Frozen Vegetable Recipes for Budget-Friendly Meals You'll Crave
Stock your freezer with a rainbow of veggies to toss into skillet dinners, casseroles, takeout fake outs, and so much more.
Freeze! These frozen vegetable recipes for casseroles, soups, skillet dinners, and even smoothies show how to refresh and make the most of the produce you’ve put on ice. Including frozen broccoli, frozen pea, frozen corn, and mixed frozen vegetable recipes for budget-friendly meals.
Vegetable-Beef Pot Pie
For one of the easiest pot pie recipes to ever leave our Test Kitchen, simply sauté a pound of ground meat (or plant-based meat), frozen peas and carrots, a can of diced tomatoes, and some spices. Top that skillet of savory, saucy goodness with strips of refrigerated pizza dough. Bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly, then divvy it up into bowls and dive in.
Spinach Artichoke Dip Soup
With a can of artichoke hearts and a package of frozen spinach, you can recreate this luscious party dip in quick soup form. Mix broth, cream cheese, and half-and-half for a speedy creamy soup base. Then to counter that rich and savory trio, finish the spoonable frozen vegetable recipe with lemon juice and zest for brightness and a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes for kick.
Enchilada Verde Casserole
If you like the flavor of enchiladas, but not the fuss of stuffing and rolling, stack up a Mexican casserole with similar elements. We adore it just as much by the slice! This recipe for frozen vegetables (here, corn) is a terrific vehicle for leftover protein from earlier in the week. Corn tortillas, black beans, diced green chiles, plenty of cheese, and a zippy green enchilada sauce round out the easy, cheesy, big batch recipe.
Homemade Cup Of Noodles
Mix up your meal prep routine with these choose-your-own-adventure make-ahead noodle bowls. “Since I found this recipe, I have been making noodle jars every 3 or 4 days. I love the variety and that we can make a simple lunch differently every day,” one BHG home cook says. Select a stock base and flavor boost, bolster it with protein and cooked noodles, and seal the deal with your choice of fresh or frozen veggies (frozen peas and carrots are favorites among our editors).
Veggie-Stuffed Pasta Shells
Shredded fresh carrots and zucchini meet defrosted frozen spinach in this cozy vegetarian Italian entrée. Blend those garden goodies with ricotta and shredded Italian cheese, then stuff that inside cooked jumbo shells. Line a skillet with pasta sauce, top with the stuffed shells, and bake the frozen vegetable recipe for 10 minutes.
Test Kitchen Tip: Pump up the protein by folding shredded leftover or rotisserie chicken into the spinach and ricotta mixture before spooning that into the shells.
Bacon, Corn, and Cheese Frittata
A scoop of frozen corn lends a pop of sweet summer flavor to this Instant Pot frittata recipe. Salty, savory bacon and roasted sweet red peppers stud each bite of this hearty morning meal. During the slim 18-minute cook time for this egg recipe for frozen vegetables, toast some bread and assemble a fruit salad to complete the easy yet company-worthy brunch.
Weeknight Chorizo and Shrimp Paella
Frozen peas are one of those ingredients that we think is almost better than its fresh counterpart. Since peak fresh pea season is usually just a few weeks long, we prefer to stock up on frozen-when-fresh peas to toss into a wide variety of frozen vegetable recipes—including this Spanish-inspired skillet dinner. The rice recipe includes both chorizo sausage and shrimp for double the protein and double the satisfaction.
20-Minute Ramen Noodle Bowls
Round up four ingredients and carve out a mere 20 minutes and you’re all set to toss together this mixed frozen vegetable recipe. Bottled peanut sauce lends a lovely nutty element to amp up the flavor in these extremely semi-homemade noodle bowls. Once you’ve mastered the basic ramen bowl recipe, try one or all of our eight other variations, including teriyaki, Italian, sweet-and-sour, and beyond.
Chicken Bacon Ranch Casserole
We don’t even try to deny our adoration for any recipe that features ranch dressing. Inspired by a popular deli wrap trio of chicken, bacon, and ranch, we found a way to sneak some extra nutrition into this family-sized casserole. Frozen broccoli as well as fresh mushrooms, tomatoes, and green onions guarantee that this cheesy chicken pasta bake is far from bland.
Parmesan Chicken and Broccoli
If you have chicken and rice, you have the makings for a marvelous meal that you can transport to any corner of the globe by choosing your sauces, herbs and spices, and protein accordingly. For this healthy chicken casserole, we recommend frozen broccoli, fresh tomato, garlic, and Parmesan cheese.
Test Kitchen Tip: For a freezer casserole variation, assemble the unbaked dish, cover with foil, and freeze for up to 3 months. The night before you plan to serve, thaw the casserole in the fridge. Bake at 350° F for 50 to 55 minutes, or until cooked through.
Ravioli e Fagioli
Psst…the best soup recipes need not simmer all day and don’t even need not be 100% from scratch. Ready in less than an hour, a few cans (tomatoes, beans, stock), frozen lima beans, and refrigerated ravioli or tortellini make this soup a breeze to pull together. A splash of red wine, dried Italian seasoning, garlic, sausage, and pancetta make this frozen vegetable recipe taste like you fussed over it for hours. No one needs to know you got a head start at the supermarket.
Corn Casserole
Canned creamed corn and two full pounds(!) of frozen corn infuse every inch of this holiday casserole recipe with natural sweetness. But don’t let that fool you into thinking this recipe for frozen vegetables tastes like a sugar-laced cornbread. With a topping of bacon and saltine crackers, this onion- and garlic-laced side dish is thoroughly within savory territory.
Test Kitchen Tip: To up the ante, follow our variation ideas that call for 1 ½ cups of shredded cheddar cheese, a 4-ounce can of green chile peppers, or 4 ounces of cooked, crumbled sausage.
Quick Pork-and-Vegetable Fried Brown Rice
Fried rice is one of those special dishes that’s actually even better when you use pre-cooked rice. Instead of leftover grains, we call for frozen brown rice to get the party started for this 20-minute dinner idea. Then frozen peas and carrots, leftover pork tenderloin (or chicken, ham, tofu, or steak), and seasoning elements join in the fun. With ginger, soy, green onions, and Chinese five-spice in the mix, everyone will think you ordered takeout—but you can take all the credit!
Make-Ahead Korean-Inspired Chicken with Broccoli
Double-duty dinners can be a busy cook’s BFF. This make-ahead dinner is designed to help you create one full meal for four to enjoy tonight, and another complete four-serving feast to freeze and enjoy at some point within the next three months. Both portions are jam-packed with protein (chicken), produce (frozen broccoli), craving-busting carbs (white or brown rice), and flavor by way of a zingy Korean sauce that features ginger, garlic, and sesame notes.
Sweet Honey-Ginger Beet and Mango Smoothies
Yes, you can drink your frozen vegetable recipes! Healthy smoothie recipes often recommend sneaking in a handful of spinach or kale; the flavor is often masked by the fruit and other sweet elements. But why stop there? To make this anti-inflammatory drink, we blend yellow beets, frozen corn, and frozen mango together with mango nectar, tofu (which lends a lusciously thick texture), honey, and ginger.
