Best Frozen Foods And How To Use Them

Best Frozen Foods

You certainly don’t need to keep all of these frozen foods on hand, but having a few of them ready for quick meals, daily cooking, or even backup in case illness keeps you at home for an extended period can help. I love how frozen foods are processed at their peak ripeness, so frozen produce is often better-tasting than what we can find fresh. And frozen foods can be so helpful either as full meal options or just components of the meal. There are plenty of options from store brands to name brands that can be prepared in the oven, microwave, or put right into the blender. Read on for my picks for the best frozen foods for families to make quicker work of meals and snacks.

Frozen Fruit

How to Use Frozen Fruit

I love keeping frozen fruit on hand to add to recipes and to thaw and serve to my kids like I would fresh fruit. The chart above has my preferred ways to use the 10 most common kinds of frozen fruit. This is how I prefer to use frozen fruit; you may have different thoughts on what’s best to use with each method and that it’s 100% OK! This is meant to give you options and help you in feeding your kids food they’ll want to eat. Sign up for our email updates to get tips and ideas sent to your inbox. Thawed frozen pineapple and mango are usually really good in flavor and similar in texture! I like frozen raspberries almost thawed completely, but not so much that they get super mushy. Babies and 1-year-olds (some of them anyway) may be fine with eating thawed berries and peaches, though the texture may be too soft for the preferences of older kids. With frozen bananas, let them thaw before baking with them. TIP: You can freeze almost any fruit, though you’d still want to follow the chart above for the best ways to enjoy it from frozen.

Best Recipes for Frozen Fruit

These are my favorite easy recipes for using frozen fruit both for the kids and food for the whole family.

Frozen Vegetables

These are my favorite frozen vegetables to keep on hand so they’re easy to prepare right when you need them.

How to Use Frozen Veggies

Cooking with frozen veggies is a great way to offer up nutrition and not worry about the produce going bad. They contain the same (if not more) nutrients as fresh since they’re preserved at the time of peak ripeness, and they are usually very easy to use. Our go-tos are frozen broccoli, corn, cauliflower, riced cauliflower, cubed sweet potatoes, peas, and sliced pepers.

Best Recipes for Frozen Vegetables

Here are some of my best kid-friendly recipes that work well with frozen veggies.

Frozen Bread and Carbohydrates

Frozen Meat and Poultry

Frozen Prepared Foods

Frozen burritos: I like the Amy’s brand Cheese and Bean Burritos. Frozen meatballs: Make healthy meatballs or pick up a bag at the store. Simmer in sauce and serve in sandwiches or with pasta. Frozen chicken nuggets make a fast protein option and are great with Caesar Salad. Potstickers, fried rice, fish sticks, mac and cheese, bean or cheese enchiladas, pizza, lasagna … all great options for fast meals.

You can find my full guide for How to Freeze Food for more ideas.

Pantry Staples

It also helps me to think through my pantry and pick up a few extras to have on hand as well. Find more on family-friendly pantry staples. What do you like to keep in your freezer? Comment below so I can add your ideas to my list!