Cutting carbs can help you lose substantial amounts of fat, but there is another key ingredient that’ll help you maintain those weight loss results for life: convenience.
Simply put, if you make your low carb or ketogenic diet more convenient than grabbing an unhealthy meal, you will be able to create a lifestyle that helps you lose weight and improve health naturally.
One way to do this is by cooking healthy low carb keto freezer meals, so you always have something you can eat when you’re pressed for time.
Whether you are looking for a simple solution for weekly meal prep, a quick instant pot recipe, or a hot and ready dinner fresh from the slow cooker, there are a plethora of low carb frozen meals you can rely on.
Here is a quick overview of what you’ll find in this keto-friendly freezer meal round-up:
- The benefits of freezer meals on keto
- Low carb freezer meals for breakfast
- Keto freezer meals for lunch
- Low carb frozen dinner entrees
- Freezer-friendly keto dessert recipes
- 8 tips for getting the most out of your keto frozen meals
- Key takeaways: Keto freezer meals, easy meal prep, and your low carb lifestyle
The Three Key Benefits of Batch Cooking Keto Freezer Meals
We hinted at the powers of batch cooking low carb freezer meals in the opening paragraphs, so let’s take a closer look at why freezer-friendly recipes are such a powerful tool:
1. Saves you more money than before
Although healthy foods come with the stigma of being more expensive, this does not have to be the case for you. By planning ahead and cooking bigger batches of freezer-friendly meals, your food budget will decrease as you eat out less and waste less food.
If you’d like to save more money on your freezer meals, we recommend checking out our comprehensive guide to eating keto on a budget.
2. Reduces your overall carbon footprint and food waste
The most recent estimates by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) indicate that Americans waste more than $161 billion each year on food, with dairy products as the food waste frontrunner. Not only is this bad for everyone’s food budget, but it contributes to increased greenhouse gas emissions as the food waste in landfills leaks methane gas into the atmosphere.
With the help of keto freezer meals, you will be able to reduce your body fat %, food budget, and carbon footprint at the same time. Along with that, you’ll be taking steps toward making your new diet plan into a sustainable, healthy lifestyle.
3. Simplifies keto meal prep and planning for easier weight loss results
Willpower and restriction will help you get started, but leveraging convenience to work for you is what will keep you going when you are stressed, hungry, and tired. To illustrate what I mean, imagine having several healthy and delicious keto-friendly frozen meals waiting for you at home.
You no longer have to think, prep, plan, calculate, decide, or negotiate with your cravings when you’re already drained from the day. All you have to do is reheat and eat your freezer meals to reach your keto goals.
Surprisingly enough, there are hundreds of recipes that are healthy, easy-to-make, gluten free, low-carb, and freezer-friendly. To get you started, let’s take a look at the most popular keto freezer meals for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert.
Low Carb Breakfast Freezer Meal Recipes
Here are some great options for batch cooking and freezing breakfasts so you always have something ready to go in the morning.
Keto Sausage Gravy and Biscuit Bake
If you’d like something hearty and savory for breakfast, give this freezer-friendly keto casserole a try. The biscuit topping will satisfy your craving for a light and fluffy breakfast pastry, while the sausage and gravy bring you to a level of satisfaction that high-carb dishes simply can’t emulate.
Freeze the finished product as is, and have it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner if you are looking for a keto-friendly high-protein freezer meal that’ll keep you in ketosis.
Keto Lemon Poppyseed Muffins
Occasionally, I find savory and hearty dishes to be overwhelming for my taste buds and stomach in the morning. If you find yourself feeling the same way, make these keto muffins instead. You’ll find them to be the perfect treat to have with your keto coffee or tea.
Each recipe yields 12 muffins, which you can freeze individually and take out whenever you want a keto-friendly baked good. Pop them in the microwave for 15-20 seconds, slice in half, and place a pad of butter between them for a quick and healthy low-carb breakfast.
Low Carb Cinnamon Roll Waffle
Not only are these waffles a great source of protein and healthy fats, but you can freeze them and reheat them as if they were frozen waffles from your local grocery store. Feel free to skip the cream cheese frosting and go with butter and/or keto maple syrup if you want any even quicker keto breakfast.
Another freezer-friendly waffle recipe worth trying is our Savory Jalapeno Cheddar Waffles. They come with a savory, comforting flavor and a heartier feel, providing us a pleasant change of pace from these cinnamon roll waffles.
Easy Meal Prep Low-Carb Breakfast Burritos
Burritos are surprisingly easy to make keto- and freezer-friendly. First, prepare and cook all of your burrito fillings. This recipe calls for turkey sausage, eggs, spinach, and cheese, but you can use pretty much any combo of meat, cheese, and low-carb veggies you have on hand.
As your ingredients are cooling, start prepping your low-carb tortilla for filling. You can either make them yourself by following this link for a freezer-friendly tortilla recipe or purchase a keto-friendly wrap.
Finally, after the ingredients have cooled, make your burritos, wrap them in foil or freezer paper, store them in a freezer-safe bag or container, and freeze until you want a delicious keto-friendly burrito.
