I made 8 of these freezer crock-pot dinners and threw them in the freezer. These are so great for those of us that are too busy to spend an hour preparing dinner each day. Also- each recipe is pretty large so there should be enough for lunch or leftovers the next day! Recipes below!
Slow cooker make ahead recipies:
#1 Cashew Chicken:
2-3 lbs chicken breast (depending on how much chicken you want)
1 tsp pepper
½ c coconut aminos (paleo soy sauce)
½ c apple cider vinegar
¼ c paleo ketchup* (recipe below)
1 tsp ginger
½ c cashews (add when ready to serve)
1 Tbsp oil (coconut or olive, to grease the slow cooker)
Directions:
Add all ingredients to a ziplock bag or freezer container. Write on bag: thaw slightly and put in slow cooker on low 4-6 hours. Add cashews and serve.
#2 Hawaiian BBQ Chicken
4 chicken breasts
2 c Paleo BBQ sauce* (recipe below)
1 small pineapple (cut into ½ inch pieces)
1 onion diced
4 cloves garlic diced
1 tsp black pepper
Directions:
Add all ingredients to a ziplock bag or freezer container. Write on bag: thaw slightly, cook 4-6 hours on low.
#3 Chicken Balsamic
6 chicken breasts
28 oz tomatoes (diced preferred, I used my homemade canned tomotatoes but you can get some from the store)
4 cloves garlic diced
¾ c balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp oil (coconut or olive)
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp pepper
Directions:
Add all ingredients to a ziplock bag or freezer container. Write on bag: thaw slightly, cook on low 4-6 hours.
#4 Yummy Italian Chicken
4 chicken breasts
3 T olive oil
1 large green pepper
1 large red pepper
1 large yellow pepper
1 bunch of celery
5 garlic cloves diced
16 oz of tomatoes diced (canned)
Directions:
Add all ingredients to a ziplock bag or freezer container. Write on bag: thaw slightly, cook on low 6-8 hours
*This recipe is GREAT on top of a spaghetti squash!
#5 Thai-ish chicken wings
2- 2 ½ lbs chicken wings
½ c salsa (homemade preferred)
¼ c almond butter
3 T lime juice
3 T coconut aminos (paleo soy sauce)
3 T water
3 T ginger
¼ c coconut sugar (optional)
4 cloves garlic diced
Directions:
Add all ingredients to a ziplock bag or freezer container. Write on bag: thaw slightly, cook on low 6-8 hours.
#6 Italian Sausage
2 lb Italian susage links
2 large green peppers
2 onions
4 c diced tomatoes
1 T onion powder
1 T garlic powder
Directions:
Add all ingredients to a ziplock bag or freezer container. Write on bag: Cook on low 6 hours.
*This recipe is great on top of a spaghetti squash!
#7 Beef or Deer Stew
2 lbs beef stew meat or deer meat
1 onion diced
2 cups water
2 cups beef stock
1 ½ c tomato juice
1/3 c BBQ sauce (paleo recipe below)
4 cloves garlic diced
1 lb carrots
1 bunch celery chopped
sea salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Add all ingredients to a ziplock bag or freezer container. Write on bag: add 3-4 sweet potatoes cubbed(optional) and cook on low 8-9 hours.
#8 Chicken Tacos
5 chicken breasts
1 package of taco seasoning
2 T olive oil
2 T apple cider vinegar
¼ c water
12 oz tomatoes diced
1 onion diced
Directions:
Add all ingredients to a ziplock bag or freezer container. Write on bag: Cook 4-5 hours on low.
*Serve with coconut flour tortillas* (recipe below).
Paleo BBQ sauce (thanks to bravo for paleo)
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 medium onions, minced
- 2-28 oz cans whole tomatoes in juice
- 2-8 oz cans tomato sauce
- 1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- Juice from 1/2 fresh squeezed orange
- 2 tbsp paprika
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 4 tsp hickory liquid smoke
- 4 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 1tsp coconut aminos
- 1/4 cup organic Dijon mustard
- 1 bay leaf
Instructions
- Mince the onions in a food processor and set aside. Put the coconut oil in a Dutch oven or large heavy pot and heat on medium for a few minutes. Add the onions and sauté about five minutes until translucent.
- Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to low. Simmer for two hours. As the tomatoes cook, use a potato masher occasionally to break them up.
- After two hours, remove the bay leaf and in small batches, blend in food processor until smooth. Return the now-smooth sauce to the pot and simmer for 30 minutes. If you have an immersion blender, you can just blend in the pot.
