The Dump-Bag Planner

Choose the freezer dump bags you want to make. The planner adds up the groceries into one shopping list, sorted by the part of the store you'll find them in, and prints a label for every bag.

Your bags

• Salsa Chicken keeps 3 months for best quality; safe indefinitely at 0°F; cooks low 5 to 7 hours, or high 3 to 4 hours −+
• Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs keeps 3 months for best quality; safe indefinitely at 0°F; cooks low 4 to 6 hours, or high 2 to 3 hours −+
• Chicken Tortilla Soup keeps 2 months for best quality; safe indefinitely at 0°F; cooks low 3 to 5 hours, or high 1½ to 2½ hours −+
• White Chicken Chili keeps 2 months for best quality; safe indefinitely at 0°F; cooks low 3 to 5 hours, or high 1½ to 2½ hours −+
• Teriyaki Chicken keeps 3 months for best quality; safe indefinitely at 0°F; cooks low 4 to 6 hours, or high 2 to 3 hours −+
• Buffalo Chicken keeps 3 months for best quality; safe indefinitely at 0°F; cooks low 3 to 5 hours, or high 1½ to 2½ hours −+
• Chicken Fajita Filling keeps 3 months for best quality; safe indefinitely at 0°F; cooks low 3 to 5 hours, or high 1½ to 2½ hours −+
• Pepperoncini Pot Roast keeps 3 months for best quality; safe indefinitely at 0°F; cooks low 8 to 10 hours, or high 4 to 5 hours −+
• Beef Stew keeps 2 months for best quality; safe indefinitely at 0°F; cooks low 8 to 10 hours, or high 4 to 5 hours −+
• Italian Beef keeps 3 months for best quality; safe indefinitely at 0°F; cooks low 8 to 10 hours, or high 4 to 5 hours −+
• Beef and Broccoli keeps 3 months for best quality; safe indefinitely at 0°F; cooks low 4 to 6 hours, or high 2 to 3 hours −+
• Beef and Bean Chili keeps 2 months for best quality; safe indefinitely at 0°F; cooks low 6 to 8 hours, or high 3 to 4 hours −+
• Taco Soup keeps 2 months for best quality; safe indefinitely at 0°F; cooks low 6 to 8 hours, or high 3 to 4 hours −+
• Sloppy Joes keeps 2 months for best quality; safe indefinitely at 0°F; cooks low 4 to 6 hours, or high 2 to 3 hours −+
• Pulled Pork keeps 3 months for best quality; safe indefinitely at 0°F; cooks low 8 to 10 hours, or high 4 to 5 hours −+
• Carnitas keeps 3 months for best quality; safe indefinitely at 0°F; cooks low 8 to 10 hours, or high 4 to 5 hours −+
• Hawaiian Pork with Pineapple keeps 3 months for best quality; safe indefinitely at 0°F; cooks low 8 to 10 hours, or high 4 to 5 hours −+

Print the shopping list Print the filling sheet Print the bag labels Clear my choices

How to use it

1. Pick your bags. Set the number of bags next to each recipe you want to make. Two bags of the same recipe means twice the groceries and two labels.
2. Print the shopping list. It comes in two parts. The first part is what goes in the bags, so you buy it before filling day. The second part is what you add on cooking day, like sour cream or cheese, which keeps better if you buy it the week you cook.
3. Print the filling sheet and keep it on the counter while you work. It lists what goes into each bag, bag by bag.
4. Print the labels. Each label has the recipe name, a line to write the date you froze it, how long it keeps, and the directions for thawing and cooking. Cut them apart and tape one to each bag, or slip it into a clear sleeve on top of the bag.

Before you start

Use heavy freezer bags (gallon size for most recipes, 2-gallon for the big soups, chilis and stew), squeeze out as much air as you can, and freeze the bags flat on a baking sheet so they stack like books once frozen. Write the date on the label the day you freeze the bag.

Always thaw a bag in the refrigerator before cooking it. Allow about 24 hours for every 5 pounds: a day for most bags, and up to two days for the big soup, chili and stew bags. Each label says how long. Don't put a frozen bag straight into the slow cooker. A slow cooker heats gently, and frozen meat would spend too long at temperatures where bacteria grow. The slow cooker safety guide explains why, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's rules, and How to Make Freezer Dump Bags walks through a whole filling afternoon.

What the planner keeps

Your choices are saved only in this browser on this computer, so they're still here if you close the page and come back. They are never sent to us or to anyone else. To start over, use the Clear my choices button.

The quantities come straight from the recipes. When two recipes call for the same thing in the same measure, like yellow onions or a can of diced tomatoes, the planner adds them together. When they use different measures, like a cup of chopped onion and one whole onion, it lists both, so check those lines before you shop.