Simple and Healthy Instant Pot Freezer Meals for Busy Moms

These healthy Instant Pot freezer meals are delicious, easy to make, and perfect make-ahead meals for busy moms!

Do you spend a lot of time every single day cooking meals for your family? Well, you are not alone.

While it’s our joy as moms to prepare the best meals we can for our family, it can’t be denied that cooking can take a lot of time, particularly when you don’t plan your meals.

I have changed my approach and my life in the kitchen has never been better! I can prepare healthy meals faster and clean up quicker. I can batch cook for meal planning.

The secret? Healthy Instant Pot freezer meals.   

Yes, I pay tribute to the Instant Pot as a holy grail in my kitchen arsenal. During busy days, I just take it out, bring out the ingredients, and start preparing dinner. I dump everything into the Instant Pot, set it, and forget it and after a couple of minutes, we are enjoying our meal. 

But what makes the Instant Pot even better is that you can batch-cook your meals, store them in the freezer, and then take a frozen meal out whenever it’s needed. It’s a brilliant way to save time and money. It even saves my sanity for when things get more than a little hectic at home and in my business. 

Benefits of Instant Pot Freezer Meals

You might wonder why I jumped on the bandwagon and opted to do Instant Pot freezer meals. Well, here are my top reasons:

1. It put meals into autopilot. I stopped second-guessing what to have for lunch or dinner. I could just pull out a ready-made Instant Pot meal from the fridge and heat it when needed. 
2. It’s a great time and money-saver. Instant Pot recipes don’t require a lot of complicated ingredients. Plus, the Instant Pot is a very versatile appliance where you can do almost everything. You could even cook frozen meat in it (yup, no thawing required). These features make my life just so much easier! Less cleanup too,
3. Instant Pot recipes are usually healthy. Instead of ordering fast food, heating up Instant Pot freezer meals is a far healthier option because you know exactly what went into them. 

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How to Freeze Instant Pot Meals

1. Use Ziplock bags and store food flat. I started using nothing but Ziplock freezer bags when I started making freezer meals as they allow you to store food flat and save freezer space. I never really liked buying plastics, but I’ve found Ziplock freezer bags are great containers for my freezer meals.
2. Press out as much air as you can from the bags.
3. Don’t forget to label your freezer meals. Freezer meals last up to 3 months and you want to make sure that they get eaten before then. Labeling your meals will save you time and brain power on those busy days when you need to prepare your dinner fast. 

Healthy Instant Pot Freezer Meals to Make Ahead for Busy Moms

Here are some healthy Instant Pot freezer meal recipes to make ahead. Please click on the link below the picture to get the full recipe!

1. Instant Pot Shredded Chicken

Photo: Instant Pot Shredded Chicken by Recipes from a Pantry

Shredded chicken can be used in so many dishes, it should be on your meal prep plan each week. This recipe is suitable for Paleo, Keto, Weight Watchers, and Gluten-free diets. Bintu, of RecipesFromAPantry, provides two versions of her recipe. One version is spicy, and the other is less spicy but still flavorful. You should try both! Who doesn’t love a good chicken recipe?

2. Creamy Tomato Soup

Photo: Creamy Tomato Soup by Recipes from a Pantry

An easy, affordable recipe with a “secret” ingredient that makes it extra smooth and creamy, this soup is healthier than any canned version available. It contains no oil of any kind and is suitable for multiple diet plans–gluten-free, paleo, and Weight Watchers, just to name a few. Serve it with the traditional grilled cheese sandwich or try some crusty bread. Great for lunch, brunch, or a cozy winter supper. You’ll have this on your Favorites list once you’ve tasted it! 

3. Minestrone Soup

Photo: Minestrone Soup by Pinch of Yum

Hearty and full of vegetables, minestrone is a familiar wintertime favorite. This recipe has an interesting alternative for a common minestrone ingredient that you’ll find intriguing. Pinch of Yum’s recipe makes 8 cups of this delicious soup, so serve it to the family, then eat lunches from the leftovers for a few days afterward. There’s a video version of the recipe if you prefer watching instead of reading. Creator Lindsay includes suggestions for adding meat or making a completely vegan-style minestrone.

4. Barbacoa Tacos

Photo: Barbacoa Tacos by Latina Mom Meals

Taco Night will never be the same if you make this Cuban-style barbacoa beef recipe for your family! The resulting tacos are elevated several levels above a simple ground beef taco and it’s quick and easy in your InstaPot. LatinaMomMeals’ Nyssra gives readers a recipe for a raw relish to accompany these yummy tacos. Just reading the recipes for the Barbacoa beef and the relish makes my mouth water!

6. Instant Pot Turkey Chili

Photo: Instant Pot Turkey Chili by Salt and Lavender

I’ve always thought of black-eyed peas as a traditional Southern food, but this recipe provides a taste of the Caribbean Islands to those who make it. Black-Eyed Peas Curry is simple to make and can be batch-cooked and frozen for the future. It pairs well with white rice. Charla provides instructions to make this dish on the stovetop as well as in your InstaPot. 

