I am passionate about freezable foods because they are such a simple way to save time and money in the kitchen (2 things I like to save!)
Over the last 13+ years, I have diligently kept our deep freezer stocked with full meals and TONS of pre-cooked, pre-portioned ingredients like shredded chicken, ground beef, ground sausage, roasted veggies, refried beans, cooked beans and lentils, fruits, veggies, cheese, baked goods, and so much more.
While I don’t claim to be a “Freezable Foods Expert”, I have frozen more than my share of foods over the last decade — I’ve even taught classes on freezing, drying, and canning.
So with that said…
Here’s my LONG list of freezable foods.
1. Freezable Baked Goods:
I’ve been known for baking huge batches of sweets in one day and then freezing them for our enjoyment over the next few months.
This saves me tons of time — we LOVE our sweets!
Brownies & Cookies: Yup, I do it all the time. Just put them in resealable bags or storage containers with tight-fitting lids and they’ll last as long as you can resist them!
Cookie Dough Balls: For fresh-from-the-oven cookies any time, I freeze balls of cookie dough and store them in zip-top bags. I can simply pull out as many as I need and bake them fresh in an instant!
Yeast Breads, Buns, and Rolls: Just double-bag them to prevent freezer burn and they should be fine for several months. Even my delicious 100% whole grain breads freeze exceptionally well!
Tortillas: I’ve been making my own tortillas lately, but even before I did this, I always froze store-bought tortillas too.
Quick Breads and Muffins: These are one of my most favorite baked goods to freeze because they defrost so well. I often have several mini loaves of quick bread in the freezer to give as gifts throughout the year.
Cupcakes & Cake: Yes, I’ve frozen cupcakes and even full cakes! You can frost cakes before or after freezing them, but if you use store-bought frosting, you’ll want to wait to frost them until after they defrost…trust me, I know!
Granola: We love homemade granola but if I’m going to make it, I only make a huge batch….and then freeze it in mason jars or zip-top bags.
Pies: I don’t usually freeze pies, but if you do, just make sure to freeze them BEFORE you bake them.
2. Freezable Baking Supplies:
I freeze many of my baking supplies in their original bags, tucked inside shoeboxes in our freezer!
Shoe boxes stack well and allow for ventilation, plus they keep these smaller bags of chocolate chips, nuts, candies, etc. from tipping over or getting lost in the back of the freezer for who knows how long (can anyone relate?)
Chocolate: I store all my baking chocolates in the freezer because I think they keep for much longer this way and taste “fresher”. Plus it frees up more space in my cabinets.
Nuts and Seeds: I store all our nuts and seeds in the freezer to keep their oils from going rancid. I first heard this tip from Rachel Ray and it seems to work — so it must be true!
Flour and Sugar: While it’s not necessary, I often freeze my flour and sugar — especially in the summer when our house is more humid.
Baking Soda: I often keep a container of baking soda in the freezer (opened) — not because it stays fresher, but to absorb any potential odors in our freezer!
3. Freezable Dairy:
I save SO much money by purchasing dairy products in bulk and freezing them.
From my experience, most dairy products should keep for at least 6 months.
Butter: No trick here, just stick the whole package in the freezer and remove when you’re ready to use.
Block Cheese: I freeze cheese ALL the time, just remember to slice and shred it before you freeze it, otherwise it will crumble.
Shredded Cheese: this is SO easy — just throw the bags in the freezer (lay flat for easier storage) and pull out whenever you need more cheese.
Feta Cheese: I made this discovery 2 years ago when I purchased a massive amount of feta cheese from Costco due to a crazy good deal. I simply divided it up into quart-size zip-top bags and froze it flat
Cream Cheese: Believe it or not, you can freeze cream cheese. It might be a bit “lumpy” after it defrosts but it still tastes the same.
Milk and Buttermilk: I usually do not have the need to freeze our milk, but I do it whenever we go on vacation. Just remember to pour about 1 cup of milk out before freezing.
Yogurt: Freeze yogurt for delicious smoothies. I let it defrost a bit before eating so it’s really creamy.
Cottage Cheese: Sometimes the texture is a little runnier after defrosting, but otherwise, the taste is just fine.
4. Freezable Fruits:
Before freezing fruit, make sure it is washed, dried, and divided up into smaller portions. This will make it easy to quickly grab what you need without defrosting the entire batch.
Fruits should keep for up to a year if properly sealed.
All Fruits: You can pretty much freeze any fruit you plan to use in smoothies because it will get mashed up anyway. However, don’t plan on freezing fruit simply for eating — it will be really soggy.
Berries: I freeze all kinds of berries for pancakes and smoothies. I also keep 2-cup containers of crushed berries to use for making jam, ice-cream toppings, or for berry shortcake.
