Food is a large way I show my love. It has grown unintentionally over time, but with every family dinner made, I hope my family feels a hug. Cheesy? Absolutely, but that’s how I roll. That extends into making meals for others, too. I love hosting and feeding people. And I love gifting food when it can be helpful. I have shared my favorite meals to bring to a new mom, but there are other times where gifting food makes sense and sometimes large, family-sized portions aren’t needed.

I have a family member who recently had surgery, and I wanted to send them some love in the form of homemade meals in a way that would also be easy and convenient during recovery.

Enter Souper Cubes.

You know my affection for this simple yet brilliant invention runs deep. They’re great for meal prepping, storing leftovers, and maximizing freezer space. It turns out they’re also pretty fantastic for gifting meals, too.

One thing I always think about when bringing someone food is how to make it genuinely helpful. Are a lot of people dropping off meals at the same time? How big of a portion do they actually need? How can I make the gift useful without creating extra work?

Disposable containers are a great option because nothing needs to be washed or returned. But I’ve discovered that Souper Cubes offer another really convenient solution!

In this case, I made the meals, froze them in 2 cup portions, then gifted the frozen cubes (popped out of the silicone molds and transferred to gallon Ziplocks) along with the Souper Cubes stoneware so they can heat and eat one serving whenever they need it without a giant casserole taking up half the refrigerator and no pressure to eat everything within a few days.

For this meal situation, I made a Chicken, Broccoli, and Rice Casserole and Shepherd’s Pie.

I fully baked the chicken casserole, then scooped it into the Souper Cube molds and froze it in individual portions.

For the Shepherd’s pie, I cooked the meat mixture and made the mashed potatoes, but instead of baking everything together first, I spooned the meat mixture into the cubes, topped each one with mashed potatoes, and froze them that way. They should bake together nicely when reheated.

Other Meals That Freeze Well in Individual Portions

I’ve done this before with spaghetti and meat sauce and lasagna roll ups (this recipe but made into roll-ups instead of shells) and now am brainstorming other meals that this might work well for. I can’t attest to the following but feel like they would all work pretty well in this kind of freeze and reheat set up:

• Lasagna or baked ziti
• Enchiladas
• Chili
• Soups and stews
• Taco meat or shredded chicken
• Breakfast casseroles
• Macaroni and cheese
• Pulled pork or shredded beef
• Curry and rice

I especially like this method for situations where someone might have a smaller appetite or when family members aren’t necessarily eating at the same time or if you’re making food for an individual or couple instead of a multi-person family. Instead of reheating a whole pan of food, they can grab exactly what they need.

How to Reheat Frozen Souper Cube Food

I wrote reheating instructions on the Ziplocks with the meals inside to make it easy to know how to reheat when ready.

For most casserole-style meals, the recommended method is transferring a frozen portion to the baking dish and letting it thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Then cover and bake at 350°F until hot throughout, usually around 25 to 35 minutes depending on the meal. Uncovering it for the final few minutes helps crisp up the top.

Buuuuut, let’s be honest. I feel like the more likely scenario is to heat from frozen, which is 100% possible but just takes a little longer, usually closer to 45 to 60 minutes. Because the timing will vary depending on the meal and portion, make sure the center is fully heated. You can use a meat thermometer; stick it in the center and make sure it reads 165 degrees or more.

Also, a tip that may or may not be obvious: once you freeze your food in the cubes, pop them out! I had a friend that kept buying more Souper Cubes because she didn’t realize you could store them in a Ziplock once frozen. Also, I absolutely love that 4 (2c) cubes fit so perfectly into a gallon Ziplock. It’s like it is meant to be.

For this delivery, I snuck over and loaded the cubes into the freezer and put the stoneware dishes on the counter with a little note and some fresh chocolate chip cookies, baked by K. Because cookies are always a good add on; recovery for the soul as well as the body 😉

I figured it was worth sharing because it’s been such a fun twist on gifting food to friends and family and also worked really well for stocking your own freezer before having a baby, a big life change, or just a busy basketball season 🙂

What’s your go-to meal to make for a friend or family member in need?