Make 14 delicious and family-friendly Instant Pot freezer meals for less than $150! Find printable shopping lists, prepping checklists, and recipes below!

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Also check out Instant Pot Freezer Meals :: Round Two for 13 more delicious freezer meals!

I am honestly not usually one to make freezer meals. Too much foresight and planning required for my spur-of-the-moment personality. But, there are definitely occasions when the ability to grab a bag from the freezer, dump it in my Instant Pot, and do nothing while it cooks is very advantageous. 

I’m in such a season right now. At the beginning of the month, we found out (quite unexpectedly) that I am pregnant again. Which, among other things, means that I am out of commission in the afternoons and evenings for the next several weeks. There is VERY little cooking that I am doing at night these days. But usually, I can manage preparing one of these freezer meals.

Of course, you don’t have to be pregnant or sick or some other way incapacitated to appreciate the glories of a freezer meal. Freezer meals are great for everyone! I can see them being wonderful in the summer when we are staying at the pool as long as possible in the evenings.

Keep reading and you will find instructions for how to make 14 grab-and-go freezer meals (seven different meals, two of each). I have included a shopping list, a plan for how I did all the prep work, and how to bag and cook each meal.

Like easy meals? Want to learn to cook more from scratch? You’ll love my new cookbook!

Instant Pot Freezer Meals

A few notes before we begin: 

• I used my Instant Pot to prep at least part of each of these meals, and with the exception of one meal, each meal is heated/cooked in the Instant Pot. Many meals can be cooked from frozen (though you will need to allow for increased time to come to pressure. I love how quick and easy it is to cook with my Instant Pot!
• I HIGHLY recommend buying an extra inner pot for your Instant Pot. I use mine ALL the time, not just on days when I’m cooking a bunch of food (though it REALLY comes in handy then).
• These meals feed my family of six (2 adults, 4 young children), often with leftovers. If you want smaller portions, you could divide each meal into 4 instead of 2.
• These are all meals we eat regularly, though making them as freezer meals is new to me. We are halfway through our freezer meals now and have tested each one. If you have any tips or suggestions after you’ve made them, I’d love to hear them. Please feel free to share in the comments.
• We don’t follow a certain type of diet, but we do try to prioritize whole, real (unprocessed) foods. That is what you will find in these meals.
• The Greek chicken and red beans and rice have rice as a side/base. The rice is cooked and bagged separately. To reheat the rice, you can use the pot-in-pot method, and reheat the rice while the chicken is cooking or beans are thawing. All you need to do is use a rack and a smaller pot/bowl that will fit in the Instant Pot.

Want more great Instant Pot meals? Check out my cookbook, Family Meals from Scratch in Your Instant Pot!

Instant Pot Freezer Meals

Step 1 :: Shop

I did most of my shopping at Costco, and picked up what I couldn’t get there (butternut squash, dried beans, etc) from a grocery store. Really, though, almost everything was purchased at Costco, which is just another reason why I love that store so much.

I did a rough total of what everything costs based on the shopping list and it came to about $120. Not bad for 14 meals!

I did, however, only take into account the cost of what I used to make these freezer meals. Meaning, I did not use the price for an entire Costco size bag of rice, only an estimate based on what I used, and what a comparable price would be at another store. So if you are shopping at a different store, the total should be roughly the same.

If you are interested in a price list for Costco and Aldi, you can find that here. 

You can download the printable PDF of the shopping list for these 14 meals below. I separated the list according to what you will likely need to buy and what you may already have on hand. 

As with so many things, you can adjust things according to your personal preferences. If you would rather make jambalaya with andouille sausage instead of sweet Italian, go for it! If you would rather leave the eggs out of the chicken pot pie, do it. I also only listed 1 lb of dried black beans on the shopping list, but since you’re cooking them anyway, you may want to pick up more and freeze the extra. They always come in handy for quesadillas, soups, nachos, etc.

Click to download the shopping list. 

 

Step 2 :: Prep your ingredients.

My mother-in-law came over to help me assemble all the meals one Saturday afternoon, which meant we had two Instant Pots at our disposal. The process from start to finish took about 5 hours. This included stops for lunch and snacks, not to mention four children running around.

All in all, you could probably put all these meals together in 3 to 4 hours if you were more focused and undistracted. 

