1. No-Fry Eggplant Parm

This eggplant parm not only happens to be the easiest version to freeze; it’s also a lighter, balanced variety, thanks to a lesson we learned from the family-owned trattoria La Tavernetta Vittozzi in Naples. The key: skip the breading! Using a more hands-off approach of roasting olive oil-brushed slices in the oven, we got a golden-brown, silky-textured eggplant—perfect for layering with a simple tomato sauce and fresh basil, plus plenty of cheese.

The tip:
Avoid freezer burn by adding cheese after defrosting. If not wrapped tightly, oxidization will give the cheese a grayish-brown tint and prevent it from getting really bubbly and golden.

To Freeze:

• Assemble all of the eggplant parm except for the final Parmesan topping
• Cover with foil, and freeze the assembled, unbaked dish.
• When you're ready for a taste of summer during the colder months, reheat it from its frozen state in a 350-degree oven for 60 minutes.
• Uncover, sprinkle on a generous heap of parm, and heat again at 425 degrees until it's bubbling and beautifully browned.

Get the recipe for No-Fry Neapolitan Eggplant Parmesan.

2. Spain’s Star Veggie Dish

For the true veggie lover with an abundant garden: Spanish Ratatouille, or pisto manchego. One of our readers’ Meatless Mondays favorites, this is essentially a load of summer veggies (zucchini, eggplant, bell peppers, and tomatoes) sautéed and seasoned with a fragrant mix of golden brown onions, garlic, cumin, and herbs. This is where veggies live up to their full potential: the perfect balance of vegetables, olive oil and cheese, with tomatoey juices perfect for sopping up with crusty bread.

The tips:
Core your zucchini to avoid sog! Zucchini are nature’s water balloons. Much of that water is stored in its interior.

Undercook your veggies. Undercooking before freezing reaps the later rewards of firmer texture and a burst of prime summer flavors.

To Freeze:

• When prepping zucchini, cut it lengthwise into quarters. Then cut lengthwise to remove the mushy strip of seeds
• Slightly undercook all the veggies, just after there’s a little browning
• Skip the cheese and fresh herbs during freezer prep. Add later, when it’s time to reheat.
• Assemble in a freezer-friendly container, cover with foil, and pop it into the freezer drawer.
• Reheat the veggies right on the stovetop

Get the recipe for Spanish Ratatouille (Pisto Manchego).

3. Mexican-Style Zucchini and Corn (Calabacitas)

“This piqued my interest as a way to use a glut of zucchini in our garden, and has quickly become one of our favorite recipes,” a reader writes. Mexican calabacitas is a summery fresh mountain of corn, zucchini, chilis, and cheese, which teases out lots of caramelization from veggies’ natural sugars—heightening and preserving the flavors of each ingredient. Serve as a side to meats, with eggs, burritos, and a variety of hefty Mexican-style mains.

The tip: Broiling at the end draws out the full, concentrated flavor of summer veggies.

To freeze:

• Prepare the recipe as instructed, but leave off the final herbs and cheese.
• Like with pisto manchego, core the zucchini before slicing to reduce water in the dish.
• Freeze the mixture in a zip-top plastic bag, laying it flat to save space and reduce the risk of freezer burn. Alternatively, freeze in a freezer-safe plastic or glass container.
• When you're ready to bring back a delicious taste of summer, reheat your frozen veggies under the broiler. For the perfect finish, serve it with the cheese and herbs you left off before.

Get the recipe for Mexican-Style Zucchini And Corn (Calabacitas).

4. Creamy, No-Cream Zucchini Soup

Take advantage of the fact that this creamy soup dairy-free, which means it freezes exceptionally well—it achieves a natural, vegetal silkiness from zucchini and pumpkin seeds. Based on a soup we tried in Zagreb, Croatia, called krem juha od tikvica sa bučinim košticama, we simmer and pureed zucchini with toasted pumpkin seeds. The richly-textured, bright green soup balances deep satisfaction and freshness, finished with brightening lemon zest and dill.

The tip:
For best results from frozen soups, opt for dairy-free recipes.

To freeze:

• Follow the instructions all the way through the blending step, but hold off on reheating and adding the dill or lemon zest.
• Allow the soup to cool, then ladle it into a zip-top plastic bag, laying it flat to save space and reduce the risk of freezer burn. Alternatively, store in a freezer-safe plastic or glass container.
• When the cold winter days call for a reminder of that sweet summer freshness, defrost your soup, reheat it in a saucepan, and add in the dill and lemon zest.
• Finally, round out the flavors with a dollop of crème fraîche and a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds.

Get the recipe for Creamy Zucchini and Pumpkin Seed Soup.

5. Hungary’s Silky Tangle of Peppers

Capture the intense flavor of summer tomatoes and peppers by freezing this rustic pepper stew at peak veggie freshness.

Drawing from robust Hungarian flavors, this is inspired by lecsó, served to us in Budapest by Zsófia Mautner. Our editorial director J.M. Hirsch described it as “a tangle of tender peppers, hunks of sausage, juicy tomatoes and lightly caramelized onions, all bathed in a sauce that builds itself—rich, piquant and vibrantly red.” Loads of paprika pull double-duty as a spice and a rich, full-bodied flavor base.

The tip:
To avoid waterlogged, defrosted tomatoes, barely cook tomatoes and limit water in initial cooking.

