| If you’re like me, you love a good potluck. But what if, instead, you hosted a gathering of friends not to bring cooked food and eat it on the spot but to cook several huge dishes that you can divide amongst yourselves, take home and freeze for weeks to come?Close friend and Vegan at Heart Sarah Howard in Owensboro, Kentucky, asked me if I had any good vegan cook ‘n freeze recipes. I’d never even heard of the concept, so she explained it to me, and I love love love the idea!Vegan Freezer Friendly Recipes
Here’s why:
– It saves time & money.
– It takes the thinking out of weeknight dinners because you have healthy, pre-made dishes on hand at all times.
– You can end up with as many as 8 big meals by the end, which can provide a family with enough dinners for almost a month (2 dishes/week, stretched out as leftovers.)
– It’s a handy way to use up that CSA produce.
– It’s a great excuse to spend time in the kitchen with your friends.
Here’s how it works:
– Coordinate with 1-5 other veg-conscious friends to decide what you’re going to make, what equipment & ingredients are required, and even what kind of storage containers you’ll need for freezing the food.
– Divide up the ingredient list amongst yourselves, buy the ingredients, and bring them over to the host’s house. Split the grocery bill between participants.
– Chop, hack, stir, and cook away.
– Drink sangria (How did that get on the list? Hmm.)
– Divide up the finished meals, and take them home!
 You can get super creative, not just preparing large meals but snacks and treats too. How about a nice trail mix that everyone takes home in big ziploc bags? Or bananas cut into 1-inch pieces, rolled in chopped nuts, then frozen? Or healthy, raw donut holes for freezing (see video)?
Here are some more ideas for freezer-friendly dishes:
One of the most freezer-friendly foods to make is a delicious vegan bolognese. This spaghetti sauce from the Live It Up Vegan blog is already doubled. Hooray for people who think BIG!
I bet these tofu ricotta-spinach tortellinis would freeze well. You might want to try out the recipe once before you supersize it to get a sense of ingredient proportions. (The Vegan Menu blogger is one of those “intuitive” chefs.)
Move over, overpriced, store-bought frozen burgers! Robin Robertson’s shares this popular ultimate veggie burger recipe from her Vegan Planet cookbook.
VeganDad harnesses the power of tangy tomatillos, mangoes, and peaches in these tangy bean and fruit burritos. Perfect for summertime, when peaches and tomatillos are in season.
This coconut, corn and black bean soup from VeganYumYum keeps things simple with very few ingredients and happens to be very kid-friendly.
No time for breakfast? No worries! Grab a banana and one of Vegnews.com’s healthy hemp breakfast muffins from the freezer, and by the time you get to work or school, it’ll should be thawed.
What dishes do you like to make and freeze for later? |
