Making freezer meals is always a productive use of my time, but it’s when I make chicken dump recipes that I feel the most accomplished because I am able to make so many meals in such a short period of time. I call them “dump recipes” because I dump all the ingredients into the bags, seal them up, freeze them, and then on the day I want to cook them, I take them out, thaw them, and then dump them into a baking dish or crockpot. They couldn’t be simpler.
These time-saving recipes are just a sample of the ones found in my ebook, Chicken Dump Recipes.
The last time I found myself with some spare time on my hands (with 7 kids, believe me, I rarely have extra time!), I decided to assemble twenty chicken dump meals. I put together 10 in the morning and 10 in the afternoon by doubling five recipes each time. In my morning session, I made Chicken Hurry, Caribbean Chicken, Lemon and Garlic Chicken, Sticky Chicken, and Cantonese Chicken.
Later that afternoon, I got ready to make the next ten meals by getting everything that I needed out. The key to successful chicken dump meals is having all your ingredients out before you start assembling. This saves time and frustration!
You can also purchase Chicken Dump Recipes which includes 25 recipes, printable grocery lists, and printable labels.
Before I get into the recipes and instructions, I thought I would address a concern that came up when I published the first set of chicken dump recipes. Because of the popularity of the recipes (more than 2 million people read that article in its first month!), there was a lot of discussion about them on social media and the biggest issue seemed to be with some of the recipes having sugar in them. When you read the recipes below, you will find that this second set also has some recipes that have ingredients that have sugar. I can’t help but laugh when I think of how people will react to one of these recipes calls for maple syrup! Here is my response to all the concern about the sugar included in some of the recipes:
It’s true that if you are on a sugar-free diet, these may not be the recipes for you. I want to make a difference for busy families, busy moms, busy women. I want to see people eating as a family around the kitchen table instead of eating on the run or eating fast food in a vehicle. When paired with a salad or vegetables as a side dish, these recipes (even the ones that contain sugar) are going to be healthier than eating fast food.
The moms who are cooking frozen pizzas or chicken nuggets and fries because it’s all that they have time for are the ones I am reaching out to with these recipes. By taking an hour on a Sunday afternoon or in an evening after the kids have gone to bed to prepare these meals, you can have healthier (note that I did not say the healthiest!) meals that your whole family can enjoy. The bulk of the work will be done already so that you can relax at the end of the day and actually have time to talk while you eat dinner together.
And since I’m still a recovering people-pleaser, I am working on trying out healthier dump-style recipes. I will be publishing ground beef dump recipes and healthier dump recipes in the coming months so watch for those!
Steps to making Chicken Dump Meals:
- Get out all ingredients.
- Label resealable freezer bags (you can use a permanent marker or print labels to stick on) with the name and cooking instructions.
- Prop the bottom of the bags and fold over the top so that they will stay open.
- Add chicken into each bag. You can use boneless, skinless thighs or breasts.
- Once the chicken is in all of the bags, dump the ingredients for the recipe into the bag.
- When all the ingredients are in each bag, remove the excess air, seal the bags, lay flat, and freeze.
Teriyaki Chicken
- 3-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or 8-10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1/3 cup honey, melted
- 3 tbsp. soya sauce**
- 1 tsp. fresh ginger, grated
- 1-2 garlic cloves, minced
Cooking instructions:
Thaw. Bake at 350° for an hour or in the crockpot on low for 4-6 hours. **if you are making these gluten-free, be sure to use gluten-free soya sauce.
Lemon Mustard Chicken
- 3-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or 8-10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 Tbsp. dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
- 2 tsp. lemon pepper
- 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
- 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
Cooking instructions:
Thaw. Bake at 350° for an hour, covered, uncover last ten minutes, or in the crockpot on low for 4-6 hours.
French Canadian Chicken
- 3-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or 8-10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 3 Tbsp. cider vinegar
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 Tbsp. soya sauce**
- 3 tsp. freshly grated ginger
- 1 tsp. pepper
Cooking instructions:
Thaw. Bake in the crockpot on low for 4-6 hours or bake at 350° for an hour, covered, uncovering for the last 15 minutes. **if you are making these gluten-free, be sure to use gluten-free soya sauce.
