If you’re looking for easy and delicious meals to make with your frozen vegetables, you’re in the right spot. Today we’re going to take a look at recipes and ideas that lean into frozen vegetables, plus, great ways to use the frozen vegetables you have on hand. As always, I’ll be sharing gluten free, allergy friendly meals, with vegan and plant based options included.
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How to Use Frozen Vegetables 101
In some cases, it may seem pretty obvious how you might go about using frozen vegetables, however, in case you’re new to cooking for yourself and so on, let’s take a quick look at the ins and outs of basic usage.
Frozen vegetables can be cooked in a variety of ways including steaming, oven roasting on a baking sheet, pan cooked on the stovetop, heated in an air fryer or toaster oven, boiled, or simmered.
When you purchase frozen vegetables, they’re pre-cooked to a degree. Most are blanched by manufacturers before they’re frozen. When you heat them, you’re finishing the cooking process.
Before cooking frozen vegetables, you don’t need to thaw them. However, if there’s lots of ice in the package, remove it, unless you’re steaming. With all other cooking methods, lots of extra water can get in the way at times.
The real disadvantage of frozen vegetables is lack of variety. Since these are mass produced products, and stores have to make a profit, you won’t find specialty ingredients frozen (think Chinese broccoli or blue corn). The good news however is that you can freeze vegetables at home during peak season times if it’s available locally in your area.
Homemade frozen vegetables won’t be the same as store bought, but they’re still awesome. I personally freeze carrots and zucchini all the time for future use.
Ultimately, the best piece of advice I can offer is this: frozen vegetables are super duper versatile, so don’t let ideas of what food “must” be hold you back. Frozen veg can be part of breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinners, and even dessert. As long as you enjoy the taste, there’s no wrong way to use your frozen veg.
Nutrition Concerns With Frozen Vegetables
Know that frozen vegetables contain a great amount of nutrients. There’s a misconception that frozen and canned vegetables are less than when compared with their fresh counterparts. Frozen fruits and vegetables are usually picked, processed, and frozen during peak times during the season, giving you access to fantastic ingredients year round.
Where nutritional values are concerned, you’ll see very similar values in key nutrients (Vitamin C, Vitamin A, fiber, etc.) when comparing fresh and frozen.
Personally, I prefer frozen vegetables over canned vegetables since the added sodium isn’t present. As a recipe developer, that gives me a lot more control over the ingredients. However, that’s nice is that these days, you can purchase low sodium or no sodium added canned vegetables.
If you’re concerned about pesticides etc., you can purchase organic frozen fruit and vegetables. If that’s cost prohibitive for you, search online for the “dirty dozen produce list”. Each year, the EWG releases a Clean 15 and Dirty Dozen list to let you know which produce is best purchased organic due to the amounts of pesticides and other chemicals present.
Cooking Equipment for Frozen Vegetables
You need much when it comes to cooking frozen vegetables. Here are my personal favourite tools.
Baking Tray: I like this brand. I also have been able to find these at Costco in a three pack at a very good price.
Steaming Pot: I love this German brand. In fact, I have a whole set of their pots because the quality is on point. I have two of the steamer pots so I can make a couple of vegetables at the same time if needed (gotta love that recipe developer life).
Rice Cooker: I have a rice cooker similar to this one (from the same brand) and love it. One of the best parts is the additional steamer basket insert piece it comes with. You set the rice up as normal, then place the basket on top and it fits snugly into the rice cooker. Fill your basket with frozen veg and close the lid. When the rice is done cooking, the veg is ready. Easy. Peasy.
Air Fryer: I’ve tried several and this is the one that I’ve landed on. I like the because there are more options, which I need as a recipe developer. Plus, the brand has yet to fail me, unlike several others. Is an air fryer necessary? Of course not. However, it can be a convenient option, depending on your lifestyle.
Dinner Ideas That Include Frozen Vegetables
If you’re on the hunt for super easy dinner ideas with frozen veg, here are several ideas to get you started.
