Meal prep sounds like a no-brainer idea, until you’re struck with the thought of spending an entire day in a messy kitchen. If you want to become a master of the meal prep without the work, then you need to familiarize yourself with the art of the dump dinner. So without further ado, we’d like to introduce you to three throw-together chicken dinners that take less then five minutes to prep before they’re ready to fill your freezer.
Let’s face it, you know that meal prepping on a Sunday is a smart way to start your week. Taking the time to plan, prep and portion meals for the hectic weeknights ahead gives you a much-needed head start when dinner time rolls around. The idea is to muster up a few minutes of motivation to meal prep so you can be lazy the rest of the week. Trust us, future you will thank you.
But what do you do when you want to be a master meal prepper, but you’re struggling with that whole motivation thing? Allow us to introduce you to dump-and-go dinners. For those of you unfamiliar with the brilliance that is a dump dinner, the ingredients are placed in a freezer bag, stored in the freezer and dumped in the slow cooker when it’s time to cook.
The prep is easy. Gather the ingredients. Throw them in a resealable freezer bag and the prep part is done. So even if motivation is hard to come by, you can still master the meal prep.
Not sure where to start? Here are three chicken dump dinner ideas that require next-to-no effort and very few ingredients. Load up on chicken breasts, take 30 minutes out of the week and you can prep 15 meals to fill your freezer with. The best part? You don’t even need to thaw the chicken before throwing it into the slow cooker!
Each dump dinner idea will make five meals in five different freezer bags. You can make one of them or you can make all three of them and stock your freezer with 15 dinners. The photos show the ingredients for one bag.
Tex-Mex Chicken Dump Dinner
This Mexican chicken dump dinner is a breeze to throw together and each freezer bag will feed six to eight people. We served our chicken taco meat in Old El Paso™ soft tortilla taco bowls, but you can use any type of tortilla you’d like. You could also serve this chicken over a taco salad, on top of a pizza or with cilantro-lime rice.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 10 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 5 packets Old El Paso™ taco seasoning
- 5 packets ranch seasoning
- 5 14.5 ounce cans Muir Glen™ Fire-Roasted Diced Tomatoes
- 5 gallon-sized zip-top freezer bags
- Serves 6 - 8, depending on portion size
Here’s what you’ll do:
Step 1: Divide the ingredients between the five bags and just toss it all in. Move each bag around to mix the ingredients. Place the bags in the freezer until you’re ready to use.
Step 2: When you’re ready to make dinner, add the contents of one bag into the slow cooker, straight from the freezer. If the chicken is frozen, cook on low for eight hours. If you thaw the chicken first, cook on low for four hours.
Step 3: Shred with a fork and serve as desired.
Philly Chicken Dump Dinner
You’ve never had a Philly cheesesteak like this before! Instead of beef, we used all of the flavors of your favorite Philly with chicken.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 10 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 5 green bell peppers
- 5 red bell peppers
- 3 onions
- 3 tablespoons seasoned salt
- 5 gallon-sized zip-top freezer bags
Here’s what you’ll do:
Step 1: Slice up your peppers and onions into thin strips. You can also dice them if you’d prefer. Divide the ingredients evenly among the bags, making sure to mix them together. Seal the freezer bags and place into the freezer until you’re ready to cook.
Step 2: Dump the contents of one bag straight from the freezer directly to the slow cooker and cook on low for eight hours. If you thaw the mixture first, you'll want to cook on low for just four hours.
Step 3: Shred the meat with a couple of forks and serve on a hoagie roll.
Maple Dijon Chicken Dump Dinner
Last, but not least, is this Maple Dijon Chicken. You’ll need only three ingredients for this one!
Here’s what you need:
- 10 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 2/3 cup dijon mustard
- 1 1/4 cups maple syrup
- 5 gallon-sized zip-top freezer bags
Here’s what you’ll do:
Step 1: Split the ingredients between five bags making sure the liquid covers the chicken. Seal the bags and place them in the freezer.
Step 2: When you're ready to cook, just add the frozen mixture from one bag to the slow cooker and cook on low for eight hours. Otherwise, thaw the mixture and cook on low for four hours.
Step 3: Shred the meat and serve over rice or on a sandwich bun.