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Does your family love chicken recipes? We do and I love to stock up on chicken breasts when they go on sale.
I used to just come home and shove the packages of boneless chicken breast or bone in chicken breast in the freezer.
Now I do things a little differently and with the tips I am sharing today you can almost cut the time it takes to make dinner in half.
I am going to share a little kitchen tip on How to Freeze Chicken Breasts that helps me get dinner on the table fast.
I am all about saving money when it comes to feeding my family. One of the ways I love to save money in the kitchen is to buy bulk chicken when it goes on sale.
Boneless chicken breasts can be very expensive and I hate it when I want to make one of our favorite chicken breast recipes but that week the price of chicken breasts are extremely high. I'm sure it's probably a sales ploy from the grocery stores.
They know you are going to need to buy chicken breasts no matter what the price.
But if you buy them and freeze chicken breasts when they are on sale you can literally save hundreds of dollars a year on your grocery bill.
One of the issues with buying chicken in bulk is that those Styrofoam packages they come in take up a lot of space in the freezer. If you divide the chicken breasts into meal serving sizes you can kill two birds with one stone.
Why Dividing and Freezing Chicken is a great idea
- You will save freezer space and be able to stock up on chicken when it is on sale.
- You will have meal size portions of chicken at the ready for your families favorite chicken breast recipes.
I have a couple of favorite chicken breast recipes that I make all the time. Each week we enjoy at least one recipe made with boneless chicken breasts. Sometimes we go crazy and eat a chicken recipe twice in one week.
We love crock pot pulled chicken sandwiches, chicken tacos, homemade chicken fettuccini alfredo, boneless fried chicken tenders and bbq chicken breasts.
One of the things I hate about making thechicken tacos, chicken fettuccini alfredo, and boneless fried chicken tenders is the time it takes to cut the boneless chicken up.
Like most other families out there dinner time is hectic around my house.
Especially during the school week when the kids need to get in bed early. The best way to cut time off of cooking dinner is to have most of your ingredients ready to go.
At one time I had dreams of packing my freezer full of freezer meals.
The idea appeals to me but when I think of all the work involved in shopping, prepping and bagging my eyes start to roll. So this is my semi freezer meal plan for my chicken recipes.
Equipment needed to freeze chicken breasts in bulk
Gather your supplies and the chicken. Place everything out on your work space. Trim each boneless chicken breast of any fat or grizzle that way be present.
Bonus Tip: By the way you can do the same with bone in chicken breast if you know how to bone a chicken breast.
It's not that hard to do and sometimes chicken on the bone is cheaper than boneless chicken breasts. If you do happen to bone the chicken breasts use the normally discarded chicken bones to make homemade chicken stock.
How I divided chicken breast to freeze
Now I know that I need 4 good sized boneless chicken breast to make enough chicken tacos or chicken alfredo to feed my family.
There are usually leftovers that someone will eat the next day for lunch or even dinner the next night.
That's about 2-3 pounds of chicken per recipe. If your family is smaller then you will need less chicken per meal.
For most chicken taco recipes it calls for 1 pound of cut up chicken breasts. That's about 1 ½ boneless chicken breasts. You will make adjustments based on your family size.
Divide the chicken breast based on the amount of chicken you will need for each recipe you will use the chicken for.
Now for the recipes that require the chicken cut into chunks or strips you will cut the correct amount of chicken breasts into bite sized chunks or strips.
Once you have all the chicken cut for a recipe write the recipe name and the date on the zip topped bag.
Put all the cut up chicken in the bag, remove as much air as possible and close the top. Set it aside. Move on to the next recipe and prepare the chicken for it.
If you need whole chicken breasts for a recipe place the number of trimmed up chicken breasts in a labeled bag.
Do each bag one at a time because you will never be able to tell the bags/recipes apart after you have done a few.
Repeat with all of the chicken you have. When you are done flatten each bag as much as possible and place the bags in a nice even stack in the freezer.
Once the chicken is frozen solid you can place them and stack them however you need to in your freezer.