- Bacon + Beans + Frozen Green Veggies
- Frozen Green Peas + Ground Meat + Jarred Pasta Sauce
- Scrambled Eggs + Oven Roasted (frozen) Broccoli + Toast + Bacon Bits
- Rice + Frozen Broccoli + Rotisserie Chicken + Sauce
- Burger Patties + Frozen Tots + Oven Roasted Frozen Veg
- Grilled Cheese + Oven Roasted Peas
Delicious Lunch Ideas with Frozen Vegetables
If you like to meal prep and have lunches ready to go for the week. It’s easy to incorporate frozen vegetables into a range of meals. One way to do this is to cook frozen vegetables you enjoy, and have them on the side. If you have a meal container with several cavities (like a bento box style), you can have a spot for protein, carbohydrates, fruit, and your cooked veg.
Alternatively, incorporate frozen veggies into something else you plan to make for the week such as wraps or pizza. Here are a few tasty examples:
Wrap
Cook frozen onions and frozen mushrooms together. Get some browning, then add bacon. Cook until the bacon is crispy. Place this on a wrap, add diced tomatoes, and romaine. Roll it up and you have a delicious, veg boosted BLT wrap.
Pizza
Roll out pizza dough and top with an Alfredo sauce. Place frozen asparagus on your cutting board and cut down into smaller pieces. Cook the asparagus on the stovetop with bacon, frozen spinach, and frozen onion. when the bacon is about 2/3 cooked, remove from the heat. Add a shredded cheese such as Parmesan to the pizza, top with your cooked mixture, then cook your pizza. Bonus points if you have a pizza oven (this is the one that I have).
Burger Bowl
Cook hamburger patties on the stovetop, and cut them into bitesized pieces. Meanwhile, have frozen peas & carrots + frozen tater tots on a baking tray in your oven. When everything is done cooking, place tots in the bottom of bowls for serving. Add the veg, then top with the hamburger pieces. Drizzle a sauce all over such as mustard. You can even add a combo of sauces like mayo + ketchup or mayo + BBQ sauce.
This is just a basic concept to get you started. You can add a wide range of ingredients to burger bowls to make them your own.
Veggie Burger Bowl
Start by toasting frozen veggie burgers in the oven. On the stovetop, cook frozen mirepoix vegetables along with dice mushrooms you love. Add leftover rice to the veg and when that’s done cooking, pop it into bowls for serving. When your veggie burgers are nice and crispy, cut them into bitesized pieces and add to the bowls. Top with a sauce such as a homemade cashew Parmesan, or salsa.
Remember, have FUN with your combinations. There are an infinite number of possibilities, so make what sounds delicious to you.
Frozen Vegetable Recipes
As you go about meal planning, try to include recipes that incorporate (or could incorporate) frozen vegetables. This will reduce the amount of time you spend prepping ingredients before cooking. Below are just a few examples of recipes that lean into frozen vegetables.
- Allium + Meat Sauce Recipe
- Allium Free Meat Sauce Recipe
- Brussels Sprouts + Bacon + Parmesan Pizza Recipe
- Apples + Turkey Bacon + Frozen Riced Cauliflower Recipe
Meat sauces are a great vessel for frozen veg since there’s so much sauce involved. Once you sauce and simmer, as long as you’re using quality ingredients, you don’t know that you started with frozen veg. It just tastes good. So good that my kids think cold meat sauces with chips are great snacks.
Now, frozen veg on a pizza. Hear me out. I think it’s one of the most underrated use of frozen veggies. Most people love pizza, so if you can find a veg that pairs well with the flavour profile you’re creating, it’s awesome.
I have an outdoor pizza oven and I’m always making “crazy” combinations. Yet, each time, my kids take a bite and look at me with their eyes wide like it’s water after having been in the desert. I’m telling you… it works.
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Quick Frozen Vegetable Meals
If you live a rather busy life, or have Maycember (you know, the super busy time at the end of the school year), there are lots of quick ways you can add frozen vegetables to meals. This allows you to easily make sure you’re eating a well rounded diet, so let’s take a look at some of the best ways (in my humble opinion of course).
Not only are these frozen vegetable meals easy to make, but they’re a great way to use up extra vegetables. I know we’ve all been there before: starting at a freezer full or partially opened bags of frozen vegetables and not quite sure what to do with them. So, here are versatile meals to make that primarily can rely on your freezer and pantry.