Bananas: I put whole, unpeeled bananas in the freezer any time they start to get too brown to eat “fresh”. Then whenever a recipe calls for bananas, I just grab that number of bananas, defrost them overnight (usually on a plate as they get sort of soggy), and bake the next day. I do also freeze peeled bananas for smoothies.
Grapes and Blueberries: Frozen grapes and blueberries are an excellent summer snack. Our kids LOVE them!
Cherries: We’ve really enjoyed frozen cherries these past few years — I pit them, half them, and flash-freeze them every summer, and then we eat them all year long in our oatmeal, in yogurt, or in smoothies. SO delicious!
Avocados: I peel and seed avocados and freeze them in zip-top bags to make guacamole at a later time — this is perfect if I find a great deal on avocados but know we won’t be able to eat them all before they are too ripe.
Jams and Jellies: I usually can my jam, but my mom and mother-in-law always freeze it. Freezing jam is quicker and easier… if you have the freezer space, here are 20 delicious freezer jam recipes to get you started!
5. Freezable Herbs & Vegetables:
Herbs: I freeze fresh herbs in ice-cube trays filled with water to use for soups, stews, and casseroles later in the year. Here’s a free Herb Reference Sheet that explains how you can use and preserve different herbs.
All Veggies: To save some time — here is a link to my Vegetable Freezing Worksheet. It’s a list of 20 different vegetables and how to freeze them … and you can print it for free!
Roasted Veggies: Lately, I’ve been freezing roasted vegetables and then reheating them in my cast iron pans. They are absolutely DELICIOUS and a huge time (and mess) saver because I can roast huge amounts of vegetables at one time!
Spinach and Kale: If I’m ever worried that my spinach or kale is starting to get a little wilted, I immediately shove handfuls of it into quart-size zip-top bags and freeze it. Once frozen, just smash the bags with your hands a bit and it will pulverize the leaves into tiny bits — perfect for adding to soups, smoothies, casseroles, and so much more!
6. Freezable Protein:
Meat: Meat is, by far, the most money-saving, time-saving food I freeze. I stock up when it’s on sale, and freeze many MANY pounds of meat each year (especially now that Dave’s parents gift us with a quarter of a cow every other year)!
All meat freezes well — raw meat, cooked meat, deli meat, ground meat, shredded meat, “whole” meat, etc. I once had a whole turkey in the freezer for about 18 months and it was absolutely delicious when we cooked it!
NOTE: Here’s my post about Safely Freezing, Defrosting, and Re-Freezing Meat.
Beans: I freeze almost any type of cooked bean with fantastic results — black, navy, pinto, refried, etc. etc. This is especially handy since beans take a LONG time to soak and cook.
Lentils: I cook full bags of lentils at one time and then portion them out for the freezer. I then use lentils to “bulk up” many of our soups, stews, and casseroles — saving me money on more expensive meats.
7. Freezable Meals:
I’m always making double or triple batches of our favorite foods to store in the freezer.
I often freeze these meals in disposable tinfoil pans so I have the option to give them as food gifts for various people in my life.
Other times, I save them for busy days when we’ll be gone most of the afternoon or if Dave needs to get supper going for whatever reason. I can simply defrost one meal in the morning, and it’s usually ready to go in the oven by mid-afternoon.
Here’s a list of 10 of our family’s favorite freezer meals.
The vast majority of the recipes in My Recipe Box are very freezer-friendly!
Broths: I’ve been making my own bone broth for the past couple of years, and after it’s finished cooking, I divide it up into 2 cup portions and freeze for making soups, stews, and casseroles later on!
Soups and Stews: Speaking of soups and stews, they freeze AMAZINGLY well too! The only soup our family doesn’t love frozen is my cheesy mashed potato soup. Here are some of my favorite soup recipes that DO freeze well.
Casseroles: I’ve frozen everything from lasagna and fajitas, to enchiladas, chicken dishes, and more! Just make sure all the ingredients are fully cooked before you freeze it. When you’re ready to eat it, just defrost and bake as normal.
Pasta Sauce: We usually never go through an entire batch of pasta sauce in one meal so I just pop the leftovers in the freezer for the next time we eat pasta.
Sandwiches: We’ve had great luck freezing sandwiches ahead of time (meat and cheese or PB&J’s). This makes for REALLY quick lunch packing!
I’m sure there are so many other foods I could eventually add to this list, but these are the ones I have personally tried with much success.
Whenever anyone asks me about freezing a certain food, my advice is ALWAYS, “just give it a try and you’ll know for sure” — so that’s my advice for you too!
Just give it a try! What’s the worst that could happen?
Want more Freezable Foods posts, tips, and information?
Here are ALL my freezable foods posts over the history of my blog.
