When the days begin to grow shorter and colder, it’s time to start whipping up flavourful comfort food recipes that will keep you warm all season long. Forget stew and pâté: here are a few meal and snack ideas to batch cook and freeze as soon as the leaves start turning and until that winter snow has finally melted. Get the most out of the time you spend in your kitchen while you chase those grey days away! 

1. Quiche

For this 100% fall and winter dish, you’ll generally need very few ingredients: pie crust, eggs, some veggies, some cheese, and you’re good to go! Cook a few at a time halfway and store them in the freezer. Busy night? No problem and no thawing—throw one of your homemade frozen quiches into the oven and get to tasting faster. Keep your eye on Prix Club items like the 24-pack of eggs to save big. One more reason quiches are so popular with parents: kids love them, even though they’re packed with veggies! Serving your kids quiche is a really tasty way to get them into healthy foods like cauliflower, tomatoes, mushrooms, green onions, and more. Families can’t get enough of this ham and broccoli quiche.  

Psst! If you’re looking for other tips to get your kids to eat more vegetable, read this.

Crust: store bought or homemade?

Here, you can read about how to make your very own homemade dough and turn it into quiche crust. If that’s not your thing, there are lots of store-bought options to choose from, too: try Compliments for the best value for your money.

Local cheese, local quiche

Cheddar, Swiss, Gruyère, oh my! Cheese can transform your quiche into a meal with tons of flavour and a fabulous golden-brown presentation. Try using local cheeses (and seasonal vegetables) for your sustainable table. 

2. Muffins

At breakfast, on the playground, or even as a dessert, muffins are nothing short of a blessing: picky eaters rarely say no to muffins and they come in a thousand and one flavours that spark joy. Make them with wholewheat flour, rice flour (for gluten sensitivities), oats, or iron fortified baby cereals to pack in lots of nutrition with little added sugar—except for those occasional chocolate chips on top!

For extra protein and fibre, add nuts and seeds (flaxseed, sunflower seed, pumpkin seed, and so on). Fruit is an obvious way to bring on the vitamins and natural sweetness. Think banana, strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, apple(sauce), squash, date, and of course, carrot muffins. The options are pretty much endless, so go for a fruit or vegetable that’s on sale!

Lastly, since muffins freeze quite well, try batch cooking them so they last as long as possible! 

3. Soups

Carrots, beets, broccoli, cauliflower, pumpkins, squashes, leeks, tomatoes, peppers, parsnips…there are so many vegetables (and fruits) that you can turn into deliciously creamy (or not) soup that works as the perfect starter or favourite sandwich side. If you’re one of those people who likes a good deal, purchase your favourite fruits and veggies at harvest time, turn them into soups, pre-portion them, and keep them for months in the freezer. Enjoy the dual satisfaction of supporting local growers and eating the freshest produce possible. 

Use that ugly produce!

Soups are the perfect vehicle for making something out of the less lovely-looking produce in your fridge, as well as the ugly or imperfect items you’ll find at the supermarket. You’ll also be a food waste hero.

First, brown an onion or some garlic in a splash of olive oil. Deglaze with chicken stock and add your favourite roughly chopped veggies (including a peeled potato), or some rice for texture. Simmer until vegetables become tender and let cool about 15 minutes before putting everything in the blender. Don’t overfill, however, and keep the lid on tight while blending to avoid yucky spills.  

Soup meals and next-day lunches

Soup-wise: tomato paste, chicken stock, onions, diced veggies, legumes (think beans and lentils), and/or leftover chicken/roast beef can make an irresistible and balanced medley for your main event. Want your kids to love it even more? Add alphabet pasta! If everyone approved at dinner, slip some of the soup into their lunchbox for the next day!  

Click here for more balanced lunch ideas. 

4. Canning vegetables

Come September and October, you can buy seasonal vegetables in bulk for less and use them as-is or to create condiments such as ketchup, chutney, and relish, etc. Canned tomatoes, for instance, can help you cook super quick dinners later on—marinara, rosé, veggie, legume, and meat sauces come to mind.

To learn more about safe canning, read this article.  

5. Fresh summer fruit all autumn long

In summer and early fall, Quebec and Ontario are bursting at the seams with fruits and vegetables that you can enjoy all year long—if you freeze them. Arrange hulled strawberries, whole raspberries and blueberries, as well as peach, nectarine, and apple slices (after you’ve sprayed them with lemon juice to prevent darkening) on baking sheets and pop them in the freezer. After a few hours, all your fruit will be ready to store in bags or freezerware without everything clumping together. Use the frozen fruit in your smoothies, desserts, yogurt, and muffins!

So don’t wait another minute: keep your eyes on the harvest and jump on those supermarket specials!  

Psst! To learn more about freezing and thawing all kinds of foods without detracting from flavour or texture, as well as how to cook frozen foods, check out this comprehensive report.