Freezer Cooking & Storage 101

Making recipes on the weekend to enjoy during the week isn’t the only way to meal prep! Your freezer is one of the most useful tools in your kitchen for make-ahead meals. This book is loaded with recipes you can freeze well in advance, and you can easily locate them by looking for recipes that are labeled “FF” (Freezer Friendly).

Freezing food not only lets you make meals far in advance, but if you freeze your leftovers, it’s also a great way to cut back on food waste—good news for the environment and your wallet. Freezing food also allows you to stock up on ingredients when they’re on sale, which is a great cash-saving strategy!

Ready to get freezing? Here are some of my best tips for make-ahead meals, leftovers, and extra or prepped ingredients.

Cool completely before freezing.

No matter what you’re freezing, make sure it doesn’t head to the freezer when it’s still hot. Hot food produces steam, and when steam gets trapped in a sealed container in the freezer, you end up with ice crystals that can result in soggy food once it’s thawed. You want to let hot foods cool completely before freezing. However, don’t let foods sit out at room temperature all day to get primed for the freezer! Transfer hot foods to the fridge first to cool quickly and avoid harmful bacteria that thrives at room temperature. Then transfer items from the fridge to the freezer.

Leave a little extra room for liquids.

Ever forget a bottle of water in the freezer and come back to find an exploded icicle? I know I’m guilty! You don’t need to worry about most foods exploding in the freezer—frozen fruits and veggies won’t pop open a freezer bag, for example—but water does expand when it freezes. The same goes for watery liquids like chicken or veggie stock. For that reason, you’ll want to fill freezer bags and containers only three-quarters of the way full when you’re packing up liquid-y things like soups and stocks for the freezer to avoid popped-off tops and burst bags.

Signed, sealed, and delivered (to the freezer).

I’ll take a hint from the famous song and let you know that signing and sealing are two of the most important steps in freezing your make-ahead food!

Jot down the item name and date on every meal-prep item you freeze. Depending on what’s inside, I like to scribble other details as well, to help me out when I pull meals from the freezer. You might want to make a note of:

• Number of servings or portions

• Reheating/cooking directions

• If you’re making freezer meal kits (this page), label the container with the remaining ingredients you will need to complete the dish. A permanent marker is all you’ll need to label freezer bags, but I also like to keep a roll of masking tape (Scotch Freezer Tape works great) or a sheet of address labels on hand for tagging plastic or glass containers. You’ll find freezing and reheating instructions at the end of every recipe that can be stored in the freezer.

Keep in mind that labeling isn’t limited to the freezer! Sticking a label with a date on fridge items can help eliminate those times when you dig to the back of the fridge and ask yourself, “Hmm…how old are these leftovers, anyway?”

If you’re still following along with the song, you might have guessed that “sealing” is the next step to keeping frozen food fresh. If you’ve ever reached into your freezer to find an open bag of freezer-burned green beans, then you’re probably well aware that air is a frozen food’s worst enemy. It’s a simple formula: Freezer air + food = freezer burn. It’s not pretty.

Tightly sealing food that’s headed to the freezer is your strongest defense against freezer burn. Freezer-safe zip-top bags are a great way to seal food in and keep air out, as are airtight lidded containers. If you plan to freeze meats and breads, which are particularly prone to freezer burn, learn to love layers: wrap your meat or bread first in plastic wrap, then foil, then a freezer bag.

Shop in-season (and on sale!) and freeze as you go.

Cooking with produce that’s grown locally and in-season is your best bet for flavorful, nutritious meals. When fruits and vegetables are perfectly ripe and picked just before you eat them, you get the highest-quality—and best-tasting—produce, and that’s always the ideal place to start. But what happens when you want to make Lemon Blueberry Buttermilk Sheet Pan Pancakes (this page) in the dead of winter? That’s when frozen fruit takes center stage!

Buying frozen fruits and veggies is always a smart option: the produce is picked when it’s ripe, then frozen, and conveniently available year-round without sacrificing any nutrition. I also freeze my favorite fresh options whenever I can. When sweet, ripe berries or gorgeous asparagus hit my farmers’ market, I like to stash them in my freezer so I have them on hand for meals throughout the year.

The same logic applies to stocking up on sale items at the store. When chicken breasts are on sale, I buy a bunch and freeze them raw or cook and shred them to keep in the freezer. Whether you’re freezing fruits, veggies, meat, or leftovers, here are my go-to freezing tips:

How to freeze meat and fish:

• Wrap in several layers, squeezing extra air out as you go. Start with plastic wrap, then a layer of foil or a zip-top freezer bag. Wrap pieces individually if you’ll want to take just one chicken breast, pork chop, etc. out to thaw at a time.

• Store for up to three months for most fish, four months for ground meats, and up to a year for whole cuts of meat.