- If the sauce isn’t thick enough, you can add an additional small amount of honey and cook it for another 30 minutes or more. It will also thicken upon cooling.
- This recipe makes 6 cups (3 pint sized jars). You can double the recipe but keep in mind that it will take significantly more simmering time to get the ingredients to blend together – possibly twice as long.
Paleo Ketchup
- About 12oz Tomato Paste (try to find it in BPA-free packaging if possible)
- 1.5 Cup Water
- 2 tbsp Vinegar
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
- 1/4 tsp All Spice
Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Simmer for a few minutes and stir often. Transfer ketchup to a glass container and refrigerate.
Paleo Coconut Flour Tortillas (thanks to Against All Grain)
Ingredients
- Ingredients (makes 8-10)
- ½ cup coconut flour
- ½ teaspoon grain free baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1½ cup egg whites (or 16 egg whites)*
- ¾ cup almond milk
- *you can buy the free-range organic egg whites in the carton if you’d like, or use your left over egg yolks for ice creams and custard pies!
Instructions
- Directions
- Mix all of the ingredients in a non-reactive bowl. Let sit for 10 minutes so the coconut flour can soak up some of the moisture, and then whisk again. The batter should be runnier than that of pancakes, about the same as a crepe batter.
- Heat a non-stick skillet over medium high heat and spray with oil or melt enough butter to coat the bottom and sides of pan. Pour ¼ cup of the batter into the pan, swirling the pan while you pour to ensure the bottom is coated and the tortilla is thin.
My husband does not eat chicken , I could use some recipes without chicken.
Dawn, you can substitute for beef or whatever he likes. What kind of meat does he like?
Wow.. these sound absolutely promising. I am sure to try them out. Thanks!
Thanks Anu! Let me know how it goes!
Can the BBQ sauce and/or ketchup be canned?? This is my first year having a big garden and I will be canning a lot so we can always have fresh, organic veggies in the house!
Thanks for sharing your site Jame! It’s pretty great! I definitely see the light in meal prep for the week! My favorite thing you said was, if you’re not prepared, you can’t stay on track! I’ve heard of meal prep, but never really took it to heart. Now that I’m REALLY trying to stick to clean eating, it’s very hard to seek healthy when you’re suddenly starving and forgot to pack your lunch..trying to pass fast food restaurants and find the closest place that has an apple or banana is the hardest thing ever!
how long does the BBQ sauce keep in the fridge
Usually about a week at the longest. If you add a little lemon juice it may last longer. Just keep an eye out for mold on the top. The thing about making homemade condiments is they don’t last too long but they taste a million times better and don’t have any nasty preservatives in them! Plus it’s so good you will probably eat it all before it would go bad;)
So it would be a good idea to make freezer recipes using the BBQ sauce at the same time?
Yes I think you could- or you could make it separate and freeze it in a separate bag 🙂
I’m looking for some slow cooker recipes to make during the week and these sound amazing. My question is: can these meals be in the slow cooker for longer then called for? I leave about 7:30am and don’t get home till about 6:15pm. Would I just put them in fully frozen to buy myself a little more cooking time? Thanks!
Hy Jen, they will definitely go for longer in the croc-pot, just put them on low. I am in the same boat- gone for about 8-10 hours each day and all of the meals have been fine on low for that long. The only thing you may find is with the bone in chicken it will come off the bone super easy if it has been in the croc-pot for more than about 6 hours. So be careful when eating- don’t choke!
How long is the paleo ketchup good for? Thanks!
Usually about a week at the longest. If you add a little lemon juice it may last longer. Just keep an eye out for mold on the top. The thing about making homemade condiments is they don’t last too long but they taste a million times better and don’t have any nasty preservatives in them! Plus it’s so good you will probably eat it all before it would go bad;)
Can you put the meals in the crock pot frozen or do I need to thaw the bag overnight?
I usually just move it from the freezer to the fridge the night before so it is easier to get out of the bag and into the Crocpot. You can definitely just throw it in frozen though.
Do you use raw or cooked chicken for these recipes?
Raw chicken 🙂
Do you wash the chicken before placing in the freezer bags with the other ingredients first? I freeze all my chicken the second I get it (big bags of organic breast from Costco). Is it also bad to defrost and then re freeze chicken (or any other meat ag) again? Thanks in advance. These recipes look sooooooooo good!
You can wash it first if that is what you usually do before preparing it. I don’t like to re-freeze chicken just because I think it makes it taste different and because of personal preference. Hope you enjoy!
