Close Menu
    Frugal Living

    what food can you freeze to extend it’s life & save money

    I learned last year you can freeze hummus and it doesn’t change the texture very much when thawed. This helped me cut down on food waste and costs since I’m the only one in my house who eats my homemade hummus. What other foods have you found success with freezing? I’m thinking of trying to freeze and thaw Betty Crocker icing. We only use a little on each birthday cake and end up throwing the rest out

    what food can you freeze to extend it’s life & save money
    byu/looking2bmoneysavy inFrugal



    Posted by looking2bmoneysavy

    21 Comments

    1. Frankyfan3 on

      Does your household not just finish up the frosting with periodic spoon snacks?! I’m confused.

    2. marytyrone on

      This is my favorite topic! Nearly everything can be frozen and used for some purpose – only dairy that separates for me is the thing that does t do well

    4. TBHICouldComplain on

      Chèvre. I never finish the packet before it goes off. It freezes and thaws perfectly.

    6. Jaysonmclovin on

      Tomato paste. A lot of recipes need a tablespoon or two. I buy a can because it’s way cheaper than a squeeze tube and put the rest in a sandwich baggie in the freezer. Break off what I need as I need it.

    8. Bunnyeatsdesign on

      Bread and cheese.

      I like bread but don’t eat it every day. By freezing sliced loaves, burger buns and hot dog buns, we can defrost just 1 or 2 portions. Enjoying bread at our pace, when we want them. Don’t have to rush to eat the whole bag. Because we freeze all our bread, we haven’t thrown out any bread in years. I save the ends to make croutons and meatballs.

      I buy cheese in bulk 1kg blocks because it’s much cheaper. I also buy cheese offcuts in 1kg bags. Divide into 250gram bags and freeze for later. Today I bought some blue cheese offcuts and I will divide into smaller portions to freeze. Just trying to decide how much one portion of blue cheese is first.

    9. MeganJustMegan on

      Pretty much everything can be frozen. If I freeze dairy, I just use it in a cooked dish & it’s fine. I don’t expect sour cream would thaw perfectly to be used on a taco or baked potato, but it would be fine made into a hot dip or stirred into beef stroganoff. Try & see. It’s not the end of the world if it’s not the same & you may be surprised how good it still is.

    12. MissDisplaced on

      Milk, cream (freeze like ice cubes use in baking or soups)

      Herbs & Aromatics: Onions, peppers, parsley, chives, celery. Chop and freeze in bags for cooking.

      Broth & Stock: Boil that rotisserie chicken carcass down, strain and cool. Bag it up in 1 cup blocks. Bonus if you want to make both/herb cubes

    13. IMightBeErnest on

      Most stuff. It’s easier to ask what *doesnt* freeze well, but you kindof have to find that out yourself as everyone’s tolerance for texture changes is different.

      Pro tip: a chest freezer that *doesnt* have a defrost cycle keeps food better than a freezer with defrost cycles. Every defrost cycle freezerburns your food a little more.

    14. anonymousforever on

      I use a vacuum packer – foodsaver – and vaccuum package meats bought in bulk, in single meal packages. then I don’t have to thaw the big pack or try to figure out how to separate it frozen. Also, vacuum packer keeps cookies crisp longer, keeps meats from freezer burning, and can keep bulk cheeze from molding prematurely when you break it into smaller chunks then vacuum pack what you don’t need in the next couple weeks.

      I’ve also vacuum packages beans, rice, noodles and other dry items to make them stay fresh longer as well as seal out bugs etc.

      I make a big batch of lasagna, refridgerate overnight so it’s solid, then cut into single servings and vacuum pack and freeze. cut a corner off and microwave frozen. like having your own premade freezer meals.

      Freeze soup or sauces in ice cube trays or small containers, overnight, next day take the frozen liquid and put into a vacuum bag and seal. this is the easy way to deal with extra stew, tomato paste, chicken or veggie stock, etc that you don’t want to waste, but don’t know a good way to save it.

    15. Kristylane on

      Just today I made a double batch of cookies. I portioned them all, baked half and froze the other half. This doesn’t really save money, but it’s a pretty substantial time saver.

    17. Beginning-Row5959 on

      Salsa
      Applesauce 
      Whole tomatoes and tomato sauce
      Bacon fat
      Nuts, seeds, grains, and flours
      Yeast
      Cheese
      Butter 
      Lemon juice (I freeze it in ice cubes)
      Chocolate
      Bread
      Meats
      Baby spinach (if we won’t finish it in time in salads, we freeze it and use it cooked) 
      Individual servings of leftovers so we always have grab and go lunches

      That’s most of what’s in my freezer right now

    18. UsualSu on

      Tortillas, bread, pie dough, homemade stock, rice, beans, enchiladas, pot pie filling, rotisserie chicken, soups, chili, lemon juice, chopped garlic and ginger. Also save food scraps in the freezer that I use to make the stock

    19. manguefille on

      Ginger. Bonus: it’s actually way easier to use a veggie peeler on frozen ginger to peel off whatever you need.

    Leave A Reply
    Share via