5 Low Carb Slow Cooker Freezer Bag Meals
If you love the convenience of a slow cooker meal on busy weeknights and you are looking for some low carb and gluten-free options, check out these five healthy and tasty make-ahead meal ideas that can be frozen and dumped in the slow cooker at a later date.
Click HERE to print the free grocery list for all five meals outlined below.
Low Carb Flank Steak Beef Fajitas
Adapted from MamaAndBabyLove.com
Fill a freezer bag with:
2 lb. flank steak (or similar cut like a brisket)
1 onion, sliced
3 bell peppers, sliced
1 – 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped
Spices: {1 Tablespoon Cumin, 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon Coriander 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper}
Serve with: Lettuce cups, Lime juice, and Avocado
To Cook: Dump defrosted bag of ingredients in slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours until meat shreds easily. Drain liquid and serve on lettuce cups with avocado and lime juice if desired. Serves 4-6.
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Low Carb Hearty Vegetable Beef Stew
Adapted from PeaceLoveAndLowCarb.com
Fill a freezer bag with:
2 lbs. beef stew meat
1 onion, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
2 celery stocks, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
12 oz. package sliced mushrooms (I used Bellinis)
14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce or coconut aminos
Spices: 1 teaspoon Salt, 3/4 teaspoon Pepper, 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder, 1 teaspoon Onion Powder, 1 teaspoon Oregano
16 oz. beef broth —-> store in pantry
To Cook: Dump defrosted contents in slow cooker along with broth from pantry and cook covered for 8 hours on low until meat is tender. Serves 4-6.
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Low Carb Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Adapted from TheSweetsLife.com
Fill a freezer bag with:
2-3 large chicken breasts (about 2 lbs.)
1 cup buffalo wing sauce (such as Frank’s)
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, shredded
2 celery stocks, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
16 oz. chicken broth—–> Store in pantry
Serve with: butter or iceberg lettuce and blue cheese crumbles
To Cook: Dump defrosted contents of bag along in slow cooker with chicken broth and cook on low for 7-8 hours. Shred, drain liquid and serve on lettuce with blue cheese crumbles if desired. Serves 4-6.
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Low Carb Carnitas “Nachos”
Adapted from SlenderKitchen.com
Fill a freezer bag with:
2 pound pork loin roast or lean pork shoulder roast
1 onion, sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tablespoons Chipotle peppers in Adobo Sauce
6 oz. chicken broth
Spices: 1 Tablespoon cumin, 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, 1 teaspoon oregano
Serve with: One bag of mini bell peppers, cheese, and cilantro
To Cook: Dump defrosted contents of bag in slow cooker and cook on low for 7-8 hours. If desired, serve on mini bell peppers cut in half. Place in oven and melt cheese on top. Garnish with cilantro. Serves 4-6.
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Low Carb Chicken Bacon Chowder
Adapted from PeaceLoveAndLowCarb.com
Fill a Freezer Bag with:
2-3 large chicken breasts (about 2 pounds)
12 ounces sliced mushrooms
1 leek, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, chopped
1- 8 oz. block of cream cheese
1 cup heavy cream
Spices: 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon thyme, 1 teaspoon oregano
16 ounces chicken broth —-> store in pantry
Garnish: 1 pound cooked bacon day of cooking and Parmesan cheese if desired
To Cook: Dump defrosted contents of bag in slow cooker along with chicken broth and cook on low for 7-8 hours. Serve with crumbled cooked bacon and Parmesan cheese. Serves 4-6.
Notes/Tips
*The Green Hands- Free Storage Bag Holders pictured at the top of post are super handy and can be found on Amazon.com – they are like an extra set of hands!
*I like to start out by writing the name of each meal, the date the meal was prepared, and cooking directions with a sharpie on the freezer bags. Then I start chopping produce and compiling each meal.
* Don’t forget your carb-loving family members! Many of these meals would be delicious when also paired with taco shells, tortillas etc so be sure to add these items to your grocery list based on your family’s preference.
*Season to your liking – add and subtract the spices that your family enjoys.
*To defrost a meal, simply move it to the fridge from the freezer the day before you plan to place it in the slow cooker.
Thanks for these low carb recipes, Lina! I started another low carb diet the first of this month. I’m already down 9 pounds, but I’m already sick of the same old foods. 🙁 This will help change things up a little bit. 🙂
Congrats and you’re welcome! Thanks for reading Heather!
Great ideas, I am also trying to eat healthier. Can’t wait to try, thanks Lina!