*Image from ameessavorydish.com
Keto Zucchini Bread with Walnuts
For something that’ll satisfy your sweet tooth (while sneaking in some low carb nuts and vegetables at the same time), this zucchini bread is another excellent freezer-friendly option. It is healthy, easy-to-make, filling, and so flavorful.
To prep it for freezing, slice each serving, wrap it in foil, and freeze individually. When you want a quick breakfast, warm it in the oven or the microwave. Serve with a slab of butter on top to make it even tastier and increase the fat content.
Easy Low Carb Freezer Meals for Lunch
If you’re looking for something to keep on hand for lunch, you’ll find some fantastic, freezable ideas below.
Ham, Ricotta, and Spinach Casserole
This freezer meal has it all — keto vegetables, eggs, rich ricotta cheese, and plenty of umami. Plus, its high protein and fat content will keep you full throughout the day.
Feel free to have it for breakfast, lunch, a snack, or dinner. You can even bake it the night before and have it throughout the next day whenever you are hungry.
Greek Cauliflower Salad
With this low carb lunch, you can experience all your favorite Greek flavors without the unnecessary carbs. Simply buy tzatziki or make it yourself (with the help of our gyro recipe), rice the cauliflower, prep the veggies, and toss everything together for an easy keto meal.
This recipe yields plenty of servings as well. Feel free to freeze each serving and take it to work for the week or have it as a side with dinner.
Cheesy Cauliflower & Bacon Soup
As you adapt to your keto lifestyle, you’ll find healthy, keto-friendly soup to be surprisingly easy to make. This recipe is the perfect example of what’s possible on the keto diet, providing you with a satisfying meal in 30 min or less.
That being said, the best part of this soup is that it makes so many servings that you can freeze for low carb lunches throughout the week. Just put the frozen soup in the microwave or thaw and heat on the stovetop until warm.
Keto Cloud Bread BLT
Technically, a BLT is not keto-friendly nor freezable. With this keto recipe, however, you will learn how to make a simple keto bread that you can freeze and take out whenever you are craving a sandwich.
To make this BLT recipe into a freezer-friendly meal, prep the bread and bacon ahead of time and store them in the freezer. As your bacon and bread are reheating, prep the tomato and lettuce. When everything is ready, grab some keto mayo from the fridge and put it all together for a quick and easy keto BLT.
Easy Keto Meatballs
One of the easiest ways to add high-quality fats and protein to your keto meal is by adding some keto meatballs. This freezer-friendly meatball recipe allows you to make a bunch of meatballs ahead of time, so you have something you can rely on when you are stressed, tired, and hungry after a long day.
For a simple and healthy keto meal, try placing the thawed meatballs into a baking dish and covering with marinara sauce and keto-friendly pasta, topping it with cheese, and baking at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for around 20 minutes. To get the cheese bubbly and browned, place under the broiler for an extra five minutes.
*Image from makeaheadmealmom.com
Easy Low Carb Freezer Dinners: Slow Cooker Meals and Healthy Casseroles
There’s sometimes no better feeling than being able to pop something in the oven for an easy dinner when you’re exhausted. Below, you’ll find some great examples of freezable meals that will stock your freezer full of keto meals!
Keto Tuna Casserole
Casseroles are arguably the easiest freezer keto dinners you can make. For the most part, all you have to do is throw ingredients together, bake them, eat them, and freeze the rest for later.
This tuna casserole is the perfect example of how easy it can be to make a keto meal that is delicious and freezer-friendly. Just make sure you put the leftovers in their freezer containers before you find yourself marching back to the kitchen for more.
Keto Chicken Divan
Here is another example of a quick and easy keto casserole that’ll amaze your taste buds. It is a lot like chicken pot pie, but creamier, tastier, and much more satisfying.
One of the best things about this recipe is that there are many ways to adapt it to your schedule.
For example, you can make it in advance and bake it just before serving — or try cooking multiple pans when you have time and freeze them for another night.
Bacon Covered Meatloaf
The title speaks for itself. Bacon plus meatloaf is a match made in keto heaven. You can even try pairing it with keto-friendly BBQ sauce if you are ready to take things to the next level.
To make the meatloaf freezer-friendly, allow it to cool to room temperature (after all of the steam has escaped), slice it based on your preferred serving size, and place each slice between sheets of baking paper/parchment in an airtight container before freezing. On the other hand, if you are preparing this meal for a family dinner, skip separating the servings and freeze the loaf as a whole.
*Image from ditchthecarbs.com
Slow-Cooker Stuffed Taco Peppers
Rarely will you find a recipe this convenient, versatile, and delicious. All you need to do is follow a simple four-step process: empty the peppers, stuff them with keto-friendly ingredients, cook them in the slow-cooker, and eat/freeze.
You can even prep them ahead of time and throw them in the slow cooker before you go to work. When you come home, you will have a hot and healthy keto meal with plenty of leftovers to freeze for later in the week.
Slow-Cooker Bacon Cheeseburger Soup
This recipe comes with all of the textures and flavors we crave from a bacon cheeseburger but in a healthy, protein-rich, freezer-friendly soup. You can also prepare this in one of three ways: as an easy slow-cooker meal, as a quick instant pot soup, or as a beautiful stovetop dinner.
