EDITABLE Freezer Meal Labels (Free Printable PDF)

Why Use the Freezer Meal Label?

Not everyone is gifted enough to remember what they put inside the freezer.

While some recipes are pretty straightforward, others might be more complicated. Or you might want to give a little twist on an old recipe. Writing down the ingredients or the cooking instructions will help you in those situations. Since the directions are already written, you can ask other people to heat the meal as well.

The last reason is that storing foods inside a freezer doesn’t mean they will last forever.

Each ingredient has a different expiry date. Their organoleptic natures (texture, aroma, taste, etc.) still change over time. Remembering the dates for each package is simply overcomplicating your life.

Yes, you can store many foods in the freezer for a long time. But ideally, you should only keep them for a few weeks for the best taste. So, knowing which meals to prioritize and which to discard is essential.

What is the Frozen Meal Label?

The frozen meal label is a simple reminder to help you better organize the meal prep process.

Meal prepping and freezing your meals is an effective way to cook if you don’t have a lot of free time every day. You can cook once, portion the food into several containers to freeze, and enjoy it later.

However, not every food is great to freeze, as some might taste off. Some ingredients naturally change their texture, flavor, or color when you reheat them, and they might need special instructions to reheat.

Remembering every detail of each recipe is demanding. Everyone deserves a little help, especially when you leave your freezer for an extended period. There are a few indicators you can fill on our labels:

• Recipe name. The name of the food you can cook with the ingredients inside or a pre-made meal you need to reheat. We don’t need to guess what food is frozen inside.
• Ingredients. The name of the ingredients you’ve prepared before (meal prep) or the composition of your ready-to-eat meal. Some ingredients have particular expiry dates, so you can recheck them later.
• Instruction. The directions on how to prepare the meal. You may want to cook the food differently from your usual routines, or you may want other people to help reheat the meal.
• Use-By. The latest date you can eat the food. Or, you can write the date you froze the meal.

How to Use the Freezer Meal Label?

Ideally, before freezing your meals, you should do some planning on what foods you want to preserve. Try to list what you want to eat for a week. This way, you’ll fill out the labels more easily.

Since you already know what foods you’ll make, you can do some meal preps or even prepare the labels by handwriting or typing.

If you prepare the labels by handwriting them, print the frozen meal label on this page and write on it using a Sharpie according to your meal plan.

If you don’t want to handwrite the labels:

• You can open the document and type on it.
• Fill in the recipe’s name, expiration date (three months from the prep date is a good starting point), the list of ingredients, and the cooking instructions.
• Print the labels, cut them, and tape them after preparing the meal.

Here is an example on how to fill each section:

RECIPE	USE-BY
BBQ Chicken WIngs	23rd April, 2025
INGREDIENTS	INSTRUCTION
● Chicken wings ● Onion powder ● Garlic powder ● Bell pepper ● Chili powder ● Salt ● Pepper ● BBQ sauce ● Honey	● Thaw ● Preheat the oven and tray into 425°F ● Cover the tray with baking papers ● Place the thawed chicken wings with some space between them ● Cook for 40-45 minutes ● Flip the chickens, wait again until they change color

An example of label for frozen meals.

You can add some serving suggestions to the Instruction, such as “Sprinkle with thyme leaves” or “Allow to rest for 30 minutes”.

Registered Dietitian on FREEZING Your Meals

Freezing your food is a great way to increase an ingredient’s shelf life, especially for perishable foods that can rot quickly, such as meat.¹

Based on what I’ve studied as a Registered Dietitian, freezing meals helps you retain their vitamin and mineral contents. A study found that vitamin C, trans-b-carotene, and folic acid within frozen fruits and vegetables don’t have any significant change compared to their fresh counterparts.²

Yet, you can’t just leave the ingredients forever in your freezer. Based on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, ideally, you can freeze beef, lamb, and pork for 12 months. For chicken, turkey, or other poultry meats for 9-12 months. This duration assumes you put them in a freezer at 0°F (-18°C) or below.

Here are some general tips when trying to freeze your food:

• Ensure your freezer is at an appropriate temperature (0°F or lower).
• Divide your foods according to your portion. Ideally, you’d want to reheat and prepare your meals without thawing too much.
• Place the ingredients or premade meal inside an airtight ziplock bag or food container. Try to remove as much air as possible to prevent freezer burns.
• Let premade food cool at room temperature before putting them inside your freezer.
• Blanch vegetables first before freezing them. This process preserves their color by deactivating the enzyme that causes them to turn brown.
• You can freeze fruits directly without processing them first.

Registered Dietitian on THAWING Your Meals

As a Registered Dietitian, I must first remind you that bacteria can’t survive at a freezing temperature (0°C or lower). However, they certainly still exist within the food. When the temperature goes up, there’s a chance that some remaining bacteria can reproduce again. That’s why it’s better to avoid thawing food by leaving it at room temperature or soaking it in hot water.

Generally, there are three defrosting or thawing methods considered safe for health:^{3 4}

1. Refrigerator Thawing

You move the food from the freezer to the fridge, then let it thaw slowly.

The Downside:

• Both you and your doctor can adjust your insulin intake after noticing spikes or drops in your blood glucose level.
• Your doctors and registered dietitians can use the journal to adjust your glucose target, carbohydrate intake, ideal workouts, or food limitations.
• You can detect and confirm when hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia occurs.
• You’ll begin to take back your life by learning what affects you and improving your dietary habits.

The Upside:

You can refreeze the thawed food directly without cooking it first.

2. Cold Water / Running Water Thawing

Put the frozen food in a bowl, then run cold water (70°F or lower) over it. Change the water in the bowl every 30 minutes.

The Downside:

• The water flow should be strong enough to wash the ice away.
• The container must be airtight to prevent bacterial microorganisms from entering the food. The washing bowl should also be clean.
• If you want to refreeze the food, you need to cook it first.

The Upside:

The food thaws quicker than the refrigerator thawing.

3. Microwave Thawing

You place the frozen food inside a microwave, then let it heat the food directly.

The Downside:

• You must cook the food immediately because the bacteria can grow at microwave temperature (danger zone of 40°-140°F).
• Some parts of the meal may not cook evenly.
• If you want to refreeze the food, you need to cook it first.

The Upside:

You can thaw your food quickly.

General Tips on Thawing Meals

Apart from which method you’ll choose to thaw your food, I have some tips for you:

• You can actually cook a frozen meal directly without thawing. However, it takes a longer time. Size also matters as a big chunk of meat may cook unevenly. The outside is done, but the inside is still raw. The longer you cook it, the drier the texture.
• Make sure you thaw the food thoroughly before cooking them. Check whether there is any ice crystal left.
• It’s inadvisable to refreeze thawed food. With each freezing-thawing cycle, the bacteria inside keeps growing, so the quality of the food will drop.
• To avoid refreezing often, preparing your frozen meals in a ready-to-eat portion is recommended.

Avoiding Cross-Contamination when Thawing Food

• Store raw and cooked food in separate positions (not piling them up in the freezer).
• Thaw the raw foods in the bottom-most fridge drawer, thus minimizing the microbial activity before you cook them.
• Use an airtight container or plastic to freeze the meal and close it properly. When thawing, place it on a tray so the water won’t drip onto other foods.