?
It should go without saying (but I’ll say it anyway), that there’s no point in making a bunch of food that your family won’t eat.
My kids don’t like creamy food, they don’t like casseroles or stuff that’s all “baked” together.
Before running to the store and buying a bunch of ingredients, I find it’s really helpful to sit down and make a list of the foods I know my kids like.
Things that would be tremendously helpful if I had pre-made.
For example: my kids love muffins, meatballs, taquitos, pizza, waffle eggs, taco meat, shredded chicken, etc.
See how I make my crockpot shredded chicken on IG, here.
These are all things that future Me would thank past Me for making in advance.
Shop all of my must-have Meal Prep tools
Ultimate List of Back to School Meal Ideas (Freezer-Friendly)
These family favorite ideas will become your new go-tos. I often meal prep on Sunday morning by making muffins, hard-boiled eggs or an extra batch of pancakes. Sometimes my kids like to help, sometimes I have them watch TV while I get it done!
Breakfast
Pancakes
Nobody has time to be flipping pancakes on a school morning, right?
But my kids love pancakes on the weekend, so I’ll either make regular or sheet pan pancakes and then double the recipe.
Then I’ll set aside a stack to freeze.
The method below works for regular or sheet pan pancakes and waffles or muffins as well!
How to Freeze Pancakes:
- Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper
- Place pancakes in a single layer on the parchment-lined sheet
- If needed, add another layer of parchment paper on top, and then continue adding pancakes
- Freeze until pancakes are set (frozen to the touch)
- Then store frozen pancakes in a zip-top freezer bag or glass storage container
- Reheat pancakes on a paper towel-lined plate in the microwave
Get my go-to sheet pan pancake recipe.
Waffles
Mom-to-Mom Tip: frozen fruit is also a huge time-saver on busy school mornings. Nothing to wash or prep! Slightly defrost frozen fruit by letting it sit on the plate for a minute while you warm up the waffles from the freezer.
My favorite waffle maker for prepping waffles in advance is linked at the bottom of the post.
Here’s our favorite waffle recipe.
Muffins
Muffins are one of my favorite make-ahead, freezer-friendly foods.
It’s easy to make a lot at once, plus my kids will eat them frozen or reheated.
Put them in an after school snack box or serve for breakfast with eggs & fruit!
Snack box (pictured above) linked here.
Favorite blueberry muffin recipe, here.
Eggs
Here are two ways to make eggs in advance: mini egg muffins & hard-boiled eggs.
For hard-boiled eggs:
- Bring water to a gentle boil
- Slowly add eggs
- Boil on low for 12 minutes
- Drain water & rinse with cold water
- Put eggs in a bowl of ice to stop the cooking process
- If not using right away – keep shells on
Both can be made in batches so you can prep a lot at once, plus the mini egg muffins are freezer-friendly (just follow the same instructions above for how to freeze pancakes).
Lunch
Packing Lunches
We can’t talk about back to school season without chatting about packing lunches!
Sometimes I will prep lunch foods in advance to make lunch-packing quicker, but often I find just packing lunches the night before is enough.
That being said, if you want to make some freezer-friendly food ahead of time for your child’s lunch box, here are a few ideas!
- 3 ingredient taquitos
- Banana oat mini muffins
- Sheet pan quesadillas
- Homemade “Uncrustables” (make PB&J and freeze according to pancake instructions above)
If you need help with packing lunches, grab my Bento Box Lunch Guide, filled with easy ideas for make-ahead lunches
Dinner
Meatballs
Meatballs are the perfect food to prep in advance.
- You can make a whole batch from just 1 pound of ground meat, and you can easily use whatever kind of meat your family eats.
- My kids like chicken or turkey, so that’s what I use for mine.
- After your meatballs are cooled, freeze them using the same method shared earlier for pancakes.
This is my go-to meatball recipe.
Pizza
Making pizzas on Naan breads really changed my life.
Really not kidding!
Like most kids, mine love pizza.
Working with pizza dough on a weeknight sometimes is just not an option.
- That being said, Naan bread makes a great pizza crust and you can buy it in bulk at Costco.
- Assemble the pizzas in advance, wrap in plastic wrap, then foil, then store in a freezer bag.
- Take off all the wrappings and warm up in the toaster or air fryer.
- Serve with fruit, veggies, chicken, meatballs! Whatever you have!
Get my go-to Naan bread pizza recipe, here.
Taquitos
If you follow me on Instagram then you’ve definitely heard me talk about these taquitos a time or ten 🙂
- They’re easy to prep in bulk
- Easy to freeze & reheat
- Kids love them
- And bonus: they’re great for lunchboxes
Get my 3 ingredient taquito recipe, here.
On taco night, I’ll also take the leftover taco meat and make taquitos with it.
More freezer-friendly dinner ideas:
Chicken Enchiladas & Chili with Cornbread
Chicken Noodle Soup & Taco Meat
Shop: Meal Prep Must-Haves on Amazon
What to Read Next:
- Go-To Family Dinner Ideas that Everyone Loves
- What I Fed My Baby & Toddler This Week
- 3 Year Old Meal Ideas & Feeding Schedule
- Genius Back-to-School Organization for Moms
- Ultimate Meal Planning Printable Workbook
Follow Marla on Instagram for more practical solutions for everyday #momlife