Soup
You can make soup from basic ingredients including meat, broth or stock, water, and frozen vegetables. In fact, you could add said ingredients to your pressure cooker or slow cooker to make life even easier.
Even frozen Brussels sprouts can be used in your next easy soup. Gluten free, dairy free, and allergy friendly soup can be made on the stove top, in a slow cooker, or a pressure cooker. Some soup recipes will call for an additional tool such as a blender or immersion (stick) blender.
Stew
I love using frozen peas, frozen carrots, and frozen mushrooms in easy stews. Like soup, stew is super versatile and most frozen vegetables can be incorporated. One of the things I like to do with fresh broccoli and cauliflower is to save the stems and freeze them.
When you purchase frozen broccoli or cauliflower, it’s usually the florets only. When I hit the local farmer’s markets especially, I like to purchase Chinese broccoli, steam the florets, and cut the stems down and freeze them. I usually slice them about 3/4″ (1.8cm) thick and freeze them. Then, when I make a stew, I add said stems. They add a fantastic bite and additional layer of flavour to the recipe.
Chowder
If you’ve never had the pleasure of learning about frozen mirepoix, it is my GREAT honour to introduce you. I’ll never forget the first time I saw it in a store. It was truly magical. Mirepoix is a combination of diced vegetables, sliced celery, and cubed carrots. Usually, it takes a little bit of your prep time, but frozen?? Yes please and thank you.
All of that to say this: it’s super duper easy to incorporate frozen mirepoix into your next chowder. Use it as your base, add the rest of your ingredients, and proceed as normal. You can also add frozen peas to a chowder, which is something my kids love.
Fried Rice
You can easily add any of these frozen vegetables to your next fried rice:
- Stir fry vegetables
- Mushrooms
- Peas
- Onions
- Broccoli,
- Peas & Carrots
- Mirepoix
When you use frozen vegetables in your fried rice, sauté them on high heat before adding other ingredients. You want to cook off any excess liquid first. From there, it’s business as usual.
Chili
When you get ready to make your next chili, here are frozen vegetables you can easily add:
- Onions
- Carrots
- Beets
- Sweet Potato
- Butternut Squash
- Mushrooms
- Peas and/or Peas & Carrots
You can add your frozen veggies at any stage of the cooking process with chili. Since chili is something you usually simmer, you don’t need to worry too much about cook time and water content. Even if you ad frozen veggies just before the long simmer, there’s still plenty of cook time. If your frozen veg has a thick layer of ice, you’ll want to remove it before adding it to your chili.
Smoothies
Smoothies are perhaps one of the quickest meals you can make in your kitchen. Frozen riced cauliflower can be added to boost the nutrition of your smoothie, but some people can really taste it and don’t enjoy it (my kids included).
However, frozen zucchini has entered the chat. I purchase bulk fresh zucchini and freeze it for smoothies. I slice it into 1″ (2.5cm) thick slices and freeze it. Then, when I’m making a smoothie, I use that instead of ice.
When replacing the ice content with frozen vegetables, this can prevent your smoothies from tasting super watery if you don’t drink them fast enough.
Frozen Vegetables in Easy Skillet Recipes
One of the cool things about skillet recipes is that they’re incredibly versatile. Most are made up of a carb/starch, vegetable, and spices. Just about anyone can cook one since there aren’t any complicated steps involved.
Knowing that, you can easily include a serving or two of your favourite veggies from the freezer in your next skillet. It’s important to keep water content in mind, and the fact that some vegetables are better off being prepared separately from the main skillet, then folded in at the end of the cooking process.
Use Frozen Vegetables in Pasta Dishes
When you think about a bowl of pasta, I’m sure fresh tomatoes, baby spinach, and maybe cheese come to mind. It’s easy to forget that frozen asparagus, frozen corn, and frozen edamame could all make an appearance in your next pasta.
When you’re cooking at home, in your own kitchen, I hope you feel liberated. You don’t necessarily need to follow the “rules”. Food should be fun, should taste great, and a recipe should keep you fueled.
