Looking for some cheap easy plant based meal prep ideas? In this post I share how to meal prep 36 vegan freezer meals for $50 from Trader Joe’s ingredients. Simply prep ahead freezer meals for dump and go cooking. Keep reading to watch my video tutorial and get these recipes.

You Tube video

Here’s my video tutorial for how to meal prep these freezer meals in just about 15 minutes using Trader Joe’s vegan groceries.

What is vegan dump meal prep?

• Dump meals is a term used to describe a meal which is prepared by simply dumping ingredients together. There is usually no chopping, washing or preparing required for ingredients.
• Vegan is a term used to describe meals which contain only plant based ingredients.
• Meal prep is a term used to describe the act of preparing ingredients for meals to be cooked or served at a later date.

For this post I am demonstrating how to meal prep vegan dump meals for the freezer. Specifically, vegan soups.

Vegan Trader Joe’s groceries

All ingredients are from Trader Joe’s which makes this a super easy meal prep because you can purchase all the ingredients from one grocery store.

 

How to make freezer dump meals

The basic directions for meal prepping all of the soups below are as follows:

1. Label freezer bags with recipe name and date for each soup.
2. Open all packages of ingredients.
3. Dump portioned ingredients into freezer bags according to measurements in recipe.
4. Close freezer bag and press air out of bag.
5. Mix contents in freezer bag evenly with hands.
6. Place freezer soup bag in freezer laying flat, or store in refrigerator for up to 5 days.
7. When ready to cook, dump contents of freezer bag into stock pot or slow cooker. Cook according to recipe directions.
8. Remove bay leaves before serving.
9. Enjoy!
10. Freezer soups should still be good to cook for about 3 months in the freezer.

Tips for heating freezer soups

Here’s my tips for reheating. Check out the comments on YouTube for the video above to see how other people are using these recipes. Please leave your tips there as well!

Heating from frozen

You can heat these freezer soups directly from the freezer. Simply open the bag and dump contents into a stock pot with 6 cups water. Cook over medium high heat on the stove top for 30 minutes, covered or uncovered.

Thaw before heating

Another option is to place the frozen bag into the refrigerator for hours or overnight to thaw before heating. This will make it easier to handle and faster to reheat. Once thawed, open the bag and dump contents into a stock pot with 6 cups water. Cook over medium high heat on the stove top for 30 minutes, covered or uncovered.

Microwave

If you prefer to microwave these soups, thawing first is recommended, see above directions. Once thawed, you’ll want a container large enough to microwave the entire contents. Remember, these soups were not cooked prior to freezing so you’ll have to cook the whole contents of the bag (not just a portion like with already cooked soups). I haven’t tested the microwave method for reheating yet, but this should take several minutes to cook.

Slow cooker

These soups can be cooked in a slow cooker. Simply dump contents into slow cooker along with 6 cups water. Cover and set to high heat for 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally. You can do with with thawed or frozen meals.

6 freezer dump meals

Here’s an overview of the vegan freezer recipes in this post:

1. Minestrone Soup
2. Tomato Rice Soup
3. Broccoli Soup
4. Vegetable Farro Soup
5. Chickpea Masala Soup
6. Vegetable Bean Soup

36 vegan freezer meals for $50

Here’s the recipes for these six plant based soups with stovetop and slow cooker directions.

 

Vegetable White Bean Soup

Makes 6-8 servings

Equipment

• Slow cooker or Stock pot
• Can opener
• Measuring spoons
• Cooking utensils

Ingredients

• 1 cans Great Northern Beans, drained
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 container Trader Joe’s Prepared Mirepoix Chopped Vegetable Mix
• Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute, Onion Salt or Green Goddess Seasoning
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 cups water

Directions

1. Stove top: Pour all ingredients into a stock pot. Simmer over medium high heat for 30 minutes, or until desired consistency. Remove bay leaves and discard before serving.
2. Slow cooker: Pour all ingredients into a slow cooker. Set to cook on High for 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaves and discard.

Serving Suggestions

• Serve with toasted bread, with cooked rice or baked potatoes.
• Reheat on the stove in a pot with about 1/2 cup water on medium heat for 5-10 minutes, or until hot.
• Reheat in microwave safe container for 1-2 minutes.

Minestrone Soup

Makes 6-8 servings

Equipment

• Slow cooker or Stock pot
• Can opener
• Measuring spoons
• Cooking utensils

Ingredients

• 1 cans white beans, drained
• 1 can diced tomatoes or 1 cup Trader Joe’s Tomato Basil Marinara Sauce
• 1 container Trader Joe’s Prepared Mirepoix Chopped Vegetable Mix
• 2 cups Trader Joe’s Organic Shredded Kale
• 1 1/2 cups Trader Joe’s Harvest Blend or 1/4 lb dried pasta such as macaroni
• Trader Joe’s Pizza Sprinkle Seasoning Blend or Aglio Olio Garlicky & Spicy Seasoning Blend
• 6 cups water

Directions

1. Stove top: Pour all ingredients into a stock pot. Simmer over medium high heat for 30 minutes, or until desired consistency. Remove bay leaves and discard before serving.
2. Slow cooker: Pour all ingredients into a slow cooker. Set to cook on High for 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaves and discard.

