How To Portion Meals With A Vacuum Sealer
Portioning meals with a vacuum sealer is one of the easiest ways to organise your freezer, reduce food waste and make meal preparation easier. Instead of freezing a large container of food and having to defrost the whole lot, you can divide meals into individual, couple or family-sized portions before vacuum sealing them. It works particularly well for people who cook in bulk, prepare weekly meals, buy meat in larger quantities or simply want to make better use of leftovers.
The simple answer: Divide your food into the amount you would normally use for one meal, place each portion into an appropriately sized vacuum sealer bag, remove the air and seal the bag. Label it with the contents and date, then refrigerate or freeze it as appropriate.
For wet meals such as casseroles, curries, soups and pasta sauces, you may need to partially freeze the food before vacuum sealing or use a vacuum sealer specifically designed to handle liquids.
Why Portion Meals Before Vacuum Sealing?
The biggest advantage of portioning isn't simply storing food. It is having the right amount of food ready when you need it.
Imagine making a large batch of spaghetti bolognese. Instead of freezing the entire batch in one large container, divide it into six individual portions and vacuum seal each portion separately. When you need dinner for one person, simply take one packet from the freezer.
The same principle works with meat. If you buy eight steaks but normally cook for two people, make four packets containing two steaks each. When it is time for dinner, you can defrost exactly what you need instead of defrosting all eight steaks. This makes vacuum sealing particularly useful for meal preparation, bulk buying and reducing food waste.
Can You Vacuum Seal Individual Meal Portions?
Yes. Vacuum sealing individual meal portions is an excellent way to prepare and organise meals.
You can make portions for one person, two people or an entire family.
Individual vacuum sealed portions are particularly useful for:
- Work lunches
- Weekly meal preparation
- People living alone
- Couples
- Families eating at different times
- Camping and travelling
- Preparing meals for elderly family members
- Freezing leftovers
- Bulk meat purchases
You don't necessarily need to make every portion the same size. If one person normally eats a larger meal, prepare different sized portions and label them accordingly.
You can also vacuum seal different components of a meal separately. For example, you might vacuum seal cooked meat in one bag, vegetables in another and sauce separately. This gives you much more flexibility when deciding what to eat later.
How Do You Portion Food Before Vacuum Sealing?
Start by thinking about how much food you actually use for one meal. Don't automatically divide everything into equal amounts simply because you have cooked a large batch.
Decide whether you want:
- Single-person portions
- Two-person portions
- Family portions
- Lunch portions
- Ingredients for future meals
If you want very consistent servings, use kitchen scales. Place the empty vacuum bag on the scales, zero the weight and add the amount of food you want. For example, if you normally eat around 400 grams of a particular prepared meal, make each packet approximately 400 grams.
You don't have to weigh everything. When portioning meat, it may make more sense to package by the number of pieces. You might package two steaks, two chicken breasts, four sausages or four lamb chops per bag because that is what you normally cook.
Choose The Right Vacuum Sealer Bag Size
Matching the bag size to the portion is important. There is little point putting one steak into a huge vacuum bag. A smaller bag reduces wasted material and takes up less room in your freezer.
Our Food Vacuum Sealer Bags are available in a wide range of sizes. As a useful guide, our 15 cm x 25 cm bags are designed for approximately 200–300 grams and are ideal when packing for one person. The 20 cm x 30 cm bags hold approximately 500–600 grams and are useful when packaging for two. Larger 25 cm x 35 cm bags can accommodate around 1.4–1.5 kg and are useful when packing for a small family.
Another option is Food Vacuum Sealer Rolls. Rolls are particularly useful for meal portioning because you can make the bag as long or short as you require. This can reduce wasted bag material when you regularly package different-sized portions.
Keep The Bag Opening Clean
When filling your vacuum bags, keep food and moisture away from the opening. A useful trick is to fold the top few centimetres of the bag outwards before filling it. Add your food and then unfold the top. This helps keep the sealing area clean. Wipe away any moisture or food residue before putting the bag into your vacuum sealer. A good vacuum means very little if the final seal isn't airtight.
Can You Vacuum Seal Leftovers In Individual Portions?
Yes. Leftovers are one of the best foods to vacuum seal in individual portions.
It is also a great way to reduce household food waste. Rather than putting a large container of leftovers into the refrigerator and hoping somebody eats it, divide the food into portions while you are cleaning up after dinner. Suitable leftovers can then be refrigerated or frozen depending on when you plan to use them.
Foods you might portion include:
- Roast beef
- Cooked chicken
- Casseroles
- Curries
- Pasta dishes
- Bolognese
- Cooked vegetables
- Pulled pork
- Stews
- Cooked sausages
Always follow normal food-safety practices. Vacuum sealing does not sterilise food and doesn't replace proper refrigeration, freezing, cooking or safe handling.
How Do You Vacuum Seal Wet Meals?
Wet food is one of the more difficult things to handle with a conventional external vacuum sealer. As the machine removes air from the bag, liquid can be pulled towards the vacuum chamber and sealing area.
One method is to partially freeze the meal first. Place the filled bag in the freezer until the contents become firm enough that liquid won't easily be pulled towards the machine. You can then vacuum seal the bag.
If you regularly package soups, stews, curries, marinades or other liquid-rich meals, consider a machine designed for the job. The Preservac LiquidVac Food Vacuum Sealer is specifically designed for moist and liquid-rich foods. The LiquidVac has an extended vacuum chamber and liquid detection system. When used in its Liquid and Gentle settings, it can detect liquid entering the vacuum chamber and switch to sealing before the liquid travels further into the machine. It can also be used as a normal vacuum sealer for dry foods, meat and everyday meal portioning.