If a BBQ fusion bowl of pasta makes you happy with frozen corn and frozen green beans paired with an Alfredo sauce, go for it. Like many of the other meal ideas I’m sharing in this article, pasta is something that can be easily filled with variety with a tweak here and a swap there.
Add Frozen Vegetables to Your Next Lasagna
Lasagna is an Italian dish loved by pretty much anyone who has ever had the pleasure of eating it. Whilst many see it as a comfort food, personally, I see that it’s a meal that takes a lot of effort. However, would you believe me if I told you there was an easier way? I know… I’m sounding like a weird infomercial, but hear me out.
If you’re reading this and you’re a mom, you’ll know that the exhaustion can be overwhelming at times. You don’t have the elbow grease to spare… Enter, Lasagna Soup. It’s all the hallmarks of the classic recipe, but with the convenience of your Dutch oven. Don’t worry, I’m getting to the bit about frozen vegetables. Stick with me.
To make an awesome lasagna soup, you heat your Dutch oven and add basic aromatics (onion, mushroom, etc. etc.). Get that cooking, add some meat, tomato products, seasonings, and mix it all up. Then comes the genius. You break lasagna noodles into the Dutch oven, mix it together, and stick it in tour oven. Done. It take about 25 minutes of hands on cooking to have enough lasagna to feed a small army.
Now, to the frozen vegetables. When you package lasagna in soup form, you can easily add frozen vegetables to the mix, and not need to worry about the water content. Simply add the frozen veg when you add the broken noodles, and mix everything together very well.
You can also experiment with making a wide range of lasagna soups. You can make a red, a white, a pink, a squash, and even a mole inspired lasagna soup. Sky’s the limit.
Frozen Vegetable Meal Ideas
These frozen vegetable meal ideas are going to take a bit more effort than some of the other ideas that I’ve shared. If you go this route, make a bigger batch than usual so you have leftovers to pull from. Work smarter, not harder, right?
Tacos
Frozen vegetables can be added to the ground meat as it cooks. Frozen spinach, frozen kale, frozen onions, and frozen peas are all the best option for this application.
Gratin
Frozen onions, frozen mirepoix, and frozen peas can all make a fantastic addition to your next gratin. You can cook them separately on the stovetop and get a little browning, then add it to the casserole dish before it goes into the oven.
Frittata
A frittata, in my humble opinion, begs for frozen veg. It’s literally calling out saying “save time and just use frozen veg.” Grab bags of frozen mirepoix, mushrooms, and spinach. Sauté on the stovetop until done to your likeness, and fold that into your egg mixture. Talk about easy.
Omelette
Like a frittata, an omelette can benefit from frozen veggies. Here’s what I personally like to do. One evening whilst dinner is cooking, in a separate pan, I cook up frozen mushrooms + frozen onions + frozen carrots + frozen spinach. I make a good sized batch. I let the veg cook down quite a bit, and add a little salt as well. After dinner, and these veg have cooled, I store them in a container in the fridge.
Then, on omelet mornings, I grab said container and add a few scoops of the cooked veg to the omelet when forming it. Top with a little cheese and salsa and BOOM. Or other toppings, but you get the idea.
Risotto
To save time when making a super savory and fragrant risotto, tap into frozen onions, frozen mushrooms, frozen spinach, and frozen mirepoix. Technically, you can tap into other options, but a lot of basic risotto recipes call for these veg. Starting with frozen will cut out your prep time and feel like a real win in the kitchen.
Plus! Remember that broth I told you about earlier in the article? Use that in your risotto.
Enchiladas
You can use frozen veggies in both the enchilada sauce and enchilada filling. Since recipes can vary, use frozen vegetables that will compliment the overall recipe. In your sauce, you can easily add frozen mushrooms and frozen onions.
Boost Tasty Sauces with Frozen Vegetables
One of the benefits to adding frozen vegetables to a sauce is that you don’t need to worry about texture. Some frozen vegetables, especially if they’ve been in your freezer for a hot minute (or a cold minute) may have experienced a decline in texture. Since sauces are blended in the end, you won’t even notice.