To help you make the process of preparing the meals easier, I made a printable PDF checklist of all that needs to be cooked/chopped/browned/bagged to keep you on task. If you want to prepare some things the day before or if you only have one Instant Pot to use, your steps may look slightly different.

Finally, you will need to cook dried beans (unless you buy canned), rice, and hard boiled eggs before you can bag certain meals. I use the printable reference sheet from this post for cooking times for each.

 

Prep List:

1. Cook kidney beans in Instant Pot. Cook 4 cups rice in second IP if available.
2. Brown ground beef in large dutch oven or pot on the stove.
3. Cook 8 hard boiled eggs and black beans in Instant Pots (separately).
4. Chop soup ingredients and bag.
5. Brown 4 sausages and 2 chicken breasts cut into 1″ pieces for jambalaya in a skillet.
6. Cook chicken pot pie filling.
7. Cook second portion of rice (4 cups uncooked).
8. Bag chili, jambalaya, and nacho meat and beans. Bag cooked rice in 4 C/bag (you should have 4 bags total).
9. Finish pot pie, let cool.
10. Assemble Greek chicken freezer meal.
11. Make pie dough (recipe here).
12. Brown sausage and bag red beans and rice.

Click to download and print PDF checklist.

chicken pot pie mixture and shredding chicken

browning chicken and sausage for jambalaya

 

Step 3 :: Assemble the meals.

Find freezer bag directions and cooking directions for each meal below.

(Printing tip: set the printing scale to 200% for full-page instructions).

Jambalaya

PRINTABLE INSTRUCTIONS

Freezer Meal Assembly

Combine in a gallon freezer bag:

• half the browned chicken and sausage mixture
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 14.5oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 C chicken broth
• 1 Tbsp Tony’s Creole seasoning

In a sandwich zipper bag, bag 2 C frozen shrimp. In a second sandwich zipper bag, bag 1 C uncooked rice.

With the gallon zipper bag sitting upright, place the bags of shrimp and rice on top of the jambalaya mixture. Seal the bag and freeze upright. (You will need to cook the shrimp before you cook the jambalaya so it is bagged separately).

Repeat for second dinner.

 

Cooking Directions

Remove jambalaya freezer meal from the freezer and let thaw. (The time it takes the Instant Pot to come to pressure will depend on how thawed it is).

Turn the IP on to Sauté and melt 1 tablespoon of butter in the pot. Add the shrimp and cook until the shrimp is pink and cooked through, about five minutes. Remove the shrimp from the IP to a clean bowl and set aside. Dump in the jambalaya mixture into the now-empty pot and stir in the rice. If your mixture is still frozen, you can cook it on saute for a few minutes to release some of the liquid before covering and cooking it. Cook on high pressure for 25 minutes. Let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes, then manually release the remaining pressure. Stir in the shrimp and serve immediately.

 

Extra ingredients needed for meal 

none

 

Nacho Beef & Black Beans

PRINTABLE INSTRUCTIONS

Freezer Meal Assembly

Combine in a gallon freezer bag:

• 1 1/2 C browned ground beef
• 2 C cooked black beans (drained)
• 1 tsp each: kosher salt, garlic powder, minced onion, ground cumin, oregano, & chili powder

Repeat for second dinner.

 

Cooking Directions

Dump the nacho meat and black beans in the Instant Pot (frozen is fine) and add 1/4 cup of water. Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes. Quick release pressure.

Serve as sheet pan nachos or burrito bowls.

 

Extra items needed for meal 

• Nacho/burrito bowl ingredients: tortilla chips or rice, shredded cheese, salsa, guacamole, shredded lettuce, plain yogurt or sour cream

 

IP Greek Chicken & Veggies

PRINTABLE INSTRUCTIONS

Freezer Meal Assembly

Make marinade by whisking together the following ingredients in a small dish:

• 1/4 C extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 C red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp each: onion powder, garlic powder, dried basil, ground pepper, & dried lemon peel
• 1 Tbsp honey

Combine in a gallon freezer bag:

• 2 chicken breasts
• 1/2 of the marinade

In a separate freezer bag combine:

• 1/2 sweet onion cut into 1″ pieces
• 1 bell pepper, cut into 1″ pieces
• 1/2 tsp salt, oregano, basil, garlic powder, and dried lemon peel

Place the vegetable bag in the bag with the chicken and freeze.

Repeat for second dinner. 

 

Cooking Directions 

Remove freezer meal from freezer. Separate the chicken and vegetable bags.

