How to Make Healthy Slow Cooker Dump Bag Meals
There’s no better hack for slow cooker meal prep than dump bags! We’ve packed this ‘how to’ guide with our top tips and some seriously tasty recipe inspiration to help you get started.
Our upcoming cookbook, Pinch of Nom: Slow Cooker, is the best place to find our newest freezer-friendly, dump bag recipe ideas. Tap here or the image below to pre-order your copy ready for September 25th.
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What is a dump bag?
A ‘dump bag’ is a freezer bag filled with uncooked ingredients, chopped and ready to throw into the slow cooker for a particular dinner. They are basically the ultimate time-saver when it comes to slow cooker meal prep!
Why are dump bags handy for slow cooker meal prep?
If you’re using your slow cooker regularly, it’s a good idea to use dump bags. With most of the ingredients from your favourite dish already chopped and ready to go, you’ll save yourself so much time and stress – especially on busier days!
They’ll keep nicely in the freezer for up to 3 months, so you can build up a solid stash of nutritious, slimming-friendly meals to choose from.
Portion out your ingredients and then store them away until you’re ready to get dinner on.
How do I know which ingredients can go in a dump bag?
The more you make dump bags, the more you’ll get an idea of what’s suitable to store. Some high-water ingredients, like peppers, dairy or fresh herbs, are best added during the cooking time.
When we remove the dump bag for our Slow Cooker Chunky Tomato Cajun-Style Soup from the freezer, we let it defrost thoroughly before adding it to the slow cooker.
Then we’ll add the courgette and hot stock, following the recipe method from step 3 onwards.
While you can add stock to bags to freeze once cooled down, we prefer to add stock when we’re ready to get cooking.
For example, if we’re making Slow Cooker Sausage Casserole, we’ll add all of the ingredients mentioned in steps 1-2 of the recipe to the dump bag.
When it’s time to cook, the beef stock pot and water will then be stirred into the pot.
Tip 1: Use heavy-duty freezer bags
It’s really, really important to use heavy-duty freezer bags when you’re preparing slow cooker dump bags. Not only will they prevent freezer burn, they’ll also keep your ingredients sealed tightly and avoid any leakage.
We’d recommend investing in a trusty stash of reusable freezer bags that you can count on time and time again.
Adding ingredients to a bag can be fiddly, that’s why having a bag holder is a game-changer. This set from Amazon is really reliable for less than a tenner.
Tip 2: Buy in bulk to get the most from your dump bags
If you’re going to be filling your freezer with slow cooker dump bag meals, you’ll need to buy plenty of ingredients.
The good news is, it’s often cost-effective to buy more expensive food items (like meat or fresh produce) in bulk.
With everything you’re planning to eat chopped and ready to throw into the pot for a pre-picked recipe, the food you’ve bought will last longer.
You’ll need a good set of kitchen knives to slice and dice safely.
If you end up buying a cheaper cut of pork for our Slow Cooker Spicy Pork Stew, just be sure to cut off any visible fat while you’re dicing.
By investing in a larger joint of meat, you’ll have enough to prep dump bags for an alternative pork recipe, so you can mix up your midweek menu.
Tip 3: Store dump bags flat in the freezer
To maximise space in your freezer drawers and compartments, make sure you store your dump bags flat.
Stack with the oldest dump bags resting on top, so you’ll reach for the meals that need eating first; it’s an easy, efficient way to reduce food waste.
When you’re sealing ingredients into a dump bag, press gently to guarantee any air has left the bag prior to freezing. This helps to prevent freezer burn that could cause food to lose moisture.
The meat should stay nice and juicy for pre-prepped dishes like our Slow Cooker Lamb and Lentil Stew.
Tip 4: Chop it, bag it, label it!
One of our top tips for preventing food waste while storing dump bags is to make sure everything is clearly labelled.
You’ll need durable, freezer-proof labels (like these ones from Amazon) to guarantee the information you’ve written is clear even after a month or two.
It’s not just important to write the name of the recipe you’ve frozen, you need to know when it was placed in the freezer too – make sure the date is nice and big on the label!
All dump bags must be used within 3 months of freezing.
Imagine how gutted you’d be if the ingredients for our delicious Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore went to waste…
Tip 5: Always defrost thoroughly before cooking
As always when you’re cooking with food from the freezer, you’ll want to make sure all of your ingredients are thoroughly defrosted.
Everything’s quite closely packed together inside a dump bag, so it may take a little longer than usual to be slow cooker ready.
Get yourself prepared for our Slow Cooker Beef Madras by removing what you’re planning to cook from the freezer roughly 24-36 hours before you’re turning your slow cooker on.
As this dump bag contains meat, double (and triple!) check it’s defrosted before throwing into the slow cooker to simmer…
Ready, set…time to dump bag meal prep!
Let us know how your slow cooker meal prep is going in our Facebook group. We’ve got almost 1 million lovely community members waiting to encourage you on your slimming-friendly journey, or answer any questions you might have about dump bags!
You can also look for inspo in our Gallery. You’ll need to sign up to a free website account to upload and share your own photos (we’ve got a step-by-step guide on how to do that just here).
If you liked this article, there’s more where that came from:
- Our Top Slow Cooker Recipes
- What Can I Cook in a Slow Cooker? The Best Ingredients and Our Top Tips
- The Best Slow Cookers to Buy: How to Choose the Right One for You
- How to Convert Recipes to a Slow Cooker
- 10 Slow Cooker Recipes You Need to Try
- The Best Slow Cooker Recipes for Batch Cooking
- Easy Slow Cooker Fakeaway Recipe Ideas to Make on Busy Days