I will warn you however, if your frozen vegetable taste or smell of freezer burn, that will be noticeable in your sauces. Now if you’re wondering what kind of sauces you can add frozen vegetables to, the answer is: most of them.
Generally, you wouldn’t add frozen veg to a white sauce recipe. Instead, add them to recipes that are tomato based, squash based, green, etc. I make this delicious pasta sauce and it has both frozen butternut squash and frozen sweet potatoes and everyone goes WILD for it.
One sauce I like adding frozen vegetables to is Mexican mole (mole = the word for sauce, FYI, so don’t say mole sauce). The seasoning profile in a Mexican mole leans into dark and earthy flavours, which masks vegetables pretty easily if you ask me.
You can add fresh peppers, dates, frozen corn, and a few bits of frozen cauliflower as a starting point when you’re thinking about what kind of produce to add to your mole. As long as you pick flavors that are complimentary, you’ll be OK, because remember, it all gets blended together in the end.
Add Frozen Vegetables to Homemade Broths & Stocks
If you follow a very restricted diet, there’s a good chance you’ll need to make broth and stock at home. I know that’s the case for my household. However, when I do this, I make a huge batch and freeze leftovers.
You can use frozen mirepoix vegetables (onion, carrot, celery) as part of the base of your stock, and add the protein along with water and salt to get the ball rolling. Or in this case, rolling. Boil. Don’t worry, I won’t try to be a comedian next week.
If you need to make a vegetable broth, you can add a range of delicious frozen vegetables with fresh vegetables. Cook them down. When you strain the broth, save your vegetables. You can add them to a smoothie or blended soup to boost the nutritional content.
Once you have a homemade broth or stock, you can use it in vegetable soup. If you have a vegetable soup recipe, stew recipe, or even a stovetop chicken recipe that calls for broth, use your homemade version. A lot of cuisines call for broth and stock, so you’ll be able to use it up fairly quickly if you cook at home often.
I purchase these deli containers. When the stock has cooled, I transfer i to these, and leave space for expansion. I label it with the name and date, then pop it in the freezer. Rather than purchase boxed broth at the store, I use this anytime I need it.
BonusTip
If you’re a fan of pressure cooking, save the cooking liquid as a faux-not-faux broth. I make my kids easy shredded chicken and shredded pork. Once they’ve eaten and I put away leftovers, I transfer the liquid to the deli containers. Then, I’ll cook rice or something else in said liquid and they RAVE. They’re like… I’ve never tasted anything so good before. Even though it’s not the first time.
Use Frozen Vegetables in Your Next Meat Pie, Shepherd’s Pie, or Cottage Pie
No matter the name, you can use frozen veggies in your next meat pie. When I make shepherd’s pie, I use frozen peas as one of the layers before I pop the whole dish into the oven. Frozen peas & carrots, or even roughly chopped frozen mushrooms would also be a great addition.
Usually, with these pies, you have cooked ground meat, vegetables, and a mashed potato or mashed sweet potato topping. There’s no reason why you can’t take a short cut and use frozen veg as your middle layer.
I encourage you to experiment with having frozen beets, frozen green beans, or frozen squash as your veg layer. It changes up the flavour profile a bit, and also adds a nice bite to the final pie.
Enjoy Frozen Vegetables As a Side Dish
I’ve talked a lot about how to add frozen vegetables to recipes, however, let’s not forget an obvious way to eat frozen veg: as a side dish. My kids really enjoy oven roasted broccoli with olive oil and salt. It’s simple, and they enjoy it, so I call it a win.
Another side I plate up often is frozen green beans roasted in olive oil with salt, onion granules, and nutritional yeast.
If you’re feeling a bit more fancy, I suggest making something like these vegan Parmesan green beans. It’s a great example of how you can jazz up veg with a little cheese, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper. This particular recipe also comes together pretty quickly.
These oven roasted carrots are another prime example. Now, with this recipe you can use frozen carrots, but you can also swap them for frozen butternut squash and the results are *chef’s kiss*.