Enjoy Jennifer!
Just starting low carb foods thank you for some suggestions
Perfect timing. I was looking for freezer meals last night. Thank you.
Oh sure! Thanks for reading Shirley.
Thank you for sharing! They look delicious, I will have to try them.
While these all look amazing, my kids wouldn’t eat any of this.
Does anyone have the same issue as me? I have 4 kids 8 and under and I feel like I’m constantly making the same ol things (which I’m seriously sick of) because they won’t eat all different things. I’m out of ideas and motivation. Just don’t know what to do. I hate it when I try something new and no ones eats it. I feel like it’s a waste of money and then they’re hungry. Wish I could get out of this. I check Pinterest for kid friendly recipes and feel like I come up short. I’m lost!!!
Hi Nat,
I suggest reading the book French Kids Eat Everything. It’s a great foundation for changing the eating habits of kids. I also have 4 kiddos and I have seen HUGE changes in their eating patterns after reading this book. It does take a few months, but dinner time is a lot better at our house. I also have the kids preparing as much of the food as possible (cutting veggies/fruits, making salad dressings, stirring sauces, etc), and the more they help, the more they eat.
Thanks I will read it!! P
Nat, What I try to do is make one meat/veggie, but change it slightly for the kids. For example, the pork carnitas above, my kids likely wouldn’t eat it in the mini bell peppers, however if I give them organic blue corn tortilla chips to build their own nachos, they would have a ball. Or the fajitas, they would probably complain if I give them a lettuce wrap, but if I put it in a tortilla or just on a plate as meat and veggies they would be fine. I also suggest just to keep trying. My kids use to turn their noses at many things, especially cod/salmon, now 2 out of the 3 will literally ask when we are having salmon again! One last thing I try is to serve one thing you know they love with something they may not like as well. That way they don’t go away hungry, and they still try the item they may not like as well.
I’m similar to this. For the picky eater, I keep it simple. Separate the ingredients from the recipe instead of it looking like a mass of stuff she won’t eat. A little pork by itself, some cheese from one the recipe, etc. We just started pushing vegetables successfully, so I put a bit of veggie on the plate and it has to be eaten to get dessert. We always have dessert. It’s a wonderful motivator! I still eat the way I want to, enjoying new recipes and yes I usually skip the dessert myself.
Thanks for the tip!!!
My kids like tacos, quesadillas, and tostadas so I served the meat that way for them and they enjoyed. Luckily they are slowly getting better about trying new meals with age but I have the same struggles 🙂 thanks Nat
I also recommend that book French Kids. Remember no change happens overnight. It will take a few months of adjustments and probably some growing pains but it will be worth it. My kids now eat anything. My hi and used to be sooo picky. He ate zero veggies, but even he now says almost anything I serve. My oldest, 13 year old, has even begun a challenge for herself that any time we eat out she orders something she has never had at that restaurant. It has been fun watching her expand her knowledge of foods.
All of my kids help in the kitchen. I was amazed how much more willing they were to eat if they had helped in the preparation.
Yes! I agree about the food prep! If my kiddos help in the kitchen, they’re more likely to eat it 🙂
Well 4 year old post lool but I have to say I’m in the very same situation. 🙁 I never seem to be able to do a diet. I always feel like I’m wasting food constantly trying new things because kids and husband hate it.😭 I decided I’m going to try again and this time I’m going to prepare meals for myself and just freeze them so I can make them their food and then just mine. I’m done trying to force them to eat something new when it’s always a fight and I never win! I need to lose weight and become more healthy and if I dont figure something out I never will. Hope this helps if you do read it. 😂
I just ordered the bag holder for my husband. I hate touching raw meat and he always manages to slide some by me when I help him bag, so now he can do it on his own hahaha.
I like the bag holder. Does it have a name? And where did you get it? TIA! 🙂
Never mind found it on Amazon!
Baggy Rack Storage Bag Holder – link is in the bottom post under notes/tips
I agree, I hate touching raw meat! Yuck!
Oh awesome. Yes me too! It’s a great kitchen tool.
I thought it wasn’t a good idea to freeze raw meat with vegetables. Does anyone know ofif that is true?
I found this article about freezer bag meals helpful. It addresses this concern and basically since you are freezing then cooking properly – it’s fine.
Thanks for the question!
https://newleafwellness.biz/2015/07/27/15-things-you-need-to-know-about-no-cook-freezer-meals/
Thanks for the response.
