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Ready for your new favourite time saving dinner shortcut? Meet these Slow Cooker Dump Bags. These are recipes that can be prepped in minutes and then frozen, uncooked, until you need them.
You know I am a HUGE fan of slow cooker recipes that can be just popped straight into the slow cooker with NO browning first, but what if we prepped these in advance too for convenience that’s on another level?
Yes it’s possible! Here are some of my favourite recipes – made into… DUMP BAGS!
What is a ‘dump bag’?
I know, I know. The name is not my favourite word 😬 BUT it does describe what these do on the tin.
A dump bag is where you prepare all (or most) of the ingredients for a slow cooker meal, then:
- Put it into a freezer container.
- Label and freeze until you want to cook it.
- Defrost thoroughly, dump in the slow cooker (get it?) and cook according to the usual instructions.
That’s it. Dinner is done!
What’s the benefit of meal prepping like this?
⭐️ Use days when you do have a tiny bit of spare time to help you on days that you don’t.
⭐️ Helps with bulk-buying ingredients (meat, for example, is often cheaper in bulk).
⭐️ Doubling up your prep means double dinners, in less than double the time. (I usually make at least x2 of each recipe.)
Do you have to defrost the food before cooking it in the slow cooker?
The short answer is yes. It is always recommended for dishes containing meat.
There’s a really useful article of tips here in the Guardian: Defrost and Dump.
- Allow the bags to defrost totally before adding to the slow cooker.
- Be sure to defrost them in the fridge. This will be slower but is the food safety recommendation.
- The time they take to defrost will depend a lot on the shape of the container you are using to freeze. If you can freeze in thin bags (see my notes re: bags further down) they will defrost much quicker.
- As a rule, my reusable bags take over 24 hours to defrost in the fridge. So if I want it for dinner on Tuesday night, I’d need to take it out of the freezer on Sunday night to be sure, and then cook it in the slow cooker on Tuesday morning. So about 36 hours.
Again, these timings will depend highly on what shape of container you use. Flatter bags will defrost MUCH quicker.
Which bags or containers are the best to use?
Without doubt, for convenience, single-use plastic bags are the best option. You can lay them flat in the freezer and they freeze in a thin shape so they defrost quickly.
But who wants to be buying single-use plastic these days? Luckily the ones below say they can be reused more than once – hurrah!
➡️ Bag Holder (SO useful for easy, mess free filling!)
This is the bag holder that you may have seen me using in recent videos. I LOVE this. It’s so so helpful if you’re planning on making Dump Bags, or freezing cooked leftovers in bags.
➡️ Premium Quality Freezer Labels
These labels are 100% the best I have found. They are the only ones I’ve used that don’t fall off in the freezer. Just make sure that the bag is totally dry before you stick them on.
➡️ Premium 4.55l Plastic Bags Heavy Duty
UPDATE (20 Feb 2023)
I have tried these recently and am a fan! They can be squashed very flat so:
- They lay neatly in the freezer
- They freeze quickly
- Most importantly, they defrost quickly
➡️ Morphy Richards Sear and Stew 3.5l Slow Cooker
This is the slow cooker I always use and I cannot recommend enough.
It’s so light and easy to handle, the pot can also be used on the hob AND it’s great value.
Some final tips
⭐️ Before you set aside time to prepare your dump bags, make sure you have freezer space!
⭐️ Have bags and labels ready.
⭐️ If you need a shopping list, you can adjust the recipe ingredients needed for portion sizes on every recipe here:
The Dump Bag Recipes
1. Slow Cooker Chicken Tikka Masala
2. Beef Goulash
3. Slow Cooker Sweet Potato & Peanut Butter Stew
4. Sweet and Sour Chicken
5. Slow Cooker Beef Curry
6. Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken
7. Slow Cooker Chicken & Chorizo Stew
8. Slow Cooker Chilli Con Carne
9. Slow Cooker Cream of Vegetable Soup
10. Slow Cooker Chicken Curry
11. Slow Cooker Bolognese
12. Slow Cooker Easy Vegetable Curry
Let me know how you got on and what you thought of these recipes. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below.
Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).
Hi from South Australia
I have made all of your Freezer Dump Bags and love all but one the Slow Cooker Bolognese – sorry to say this tasted awful – will stick to the traditional method of cooking this.
I would love however to be able to do Marry Me Chicken in a Freezer Dump Bag – is it possible?
Love your recipes – my go to every time – I am celeriac – so I just ensure all ingredients are Gluten Free
Leaving my husband for a week with dump bags….does it really matter if cornflour added at time of freezing? He’s not going to do the add later bits🧐