To freeze:

• During cooking, add only 3/4 cup of water (to reduce the amount of liquid in the dish)
• Just barely cook the tomatoes til softened but still firm, like a very al dente noodle.
• Allow the stew to cool, then ladle it into a zip-top plastic bag, laying it flat to save space and reduce the risk of freezer burn. Alternatively, store in a freezer-safe plastic or glass container.
• When you’re ready to enjoy a comforting bowl of Hungarian Pepper Stew, defrost it, add 3/4 cup of water, and reheat on the stove, uncovered. Uncovered cooking helps concentrate the flavors and reduce any wateriness from freezing.

Get the recipe for Hungarian Pepper Stew with Tomatoes and Sausage (Lesco).

6. Fresh Green Beans, Even in Winter

Outside of the summer months, supermarket green beans just aren’t worth eating—the good news is your freezer can help you preserve their summer freshness year-round.

Our go-to is fagiolini alla fiorentina: classic Italian green beans piled with a savory, herb and fennel-infused tomato sauce. Our version is designed to keep your green beans from losing their vibrant color, even when frozen in the summer and reheated to enjoy in the winter.

The tip:
Rather than using canned tomatoes for the sauce, toss in fresh tomatoes for an extra burst of summer flavor.

To freeze:

• Slightly undercook the green beans (for about 7 minutes instead of 10)
• Substitute canned for fresh tomatoes for the sauce
• Store away for winter

Get the recipe for Green Beans with Fennel-Tomato Sauce.

7. The Salad That Transforms Boiled Veggies

Steaming bowls of tender chickpeas and potatoes, doused with tangy sauces—the Afghani street food shor nakhod—taught us the key to giving steamed veggies rich flavor. Adding the sauce over the still-hot vegetables allows full flavor absorption—in this case, garlicky herbal puree, a blitz of garlic and vinegar, and a heap of fresh cilantro. We swap the potatoes for more textural cauliflower, which readily soaks up a cilantro-mint dressing. It makes a perfectly refreshing foil for a rich, meaty main or fatty fish.

And it’s possibly the easiest freezer drawer meal.

The tip:
Pick herbs at height potency, and don’t bother freezing cauliflower. Since cauliflower texture isn’t optimal after reheating, supermarket works just fine.

To freeze:

• Make the herb puree, add the chickpeas and freeze
• To reheat, thaw the salad and simmer on the stove.
• Cook the cauliflower and follow the remaining steps, stirring in the chickpeas and herb puree.
• Garnish with cilantro and mint to double down on fresh flavor.

Get the recipe for Cauliflower and Chickpea Salad with Cilantro-Mint Dressing.

8. Comforting, Savory Corn Chowder

This creamy, no-cream corn chowder is the perfect vehicle to preserve summer corn freshness—freeze now, thank yourself later. Inspired by a corn side dish in “The Gaijin Cookbook” by Ivan Orkin and Chris Ying, it gets velvety richness without dairy, thanks to a puree of corn and potatoes (albeit with butter for that perfect savoriness that pairs so well with corn). And rather than chicken broth or bacon, it gets loads of umami richness from white miso, making it hearty-yet-vegetarian-friendly.

The tip:
To save space, avoid freezer burn, and defrost more quickly, you can store soup in a zip-top plastic bag. If plastic is not your preference, use a freezer-safe glass container.

To Freeze:

• Prepare the chowder as directed, and allow it to cool.
• Ladle the cooled soup into a large zip-top bag, let out any extra air, and seal.
• For the best results, lay the bag flat in your freezer until you’re ready to enjoy it.
• Once winter rolls around, defrost the chowder by thawing it in the fridge or in a warm water bath, then gently reheat it in a large saucepan on the stove.

Get the recipe for Corn Chowder with Miso and Scallions.

9. Tomato Conserva

“There is a lot of magic in the kitchen, but this recipe is at the top of my list,” writes Chris Kimball of tomato conserva: tomatoes, cooked down and concentrated, make an all-purpose tomato spread for bruschetta, spaghetti, or a cheese plate. Not to mention, this potent preserve is freezer-friendly by nature, no modifications needed.

Ranging from sweet and jammy to savory and richly oily, we opted for the style that Hussein Hadid served to Chris in Beirut—slow cooked til it accumulated deeply concentrated, savory-sweet flavor and velvety texture. This recipe can pull high-impact flavor from even the humblest supermarket tomato.

The tip:
For smaller portioned flavor add-ins like conserva, enlist the ice cube tray. This recipe calls for grape or cherry tomatoes, but you can easily swap those out for whatever tastes best from your garden or farmer’s market; just be mindful that you may need to adjust the cooking time to accommodate the larger tomatoes.

To freeze:

• Prepare the conserva as instructed.
• Once cooled, portion it into ice cube trays or zip-top bags.
• Defrost and add it to any recipe that needs the pop of brightness that only summer produce can provide.

Get the recipe for Tomato Conserva.

10. Spicy Shrimp, Doused in Green

Poblanos and cilantro are at their very best in the summer; this vibrant green sauce utilizes freshness to the fullest. Inspired by the Mexican dish pescado en salsa poblano (fish in poblano sauce), shrimp is slathered in a poblano chili and cilantro puree, tempered and made silky-smooth with crema or sour cream.

The tips:
For better texture and freshness, don’t pre-cook full recipes including shrimp. Make the sauces separately and save the shrimp for dinnertime.

If a sauce includes dairy, hold off on adding til cooking.

To Freeze

• Put together the sauce, but leave out the shrimp and the crema until you’re ready to enjoy the full recipe.
• Freeze the sauce in zip-top bags or ice cube trays.
• When you’re ready to cook, defrost the sauce and blend it with crema to achieve the desired creamy texture.
• Proceed with the recipe, cooking the shrimp in the fresh and vibrant sauce.

Get the recipe for Shrimp in Poblano Chili and Cilantro Sauce.