Awesome ideas love my slow cooker and anything I can prepare ahead of time! Thank you
hi everyone, Colin, Lina and hip-family, thank you so much for all you do…these recipes look scrumptious and i ll give them a try! my problem is finding easy/tasty/nutritious vegetarian recipes (slow cooker preferred) but most of the quick recipes contain meat…we try to eat chicken(or)meat once a week/ 2 beans/ 2 fish/ 1 pizza or pasta and 1 completely vegetarian meal. we re not vegetarian at all…but just try to limit it…if you could at some point do a similar thing for non-meat meals that d be awesome!! again thanks!!
Also, about the picky eaters…we have a very skinny/petite 2 year old, and he s gone through all the picky eating faces so far, plus he s highly allergic to dairy so we can t “hide” things in cheese…what i ve noticed is that he doesn t really vary so with WHAT he eats as much as HOW he eats it…so i stick with the same stuff…i push tons of different veggies (zucchini, beats, carrots, spinach), beans and meat ofcourse (kids need protein..) but there s periods when he wants everything to look like chicken fingers (so i ll grate veggies&egg, make patties and bake them-delish), or he wants thinks to look like stewy-sauce..or he wants thinks plain and separated on the plate so he can see them….it s trial and error..: ( a lot of !! oh, and we ve always cooked with herbs and spices, so he s used to a large variety of flavors…makes the food taste better!!
so, if you pinpoint how they like things to look like, you can start hiding one new vegetable at a time…or add a new spice every now and then to something familiar..their palate will broaden slowly i think..
I love the idea of nachos in mini bell peppers! Thank you!
Awesome TY! Freezer meals planning out (starting w 2 weeks hoping to get up to a month) is on my goal list! I’ve seen the green tongs on various sites that do these types of meals watching them for a great deal! Love these recipes!!
Thanks so much Lena! There is nothing I would change in any of the recipes. I have been in a real slump finding things to feed my family for dinner, but now I am excited to make these recipes! I think my family will enjoy them. 🙂
I’m also on the low carb diet since 1/1/16 and have lost 14lbs. These will be a great addition to my low carb recipe book. Thanks!
Great job! You’re welcome 🙂
Thank you thank you thank you!!!!!
Thanks for making life a little easier Lina!
YW Sue, thanks for reading!
Hi I these sound wonderful but I did not see the carb count for each recipe anywhere. Did I miss it?
These look delicious!! Do you know if they are okay to eat on the induction phase of Atkins? I am trying to stay below 20 carbs a day.
I made my own bag holder out of a Benefiber container and a couple of binder clips 🙂
I noticed the Chicken Bacon soup has heavy cream. Does that freeze and then cook well without separating?
i put together all five meals – March 12, 2017.That went quick as did the grocery shopping. So far we made the Chicken bacon soup. I did not freeze that one because i made it the next day I do not know about separating Lee sorry. It came out amazing though! tonight we made the fajitas and wow so good too. I planned to do the lettuce wraps but we used low carb tortillas again so good! i have the buffalo chicken thawing for tomorrow. i bought extra crockpot liners and clean up is a breeze.
Are these low carb meals Keto friendly or will I need to chanel some of theingredients.
Receipes lok wonderful !!
Cheryl
Thanks Lina, I need all the help I can get in the pre-planning department. I would like to know, has anyone had good results freezing cream cheese? Seems to turn to water and become an odd texture. Looking forward to trying anyway! Sue
Hi. I need more recipes like the five you posted here. Please!
Hi,
I’m sorry to use this venue, but I have been unable to use the mobile Hip2Sav app on my Android phone. It’s been since New Year Eve.
I uninstalled the app and reinstalled it. I still cannot make the app work.
I’m having withdrawal and fear I will die soon if I don’t get back into my fav, HIP2SAV.
I use to check the deals multiple times a day.
Maybe I’ll try rehab first.
Thanks,
Happy New Year!
Connie J
Oh no! So sorry to hear about that! Have you tried restarting your phone as well? If so, be sure to reinstall again as that should work for you now!
Thank you for these great recipes! Iḿ diabetic and am always looking for low carb recipes to get variety in my diet. Cannot wait to try some of these. Also just requested the book from my local library – French Kids Eat Anything.
Oh thanks for sharing – I’ll have to look for that book! Enjoy these recipes ❤️
Did anybody answer if the carb count for each recipe is listed anywhere? I’m also counting carbs and have to stay within a specific amount for my meals and snacks. Thanks!
Visit our keto site for that info here —> https://hip2keto.com/recipes/slow-cooker-freezer-bag-meals/