7. Corn Chowder

Photo: Corn Chowder by Contentedness Cooking

This easy version of corn chowder is gluten-free and delicious, whether you can tolerate gluten or not. It’s also naturally vegan and dairy-free. The recipe is easy to follow and makes a great lunch or dinner dish. Eat it by itself with crackers for lunch or serve it with crusty bread and a nice salad for a larger meal. You can file this recipe under Healthy Meals, Under 20-Minute Meals, and Vegan Meals. Yum!

8. Instant Pot Broccoli and Cheese Soup

Photo: Instant Pot Broccoli and Cheese Soup by Real Balanced

Florian’s version of an all-around favorite, broccoli and cheese soup, allows for multiple ingredient substitutions based on your preferences and your pantry!  Florian kindly provides tips for freezing the soup, two ways to blend the soup, and nutritional information. This recipe is compliant with Keto and Low-Carb diets. It can be stored in the fridge for up to four days and in the freezer for up to one month. Serve this Instant Pot Broccoli and Cheese Soup tonight and put big smiles on your family’s faces!

9. Chicken Enchilada Soup

Photo: Chicken Enchilada Soup by Momma Fit Lindsey

This great 5-ingredient Chicken Enchilada Soup will be a snap to make in your InstaPot. It’s a hearty soup especially good on a chilly night. It’s a healthy budget-friendly recipe and makes a great freezer meal to thaw out when you’re short on time. There’s only one pot to clean! Instructions for using a Crock Pot or stovetop to make this wonderful soup are also provided. I just might change Taco Night at my house to Chicken Enchilada Soup Night!

10. Carnitas

Photo: Carnitas by Pinch of Yum

A great Pork Carnitas recipe that can cook itself in the Crock Pot while you do other things. This recipe makes enough for at least 8 servings, so invite some friends over to share the feast. Fill taco shells and pitas, or use tortillas to make burritos. Easy to freeze for another meal in the future or keep in the refrigerator to use again the next day for a quick lunch.

11. Three Sisters Soup

Photo: Three Sisters Soup by Moon and Spoon and Yum

Three Sisters Soup is a native-American-inspired recipe based on a planting technique. Read this recipe to learn what the “three sisters” are and how the name originated. A wonderfully versatile gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan soup that can also be sugar-free with just one ingredient change. This soup is high in protein, fiber, and vitamins. The creator suggests several substitutions you can make if desired. You’ll end up with a very good comfort food soup for cold-weather meals using this recipe. Leftovers (if there are any) store very well in the fridge for up to a week.        

12. Instant Pot Chicken Thighs

Photo: Instant Pot Chicken Thighs by Savory Tooth

Julia, owner of SavoryTooth.com, provides a recipe for chicken thighs that are plump, juicy, and very flavorful, thanks to her Instant Pot. Her easy-to-follow recipe includes several extra notes to ensure you get the same results! This recipe serves three but can be doubled or tripled as needed. (Read all the wonderful reviews following the recipes to learn some variations her website visitors used successfully.)

13. Stuffed Pepper Soup

Photo: Stuffed Pepper Soup by Salt and Lavender

Stuffed Peppers are a great cozy dish for cooler weather, but this Stuffed Pepper Soup is just as cozy and much quicker to prepare. That’s a Win-Win! Natasha provides directions for using a slow cooker or for cooking the soup on your stovetop as well as her InstaPot directions.

14. Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats

Photo: Stuffed Pepper Soup by Sweet Peas and Saffron

Oatmeal in the wintertime is especially tasty and comforting. This recipe by Sweet Peas and Saffron lets you choose how you want your steel-cut oats. Creamy or Chewy? It’s up to you. Not only can you determine the texture, but you can change the flavor combinations to suit your palate as well. There’s a link to seven different flavor combinations to try. File this recipe under Winning Breakfasts!

15. Instant Pot Minestrone Soup

Photo: Instant Pot Minestrone Soup by Belly Rules the Mind

This is an Olive Garden Minestrone copycat soup, according to the website, Belly Rules the Mind. If your family loves Olive Garden soups, then this soup should make their favorite list. It’s quick and easy to make with the provided instructions. The site provides tips for storing soup in the fridge or the freezer and suggests changes for gluten-free v and dairy-free versions. 

Ready to Make These Instant Pot Freezer Meals?

We’ve all been at a point when putting together a healthy and delicious meal just seems like a struggle. But after I learned about Instant Pot freezer meals, my life has never been the same. I like to think that my Instant Pot has helped me a great deal in feeding my family with sumptuous meals even when I’m running out of time. 

Apart from that, the monetary savings have been incredible. If I can meal plan every week, nail down every ingredient I need, and use them in every dish I cook, I’m confident that nothing in my pantry or fridge will ever reach its expiration date. So, if you want to save money and time in the kitchen and make delicious meals out there, I suggest you look into Instant Pot freezer meals as well – they have made my life unbelievably easier!