Use Frozen Veggies in a Mediterranean Bowl
Somewhat recently, I read that bowls are this generation’s casseroles. I can’t say that I grew up with casseroles, but I can totally get behind the bowl movement. I mean, it’s basically the same thing as a regular dinner you’d serve on a plate, but in a bowl. You can make a lot of different bowls and feature a different cuisine each time. Then, there are fusion bowls where you can combine different elements you love from different countries. Think, American BBQ Chicken meets Thai Stir Fry. It’s sweet, spicy, and the best of both worlds.
Let’s take a look at a Mediterranean bowl concept. Then, you can transform this idea into what works for you.
Cook quinoa on the stovetop. Whilst that’s going oven roast these frozen veggies together in olive oil:
- French Green Beans or Haricot Verts
- Asparagus
- Onions
Once everything is done cooking, you can assemble the bowls. Place quinoa in first, then top with the roasted veg. top with quartered fresh tomatoes (you can get cherry tomatoes, or even mini heirloom tomatoes). Add crumbled feta and chopped fresh herbs such as parsley.
That friend, is one tasty bowl ready to be enjoyed. As-is, this is a vegetarian bowl. If you’re vegan, you can swap the feta for dairy free feta made by Follow Your Heart.
If you’re not a fan of quinoa, use white rice or brown rice as your base. My kids love sushi rice, but use jasmine rice if you want to keep it a little more Mediterranean. Now, if you want to include an animal protein, grilled salmon or grilled chicken would both be excellent choices.
Roast Frozen Vegetables and Add Them to Salads
I’m sure you weren’t thinking about a salad when you thought about how to use your frozen veggies, but let me tell you. I do this all the time and everyone loves it. Usually I make a sausage + baby spinach + shredded cheese + (cooked) frozen veg salad.
I like to start with a bed of romaine because it has that crisp, fresh bite. In a pan, I cook sausage, chopped spinach, frozen mushrooms, frozen onions, and frozen peas together. Once that’s ready, I add in shredded cheese and give it mix so the cheese melts a little bit.
Slide that on top of your greens and you’ve got salad. You can even toast some bread and serve it on the side. I kid you not, I’m told this is one of the most delicious things I make, and it’s SO easy. So, give it a try.
You can also swap the sausage for other proteins you enjoy. Also, adding chopped dried fruit will give you bits of sweet hits as you eat if you’re a fan of sweet and savory together.
Use Frozen Vegetables in Stir-Fries
If you’re a fan of a good Asian stir-fry, the great news is that there’s space for frozen vegetables in this kind of recipe. In fact, some stores sell “stir fry vegetables” which is a blend of common veggies called for in stir-fry recipes.
You don’t have to stop at those though. There are so many things you can add to your stir-fry to make it your own, so have fun experimenting. Put a little twist and make an Indian leaning stir-fry, or something that’s Filipino or Thai inspired.
So many cuisines can be incorporated into a stir-fry. Another way to do this is to season your rice. White rice, brown rice, and jasmine rice are all excellent choices, and you can season them with a different flavor profile, then top with the stir-fry ingredients from your wok.
A Few Tasty Examples
Season leftover rice with soy sauce, ginger, garlic, lemongrass, and a little bit of coconut sugar. Stir-fry vegetables and shrimp, then top your rice.
Pan sear tofu in sesame oil, ginger, organic maple sugar, smoked salt, and mushroom powder. Cook leftover rice in a separate pan with a tablespoon of oil to start and add more as needed. Add your stir-fry veggies along with sliced peppers for some heat. Combine it all in a bowl for serving and garnish with sesame seeds and chopped fresh herbs.
Trim chicken thighs, then place them in a large mixing bowl. Add smoked salt, Italian seasoning, and diced onions. Whilst that sits, stir fry a cup of leftover rice and veggies together. Once that’s done, set aside. Cook the chicken in the same pan and the results will be fantastic. You have a cross between Italian and Asian, and it’s nutritious and delicious. Note: increase the amount of rice if this is for several people or a family.
Make Pot Pie at Home with Frozen Vegetables
I’ve had the pleasure of making all sorts of gluten free, allergy friendly, fusion pot pies. Of course I’ve made the classics, but I’ve also made taco pot pie, pizza pot pie, rabbit pot pie (a truly corn free creation), and a lot more.
