Share your best freezer tips

I picked up the Aldi version of Souper cubes when they were on the AOS a while back - perfect for soups, sauces, the rest of tomato paste (does anyone ever use the whole thing?) ...basically if it's liquid, that's what I use.

Something like the stuffed shells - I would make up to the putting in the oven step and then only cook what we'll eat. The rest I would put in an freezer and oven safe container (foil pan, pyrex with lid) and freeze in meal size portions. So if your recipe makes 12 shells and dinner is 4? Cook 4, freeze two sets of 4.

Cheese freezes - most cheese (Babybel, soft cheeses like brie don't) - but they're best shredded afterwards not for slicing for sandwiches. Leftover shredded cheese also freezes.

Lunchmeat - freeze in the portions you'll want to use. Tightly wrap in plastic wrap and/or ziploc bags. Leftover turkey, ham, roast beef, chicken...stuff like that from a big roast? I portion into ziploc bags to use in casseroles.

Potatoes don't freeze well in my experience.

Go ahead and freeze the bread - you can slip a square of wax paper in between slices to make it easier to just pull out the number you need. If that number is consistent and you'll have time to thaw before use (instead popping in the toaster frozen or making a sandwich with frozen bread to take for lunch (it'll thaw by lunch usually) then you can just slip the wax paper in say every 4th slice if you'll take out 4 at a time.

I just popped leftover cilantro in my freezer tonight - it went into snacksize ziplocs with the air squeezed out. You can also freeze fresh herbs in ice cube trays with olive oil.

Cookies freeze before or after baking.

We aren't fans of pre cooked meals that are then frozen. It's a texture thing for myself and dd. I only freeze a few things.

I freeze is homemade pancakes and waffles. I do a big batch of both as they are allergy friendly. I store in gallon zip lock bags with wax between the layers and press all air out.

I also freeze baked muffins. I remove the paper muffin tin before freezing.

I bought Soupers to freeze left over soup and homemade stock. Once frozen, I use my Food Saver to freeze the blocks. I have 1 cup and 4 cup Soupers. I freeze in 1 cup, 2 cup , and 4 cup bags. For soup I freeze and food saver 2 cups.

Of course fresh meat. I use my Food Saver for this. Best tip is to flatten the ground meat very thin. Helps tp defrost the meat quickly.

I do freeze meatballs. That is the only cooked meat dd and dh don't mind frozen and reheated.

Freeze handmade patties of turkey or beef for burgers. I find flash freezing them as pucks and then using the food saver works best.

I used to freeze fresh peach slices towards the end of the season and those held up well. Great for cobblers. I woukd cut an X, boil for 30-60 seconds, dunk in ice bath then the skin peels right off. Slice and add to food saver or ziplock bag.

I also freeze extra tomato paste and sauce. I never need the entire can.

I love my Foodsaver. I use it mostly for freezing meat but sometimes for things that have already been cooked. Not only do things take up less space but the thaw more quickly.  Another advantage for thawing is that the bag is completely sealed so you just put it in tap water.  Change the water frequently and your item will be defrosted quickly. Or you can thaw in the refrigerator depending on what it is.  But you never have to worry about what you are defrosting thawing and leaking out.

The cooked foods I'm most likely to freeze are: chili, cashew chicken, chicken breasts to use in salads and in other recipes, baked salmon. I never freeze just cooked vegetables. I prefer to make those fresh.

When I made homemade pizza dough, I make enough for 4 pizzas and freeze the dough for 3.

I also freeze a lot of fruit for smoothies. I spread out the fruit on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper and freeze. Then I transfer the fruit to zipper freezer bags so it is easy to just pull out enough fruit for one smoothie.

We always had a freezer. Some families even have more than one! My grandmother and several of my aunts gardened and froze corn and some fruits. It was common here - and still is with some families - to buy beef in bulk from the butcher and freeze it. I prefer to select my meat and freeze in the Foodsaver bags in the portions I want and I can easily see what I have.

Oh! Also, this is crazy…but, I freeze sandwiches for my kids to take to school. I use ciabatta rolls, a thin layer of pesto mayo, provolone and turkey, ziplock bag it, and into the freezer.
Or, I do Hawaiian rolls, thin layer of honey mustard/mayo, cheddar and ham. Wrap/freeze. Kids grab them in the morning, and they are thawed by lunch and not soggy. It has been an absolute game changer for lunches for us!

It’s the same for the 2 of us. We have several recipes that we make 4 servings or more of, eat one that evening and freeze the rest. This weekend we made a batch of spaghetti and so we have 11 more servings ready to go, but only took the time to cook and clean a mess once. We also like doing the same with meat for some recipes. For example, we have a Tex-Mex Cabbage Stir-Fry that we like, so we make enough meat and onion mixture for at least 4 servings and freeze the extra. Then the night we want to eat it we just have to quickly cook the cabbage and heat the meat with it. And hamburgers, because we never eat the full pound of ground meat that week so we make at least 4 burgers at a time so as not to waste the meat. And when we need liquids like orange or pineapple juice, stock or broth, cream, etc. we never need the full amount. So we have many different sizes of the super cubes and freeze the extra in serving sizes we generally need.

These labels are great, large and easy to write on, sticks to the glass but comes off so easy, even after going in the oven for reheating.

We buy proteins when they are on sale and freeze a lot of them individually because they’re the perfect size for us to share for one meal. For example, chicken breasts, fish, and pork ribeye. These bins are a great width for single pieces like that, newest frozen goes in the back so the oldest is always at the front and we can easily look and see what proteins need to be eaten soonest. Be sure and measure the depth of each of your freezer shelves, all of ours are not the same. Before we got our food saver we froze them in Perfect Portions Freezer Bags, which help you get out the air, and then in a Ziplock freezer bag, pint size is great for these single serving sizes. We actually had quite a stash of both so are still using them occasionally. I like that the end result is a smaller package due to the thick edge needed for food saver bags. 