Here’s a post I wrote specifically to address many of the freezable foods questions I’ve gotten over the years
Click here for access to EVERY recipe I’ve ever published (most of which are freezable foods).
Our simple method to defrost our deep freezer.
What are your favorite freezable foods?
I’m always looking for more foods to freeze, so if you know of any foods I missed, please share your suggestions in the comments below!
Debbie says
This is really eye opening! There’s some things here that I never thought of trying to freeze. I’ll have to freeze some roasted veggies, but my question is does is it taste good if reheated in the microwave instead of the cast iron pan? Most of the time I use them to pack my lunch. Freezing spinach, that’s going to save me time and money. I end up throwing them out once they get too soggy and smelly in the fridge. I cringe whenever I have to throw it out but I can’t think of eating any of it at that state. My hubs and I are going to do a 1 week challenge of eating plant based meals. Cooking legumes ahead and freezing them will be very helpful.
Andrea says
Legumes freeze SO well — that will be helpful for your plant-based eating challenge (sounds like fun!)
As for the frozen roasted veggies — I’ve honestly never tried them in the microwave, but I doubt they’d be as tasty as in the cast iron (it puts a nice crispiness on the outside).
Just try freezing a small portion and reheating it again — doesn’t hurt to try!
Candis says
Holy cow 464 comment! Andrea I am a longtime reader (8+ years) of your blog and rarely do I comment, but I always skim through the comments for other great ideas. I am so happy to see so much traffic coming to “our” blog. I know it’s your blog but I said “our” because I feel like I find comfort and guidance here. I often just come over to your blog and read a few posts when I am feeling overwhelmed, and you always remind me I can do a little more and thing will get better if I put in the work. I probably should post this under the “Thank You” post, but thank you! And I hope all our new friends find the same comfort I have gotten from “our” blog.
Candis
Andrea says
yes, this is one of the most popular posts on my blog — but it’s an updated version of a post I shared back in 2011, so it’s had many years to accumulate more comments 🙂
Rebecca M Tabb says
Amazing! Can’t wait to try some of these ideas. Need to utilize my (empty) deep freezer. One of our kids accidentally turned our freezer off and we lots POUNDS AND POUNDS of a cow we split with our family. Sad day.
Andrea says
oh my word — I would have cried (you probably did too!)
that is so sad to lose all that good meat 🙁
Chris says
If you have a piece of onion, or a couple of stalks of celery getting a bit wiggly, the last few carrots, etc. keep a bag in the freezer and add to it. When you have a chicken or turkey carcas left, dump all those bits and bobs of veggies in. You can strain out the veggies and you have great flavored broth. Or, you can use those frozen veggies in a soup or stew. The key is to catch them before they go bad and add to that freezer bag. Just freeze them so they aren’t wasted!!
Sarah says
My friend makes apple pies when apples are in season and she bakes them, cools them and then puts them in the freezer whole, fully baked! When she wants to eat them, she defrosts them in the fridge and then bakes until the filling is bubbly.
Andrea says
YUM!
I’ve honestly never frozen a fully baked pie, but I have frozen UNbaked pies with much success!
Leslie says
Andrea, freezing roasted veggies for later use is smart. I’m the one who really enjoys them. This could save a lot of time. What’s your method of freezing and defrosting?
Andrea says
yes, it’s awesome!
I just roast the veggies on a large sheet pan, cool it at room temperature, and then “flash freeze” it for 30 minutes or so. Then I “break up” the chunks of frozen veggies and put them in zip-top bags. They last for a long time and it significantly cuts down on prep work for me!
Dawn says
How do you prevent freezer burn? I have issues with it.
Andrea says
In general, I think deep freezers do a better job of preventing freezer burn (if you get a manual defrost freezer, that is). We also regularly go through our freezer stack, so I truly don’t have any issues with freezer burn. However, you could try to double-bag foods you are concerned about.
Christina says
Is that the the “half cow” in the picture??? That’s a lot of meat! Can I ask the name of where you get it? I might be interested in asking for it for our Christmas gift. Any idea if you can get a quarter?! I have only two regular size freezers.
Andrea says
Hi Christina,
We only get a quarter of a cow — and it’s a TON of meat!
It completely fills our deep freezer — to the point that we actually had to buy another deep freezer for our normal foods. You would not be able to fit a quart of a cow in 2 normal freezers.
Christina says
Ha! Thanks for the info! I love the idea, but in this season in life that IS a bit of overkill. I appreciate you letting me know.
Andrea says
It is nice to have all the meat on hand, but potentially not worth it if you need to buy another freezer to store it! 🙂
sandra says
I made a sauce with soya sauce in it and it wont freeze in the freezer, is it stiff safe to heat and eat?
thank you,
sandra
Margaret says
Can you freeze melted butter
Shelley says
Thanks for sharing all you do – a lot of work. Just curious, on the Vegetable Freezing Chart there are a couple items, like onions and peppers, that say you don’t have to blanch them but it still gives a time period for blanching/cooling. Am I missing something?
