Last week, I shared my list of frugal pantry staples. My list was very basic {only 10 items} and I kept it that way on purpose. That list was meant to serve as a starting point for anyone looking to get stocked up on basic, commonly used ingredients to be used in meal prep.
This week, I wanted to do the same thing, except with the fridge and freezer. Keep in mind that these items may not seem frugal at first glance. But, if you shop the grocery store sales and possibly add in coupons, then you can actually find these items at reasonable prices. You will never walk out of the store with free meat, but you can still find good deals.
Here are my frugal fridge & freezer staples.
1. Frozen vegetables
I’m the world’s worst at planning ahead for side dishes. I’m usually so excited to have planned the menu and prepared the main meal that I tend to completely forget about what we’ll eat along with the main course. Frozen vegetables are a lifesaver for me. I have a great steamer from Pampered Chef that I use all the time with frozen vegetables.
2. Frozen fruit
There are so many great uses for frozen fruit. We enjoy it in oatmeal, but you can also use it for smoothies and add it to yogurt. It can be pricey, but you can freeze fruit yourself when it’s in season {and cheaper} and then use it up throughout the year when it’s not available or when it’s much more expensive. I’m trying to get in the habit of doing this more.
3. Shredded cheeses
I use a lot of cheddar, mozzarella, and parmesan cheeses, so we always have those on hand. Whether it’s homemade pizza, pasta dishes, or Mexican-themed meals, we go through lots of cheese. Having my pasta and cheddar cheese on hand has saved me many times when I needed to bring a side dish to a pot luck meal at church at the last second. Within minutes, I can be putting a mac n cheese in the oven.
4. Butter/milk/cream cheese
You can’t forget your basic dairy staples. I’ve noticed that butter prices have gone up, so when I see a good price on butter, I definitely stock up! You might be surprised that I listed cream cheese, but I use it when I make alfredo sauce. That’s another easy meal, so it’s nice to have on hand in a pinch.
5. Breads/buns
We always keep sandwich bread or buns in our fridge or freezer. If I know we won’t use everything up right away, then I just stick it in the freezer and let it defrost when we need it. Or, if I open a package of hamburger buns and we don’t eat them all, I stick the rest of them in the freezer and it prevents mold growth.
6. Assortment of meats {ground beef, chicken, bacon/sausage, or your favorites}
Unless you are a vegetarian, it’s so helpful to have meats on hand in your fridge or freezer. I always try and pick up meats when I can snag a good sale at the grocery store. Even if I have no plans of using it that week, I will stick it in the freezer and use it later or work it into the meal plan down the road. It’s so nice to be able to “shop your freezer” for the main ingredients of your meal and know that were purchased at a great price.
7. Condiments
While you might not use condiments every single day, you definitely need them at the ready in your fridge. Whether it’s for use on sandwiches for lunch or specific recipes like chicken or egg salad, or other sauces, you will need these on hand. We usually stick to the basics: mustard, ketchup, mayo, dijon mustard, and BBQ sauce.
8. Eggs
Other than for breakfast or quiches, I use eggs mostly in baking. But, you never know when you’ll need them in other dishes as well. I’ve used them as a binder when making meatloaf. You may not necessarily go through them quickly, but when you need them, you don’t want to have to knock on your neighbors door {although I’ve done it before}.
This is certainly not an exhaustive list, but hopefully this will get you thinking so that you can slowly build up your fridge and freezer staples and be better prepared for meal prep time!
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Thanks for the tips – I too freeze cheese, butter and bread when I can get them on the cheap! A couple of things that I find helpful to have on hand in the freezer are scraps for making stock and diced onions/peppers. I put chicken bones and/or veggies scraps (celery ends, carrot peels, onion peels, etc.) in a gallon sized baggie in the freezer. When it's full, I add water and seasonings, boil it down, strain, let cool, skim the fat off then freeze in baggies. It makes wonderful low fat, low sodium stock for almost free! When you are ready to use it, just put a baggie in the fridge to defrost. Also, when I find onions or peppers on sale or marked down (Martin's frequently has peppers with blemishes marked way down and they frequently do a B1G1 sale on bagged onions), I dice them up, flash freeze and keep in the freezer. When I need them, I grab them straight from the freezer – they really don't need to defrost first. It saves me a ton of time and money.
Thanks so much for sharing those tips! I have never tried to make my own stock, but I may have to give that a try! I LOVE the idea of dicing up and freezing commonly used veggies like onion. We use it all the time and that would definitely speed things up. GREAT ideas!
I love that I can freeze butter, it makes it that much easier to always have the stuff to bake on hand. Thanks for posting. Hello from Thrifty Thursday.
Thanks for stopping by, Melissa! Having the stuff I need is half the battle, right?!! 🙂
I had no idea that I could freeze butter, but I freeze buns all the time!
To save even more but block cheese and shred it yourself and freeze it. Much cheaper and less preservatives!