Hi, in the recipes with the canned diced tomatoes, do I need to drain them or not? Thanks!
I put the juice in…It’s always nice to have extra sauce!
LOVE your recipes, thank you so much for sharing!!!
Thanks Tabetha! I need to post more! Been sooooooo busy!
the chicken doesnt overcook? I put 3 chicken breast in the crock pot yesterday dor 6 hours and they turned up super dry
I haven’t had them overcook….maybe because they are in so much sauce and they are frozen when I put them in. Let me know how it turns out for you….
Hi, these sound lovely, how many servings does each recipe make? When you bag them up do you put all the sauce ingredients into a bowl to mix them up then portion them out?
Sorry if this gets double posted (tech issues this morning).
The recipes sound great, how many servings are you getting from them? When you portion them up before freezing, do you mix all the sauce ingredients together before portioning them out?
the serving size is different for each one and depends on who you are feeding it to. My husband and I are the only ones who eat them and most recipes will last us two meals so four servings. Sometimes 6 depending on how much meat there is. I usually eat one chicken breast to myself so I go by that….if there are 4 breasts I count it as 4 servings. If you want to tell me how many people are eating the meals In your family and how old they are I can break it down for you. Also I do add everything to the bad, all sauces. You can keep some bbq sauce and ketchup on the side to put on after its done cooking. Let me know if you have any other questions! 🙂
Do you add the chicken RAW to the rest of the food or should you keep that In a separate bag? I worry about cross contamination!!!
Nancy, yes you put raw meat in the bags. Because you are cooking everything together in the slow cooker the meat will cook through all the way and won’t cause any contamination or bad bacteria. It cooks out for sure!
Tried all these recipes!!! loved them all!!! Making them all today again, but twice as much. So easy!! Kids love them all, which is nice!! Would like to see suggestions for side dishes. white sweet potato done in the oven with rosemary and red onion is great!!
Andrea, I am so glad you love them all and that your kiddos do too! I’ll post some ideas for side dishes!
did you post sides or what to serve the dishes over yet?
No I haven’t yet- been out of commission for the last year- I’m back and I’ll start posting more!
Do you freeze the whole chicken breasts or cut them up before freezing? If you don’t cut them up then to you shred it after its cooked in the crockpot?
I usually just shred them after. You could really do it either way though…
Reblogged this on My Journey towards a Healthy outlook and commented:
very good freezer paleo recipes 🙂
Thanks!!! Glad you enjoyed them!
Do you think the condiments will freeze as well?
I haven’t tried freezing them…I would guess so though….let me know if you try it!
Hi Jamie, really blond question…What does the T stand for? tbsp or tsp in some of your recipes. I’m sure you mean tbsp. Thanks
T=Tablespoon, tsp=teaspoon! 🙂
Can you substitute cashew butter for almond butter in the Thai_ish chicken wings
recipe?
Totally!
Thank you for such fab and easy recipes. And thanks for the recipes for the sauces too. I love my slow cooker and am desperate to lose weight so these are perfect and EASY (VERY IMPORTANT) Any chance you’ve got some more recipes up your sleeve?
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That was REALLY easy and great on the wallet. Just some feedback so far. Id recommend adding some veggies to the Hawaiian BBQ. Carrots and maybe a root of some kind (rutabaga or kohlrabi) it needs a bit more substance. Otherwise great flavor. We had it with couscous despite being non paleo. Chicken and pineapple need a base. Recommend zucchini noodles.
Also, the Italian sausage recipe just didn’t turn out great. The sausage gets bland when cooking to long. My thought is a pork roast and add some Italian seasoning. I was afraid of the entire 1T of garlic & onion powder so I halved it. I regret that.
Thank you for taking the time to do this post.
Thank you so much for your feedback- and I totally agree about the veggies needed in the Hawaiian BBQ 🙂
Hi! Do you brown the ground beef before you freeze?
You don’t have to, it’s up to you! Everything will cook in the slow cooker just fine!
Thanks!
These recipes look great. Can’t wait to try them.
i am very excited to try these recipes. Thank you for sharing.
Hi, want to try these, but recipes don’t mention how small to cut up bell peppers or the carrots. What’s the best size to cut these up before adding to bag? Thanks
It doesn’t matter how big- really it’s up to you and if you like big or small pieces!
When you first prepare these, is it best to buy chicken and prepare bags while chicken is still thawed or can I use chicken that is already frozen? Does it make a difference? Thanks