25 Foods You Can Freeze To Save Time and Money

Inside: Easy foods you can freeze! Save yourself some time and money with these simple tricks.

As a kid, I remember loving all the fridges and freezers my grandparents had. They had a regular fridge and freezer upstairs, and then down in the basement, they had an upright fridge and a big chest freezer.

My grandma stocked her chest freezer full of meat, jams, and jellies, and best of all Girl Scout Cookies. No wonder we loved going to their house!

As an adult, I realized how smart Grandma was to keep her freezer well stocked. Keeping a well-stocked freezer full of food can help you save money. Having some foods frozen can also help save you time.

Check out these foods you can freeze to save time and money.

Best Foods You Can Freeze

Before you get started you may want to see a few tips on freezing foods.

• Simple Tips For Flash Freezing
• Freezer Inventory Printable
• Thanksgiving Leftovers You Can Freeze
• Freezer Hacks To Make Life Easier

Always make sure you label your foods with the date that you put them in the freezer. Depending on what you are freezing you will want to make sure to use it before it goes bad.

Milk

See a good deal on milk? Pick up a couple of cartons and freeze them.

To freeze milk you will want to open them up and dump a little off the top (about 1-2 inches) so when the milk freezes it doesn't break the carton.

Milk will last about 6 months in the freezer. Move it to the fridge to thaw and use within 3 days.

Pancakes

Instead of buying frozen pancakes in the store make your own and freeze them. If you have a couple leftover one day from a meal, just put them in the freezer.

I love to make mini pancakes for my kiddo and he can just reheat them in the microwave for a quick breakfast. Pancakes are one of my favorite foods you can freeze.

Nuts

Growing up we always kept our nuts in the freezer. I just assumed that is where everyone kept nuts. My hubby thought I was kind of crazy when we got married and I would put the nuts in there.

But, it's a great way to keep them from going bad. I just put them in a ziplock bag with the date on it when I put them in the freezer. Nuts will last about a year in the freezer.

Eggs

I can't believe how much the cost of eggs has gone up in the past year. I still see a few deals on eggs every now and then.

You can follow these instructions on tips for freezing eggs.

Butter

Margarine and butter will keep for about 6 months in the freezer. To freeze margarine or butter you will want to mark it with the date that it was frozen and place it in a large freezer bag to prevent freezer burn.

Burritos

This is another breakfast favorite in our house. We make our own breakfast burritos and then freeze them. It's so easy to reheat breakfast in the morning.

We also really enjoy these bean and cheese freezer burritos. Most burritos will last about 3 months in the freezer.

Lunch Meat

I often find lunch meat on sale in bulk. We don't go through a lot of lunch meat in our house, so I will just put one package in the fridge and put the rest in the freezer.

Lunch meat will last about 6 months in the freezer. Once defrosted you will want to consume it in about 3 days.

Flour

If you like to stock up on flour, but don't want it to go rancid just toss it in an airtight container and put it in the freezer. Flour will last about 2 years in the freezer.

Beans

I like to cook my own beans in the crock pot instead of buying canned. Because of this, I find I often have some beans leftover. I just put them in a freezer safe container and store them in the freezer. Then, when I need some beans they are already cooked. I just let them thaw out and reheat. They will last about 2 months in the freezer.

Stromboli

This is probably our favorite of all the foods you can freeze. I turned one of our regular meals into an easy freezer kit that I can use for hectic nights. Add a salad and you have a delicious, simple meal.

Cookies

Did you make a huge batch of cookies and don't want to eat them all? You can easily freeze cookies. Just make sure you use a freezer-safe container to store them in.

I like to make my Christmas cookies ahead of time and store them in the freezer. Then, when things get busier closer to Christmas I already have my cookies made.

You can also freeze cookie dough. That way each night you can make your own fresh from the oven cookies. I think this is by far my son's favorite foods you can freeze.

Casseroles

Having a frozen casserole on hand for busy nights can be a huge time and money saver. Make up a few that you know your family will enjoy and take an evening off from cooking.

Pizza Dough

There are lots of great recipes for pizza dough. You can find one that works for your family and have a family pizza night. This is perfect for a Friday or Saturday night that you don't feel like cooking a big meal. You can see my favorite recipe for frozen pizza dough here.

Bread

I often see bread on clearance for around $.25 a loaf. When I do, I just buy a few and store them in my freezer. It's easy to just pull out another loaf when we need one. Bread will last about 6 months in the freezer.

Ham or Turkey

Leftover ham or turkey? Just store in a freezer-safe container for up to two months. I like to dice our ham and turkey and we can just grab some from the freezer to throw in omelets or soup.

Uncrustables

We love uncrustables in our house. I can make some up one afternoon and we have a quick snack or lunch on busy days. They freeze great and can be customized to what kind of butter and jelly your family likes best. This is another one of my favorite foods you can freeze.

Jams & Jellies

Freezer strawberry jam is my favorite! It's so sweet and doesn't take all the canning equipment that regular jams take. If  you don't like strawberry jam there are plenty of other recipes for different jams and jellies you can freeze.

Wine

I know, who has leftover wine? 😉 But, if you do you can easily freeze your wine and store in the freezer. It's great to do with a bottle that you didn't care for the taste. Then you can use the wine for cooking.

Bagels & English Muffins

We have a bakery outlet store about twenty minutes from our house. I try to go there about every 2 months and stock up on bagels and english muffins. I can store the bags in the freezer until I am ready to use them. They will last a couple of months in the freezer.

Fruits

You can store fruits in the freezer. Flash-freezing the fruits works best so you don't get all the berries stuck together.

You can see my step-by-step guide for freezing raspberries. It works for just about all berries. I like to freeze them to use later in smoothies.

Bananas are also a great fruit to freeze. I like to freeze the extra ripe ones for my Bob Evan's Banana Bread recipe.

Vegetables

Most vegetables will freeze well. You can buy them on sale and freeze to add into soups later. The vegetables taste and look better if you blanch them first. I don't recommend freezing lettuce or cabbage.

Cream Cheese

The consistency of cream cheese will change when you freeze it, but if you are using it for cooking it will be just fine. You can freeze cream cheese for about 2 months. I just write the date that I put it in the freezer on the container. You can see all the details on how to freeze cream cheese here.

Soup

I love making soup, but so many of the soups make huge batches that we don't always finish. You can easily freeze your leftover soup for a later time. You can read some tips for freezing soup here.

Herbs

You can freeze leftover herbs in ice cube trays to make it easy to drop into any recipe. I love to put garlic and olive oil together in an ice cube tray.

Broth

If you make your own soups broth cubes are a great thing to have on hand. Just pour your broth into ice cube trays and freeze it.

When it is frozen move it to a large ziplock bag or freezer storage container. The broth is good for about 6 months in the freezer.

With a bit of planning you can save time and money by freezing your foods. You can even make whole meals ahead of time and freeze them.