Add the chicken and marinade to the Instant Pot. Add 1/4 cup of water and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes if thawed or partially thawed, and 15 minutes if frozen. Quick release the pressure when the timer goes off.

Add the vegetables to the chicken and cook again on high pressure for 2 minutes. Quick release the pressure when the timer goes off. Check the temperature of the chicken to make sure it is cooked (160°).

Serve with one of the bags of frozen brown rice.

 

Extra items needed for meal

• 1 bag of frozen brown rice
• optional: side Greek salad

 

Red Beans & Rice

PRINTABLE INSTRUCTIONS

Freezer Meal Assembly 

Combine in a gallon freezer bag:

• 3 C cooked red kidney beans (drained)
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 diced red bell pepper
• 1 browned sweet sausage
• 1 1/2 tsp Tony’s Creole seasoning
• 2 garlic cloves, minced

Repeat for second dinner.

 

Cooking Directions

Dump contents of freezer bag in Instant Pot and add 1/4 cup of water. Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes. Quick release the pressure.

Serve with brown rice.

 

extra items needed for meal

• 1 bag brown rice from freezer

 

Hearty Chili

PRINTABLE INSTRUCTIONS

Freezer Meal Assembly

Combine in a freezer gallon bag:

• 2 1/2 C browned ground beef
• 2 C cooked kidney beans
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 chopped bell peppers
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can diced tomatoes, blended
• 1 tsp each: oregano, kosher salt, basil, chili powder
• 1/2 tsp each: ground cumin, freshly ground pepper

Repeat for second dinner.

 

Cooking Directions

Dump contents of the freezer meal into the Instant Pot. If frozen, sauté for five minutes, until some of the liquid is thawed.  Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. Quick release pressure. Serve immediately. Top with shredded cheddar cheese or sour cream/plain yogurt (optional).

 

extra items needed for meal

• optional: shredded cheddar cheese and/or sour cream/plain yogurt for toppings
• cornbread (our favorite is from this cookbook)

 

Chicken Pot Pie

PRINTABLE INSTRUCTIONS

Freezer Meal Assembly

In your Instant Pot:

• saute 6 slices of bacon, chopped, until browned, about 5 minutes
• add 2 diced onions and 8 carrots (peeled and chopped), 2 chicken breasts, 3 C chicken broth, 2 tsp dried thyme, and 2 tsp salt
• cook on high pressure for 8 minutes, then quick release the pressure
• remove the chicken and shred
• return the chicken to the pot pie mixture, stir in 4 C peas and 8 chopped hard boiled eggs
• mix together 2/3 C broth and 1/2 C flour in a small measuring cup. Pour the flour/broth into the pot pie mixture and stir to blend
• heat the pot pie mixture on sauté for about 5-10 more minutes until the sauce is thickened.

Let the pot pie mixture cool and then transfer to 2 gallon freezer bags.

While the pot pie mixture is cooking (or cooling), make the pie dough. You will need two portions of pie dough. Freeze each portion in a freezer bag. (Alternative, freeze store-bought pie dough).

 

Cooking Directions

Preheat oven to 425°. Thaw the bag of pot pie mixture and one portion of pie dough. Dump the pot pie mixture into a 9×13 Pyrex dish. Roll out the pie dough and cover the filling. Cut 3 small slits in the top of the dough to release steam. Cook in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until crust is golden and filling is bubbly.

 

Butternut Squash & Apple Soup

PRINTABLE INSTRUCTIONS

Freezer Meal Assembly 

Combine in a gallon freezer bag:

• 1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed
• 1 apple, peeled and cut into 1″ pieces
• 1/2 diced onion
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 C chicken broth

Repeat for second dinner.

 

Cooking Directions 

Dump the contents of the bag into the Instant Pot.  Sauté for a few minutes, just until the chicken broth is mostly thawed and liquid in the bottom of the pot. Cook on high pressure for 12 minutes. Quick release the pressure. Blend the soup (I love my Vitamix for blending soups). Return the soup to the Instant Pot, turn the IP on to Saute, add 1/4 cup heavy cream and 1 Tbsp maple syrup. Stir and serve when warm.

Optional: top with a dollop of fresh whipped cream or plain yogurt.

 

Extra items needed for meal 

• 1/4 C heavy cream
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup
• optional: fresh whipped cream or plain yogurt

 

Ready to get cooking? Here’s what you’ll need!