Can You Freeze Individually Vacuum Sealed Meals?
Yes. Freezing individually vacuum sealed meals is one of the most practical ways to use a vacuum sealer. Removing most of the air surrounding the food helps protect frozen food from exposure to air and can reduce freezer burn. It also makes your freezer much easier to organise. Instead of having numerous bulky containers taking up space, many vacuum sealed meals can be stored relatively flat.
Freeze Meals Flat
Before freezing foods such as mince, casseroles, curries and pasta sauces, gently spread the food through the bag so you create a relatively thin, flat package. Flat packets stack more efficiently and generally defrost faster than one thick block of food. Once frozen, you can stack them horizontally or arrange them vertically in a freezer drawer.
Label Every Meal
Always label the bag before putting it into the freezer.
Write down:
What it is + date + number of portions
For example:
Beef Casserole – 2 portions – 6/9/26
This becomes particularly useful once you have 20 or 30 vacuum sealed meals in your freezer.
What Foods Are Best For Meal Portioning?
A huge variety of foods can be portioned with a vacuum sealer.
Meat And Poultry
Meat is one of the most popular foods to portion. Steak, chops, sausages, mince, chicken breasts, roasts and other cuts can be divided according to how much your household normally cooks. If meat is your main reason for purchasing a vacuum sealer, read our Best Vacuum Sealer For Meat guide. The amount of meat you process is important when choosing a machine. Sealing ten bags after a supermarket shop is very different from processing 60 or 100 bags from a large bulk meat purchase.
Cooked Meals
Curries, casseroles, pasta sauces, pulled meats and many other prepared meals are excellent candidates for portioning. Just remember that meals containing a lot of liquid need to be handled appropriately.
Fish And Seafood
Fish can be divided into the number of fillets you normally cook for one meal. Instead of freezing a large catch together, divide it into meal-sized packets. This means you only need to defrost what you intend to eat.
Vegetables
Many vegetables can also be prepared in meal-sized quantities before freezing. Some vegetables should be blanched before freezing, so follow the appropriate preparation recommendations for the particular vegetable.
Cheese
Large blocks of cheese can be divided into smaller portions before vacuum sealing. Instead of continually opening and exposing the entire block, you can open one smaller portion at a time.
Baked Foods
Suitable bread, muffins and other baked products can also be divided into practical quantities. Be careful when vacuum sealing very soft foods because a strong vacuum can crush them. Pulse or manual vacuum control can be useful for delicate products.
Meal Prep With A Vacuum Sealer
A vacuum sealer can turn one big cooking day into weeks of convenient meals. You might spend Sunday preparing several dishes and then divide them into individual portions.
Your freezer could contain:
- 5 chicken meals
- 4 bolognese meals
- 4 curry meals
- 2 roast dinners
- 6 individual meat portions
- Several vegetable portions
Instead of wondering what to cook after work, choose a meal from the freezer. This can also make shopping easier because you can see exactly what meals you already have available.
Portioning Bulk Meat Purchases
Vacuum sealing becomes particularly valuable when buying meat in bulk. Buying a larger quantity can be economical, but only when you can store it properly and use it without unnecessary waste. Instead of freezing a whole bulk pack together, separate it immediately.
If you buy 20 steaks and normally cook two at a time, make ten packets of two steaks. If you buy 5 kg of mince and normally use 500 grams for dinner, make ten 500-gram packets. For more advice on matching the machine to the amount of meat you process, see our Best Vacuum Sealer For Meat guide.
How Much Food Should You Put In Each Vacuum Bag?
There is no perfect portion size. The best amount is simply the amount you are likely to use at one time.
If you cook for one, package for one. If you cook for two, package for two. If you normally cook for four, make family-sized portions. You can also make a combination of different sizes. The goal is that when you take a packet from the freezer, you can use everything inside without creating another batch of leftovers.
Choosing A Vacuum Sealer For Meal Portioning
You don't necessarily need the biggest vacuum sealer for everyday meal preparation. If you only package a relatively small number of bags at a time, a domestic machine may be perfectly adequate. If you regularly prepare large batches, buy meat in bulk or seal dozens of bags in one session, a more powerful professional machine may be a better investment. If a large proportion of your meals contain sauces, marinades or liquids, look closely at the LiquidVac or a chamber vacuum sealer. You can browse our full range at Food Vacuum Sealers Australia.
Make Meal Portioning Easier
Vacuum sealing isn't just about making food last longer. It is about making your food easier to manage. By dividing food into practical meal-sized portions, you can reduce waste, organise your freezer, make bulk buying easier and have meals ready when you need them.
Start with the foods your household uses most often. Divide them into realistic portions, choose the correct bag size, label everything clearly and freeze suitable meals flat. Once you get into the habit, you may find yourself asking a different question when you cook:
How many meals can I make from this?
At Food Vacuum Sealers Australia, we specialise in vacuum sealers, bags and rolls for everything from everyday household meal preparation to bulk meat processing, fishing and home butchering.
If you are unsure which vacuum sealer suits your meal preparation, consider how many bags you normally seal in one session, what size portions you make and whether you regularly package liquids. Choosing a machine for the work you actually intend to do is far more important than simply buying the cheapest or most powerful vacuum sealer.