Yesterday I talked about freezer meals and how much time and money they can help you save, even if you only make one or two freezer meals. All the talk about freezer meals made me think about ways you can freeze your ingredients. There are a lot of the other things I like to keep in the freezer to make meal prep times easier. Even when we have an evening at home, I don’t love spending too much time in the kitchen cooking. I am always on the look-out for meal preparation shortcuts and time savers.

I think one of the biggest time savers is having some of the ingredients to my favorite meals ready and in the freezer. Sometimes this requires cooking and freezing. Sometimes this requires chopping and freezing. Sometime this requires both chopping and cooking. Just like freezer meals, the idea is to use other free time you have to prepare and freeze your ingredients so you can save time when you are busier. Most of my freezer favorites end up being huge time savers and make some of our favorite meals, quick go to meals. Here are a few of my favorite freeze your ingredients foods.

Cooked Chicken
Face it, even though chicken is a favorite in many meals, chicken is not usually a quick meal meat. I love taking chicken breasts and cooking them in bulk. My favorite is the crock pot or the grill. One the chicken breasts are cooked you can freeze them in a variety of way. I freeze them whole, sliced, chunked and shredded. I have had great success all four ways. If you want to freeze your ingredients, this is a huge time saver.

Cooked Ground Beef
Cooked ground beef is a favorite when I think about meal prep. It can go in so many recipes. Tacos, sloppy joes, mac n cheese, there are so many ways to use it. Keep a flavoring packet and taco shells on hand, add precooked ground beef and you have a really fast meal. Another freeze your ingredients time saver!

Shredded Cheese
It seems block cheese goes on sale more often than shredded cheese. Grab a few extra blocks of cheese and shred them into baggies. Shredded cheese freezes really nicely and it is so much faster to use versus shredding cheese before every meal.

Rice
Rice is another of my favorite freezer ingredients. Cooked rice can be frozen and used later in a variety of ways. Precooked frozen rice is great as an ingredient or as a stand-alone dish. This is another great freeze your ingredients time saver.

Peppers and Onions
Both peppers and onions freeze really nicely. I love adding these vegetables to my cooking but hate the time it takes to chop them. Freeze your ingredients and save time, both these vegetables are perfect for this and freeze really nicely.

Sauces and Gravy
Sauces and gravies also work great in the freezer. Make a double batch next time and freeze half. Sometimes a good sauce or gravy is all a few basic ingredients need to make a meal great. This is a lesser thought of freeze you ingredient tip but it is a very yummy one.

Have more tips for freezing your ingredients? We’d love to hear them!