Q: I love the idea of making several meals ahead of time and freezing them, but I don't cook with meat.
Do you know of any good vegetarian meals that can be made ahead of time?
Sent by Jo
Editor: Jo, sure! How about homemade veggie burgers or vegetarian Asian dumplings? You can freeze homemade pasta and lasagna. Indian-inspired recipes like dal palak and chana masala often freeze well too. I like making big pots of heirloom beans and freezing them in individual portions. Soups and sauces usually freeze well too.
Also check out these posts for more ideas:
• Vegetarian Meals That Can Be Frozen in Single Portions?
• From the Files: Recipes that Freeze Well
Readers, what else would you suggest?
Related: Make 46 Freezer Meals In 4 Hours
(Image: Emma Christensen)
Elizabeth Apron fro...

This is a great question! My vegetarian sister-in-law is about to give birth and I am trying to figure out what meals I can freeze for her this weekend to be ready for when they come home. I was thinking about my recipe for refried bean and cheese enchiladas. Here is the recipe if you're interested:
I make white jasmine rice (2 servings worth seems to be a good amount for this).
Then once that's about ready I stir in a can of refried beans with whatever seasonings you would use for tacos (i skip the packet and just put in what I have on hand - chilli powder, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, etc. whatever you like).
Once that is heated through I heat up 8 burrito sized flour tortillas on a plate in the microwave, covered with plastic wrap for about 45secs - just to soften them up.
Then I spread the mixture on a tortilla and top it with grated cheddar cheese and roll it up.
Then take a 13x9 pan and spray it with cooking spray and put enough enchilada sauce (I love the sauce Whole Foods sells, not sure of the brand. It's pricey but so much better than any other I've tried. It has a yellow label if that helps) in the bottom to coat the pan then put the rolled up enchiladas in.
Coat them with the rest of the enchilada sauce (not so much that they are swimming in sauce, but just enough to coat them).
Top this with more cheddar cheese.
I usually then cover it with foil and bake at 375 for 25 mins, then I take the foil off and bake for another 10 mins or so until the cheese is bubbly.
My problem is I don't know how I would adjust this recipe for freezing. Would I just cook it longer? Anyone know the best way to go about this?
I look forward to reading other freezable meal ideas!
SEitan, barbecue tofu, potatoes that are mashed or pureed (soups/casseroles) but not whole/cubed. Salad dressings can be frozen, pot pies...I'm sure Faith's cookbook has a lot of good casserole recipes!
Cooked grains freeze extremely well. Not a whole meal, but certainly a good accompaniment. If you're making a quick stir-fry, it's great to have rice frozen in individual servings (stack them flat in plastic bags and freeze) that you can pop in the microwave for a couple minutes.
I too tend to lack imagination when freezing vegetarian meals. I totally agree that soups and stews freeze well--I freeze my vegetarian chili and vegetable soup. I don't like the texture of anything with cream/milk or potatoes after defrosting so I usually stay away from dishes with those ingredients. I froze some ratatouille last summer and that worked great, and I always try to keep some frozen pesto on hand (a regular basil, a tomato , and a cilantro) as well as some cooked beans (plain, refried, baked, etc). As you can see, a lot of these aren't really main dishes on their own, though putting any of these on top of some rice or bread and then plopping a fried egg on top always hits the spot for me! Hopefully others will have some main dish ideas too.
I make a lot of soups, then freeze some with less liquid (to be served over rice later) and some with more liquid (to be reheated as soup).
I make a black bean burger that can easily freeze and be eaten later. It works well.
I just made a big batch of 'breakfast burritos' because I had a lot of produce that I didn't want to waste. I made the Post-Punk Kitchen's Tofu Scramble with mushrooms and spinach and wrapped it up in a whole wheat tortilla with some potatoes I cubed and cooked with salt and pepper. They froze really well and have been really convenient.
Otherwise, I usually have veggie burgers on hand (Moosewood: Cooking For Health has 3 or 4 of my favorite recipes for these...) rice and beans and some kind of soup.
One of my favorite frozen items to have on hand is Trader Joe's Naan Bread. If you do freeze any curry or dal, it's the perfect 3 minute meal. :)
There's always lasagna and stuffed shells...
I freeze a lot of sauces (flat, in ziplock bags) and then add them to dishes later. I just break off a chunk that's about the size I need! Sundried tomato pesto can go into salad or pasta, or be spread onto a sandwich. Carrot-ginger sauce goes with steamed vegetables and rice, or into a stir-fry. Romesco sauce can become salad dressing, be used as a dip for veggies or be drizzled over grilled vegetables. A few fun sauces that she can use as she'd like might be a fun idea.
Curries are my go to vegetarian dish. You can add tofu, vegetables, rice, hydrolyzed vegetable protein or almost anything you want to your curry sauce. Curries also thaw/reheat quickly.
Another thing to consider is puff pastry dough. If you're not into making your own, many decent pre-made doughs are available in the frozen aisle of your grocery store. Although puff pastry is only a component/ingredient, you can add any vegetables, fruit or cheeses & have a quick meal or dessert. A good example would be Martha Stewart's tomato tart: http://www.marthastewart.com/338995/tomato-tart
If none of these work for you, then soups, pastas & sauces are always reliable stand-bys.
Thanks for all the suggestions!