Surprising Foods that Freeze Well

_{Have you ever wondered what food you can freeze? More than you think. Start saving money on your household expenses. Save time in the kitchen by prepping ahead some of these grocery items by freezing them.}

Foods You Never Thought You Could Freeze

There are many foods we freeze all the time and don’t think about, but did you know there are a lot of unusual grocery items you can freeze?

Maybe you know a few of these, but hopefully, some are new to you and will help you save your food (or stock up with sale items!)

We all know that many fruits, vegetables, and meat can be frozen without a problem, but what else can we freeze?

Not everything freezes well, in fact, some change in texture or separate and some just spoil. Freezing is by far my favorite way to preserve foods.

It’s incredibly efficient and eliminates so much waste! It also makes mealtime that much easier. You can have many items prepped and ready to go straight from your freezer. This alone can help cut your kitchen time down by half on busy weeknights.

Let me answer some of your most common questions

Can you freeze garlic?
Can you freeze cheese?
Can you freeze rice?

Scroll down for those detailed answers.

freezing food in freezer. Multiple airtight containers with fresh frozen vegetables

Food That You Can Freeze That Saves Money

From garlic to tomato paste, these freezer-friendly foods just might surprise you. Preserving food by freezing it will save you more money and not to mention you will be wasting less.

Bananas

You can freeze bananas with the peel on. They are not good to eat later, but unthaw them and use them for smoothies or banana bread. Or just toss them in the food processor frozen to make Banana Ice Cream.

Freezing bananas is a great way to preserve them for later use. You can freeze it either left in its peel or without. I prefer without; it is one less step, and peeling a frozen banana is a lot tougher than one imagines.

Butter

Fall baking brings amazing sales on baking ingredients. If you stock up on butter but don’t want it to expire, consider freezing it. It will be as good as new when you need to take out a stick for baking or cooking.

You can freeze butter for up to 6 – 9 months.

Freezing Cheese

You can freeze cheese, but keep in mind it will not slice well after being thawed. If you want shredded cheese, do the grating before freezing.

Frozen cheese will crumble apart when thawed, so it is great for cooking or baking into casseroles. Freezing cheese in block style — there’s a good chance it will become quite crumbly.

Shredding cheese or cutting it into smaller cubes for later use is best. You can freeze cheese for up to 6 – 9 months.

Foods You Can Freeze – More Foods That Freeze Well.

Dough

While you may have a little change in the texture with the frozen biscuit or cookie dough, it is very convenient.

Make a big batch of dough up on a rainy day and then have fresh cookies for the kids after school! Here is one of our favorite homemade pizza dough recipes and one we often freeze too.

Garlic

Garlic can get moldy if you keep it fresh, depending on the climate where you live. Freezing garlic solves that problem. Just divide the garlic into cloves and don’t remove the skin.

It may look slightly different once you thaw it but still tastes great in any dish you are cooking. According to the Food Safety website, frozen garlic should last for 1 month.

Leftover Wine

If you like a little wine to drink, but always have leftover wine in the bottle, freeze it to use later in cooking! Just put the wine in ice cube trays and viola!

You can add a little flavor to your recipe that calls for wine. Do not freeze leftover wine in the glass bottle, it came in.

Wine does expand and you could possibly run into a small freezer explosion of wine. You can freeze leftover wine for up to 3 months in the freezer.

Grains & Rice

You can actually freeze flour and grains (like oats). I do recommend freezing in smaller batches since you want to use these items quickly once they are thawed.

When I end up with a large amount of flour, rice, or quinoa, I tend to freeze them, keeping them fresher and longer. Cooking them in their raw state is best unless it is in leftover casserole or soup. You can safely keep frozen for up to a year.

Yogurt

You can freeze yogurt that may be expiring to save it. While you won’t want to eat it later, you can use it for sauces and dips.

Tomato Paste

Always have leftover tomato paste in the can? Most recipes only call for a small amount, and the rest usually gets thrown out.

If you have a favorite recipe that uses tomato paste, freeze the leftovers in that increment (say 1 or 2 tablespoons in each freezer container).

Milk

If you don’t want to waste milk, try freezing it. It will keep up to three months in the freezer.

The texture changes slightly when thawed, but it can still be consumed. Just thaw in the refrigerator and shake well before using.

Berries

Okay, well maybe this article states 10, but over the years I have been freezing my fresh berries that we pick wild from our yard.

To freeze berries, wash them thoroughly, dry them gently, and place them on a cookie sheet. Freeze, then place in a plastic storage bag.

One MORE Fun Item – That Makes Eleven

So really, this list needs to also include How to Freeze Fresh Eggs. This is something I figured out by experimenting. AND Yes, you can freeze eggs. And those are 10 foods that you can freeze!

If you would like to find more recipes for preserving food then be sure to check out 10 Canning & Freezer Meal Recipes & 10 Easy Canning Recipes

10 Food Items You Can Freeze – Save Time & Money

Foods You Never Thought You Could Freeze

Let me answer some of your most common questions