Serving Suggestions

• Serve with toasted bread, with cooked rice or baked potatoes.
• Reheat on the stove in a pot with about 1/2 cup water on medium heat for 5-10 minutes, or until hot.
• Reheat in microwave safe container for 1-2 minutes.

Broccoli Soup

Makes 6-8 servings

Equipment

• Slow cooker or Stock pot
• Can opener
• Measuring spoons
• Cooking utensils
• Blender or masher, optional

Ingredients

• 1 bag frozen broccoli
• 1 container Trader Joe’s Prepared Mirepoix Chopped Vegetable Mix
• 2 bay leaves
• Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning Salute, Onion Salt or Green Goddess Seasoning
• 6 cups water
• 1 large yellow potato, small diced, optional

Directions

1. Stove top: Pour all ingredients into a stock pot. Simmer over medium high heat for 30 minutes, or until desired consistency. Remove bay leaves and discard. Let soup cool for 10 minutes, then blend until pureed or mash with a potato masher.
2. Slow cooker: Pour all ingredients into a slow cooker. Set to cook on High for 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaves and discard. Let soup cool for 10 minutes, then blend until pureed or mash with a potato masher.

Serving Suggestions

• Serve with toasted bread, with cooked rice or baked potatoes.
• Reheat on the stove in a pot with about 1/2 cup water on medium heat for 5-10 minutes, or until hot.
• Reheat in microwave safe container for 1-2 minutes.

Tomato Rice Soup

Makes 6-8 servings

Equipment

• Slow cooker or Stock pot
• Can opener
• Measuring spoons
• Cooking utensils

Ingredients

• 1 can Diced & No Salt Added Tomatoes
• 1 can Trader Joe’s Organic Tomato Sauce
• 1 container Trader Joe’s Prepared Mirepoix Chopped Vegetable Mix
• 1 cup uncooked Brown Jasmine Rice
• Trader Joe’s Pizza Sprinkle Seasoning Blend
• 2 bay leaves
• Water, to cover

Directions

1. Stove top: Pour all ingredients into a stock pot. Simmer over medium high heat for 30 minutes, or until desired consistency. Remove bay leaves and discard before serving.
2. Slow cooker: Pour all ingredients into a slow cooker. Set to cook on High for 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaves and discard.

Serving Suggestions

• Serve with toasted bread, with cooked rice or baked potatoes.
• Reheat on the stove in a pot with about 1/2 cup water on medium heat for 5-10 minutes, or until hot.
• Reheat in microwave safe container for 1-2 minutes.

Chickpea Vegetable Curry Soup

Makes 6-8 servings

Equipment

• Slow cooker or Stock pot
• Can opener
• Measuring spoons
• Cooking utensils

Ingredients

• 1 cans garbanzo beans, drained
• 1 package Trader Joe’s Tikka Masala Curry Sauce
• 1 container Trader Joe’s Prepared Mirepoix Chopped Vegetable Mix
• 1lb bag Organic Frozen Broccoli
• 1 can reduced fat coconut milk
• 2 bay leaves
• Water, to cover

Directions

1. Stove top: Pour all ingredients into a stock pot. Simmer over medium high heat for 30 minutes, or until desired consistency. Remove bay leaves and discard before serving.
2. Slow cooker: Pour all ingredients into a slow cooker. Set to cook on High for 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaves and discard.

Serving Suggestions

• Serve with toasted bread, with cooked rice or baked potatoes.
• Reheat on the stove in a pot with about 1/2 cup water on medium heat for 5-10 minutes, or until hot.
• Reheat in microwave safe container for 1-2 minutes.

Vegetable Farro Soup

Makes 6-8 servings

Equipment

• Slow cooker or Stock pot
• Can opener
• Measuring spoons
• Cooking utensils

Ingredients

• 1 cans Great Northern Beans, drained
• 1 cup Trader Joe’s 10 Minute Farro
• 1 container Trader Joe’s Prepared Mirepoix Chopped Vegetable Mix
• Trader Joe’s Onion Salt
• Trader Joe’s Mushroom & Company Multipurpose Umami Seasoning Blend
• 2 bay leaves
• Water, to cover

Directions

1. Stove top: Pour all ingredients into a stock pot. Simmer over medium high heat for 30 minutes, or until desired consistency. Remove bay leaves and discard before serving.
2. Slow cooker: Pour all ingredients into a slow cooker. Set to cook on High for 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaves and discard.

Serving Suggestions

• Serve with toasted bread, with cooked rice or baked potatoes.
• Reheat on the stove in a pot with about 1/2 cup water on medium heat for 5-10 minutes, or until hot.
• Reheat in microwave safe container for 1-2 minutes

Further reading:

• 15 cheap easy plant based meals for $25 from Trader Joe’s