Pepper Lime Chicken
- 3-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or 8-10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 1 tsp. lime zest
- 1 tsp. thyme
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. olive oil
Cooking instructions:
Thaw. Bake at 350° for an hour, covered or in the crockpot on low for 4-6 hours.
Cindy’s Chicken
- 3-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or 8-10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- one bottle of Russian salad dressing (don’t use Creamy Russian dressing. If you can’t find this, you can substitute with Catalina dressing)
- 1 1/4 cups apricot jam
- 3 Tbsp. dry onion soup mix* *I use an MSG-free, gluten-free dry onion soup mix.
Cooking instructions:
Thaw. Bake at 350° for an hour, covered or in the crockpot on low for 4-6 hours.
Notes:
- Each recipe listed is to make one bag. To make 2 bags, you will need to double both the chicken and the other ingredients.
- The recipes work best with 3-5 chicken breasts or 8-10 thighs per bag. If you are adding a lot more or a lot less chicken, you may need to adjust the recipes accordingly.
- If you plan the meals so that they have some common ingredients, it saves even more money.
- All these recipes can be made gluten-free by following the notes indicated.
- I heard from a reader who suggested using slow cooker liners. I had never heard of such a thing, but it sounds like a way to save even more time because it eliminates the cleanup of the crockpot.
- Don’t forget to check out the first 5 Chicken Dump Recipes!
To get the Chicken Dump recipes listed here along with a free printable shopping list and labels, sign up for our emails.
Buy my Chicken Dump Recipes book which includes 25 recipes divided into 5 plans. Each plan comes with printable grocery lists and printable labels. Read the list of included recipes.
You can also purchase both the Beef Dump Recipes and Chicken Dump Recipes together for more meal options and savings!
- 3-5 boneless skinless chicken breasts or 8-10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1/3 cup honey melted
- 3 tbsp. soya sauce**
- 1 tsp. fresh ginger grated
- 1-2 garlic cloves minced
-
Thaw.
-
Bake at 350° for an hour or in the crockpot on low for 4-6 hours.
**if you are making these gluten-free, be sure to use gluten-free soya sauce.
- 3-5 boneless skinless chicken breasts or 8-10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 Tbsp. dijon mustard
- 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
- 2 tsp. lemon pepper
- 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
- 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
-
Thaw.
-
Bake at 350° for an hour, covered, uncover last ten minutes, or in the crockpot on low for 4-6 hours.
- 3-5 boneless skinless chicken breasts or 8-10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 3 Tbsp. cider vinegar
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 3 Tbsp. soya sauce**
- 3 tsp. freshly grated ginger
- 1 tsp. pepper
-
Thaw.
-
Bake in the crockpot on low for 4-6 hours or bake at 350° for an hour, covered, uncovering for the last 15 minutes.
**if you are making these gluten-free, be sure to use gluten-free soya sauce.
- 3-5 boneless skinless chicken breasts or 8-10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 1 tsp. lime zest
- 1 tsp. thyme
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. olive oil
-
Thaw.
-
Bake at 350° for an hour, covered or in the crockpot on low for 4-6 hours.
- 3-5 chicken breasts or 8-10 thighs boneless, skinless
- 1 bottle Russian salad dressing (don't use Creamy Russian dressing. If you can't find this, you can substitute it with Catalina dressing)
- 1 1/4 cups apricot jam
- 3 Tbsp. dry onion soup mix*
-
Thaw.
-
Bake at 350° for an hour, covered or in the crockpot on low for 4-6 hours.
*I use an MSG-free, gluten-free dry onion soup mix. Each recipe listed is to make one bag. To make 2 bags, you will need to double both the chicken and the other ingredients. The recipes work best with 3-5 chicken breasts or 8-10 thighs per bag. If you are adding a lot more or a lot less chicken, you may need to adjust the recipes accordingly. If you plan the meals so that they have some common ingredients, it saves even more money. All these recipes can be made gluten-free by following the notes indicated. I heard from a reader who suggested using slow cooker liners. I had never heard of such a thing, but it sounds like a way to save even more time because it eliminates the cleanup of the crockpot.