In college, making meals every day can be a time-consuming and sometimes stressful task, prompting busy students to pull out the Hot Pockets and frozen pizza instead. It’s also never fun to find last week’s forgotten leftovers growing mold in the back of the fridge (when you really still wanted to eat them!). But if you don’t mind cooking and just don’t have the time during the week, cooking in bulk and freezing might be just the solution for you! Stock up on some of these freezer-friendly foods that you’ll love.
Pasta
Noodles are great because the are so easy to make in bulk. Boil up a bunch and put the extras in the freezer. To make sure they reheat to perfection, undercook them by 2-3 minutes (al dente style) and rinse them in cold water before putting them away. Another tip? Freeze your sauce, too! A whole jar might go bad in the fridge if you don’t eat it all fast enough, so pour your sauce into an ice cube tray and then defrost a cube or two when you’re ready to use it.
Smoothies
This one may seem obvious, but it’s a great way to stock up for a later date! Instead of just blending up one smoothie at a time, grab some extra ingredients and make 3 or 4 at once. Store them in freezer-safe bottles and just move one to the fridge the night before to thaw. Simple and delicious!
Fruits and Vegetables
Buying fresh fruits and vegetables can be fresher, cheaper, and sometimes healthier than buying pre-frozen or canned, especially if you can get them from a local vendor like a farmer’s market, but they can rot quite quickly if you aren’t able to eat them up fast enough. Not to worry, though, your freezer is your best friend for healthy foods! Just make sure you wash and thoroughly dry your produce before freezing and do some research on the best ways to thaw different types of fruits and veggies.
Baked Goods
We all know it: stress baking is real, but sometimes that entire batch of cookies is more than you could (or should) eat all at once before they get stale. Stick your extra treats in the freezer and pull out a couple when you need a sweet stress-reliever.
Soups
If you love soup but aren’t a fan of the canned type, don’t worry: you can easily make up a pot of soup and freeze most of it for later (try this amazing Olive Garden-inspired minestrone recipe!). Just make sure that you take it out to thaw in the fridge at least a day ahead or use flexible-sided containers so you can easily get the soup out to heat up.
Many other full meals
This list certainly isn’t exhaustive, and many complete meals can be frozen and heated up again later. Lots of meats, veggies, and even dairy-based foods do great in the freezer, so you can easily make a meal with many servings, eat one, and freeze the rest. A simple Google search can help you discover if your favorite foods freeze well.