25 Make-Ahead Freezer Meals for the Holidays: Stews, Pies, Lasagna and Desserts

Traditional tourtière with beef, pork and veal, grated potato, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, simmered in white beer. It freezes beautifully: make it in November and pull it out on Christmas Eve.

A beef and beer stew with carrots, parsnips and rosemary, made in the oven or the slow cooker. Once it’s cooled, freeze it in portions and pull one out when time runs short. Ready-made comfort for December nights.

A spaghetti sauce that’s been in the family for three generations: a whole celery, lots of carrots and a big onion cooked low and slow before the meat hits the pot, with hot Italian sausage. Make a big batch and freeze it in jars.

A creamy bolognese lasagna with cheese curds in the middle, plus cream and Parmesan in the sauce. Simmer the sauce uncovered so it reduces, or the lasagna collapses. It freezes perfectly.

The classic Quebec dessert: a fluffy cake baked in dark maple syrup and cream. Use the darkest syrup you can find, that’s where the real maple flavor hides. It freezes well in portions.

Old-fashioned barley soup: turnip, carrot, celery, salted herbs and pearl barley that thickens the broth. Add the barley near the end or the carrots turn to mush before the grain is ready. Freeze it in jars for snowy nights.

A chicken pot pie with a flaky buttermilk crust, browned chicken thighs, carrots and peas in a creamy sauce. Keep everything ice cold until it hits the oven: the steam from the butter is what makes the flakes.

Beef cheeks braised in port until they fall apart with a fork, served over celery root purée with the sauce from the pot. A fancy dish you make ahead: just reheat it the night you have guests.

My mom’s stuffed bun: ground beef simmered in chicken and okra soup, served in a small bun. The real holiday okra bun. Use medium ground beef, the fat carries the soup’s flavor through all the meat.

Beef and pork meatballs in a creamy sour cream and thyme sauce, with a touch of Chinese five-spice playing the role of allspice. There’s plenty of sauce. Freeze the whole thing together!

A classic pumpkin pie with five spices, evaporated milk and the trick for a crust that never gets soggy. Measure out the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and allspice yourself. It freezes well.

Old-style Lac-Saint-Jean tourtière: pork, beef, duck confit, salt pork and diced potatoes, cooked long in a big Dutch oven. Use a sturdy pot, never a disposable aluminum pan. It freezes well.

Cannelloni stuffed with pork, beef and kale, covered in a homemade tomato sauce and cheese. A generous dish, perfect for entertaining or freezing. Cook the pasta very firm, it finishes cooking in the oven.

The holiday pig’s feet and meatball stew, simmered in beer with cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Toasted flour gives it its color and a nutty taste. A Quebec holiday classic that freezes well!

A butternut squash and pumpkin soup with sweet potato, turnip and ginger, caramelized before simmering. Freeze pumpkin cubes in the fall and the soup is doable even in January. It warms up cold nights.

A red wine braised beef shepherd’s pie topped with potato and parsnip purée, crispy prosciutto and smoked cheese. Brown the chuck well before braising. Perfect for entertaining, and it freezes.

Old-fashioned sugar pie, easy: brown sugar, cream and vanilla, with a caramelized top that cracks a little. Take it out when it’s golden to the center, even if it still jiggles: it sets as it cools. It freezes.

A turkey pot pie with leek, crispy bacon and peas in a white beer sauce, covered with puff pastry. The turkey roasts in the oven first, then gets diced. A pie that freezes really well!

A ragù where chuck roast braises slowly until it melts with carrots, white wine and tomatoes. The collagen gives it body without a drop of cream. Freeze it in portions for a comforting pasta dinner.

A smoked ham baked in beer and maple syrup, basted regularly with its own juices. The meat is ultra tender, the sauce well balanced, and there’s no fuss. Serve with mashed potatoes. Leftovers freeze well!

Dried beans soak in dark beer and maple syrup, then cook in the slow cooker overnight with salt pork and molasses. Homemade from start to finish, and they freeze nicely in individual portions.

Cabbage leaves rolled tight around a filling of ground beef, bacon, cheddar and rice, covered in tomato sauce. They bring back Grandma’s fall dinners. A cozy dish that freezes really well.

A braised beef stew with caramelized onions, white wine and beer, broiled with bread and cheese like a French onion soup. Comfort food at its most decadent, and it freezes in portions.

A creamy lasagna with ground veal and wild mushrooms, a Parmesan béchamel and a golden top. Make it the day before, the flavors deepen. Freezing is recommended, though the béchamel may separate slightly when thawed.

A chocolate yule log rolled in cocoa, with whipped cream flavored with Irish cream under a smooth ganache. Roll the cake on parchment dusted with cocoa, never a towel. It freezes: one less dessert to make at the last minute.