Frozen food recipes
Whether we’re looking for a mid-day bite to tide us over till dinner time or a midnight snack to curb those cravings, frozen food has always been there for us. Just pop them into the oven and microwave and you’re good to go.
But plain ol’ popcorn chicken and frozen prata can get boring fast. To zhng up your favourite snacks, here are 7 easy frozen food recipes from mini sausage puffs to pound cake french toast to try:
To level-up your cooking skills:
1. Spicy Korean popcorn chicken
Image credit: Kitchen Sanctuary
For a sticky, spicy and all-round addictive side or snack, this spicy Korean popcorn chicken ticks all the boxes. Using frozen popcorn chicken saves you time from figuring out the right proportions for making crispy fried chicken. Plus, they’re boneless and bite-sized so there’s not much more you can ask for.
Time taken: 10-15 minutes
Serves: 2
Ingredients:
- 3 garlic cloves (minced)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1-2 tablespoons gochujang (depending on the spice level you want)
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 3 cups frozen popcorn chicken
- Optional garnishes: chopped spring onions, sesame seeds
Steps:
- Cook popcorn chicken according to package instructions and set aside.
- Fry the minced garlic in butter over medium heat in a pan for 2 minutes then add the gochujang and honey.
- Lower the heat and stir to combine the sauce well.
- Add the cooked popcorn chicken to the sauce and toss to coat for 1 minute.
- Garnish with spring onions and sesame seeds if you feel fancy.
2. Mini sausage puffs
Image credit: Lorraine Pascale
For an easy, lazy puff pastry hack, use frozen prata. It’s more forgiving than trying to make your own, plus it’s cheaper and less fussy than frozen puff pastry. You can make these mini sausage puffs in an oven for larger batches or even an airfryer if you’re making this for 1.
For a sweet alternative: replace the sausage with berries or chocolate.
Time taken: 10-15 minutes
Serves: 2
Ingredients:
- 2 pieces of frozen prata
- 8 cheesy cocktail sausages
- 1 egg (whisked)
Steps:
- Thaw frozen prata for 1-2 minutes until slightly defrosted.
- Preheat oven or pre-set airfryer to 180°C.
- Cut the prata into 4 quarters.
- Place 1 cocktail sausage on the thinner end of one of the quarters and roll. Once you reach the edge, egg wash the seams and seal. Repeat for the remaining puffs.
- Place the sausage puffs seam-side down onto a parchment-lined baking tray or directly into the airfryer.
- Use a brush to egg wash the puffs and bake/air fry for 10-15 minutes until the prata is puffy and golden brown.
3. Cinnamon sugar twists
Image credit: Savory Spice
Reminiscent of churros, these sweet and crunchy cinnamon sugar twists are perfect warm with a scoop of cold ice cream or dipped in melted dark chocolate. This is a fuss-free dessert that will impress both kids and adults.
Time taken: 15-20 minutes
Serves: 2
Ingredients:
- 2 pieces of frozen prata
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon + 1/2 cup sugar (combined)
- 4 tablespoons melted butter
Steps:
- Thaw frozen prata for 1-2 minutes until slightly defrosted.
- Preheat oven to 180°C.
- Using a brush, coat the tops of the prata with melted butter and sprinkle with the cinnamon-sugar mixture until completely covered.
- Cut the prata into roughly 1.5CM thick strips.
- Taking a strip of prata, hold at the two ends and twist in opposite directions several times.
- Place the completed twists onto a parchment-lined baking tray and brush on some more melted butter and sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon-sugar mixture.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes until the twists are golden brown.
4. Bacon-wrapped cheesy tater tots
Image credit: The Cookie Rookie
Essentially mini hash browns wrapped in bacon and cheese – you can’t go wrong with this recipe. Don’t skip the brown sugar on these bacon-wrapped cheesy tater tots, it’ll help caramelise the bacon and take this to the next level.
Time taken: 25-30 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
- 16 tater tots
- 8 slices streaky bacon (cut in half)
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 200°C.
- Lay half a slice of bacon down and sprinkle with enough cheddar cheese that it will not spill out when wrapping the tater tot.
- Place a tater tot at one end of the bacon and roll to wrap. Secure the bacon with a toothpick through the tater tot. Repeat for the other tater tots.
- In a bowl with the brown sugar, roll the tater tots in the sugar and shake off any excess before placing them on a parchment-lined baking tray.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes, until the bacon is browned and crispy.
5. Chocolate & banana dessert pizza
Image credit: New Idea Food
This chocolate and banana dessert pizza is easily customised to your liking. If you don’t like bananas, switch it for berries and instead of nuts, use granola or even crushed up pretzels. You can also get kids involved and let them create their own pizzas for a fun home activity using frozen food recipes.
Time taken: 15 minutes
Serves: 2
Ingredients:
- 1 frozen pizza base
- 2 medium bananas (sliced thinly)
- 1/2 cup Nutella or melted chocolate of your choice
- Optional toppings: 1/2 cup sliced almonds/granola/crushed pretzels
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 240°C.
- Melt chocolate or warm Nutella in 30-second intervals in the microwave.
- Place the pizza base on a parchment-lined baking tray.
- Spread melted chocolate/Nutella on the base and top with banana slices plus other toppings of your choice.
- Bake the pizza for 10 minutes until golden brown and crisp.
6. S’mores pound cake
Image credit: Taste of Home
Instead of using dry graham crackers, try switching them out for slices of buttery cake to make these indulgent pound cake s’mores. If two slices of cake is a bit too much, just have it like an open-faced sandwich with the marshmallows and chocolate on top.
Time taken: 10 minutes
Serves: 14 (or however many slices you’d like)
Ingredients:
- 1 package of Sara Lee pound cake (sliced into 14 pieces)
- 2 cups mini marshmallows
- 1 bar of your favourite chocolate (chopped) or 2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate chips
Steps:
- Preheat oven to 200°C.
- Place the pound cake slices in one layer on a parchment-lined baking tray.
- Sprinkle marshmallows and chocolate over the top of the pound cakes. Bake for 8-10 minutes until the marshmallows are browned and chocolate has melted.
7. Pound cake french toast
Image credit: Taste of the South
The beautiful thing about french toast is that not only can you have it for breakfast, you can also have it for dessert. Enjoy this pound cake french toast with berry compote and ice cream for a sweet treat, or with a side of crispy bacon and maple syrup for a savoury-sweet combo.
You can even try this recipe with chocolate, lemon or blueberry pound cakes to mix things up.
Time taken: 20-25 minutes
Serves: 5 (based on 2 slices each)
Ingredients:
- 1 package of Sara Lee pound cake (sliced into 10 pieces)
- 3 eggs (beaten)
- 1 cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- Butter for frying
- Optional toppings: Bacon, maple syrup, berry compote, ice cream
Steps:
- Mix eggs, milk, vanilla extract, salt and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a frying pan over medium heat.
- Dunk 2 slices of pound cake in the egg mixture at one time, leaving it in for at least 45 seconds.
- Cook the pound cake on the pan for around 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown.
- Set aside and repeat steps until all the french toast is made.
- Serve warm with your toppings of choice.
Recipe hacks using frozen food
These under 30-minute frozen food recipes are not only simple but delicious and addictive enough to fool your family into thinking you were slaving away in the kitchen.
For more recipes to try out:
- Easy one-pot recipes for minimal clean-up
- Dessert recipes using traditional drinks
- Simple meal prep recipes under 30 minutes
Cover image adapted from (clockwise from top-left): Kitchen Sanctuary, Lorraine Pascale, Taste of Home, Applegate