Freezer essentials - everything you really need in the freezer

ByWendy Mallins

10 freezer essentials you should have in the freezer and some easy go-to meal ideas to use them.

Freezer Essentials

Keeping a little stock of freezer essentials in at home is a great idea. It can help you throw together recipes for meal planning and for those days when you just run out of time or energy a meal you can cook from frozen is perfect.

List of Essentials To Keep In Stock In The Freezer

yellow smeg fridge with green Joesph Joseph salad bowl on top - white kitchen table in the background with green chairs

Frozen Peas - Freezer Staples 

I always keep a bag of frozen peas in the freezer, there a quick and easy way of adding a portion of vegetables into your diet and pretty much go with whatever your cooking.

You don't just have to stick to plain boring boiled peas you can liven things up easily.

Dress the peas with lemon, herbs and twist of olive oil or maybe try out our delicious Nando's style pea recipe here - just the BEST way to eat peas.

These spicy peas go really well with chicken, fish or even vegetarian sausages.

stainless steel mixing bowl filled with homemade Nando's style peas - mashed peas and whole peas mixed together with butter, flat leaf parsley, red chillies, salt and black pepper

Frozen Spinach - Freezer Essentials

I always keep a bag of frozen chopped spinach in the freezer - you can just throw this into casseroles, curries or add to stir fries to add another portion of veggies to your day.

Frozen Berries - Freezer Staples

bowl of frozen berries - freezer essentials

It's often so much cheaper to buy frozen berries they're very convenient and very economical.

Always follow the packet instructions on berries - some berries can be eaten defrosted whereas some require cooking prior to eating.

We've five delicious frozen berry recipes here - smoothies, crumble, compote and even gorgeous smoothie pops.

Frozen Prawns - Freezer Staples

Homemade Cajun prawn tacos with spicy mango salsa garnished with lime wedges and tomatoes.

Keeping a bag of frozen prawns in the freezer is a really economical way to get seafood into your diet. Frozen prawns tend to be so much cheaper than fresh and taste just as good.

Use prawns in simple curries, stir fries, tacos or try out our delicious Easy Spanish Rice recipe here.

white plate filled with easy spanish rice

Frozen Pastry - Freezer Essentials

It's handy to keep both frozen puff and shortcrust pastry in the freezer.

These are great to have on hand to make a meal out of leftovers.

You can quickly and easily cook up some pasties, turn a leftover curry or stew into a pie or try out one of our simple tart recipes below.

  • homemade puff pastry pizzas topped with sun dried tomatoes, chopped ham, cheese and olives on a serving platter with fresh salad, cucumbers , tomatoes and herbs
  • cheese and tomato tart made with puff pastry served on brown paper with a bowl of mixed salad next to it
  • easy leek and feta tart recipe, vegetarian tart recipe, easy family food from daisies and pie

Frozen Chips - Freezer Staples

If you've got kids, you need a stock of these! 

They make a super quick meal like egg and chips or slide them on the plate next to a homemade pie. Plus kids will eat practically any meal if it comes with a side of chips!

You might like to try our Chinese Chips Recipe here.

tray of freshly baked salt and pepper chinese style chips scattered with Chinese spices, sliced spring onions and red chillies and chopped coriander

Frozen Fish Fillets - Freezer Essentials

Keeping a bag of frozen salmon or cod fillets in the freezer is a great way to include fish in your diet - frozen fish is usually a lot cheaper and quite often you can cook the fillets from frozen.

For a simple meal idea - cook the fish in foil packets with butter, lemon and fresh herbs - serve with rice or couscous and a side salad.

If you've got kids you might want to be sure to keep a box of fish fingers in the freezer too - we've got five easy ways to serve fish fingers here!

fish finger wraps with lettuce, cucumber, fish fingers, mayonnaise and drizzle of tomato ketchup, bowl of french fires and bottles of vimto also on the table

Frozen Sweetcorn - Freezer Staples

Sweet and spicy sweetcorn side dish, easy BBQ sides, summer veg recipes

A bag of frozen sweetcorn is always a good thing to keep in the freezer - kids seem to love corn so it's a great way of adding and extra portion of vegetables to their diets.

You can also use sweetcorn to make delicious sweetcorn fritters or sweetcorn chowder - simple and tasty.

Ice Cream - Freezer Essentials

The quickest and easiest of all desserts.

Eat a couple of scoops just as it is or jazz it up and turn it into more of a treat with toppings like sprinkles or Nutella. Ice-cream is also fab served with homemade puddings.

Bread - Freezer Essentials

I always keep a loaf of bread in the freezer - it's just so handy to have, nothing worse than running out of bread when you NEED some toast!

List of Essentials To Keep In Stock In The Freezer

  1. Frozen Peas
  2. Frozen Spinach
  3. Frozen Berries
  4. Frozen Prawns
  5. Frozen Pastry
  6. Frozen Chips
  7. Frozen Fish
  8. Frozen Sweetcorn
  9. Ice Cream
  10. Loaf of Bread

Store Cupboard Essentials

We've also got a handy little list of store cupboard essentials 

Save the Freezer Essentials List on Pinterest for Later!

bowl of frozen peas. Text "freezer essentials to make life easier - daisiesandpie.co.uk"

If you love an organized kitchen get more kitchen organizing tips here

Get more delicious meal ideas and easy recipes here

More Recipes and Meal Ideas

Wendy is the creator of Daisies & Pie, a UK food blog sharing easy meals and home lifestyle tips since 2012