At One Place

What you can and cannot freeze

29 questions about what you can freeze — 15 yes, 1 no, and 13 that genuinely depend on the specifics.

Question Answer Short version
cheese It depends Yes, and it stays safe indefinitely — but hard cheese comes out crumbly and soft cheese comes out wet.
milk Yes Yes — leave headspace for expansion and shake it hard after thawing.
eggs It depends Not in the shell. Beat them first, or freeze whites on their own.
bread Yes Yes — freezing is the best way to store bread, far better than the fridge.
bananas Yes Yes — peel and slice them first, because the peel turns black and welds itself on.
cooked rice Yes Yes, and freezing quickly is the safest way to keep leftover rice.
raw chicken twice It depends Only if it thawed in the fridge and never got above 4 °C (40 °F).
breast milk Yes Yes — freeze it flat in bags, and use within six months for best quality.
avocado It depends Yes, but only as a purée — frozen slices go grey and watery.
soup It depends Yes for most soups; cream, milk and potato-based ones separate or go grainy.
butter Yes Yes — butter freezes better than almost anything else in the fridge.
cooked pasta Yes Yes — undercook it slightly and toss it in oil first, or it thaws into a solid block.
mashed potatoes Yes Yes — mash with plenty of butter or cream, which protects the texture through freezing.
potatoes It depends Not raw and not plain boiled — blanch or part-cook them first.
pizza Yes Yes — freeze the slices separated, and reheat in a pan or oven rather than a microwave.
cooked chicken Yes Yes — cool it fast, freeze within two hours of cooking, and use within four months.
yogurt It depends Safe to freeze, but it thaws grainy and watery — good for cooking, not for eating plain.
cream It depends Only for cooking — thawed cream separates and will not whip.
tomatoes Yes Yes, whole and raw — they thaw soft, and the skins slip straight off.
cake Yes Yes — sponge freezes very well; buttercream is fine, but egg-white icings are not.
mushrooms It depends Cook them first. Raw mushrooms thaw into slime.
lettuce No No — USDA lists lettuce among the foods that do not freeze, and it thaws limp and waterlogged.
deli meat Yes Yes — freezing is the safest way to keep sliced deli meat past a few days.
wine It depends For cooking, yes. For drinking, no — freezing flattens it and the bottle may burst.
coffee It depends Freeze whole beans in one sealed portion you never reopen — repeated freezing ruins them.
cream cheese It depends Yes for baking and cooking; it thaws crumbly and will not spread.
hummus It depends Yes, but it separates — stir in olive oil after thawing to bring it back.
tofu Yes Yes, and it improves it — freezing makes tofu spongy so it soaks up marinade.
onions Yes Yes — chop and freeze them raw, but only use them cooked afterwards.

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