Thanks again!
Andrea says
professionals would say you should blanch all veggies before freezing — but my own opinion (from lots of personal experience) says you don’t have to 🙂
Lyn Cherryman says
Any Idea if you can freeze pickles like pickled ginger ?
marilyn says
I received a big can of can vegeys and a big can of chili beans can I put into a freezer bag and freeze them, there are only two of use and couldn’t eat it all at one time
Andrea says
yup… freeze away!
Monica says
I recently bought a Foodsaver and LOVE it!!!!! I want to freeze EVERYTHING now
LAURAG says
I freeze eggs. i crack them into my silicone cupcake forms. Then freeze. The silicone makes it easier to remove them and then I pop them in a freezer. Then I use them as for baking or scrambled eggs and quiches.
Vicki Rushing says
Can you freeze cream cheese. How long does it keep in refrigerator?
Andrea says
yes, but it’s often a bit “clumpy” when you defrost it
Michele says
Whole lemons freeze beautifully. Thaw one out and it juices easily and you can still zest the skin.
Marie says
How do you freeze sweet potatoes. I bought a bushel for church but didn”t use all but peeled too many. So I didn’t know how to prepare for feezing
Andrea says
I would just cook them, mash them, and freeze them in 2-cup portions.
Angie says
I’ve got some Feta and Ricotta in the freezer now. I think I have done ricotta succesfulky before, but any expierce with feta and what I should expect? I love cheese!!
TY,
Angie
Phyllis says
I would be interested in knowing, if I can freeze Fava beans after they are blanched and how long can they be stored in the freezer?
Thank you
Phyllis
Pauline Koval says
I was given a large jar of grape jelly but only used a little out. Can I put it in smaller containers and freeze it. I only use a little at a time.
Andrea says
I think it would be fine in the freezer — however, keep in mind jam and jelly will stay good for months in the fridge!
Pauline Koval says
Thank you for your quick answer.
Amanda | Maple Alps says
This is the best list of freezable foods I have ever come across! I love freezing – it just makes so much sense! Will definitely be saving this for future reference!
ollie adams says
can I freeze a cooked cake with fruit in it
brenda jackson says
I have can vegetables in gallon sizes “Cans ” is it possible to open , divide into smaller portion , can I freeze these delmonte vegetables ?
Asap respond, please
Thank you
Andrea says
I’m sure this would work — however, it might just be easier to buy frozen veggies in the first place 🙂
Bonnie Braaten says
can russian tea be frozen it is made withe tang, lemon iced tea and cloves
Dianna says
I have heard that you can freeze eggs if you
take them out of the shell. Do you know if this
is true? We have a lemon tree and way to many
lemons, I like to juice them and freeze it in ice
cube trays. Mine hold about 2 tablespoons. It’s
great when we have no lemons. I can still make
pie or use it for a fish dinner.
Michael Hooton says
As we are now only a family of two we find that we always seem to throw more out than eat.
Can I freeze A Lamb Roast with Peas Potatoes Carrots Cabbage Pumpkin ?
Coleen Adams says
can i freeze store bought pavelovers.and will it be pk in the oringinal container.thanks Coleen Adams Nz
Rocha says
A note about the pies… I am the only one in my house who eats pecan pie, so I bake the pie, then freeze individual slices. Works great! I haven’t tried it with other pies, though.
Laura S. says
I do the same with my cheesecakes.
Cary says
I love your lists, it helps a lot. To add to your list; I freeze my brown riced, it was a pain to cook and have half of it go to waste. I was wondering if it was safe to freeze beans after they have been cooked. I eat a lot of black beans and kidney beans from cans and the prices are crazy. I rather cook them myself.
Mitzi says
I have frozen cooked dry beans and works well. Saves lots of money by cooking dry beans. I don’t like canned beans. I have a seal-a-meal too which helps. Found rolls of the bags online much cheaper than they sell in the store. Only catch is buying a larger roll. But now that I am freezing more cooked items in comes in very handy. Hope this helps!!
Debbie says
A big fan of freezing everything. I never use zip lock style bags. They can’t keep the product from freezer burn or for long periods of time. Breads, meats, whole vegetables I prefer the use of food saver bags. They don’t get squished preferring. Cheese I use a food saver container and put in the frig. Blocks of cheese in a food saver bag in the frig works well too. My cheese will last months in the frig. But cheese never last long in my home.
Sue Sheriff says
vaccum sealer is very useful in storing food and keeping it fresh for long time. It is very helpful for me to keep my fruits and vegetables fresh.