We recommend making this recipe in bulk and freezing it for the colder months. Whenever you need a reliable keto meal, take it out of the freezer and reheat with some shredded cheese on top.
Keto Freezer Desserts: Easy, Healthy, and Satisfying Recipes
Dessert can be healthy, keto-approved, and freezer-friendly without missing out on the flavors we love.
There are hundreds of keto desserts that fit the bill, but the following recipes are second-to-none when it comes to convenience and satisfaction:
And, don’t forget about keto ice cream — the ultimate low-carb freezer treat! For a round-up of our favorites, follow this link to check out our top 10 list of keto-friendly ice cream recipes.
Getting the Most Out of Your Keto Freezer Meals: 8 Meal Prep Tips
To help you squeeze the most out of every dollar, meal, and ingredient that you can, here are some of the top meal prep tips from long-term keto dieters:
1. Make batch cooking a part of your weekly schedule.
The two most common approaches to batch cooking are (1) having a meal prep day every week and (2) doubling or tripling the recipes each time you cook.
The first option requires some planning ahead and a good chunk of time dictated to making multiple recipes at once.
If you simply can’t carve out an afternoon or morning for meal prep each week, then the second batch cooking approach will be much easier to implement. Just make sure you know what you will make before you go to the grocery store, so you know how much of each ingredient you need to get.
2. Batch cook recipes that call for similar ingredients.
One simple way to cut down on food spending and waste is by batch cooking recipes with ingredient crossover. This will also help you capitalize on bulk buying deals at the store and reduce the amount of prep time needed for each recipe.
3. Keep it airtight.
Your freezer meals can easily be damaged when the cold air is allowed to come in direct contact with the food. This can steal the tenderness and flavor away for your favorite keto recipes.
To keep this from happening, I recommend buying airtight containers, freezer bags, or a vacuum sealer. If you plan on cooking some meals to store in your freezer for several months, then vacuum sealing will be the best option.
Regardless of what storage option you choose, make sure you allow the meal to cool down to room temperature before freezing.
4. Label and date your freezer meals.
When the meals start piling up in your freezer, you may find yourself forgetting what’s what and how long each meal has been there. This is why it is so important to label each container/bag, including the name, prep date, and expected expiration date. (Bonus tip: use painter’s tape for removable labels)
To help you estimate your expiration dates, here is a quick list of how long different keto meals last in the freezer:
- Soups, stews, casseroles, and most other keto recipes will keep for around three months.
- Most meat and seafood can be frozen for around three months.
- Low-carb vegetables typically last for up to eight months.
5. Separate your servings before freezing.
Most foods shouldn’t be defrosted and re-frozen. To best preserve the integrity of your meals, freeze your recipes in meal-sized portions and only thaw/reheat what you will eat within the next 2-3 days.
6. Become an expert slow-cooker.
Slow cookers, crockpots, and instant pots can be used to simplify almost any keto meal. Essentially, all you need to do is add the ingredients, close the lid, pick a setting, and it’ll be ready 6-8 hours later.
Many delicious keto-friendly dishes can be prepared in this way, including:
- Bone broth
- Chili
- Chicken soup
- Curries and other Indian dishes
- Casseroles
- Meat or seafood stews
- Slow-cooked beef, lamb, chicken, or pork
- Keto lasagna
- Meatballs
For a list of keto recipes that you can make in the slow cooker, follow this link.
7. Freeze in microwave-safe dishes when possible.
If you plan to eat a freezer meal within a few weeks, store directly in a microwave-safe glass container in the freezer.
With this simple hack, all you have to do is thaw, heat, and eat — no need to transfer the food into a separate bowl or waste a freezer bag.
8. Make your casseroles portable.
Freezing and reheating casseroles can be a bit tricky when you only have one or two mouths to feed. A simple storage hack is to line the tray with parchment paper before freezing, lift the casserole out, and cut it into portions after it is frozen. Then, wrap each serving in foil and store them in a freezer bag for easy storing, thawing, and reheating.
The Bigger Picture — Low Carb Freezer Meals, Weight Loss Results, and Your Keto Lifestyle
Freezer-friendly keto recipes have been the secret ingredient behind sustainable weight loss results for hundreds (if not thousands) of keto and low-carb dieters. By using the recipes and tips above, you will be one step closer to transforming your health and body composition for the better as well.
As you make more low-carb freezer meals, it is also crucial to consider what you eat in the context of your overall keto lifestyle to get the results you want. For more information on how to create the optimal weight loss approach for you, we’ve included several tools and resources below:
- Keto Calculator — Find out how much you need to eat to meet your goals
- A Comprehensive Guide to the Ketogenic Diet — Keto guidelines, benefits, tips, food list, and recipes
- Eating Keto On A Budget — How to keep keto cheap, convenient, and easy
- Long-Term Keto Weight Loss Results— A guide to losing weight and maintaining your results for life
Sources
- How to Lose Weight on a Ketogenic Diet — Ruled.me
- Food Waste in America in 2020: Statistics & Facts — RTS
- US Food Waste Challenge | FAQ’s — USDA