Frozen veggies are always part of my pot pie creations because they’re just so easy to use. Frozen mirepoix, frozen peas, and a few others have made an appearance.
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Bonus: Use Frozen Vegetables in Desserts
I bet you were caught off guard by that title. Hear me out. I know I’m asking for you to go out on a limb with me on this one, but it’s worth it. Mushrooms.
Mushrooms and chocolate go together like an odd couple that you think won’t make it past the third date, then the next thing you know, they’re mailing out baby announcements.
The key is two fold. First, the chocolate masks the tastes of the mushrooms. Second, and this is a big one: sugar. It can do a lot to help mask the fact that mushrooms are present. Now, if you’re a foodie at heart, you may want the mushroom flavor to be more present. To you, I say make a delicious light chocolate mushroom ice cream with a custard base.
For those that want the health benefits of eating mushrooms, I’d tell you to make chocolate cake and chocolate brownies. I think it’s safe to say I’d be a total jerk if I told you do this without trying it out first, so rest assured, I’ve made nutritionally boosted brownies for my kids and they can’t taste the veg. It’s a match made in Heaven.
The best part is that if you don’t have time to cook down frozen mushrooms and blend them, you can just use mushroom powder that you purchase, or make at home in a spice grinder.
Answering Your Questions About Frozen Vegetables & Recipes
What type of frozen veggies are best for special occasions?
Whether it’s Easter, Christmas, or a party with your friends, my answer will always be the same: your favorites. In other words, if you have friends over and you serve up foreign-to-them flavors that are experimental, it will be a hit and miss experience.
On the other hand, if your friends and family know you make the absolute BEST roasted asparagus, Brussels sprouts, and bacon dish because of the butter and rosemary, serve that. Who cares if it isn’t traditional for the event.
Ultimately, the best vegetables to serve at any point in life are going to be veggies that taste good, that keep you fueled, and that you actually like. It’s kind of how people who were forced to eat broccoli as a kid swear it off as an adult, and they can because it’s their money and they can buy what they want.
Don’t get mind-trapped into the idea of traditional, and instead, just embrace the foods and flavors you love. That’s always going to be the right answer.
Are there any quick appetizers I can make with frozen veg?
There are a few that come to mind:
- Frozen asparagus wrapped in bacon.
- Crescent rolls + frozen peas + bacon bits baked in a muffin tin.
- Frozen Brussels sprouts oven roasted with frozen onion and a bit of balsamic vinegar (balsamic glaze is even better). Top with bacon bits and a little bit of salad dressing.
- Frozen Peas + Frozen Sweet Potatoes + Frozen Onions mixed up, oven roasted, tossed in a salad dressing or butter of choice.
How can I add good flavor to frozen vegetables?
This is a great question. Fat and seasoning is going to be the answer. When my kids were little and still learning to like a wide range of vegetables, most mornings with breakfast I’d put organic extra virgin olive oil on a baking sheet, and pop on some frozen veggies (usually green beans, broccoli, or peas).
I’d season with onion and garlic powder or granules depending on the day, a little bit of black pepper, and sea salt. That’s it. I mixed that up and roasted in the oven until the veggies had a little browning (that’s how they like them), and without fail. Every morning. My kids ate vegetables with breakfast. Years later, I asked them about it once and they all told me, “they tasted so GOOD!”.
So that’s my advice for you. Fat, salt, and seasonings. Generally in life and in your kitchen, you can’t go wrong with that trifecta. Also know that fat doesn’t have to be bad. Choose healthy fats for your roasting, and you’re good to go.
What kind of protein tastes good with frozen lima beans?
For lima beans, especially if it’s something you’re still learning to like, I’d pair it with a dark meat protein. Additionally, add a really tasty sauce so the lima beans aren’t screaming HEY!!!
In fact, you could make some really tasty bowls with carbohydrates such as rice or quinoa + sauced lima beans and an easy-to-cook protein. You could even heat frozen meat balls on a baking tray with lima beans on the side, then pour sauce all over the top. Talk about an easy dinner, or lunch if you work from home.
Should I microwave or steam frozen vegetables?