I like using these Pyrex glass storage containers because the food can be thawed and reheated in the same container, less dishes to wash. And they stack really neatly in the freezer. Also we can put hot food into them without worrying about the plastics leaching into the food. The 3-cup is rectangle and would probably be good for casserole type dishes. We use the 2-cup for one meal of spaghetti sauce and a vegan peanut stew we really like. 1-cup is perfect for individual servings of soup, chili, etc. We usually take them out of the freezer a night or two before and heat in the oven. But we have gone many times straight from the freezer to the oven. I’m not sure if we’ve done that with the microwave. 

Resized_Resized_20230909_180037 by Carie (Dewryce) T, on Flickr

You can see the way I keep the freezer organized. See how the chicken is in a wider container as compared to the salmon? It is much easier to keep the newest easily viewed in the salmon container. Also, some of them are off the shelves cause DH doesn’t push them all the way back in, but on the shelf with the chicken and turkey they stick out because that shelf isn’t as deep as the others. The top shelf holds all of the food we pre-prepare. The bin on the left is the meat mixtures I was mentioning above. And in the door I keep extra butter, cheese, spices, etc. 

What I have started doing with leftovers that I want to freeze is to put them in a container the shape and size I want them frozen in. I put them into the freezer until they are frozen. Then take them out and pop out the frozen portion and food seal it in a bag.  I do it with stews, slices of pizza, etc.  I’ve done stuffed shells, meat pie and other weird items.  

Then when I take them out I can either thaw them as is or in an appropriate dish.  Some things are just put on a plate and microwaved.  

The same concept as the Souper things but I like flatter bags as they stack better and take up less room.  I also just use a sharpie and mark what it is and the date made/froze. 

ETA- the short version 😆. Flash freeze and then food saver seal them in bags. 

If you are using your refrigerator freezer - it is most likely a 'frost free' freezer. That means frost doesn't build up an don't have to defrost it. It goes through a daily cycle of warming up to melt the frost and then refreezing. You might hear your fridge gurgle every once in a while - that is the melted frost leaving the freezer.

But this is hard on frozen food too. That's what causes freezer burn. If you only freeze it for short term a month or two, no problems! But it is not good for long storage. So eat up what you freeze within a month or two at the most.

A deep freeze could be frost free - you really want to avoid that. If you are keeping for long term storage, more than a month or two, get a regular deep freeze that is NOT frost free. You really have to double check to make sure

I think the newer freezers might be better, but I had an entire season of frozen garden produce ruined in one. In 6 months it was all tasting terrible. I had frozen SO much sweet corn. Probably close to 300 quarts. I was so frustrated!

Bought a chest regular deep freeze (not frost free) and I can store things for a very long time! I have found beef that is 2 or 3 years old buried in there and is fresh and good! I try to rotate better than that though! LOL

I have come up with a better system for me. I bought the more rigid, but collapsible, grocery totes that can fold down. They have handles. I fill those and stack them in my deep freeze. I keep them sorted by beef, pork, chicken, veggies, treats, etc. That way I can lift out a tote or several totes to get to what I need. Things don't slide and collapse on each other. It works so well, and when I need to dig deep - no mess!

i was never much for freezing leftovers because of issues with freezer burn.  i bought a FoodSaver machine at Costco and that was the game changer.  no more freezer burn.  i freeze a variety of soups and leftovers with no problem.  my raw meats don't get freezer burn anymore and last longer.  the clear, compressed bags make finding things easier and allows for more room in the freezer.  

I use my leftovers and maker freezer frozen dinners in the black prep containers that you can buy cheap off Amazon. I fill with whatever I cooked, pasta dish, meat and sides, etc. I will cover with the lid and freeze. After it is frozen I then slip the bottom black portion iwith he food in it in a Foodsaver bag and suck it down. I will label it with what the meal is and keep the lid in the cabinet. When we want to eat lunch or need one for work, we choose from the selection, grab a lid and utensils and drop in the lunch bag. The meal will usually be defrosted or mostly defrosted by lunch and easily microwaved and ready to eat.the frozen meal also helps keep any other items cool in the lunch bag until lunch time. DH like a fruit yoghurt as a dessert and it stays well until time to eat. My small salad and dressing stays cool too.

If we run out of our home made pesto sauce in the freezer we buy a jar of pesto from Costco then freeze in ice cube trays. When they are frozen they go into ziploc bags in the freezer. We will buy a big bag of lemons at Costco. We wash them then roll on the counter. Cut them in half then use a hand held lemon juicer and each half of the lemon get squeezed into ice cube trays and into the freezer. A day later the cubes go into freezer bags. We sometimes take a cube out to have with a teaspoon of honey and boiling water when we have sore throats.

dewryce
Thanks for the information on the labels. I have put some in my amazon cart.

For OP:
Don't try to freeze ham. It does not do well in the freezer. Pork chops will do well, but not for extended freezer time. Potatoes do not freeze well.

Only 2 of us here. We purchase large quantity of ground beef at Sam's and then portion it out in sizes for meat loaf or "ground beef for recipe" and then freeze it. We freeze bread loaves and then take out what we need so the bread does not mold before we use it. Some casseroles I make - we freeze the leftovers. As mentioned, if whatever you are freezing is something that will crumple up, lie it flat on a cookie sheet and then when it is frozen the packages will stack up nicely.

I freeze pecans so they won't get rancid.

I personally find that freezer paper keeps things nicer than plastic wrap or plastic bags. Less or no ice crystals inside when using freezer paper. No freezer burn.