How to freeze fruits and vegetables:

• You can freeze just about any fruit or vegetable except for celery, watercress, endive, lettuces, cabbages, cucumbers, and radishes. These foods have a high water content and become mushy when thawed. Some vegetables can be frozen raw, but most benefit from a quick blanch before freezing.

• Make sure fruits and vegetables are dry before freezing; otherwise, they’ll freeze into a solid clump.

• If you want to prevent pieces from freezing together (and for freezing delicate fruits like berries), spread the pieces out in a single layer on a plastic wrap–lined sheet pan. Once they are fully frozen, transfer the pieces to your container and place it immediately in the freezer. With this method, any ice films form around each individual piece, rather than freezing all the pieces together in a big chunk.

• Pack fruits and veggies in zip-top freezer bags or airtight containers with as little air as possible.

• Store most fruits and veggies for up to a year.

• Freezing also works well for fresh herbs like basil, chives, oregano, mint, and tarragon. Wrap them in small bunches in plastic wrap or freezer-safe baggies, then use them when a recipe calls for fresh herbs. For recipes that call for minced or blended herbs (i.e., sauces and dressings), you can puree herbs at peak freshness and store in individual portions in your freezer. Some brands also make great ready-to-use frozen packs available in the freezer section of most supermarkets.

How to freeze cooked grains:

• Step 1. Cook larger batches of grains and let them cool completely on a large tray or sheet pan. You want them to dry so the extra moisture doesn’t cause them to clump in the freezer. Use a fork to fluff the grains after a few minutes of cooling to vent the steam.

• Step 2. Measure out portions and store them in smaller freezer-safe plastic or eco-safe bags, laying them flat and stacking them on top of one another inside the freezer.

• Step 3. Label the bag with the name, date, and portion size so you know exactly how much to thaw when you need to whip up a lunch bowl or dinner.

• Step 4. To heat, microwave for about 3 minutes or cook over low heat in a heavy-bottom saucepan for 4 to 5 minutes, until heated through, adding a little liquid as necessary. You can also thaw them overnight in the refrigerator.

GRAINS THAT FREEZE WELL:

• Barley

• Black rice (aka forbidden rice)

• Brown rice

• Bulgur wheat

• Farro

• Jasmine rice

• Quinoa

• Wheat berries

• White rice

Store most cooked grains for up to a year.

How to freeze soups and sauces:

• Let soups and sauces cool completely before freezing.

• In zip-top freezer bags: Fill bags three-quarters of the way full, then force out as much air as possible and seal. Freeze flat and then stack bags to maximize space in your freezer.

• In airtight containers: Fill containers three-quarters of the way full and seal.

• Souper Cubes, available on Amazon, are also great. These are silicone freezing trays that come with a lid (like a giant ice cube tray) and the extra-large size lets you freeze perfect 1-cup portions.

• Store most soups for up to 6 months.

• Keep in mind that soups that contain milk or cream don’t hold up well in the freezer. They usually take on a grainy texture and separate when thawed and rewarmed. For best results, hold back the dairy and add it in when you’re reheating the soup.

How to freeze casseroles:

• Freeze assembled uncooked or partially cooked casseroles, as opposed to freezing precooked casseroles. Recipes like Indian-Inspired Shepherd’s Pie (this page) and Baked Spinach Stuffed Shells (this page) make delicious freezer-to-oven casseroles.

• Assemble casseroles in freezer-safe and ovenproof dishes (glass and ceramic dishes tend to work best) and seal with several layers of plastic wrap and foil or with an airtight lid to keep out as much air as possible.

• Most frozen casseroles work best if you thaw them in the refrigerator overnight, then cook in the oven. Of course, if you forget to thaw and you want to bake from frozen, make sure you freeze your casseroles in freezer-to-ovenproof baking dishes (such as foil, as most glass or ceramic dishes will crack).

• Don’t forget to remove any plastic wrap on your casseroles before baking (yes, I’ve done that!). I write a note to myself with a Sharpie on the foil to remind me.

Make Your Own Freezer Meal Kits

Many of the recipes in the freezer section of the book can be partially made ahead and frozen to create your own meal kit. Prep your ingredients and season your protein. If the recipe calls for ground meat or onions that need to be sautéed, do that first, then freeze in small containers or bags, leaving out the pantry staples like beans, tomatoes, etc., that take up too much space in your freezer or can’t be frozen, or garnishes and citrus that add that pop of freshness at the end, and dairy. Label the kits with the recipe name, date, ingredients, and directions of what to add later. When you are ready to cook, throw your freezer kit into a pot or Instant Pot, right from the freezer, for a quick home-cooked meal. If your recipe calls for cooking in the slow cooker or oven, transfer the kit to the refrigerator overnight to thaw. You’ll also want to ensure that your frozen block of food fits in your pot so you don’t have to thaw or chip away at it when it’s time to cook.