With the holiday hustle, getting a well-rounded, homemade dinner on the table at the end of the day can feel like a Christmas miracle.
Fortunately, I’m here to help you get ahead for the busy season with my five freezer-friendly holiday meals. I’ve been doing this for over twenty years and I have cozy dinners down to a science.
Hand on heart, these meals are even BETTER after being frozen.
November is when I get much of my holiday cooking and baking prepared in advance. I’m already in the kitchen making edible gifts; I may as well slide a braise in the oven or start a chili in the slow cooker.
Knowing I have dinner in the freezer means I can be more spontaneous for holiday activities. An afternoon of wreath-making, tree-trimming or creating spiced pomanders with the kids is all the more relaxing, knowing that dinner is set (and smelling delicious!).
Five Freezer-Friendly Holiday Meals
How Does The Freezer IMPROVE a Dish?
Well, let’s look at that for a minute. I’m no scientist, but I am a culinary professional with an experienced palate.
Take chili for example. It comes together with a myriad of bold flavours. They don’t just marry instantly; they need time to meld and mellow. After freezing, when the dish is reheated to be served, the flavours are bolder and more intensely delicious.
Another example is any dish with a pie crust: Tourtiere, chicken pot pie, veggie pot pie. Typically the pie crust is rolled, assembled into the dish, and frozen. This step firms up the butter and relaxes the gluten in the dough. When the dish is baked, the crust is much more flaky and tender.
Now, onto the recipes for five freezer-friendly holiday meals. For variety, I’m giving you recipes for lamb, chicken, beef, pork and a vegan option too.
1 Slow Cooker Chicken Chili
Every holiday season needs a simple yet hearty dish and this chili is both.
It’s a simple dinner, but pretty darn great to return to after a day of skiing or sledding. The flavours deepen and develop in the freezer making this one an excellent batch cooking recipe.
Get the recipe: Slow Cooker Chicken Chili
We round out our chili into a proper feast with a side of warm cornbread. Yes, it can be frozen too!
Get the Recipe: Simple Skillet Cornbread
2 French Onion Pot Roast
My number ONE most popular recipe last winter is an excellent candidate for a freezer-friendly holiday meal.
One of my first culinary jobs was at a French bistro where French Onion Soup was a menu staple. The chef swore by freezing his finished soup base (no bread or cheese!) and found it deepened the flavour. We would thaw and gently reheat the onion broth, before topping it with the requisite croutons and Gruyere for a truly superior soup.
Similarly, this dish is a ridiculously delicious reheat!
Get the recipe: French Onion Pot Roast
Serve with my Best Ever Mashed Potatoes (don’t freeze those!) and/or this showstopper cauliflower.
Get the recipe: Whole Roast Cauliflower with Minty Chimichurri
3 Creamy Carrot Ginger Soup
Not everything can be meat-heavy; we also need cozy vegan comfort food. This is the perfect tummy-warmer on a chilly winter night. It comes together with simple pantry ingredients, too.
When my cookbook club hosted a soup swap this fall, I brought 8 quarts of this exact soup. I knew most people would be freezing their soup stash and this recipe is an excellent candidate for the deep freeze.
The flavours deepen: warm garam masala and sweet carrots marry together. The added chickpeas keep the texture smooth and substantial. It makes a nice big batch so go ahead and add this recipe to your meal prep list.
Get the recipe: Creamy Carrot Ginger Soup
Serve with my Simple Pesto Buns. Yes they can be frozen, as well.
4 Braised Lamb Shanks with Winter Fruits
A special occasion dinner, this is the showstopper recipe in this list of freezer-friendly holiday meals.
Both comforting and elegant, this sumptuous dish has been our Christmas dinner two years in a row. The complex flavours deepen and meld together in the freezer, coming together for a very memorable main.
It’s a terrific re-heat, alongside a mound of whipped sweet potatoes or your favourite sides.Â
Get the Recipe: Braised Lamb Shanks with Winter Fruits
Serve with perfect mashed potatoes link & honey-glazed roast Brussels sprouts.
5 Classic Tourtiere: Quebec Pork Pie
A Christmas Eve tradition: Quebec’s spiced pork pie, layered between flaky pastry.
A few years ago I wisened up to the fact that my traditional tourtiere were better when I pulled them from the deep freeze and placed them straight in the oven.
Now I always make 3-4 meat pies at a time and freeze them raw. They freezer time allows the crust to rest and it bakes up flaky and crisp. Pulling this perfect dish from the oven, golden and fragrant, feels like a magic trick on a cold winter evening.
Get the recipe: Classic Tourtière
I like to top mine with a wheel of cheese halfway through the baking time for an extra festive feast! It gets soft and melted, raclette-style, and really puts this dish over the top. Try a semi-firm cheese such as Oka, or Reblochon, if you can find it.
Perfect for cold winter nights by the fire. To balance out the rich main course, serve with a side of roast squash and a huge winter salad. Now I wish Christmas would hurry up and come!
Squash Sides:
It’s six short weeks ’til our Christmas break begins. What better time to start planning! Which meal will you make first? Be sure to let me know in the comments under the post.
Happy Holidays!