Freezing them in this neat compact way allows you to store them in the freezer saving as much space as available.
FAQ's
How long can you freeze chicken breasts?
Chicken breast can be frozen for nine to twelve months as long as they have been properly packaged before freezing. To avoid freezer burn you should remove as much air as possible from a freezer bag. Wrapping the pieces of chicken in plastic wrap before placing in the bag will help. Using a vacuum sealer will extend the freezing time also.
More freezer meals
Check out these other easy freezer meals to help take charge of feeding your family.
- Freezer Meal Crock Pot Chicken Corn Chowder
- Freezer Meal Baked Ziti
- English Muffin Breakfast Sandwiches
- Freezer Meals Cilantro Lime Chicken
Email questions or recipe requests to flouronmyface@gmail.com. Follow me on Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook.
How to Freeze Chicken Breasts
Arlene Mobley - Flour On My Face
I am going to share a little kitchen tip on How to Freeze boneless chicken breasts to save time and money preparing meals.
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Prep Time 30 mins
Cook Time 0 mins
Total Time 30 mins
Course Freezer
Cuisine American
Servings 8 Servings
Calories 194 kcal
Ingredients
- 8 medium boneless chicken breasts
- zip top freezer bags
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Instructions
Gather your supplies and set everything out on your work space. Trim each boneless chicken breast of any fat or grizzle that way be present.
Divide the chicken breast based on the amount of chicken you will need for each recipe you will use the chicken for.
Now for the recipes that require the chicken cut into chunks or strips you will cut the correct amount of chicken breasts into bite sized chunks or strips.
Once you have all the chicken cut for a recipe write the recipe name and the date on the zip topped bag. Put all the cut up chicken in the bag, remove as much air as possible and close the top. Set it aside. Move on to the next recipe and prepare the chicken for it. If you need whole chicken breasts for a recipe place the number of trimmed up chicken breasts in a labeled bag. Do each bag one at a time because you will never be able to tell the bags/recipes apart after you have done a few.
Repeat with all of the chicken you have. When you are done flatten each bag as much as possible and place the bags in a nice even stack in the freezer. Once the chicken is frozen solid you can place them and stack them however you need to in your freezer. Freezing them in this neat compact way allows you to store them in the freezer saving as much space as available.
Nutrition
Serving: 1Serving | Calories: 194kcal | Protein: 24g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 72mg | Sodium: 71mg | Potassium: 249mg | Vitamin A: 94IU | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 1mg
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FAQs
Can I freeze chicken breast in Ziploc bag? ›
Even though most raw chicken is sold in plastic-wrapped containers, this packaging isn't great for the freezer and can cause freezer burn. Wrap the packaged chicken with a layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil, or remove it from the packaging (don't wash it!), and place the raw chicken in ziplock plastic freezer bags.
What is the best way to freeze chicken breasts? ›Wrap each chicken part (or whole bird, if you bought it whole) in plastic wrap, as tightly as possible. Place those wrapped parts in a zipper-lock freezer bag in a single layer. Better yet, vacuum-seal them in a plastic bag, if you have a vacuum sealer. (Our favorite is this one from NESCO.)
How long should you freeze chicken breasts? ›As long as chicken breasts are frozen at or below 0°F, they'll stay safe indefinitely. They won't taste (or look) great indefinitely, though. The USDA recommends freezing chicken breasts no longer than nine months for optimal quality and flavor.
How long can you freeze chicken in a Ziploc bag? ›If you're freezing cooked chicken, you can expect that to last for 2–6 months. Freezing cooked chicken is a great way to reduce food waste. When freezing cooked chicken, it's a good idea to mark the bag with the date it was cooked and frozen so you remember to use it while it's still good.
How long can chicken stay in Ziploc? ›If stored properly (in a ziplock storage bag or sealed container), the USDA says that cooked chicken can last three to four days in the refrigerator. 1 And that goes for any type of cooked chicken—store-bought, homemade, or restaurant leftovers.