31 Days of Freezer Fairy Meal Tricks: How to Prevent Freezer Burn on Casseroles

31 Days of Freezer Fairy Meal Tricks

Welcome to 31 days of Freezer Fairy Meals Tricks. This is going to be an ongoing series where I share my best tips and tricks from over a decade of freezer cooking experience. It’s my goal to help you with your freezer cooking tasks because it’s advantageous to your family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, the poor and the needy. There are countless times I have pulled something from my freezer to share with others because I have set aside some time in my busy week to prep easy, wholelicious meals, snacks, desserts or breakfast  items.

TIP #2

Have you ever wondered how to keep freezer burn away from the top of your casserole? You’ve spent a lot of time and effort making 2, 4 or maybe even 6 or 8 casseroles and you want them to stay as fresh as possible.

There are multiple ways to keep air away:

• Fill the pan all the way to the top {which takes some practice knowing how high the meal will stack}
• Purchase smaller pans that will have less space in the end {again, takes some thinking process}
• Purchase different size pans to accomdoate different meals, i.e. manicotti, spaghetti, chicken casserole, enchiladas, etc.}
• Purchase the same pans and lids for all your casseroles and try my trick {I purchase very inexpensive steam pans and lids from Sams Club. It saves me a ton of money and time having a package of thirty}

I know we have all bought a premade casserole, {Stouffer’s Lasagna or other type meal} at some point in our life. Have you noticed it is vacuumed sealed with a piece of plastic that must be thrown away BEFORE baking? This keeps air away from the meal and the end result is less/no freezer burn.

Here’s the home concept using a foil barrier:

1. After you make your casserole, pie, spaghetti, enchilada or whatever family favorite you’re freezing, make sure it is not piping hot before covering. Lukewarm to room temperature is more idea so there is less condensation on the foil, thus causing more liquid and ice crystals when frozen and thawed.
2.  Pull a sheet of heavy duty aluminum foil about the size that will fit inside your pan, yet covering the entire meal. It’s okay to go beyond the meal, just make sure it can still be covered well with a top layer of heavy duty foil or lid without interfering with this barrier piece. The edges can be folded inward if the piece is a tad too large.
3. Spray the piece of foil and flip the sprayed side onto the meal. This is going to keep as much air away from your meal as possible. It acts as a shield to protect it from air. Remember the premade Lasagna meal with plastic, the foil is doing the same thing without a vacuum sealer.
4. If you can not remember to remove the foil prior to baking. Add a note on your cooking instructions to remove inner foil before baking.

Try this tip and see if your homemade freezer meals appear to have less ice when you remove it from the freezer.

Do you have a freezer meal tip or question? We’d love to hear it in the comments.