That’s going to depend on how much time you have available, the product you purchased, and your personal food values. Whilst this is a debated topic, I personally don’t use microwaves. I don’t even own one, and honestly, don’t know how to use them. Neither do my kids. Don’t worry though, they are masters at the toaster oven.
I’ve seen products that say you can put the bag into the microwave and steam, but my gut and common sense scream “plastic in a microwave sounds like a terrible idea” especially as more and more evidence comes out against micro-plastics, forever chemicals, and all of their friends.
The good news is that frozen vegetables can be steamed in a standalone steamer pot, or if you have a rice cooker with a steamer insert basket, you can use that. You can also heat frozen vegetables in your oven, toaster oven, or even an air fryer.
Personally, with my mixed allergy household, rice was one of the carbohydrates everyone could eat together, so I’d often cook rice in the rice cooker with frozen veg on top in the basket. It made for a lot of easy dinners.
Should you choose to go with the microwave, read the package carefully before purchasing. The instructions on the back should clearly state that it can go in the microwave, assuming you’re wanting to use one of those steam-in-the-bags products.
Can I freeze leftover noodles & veg dishes?
It depends on the recipe you’ve made. In some cases, no, you shouldn’t freeze the leftover noodles and veg. The issue is that when you thaw them, the texture will be wrong, and it won’t be pleasant to eat.
Some leftovers though can be frozen. Think: lasagna. The key is that it’s a hearty noodle, and there’s lots of sauce so the noodles and veg don’t dry out. If you’ve followed a recipe online or from a cookbook, the recipe developer should have some kind of note indicating if the recipe is freezer friendly.
Can I freeze garlic whole?
Technically, you can freeze anything, however, with fresh garlic, it’s better to prepare it first, then freeze it. The easiest thing is to roast whole heads of garlic, then squeeze out the garlic paste. It’s easy to do because the garlic cloves will be pretty mushy and easy to manipulate.
If you’re having trouble squeezing the garlic cloves, use kitchen shears to cut some of the top off so the past comes out easily.
For ease, freeze your garlic paste in an ice cube tray. Each cavity should have the amount of garlic you’d normally use in a recipe. Once the garlic cubes are frozen solid, you can transfer them to small freezer bags. You can do the same thing with grated ginger is that’s also something you enjoy cooking with.
Can frozen vegetables be cooked in the air fryer?
Yes, they absolutely can. You don’t need to thaw frozen veggies before cooking them in the air fryer, but I suggest removing any ice build up that may be on your veg. Additionally, you can look online “air fryer frozen vegetable recipes” for the proper cook times, based on your desired outcome. You can also swap the term vegetables for cook times when searching. Know that different temps and times will be needed for different types of veg, and desired crispiness.
Is it possible to freeze avocado?
Yes, you can freeze avocado, however, it requires a little prep. First, you’ll want to start with ripe avocado. Once ripe, cut it open and remove the stone. Scoop the avocado flesh into a freezer safe container. Use a fork to mash your avocado, and fill the container completely. Avocado does best when there’s zero space, so if needed, cover the avocado with a little plastic wrap, then put the lid on.
Thaw the avocado on the countertop before using, and add salt and seasonings you enjoy. You can also blend it into a sauce, or add it to a soup for body and creaminess.
Fun fact: you can also freeze guacamole.When freezing avocado or guacamole, it’s best to use containers that are portion for you or your household. You don’t want to freeze it, thaw it, then re-freeze.
When thawed, your guacamole can be used the same way you would have used fresh smashed avocado. In case you have a Costco in your area, know that they sell an affordable organic guacamole 3 pack (large), and you can freeze those. I did that ALL the time when my kids were growing up, rather than prepping and freezing it myself.
Can I re-freeze frozen vegetables that have been cooked?
Honestly, I don’t suggest it. Sure, in theory, sure, technically anything can be frozen, but will it taste good later?? For best results with your leftovers, store them in your refrigerator in an airtight container and eat within a week.
Once you have cooked vegetables, the texture and water content changes. Whilst you can freeze them, once thawed the texture won’t be the same, and there’s a good chance you won’t enjoy them the second time around. So, stick to your fridge, and be sure to add your leftovers to your meal plan for the week so you don’t have food waste.
