Tricks to help your freezer save you money

I love my freezer for one simple reason. It saves me money. Lots of money. It’s probably the biggest money saver in my kitchen – even when you factor in the upfront cost, running cost and even buying things like freezer bags.

So here’s why you should be thinking more about what you put in your freezer, and some tricks that’ll not just save you cash but make your life a little easier too.

Some articles on the site contain affiliate links, which provide a small commission to help fund our work. However, they won’t affect the price you pay or our editorial independence. Read more here.

Five ways a freezer can save you money

You can snap up reduced food and special offers

I rarely buy any fresh food at full price. Instead I take advantage of the reduced shelves or special offers to stock up and store in my freezer. This is a big money saver. Say between the two of us we’re using four packs of fish or meat each week. If I’m saving on average £10 a week on those purchases, that’s easily £500 saved over 12 months.

I think this is a pretty conservative estimate. And that’s just fish and meat. Add in bread, veg, leftovers, cakes… you can probably freeze the bulk of the food you buy. So make sure you’re not just filling it with ready meals!

You can find lower prices

There are some things you can get cheaper already frozen. Things like frozen berries or fillets of fish. They might also ultimately be fresher as they are frozen at the source. Here’s an interesting article about what to look for with frozen fish.

You’ll cut down on food waste

The average UK household throws away £1,000 worth of edible food every year. Not all of this can be saved by using your freezer, but a huge chunk of it can. So whether that’s freezing leftovers after cooking or fresh ingredients before they go off, it’s a decent amount of money back in your pocket.

You’ll have emergency supplies

Though some people took stockpiling too far in the early days of the Coronavirus pandemic, it does make sense to have some emergency supplies at home – and the freezer is a perfect way to have certain food available if you can’t get to the shops.

And we’ve all had times when we’re short of a vital ingredient, which often then results in a trip to an expensive corner shop or giving up and getting a takeaway. Which costs more money. To avoid this you can freeze things like portions of cheese, herbs, wine, butter, milk… ready to throw into your pot.

I always like to have some food that can be cooked from frozen – and if you’ve bought that on offer or reduced even better.

You can protect yourself against price increases

If you’re worried about inflation pushing prices up even higher than they are now, then stocking up essentials in the freezer is a way to avoid paying more.

Freezing rules

Freezing food is pretty simple, but here are a handful of simple rules so you’re not wasting cash.

What foods you can freeze

It turns out you can freeze most things, I’ve listed a few exceptions further down the page. But I’ve shared some of the more unexpected that even the waste-conscious of you might not be aware of.

Leftovers – I’m putting this at the top as I’m always surprised how many people throw out portions of perfectly good grub if they’ve cooked too much. So if you’re not going to eat it for another meal, there’s a good chance you can freeze it – as long as it hasn’t been cooked from frozen in the first place.

Hard cheeses – The advice is to grate it before freezing, or at least chop into small chunks. This not only helps avoid a change to the texture but also makes it easier to use in dishes or throwing on the top of meals.

Butter and margarine – A good one if you find a haul that’s been reduced. It’s best to put any blocks in a freezer bag. Salted butter will last longer than unsalted.

Milk – Semi-skimmed and skimmed milk apparently are best for freezing. It helps to take a little out of the bottle so there’s room for the milk to expand. I’ve also read you need to leave it to thaw for two or three days, and then it’s best to use for cooking rather than drinking. So practically I think you’re probably better off buying it fresh.

Eggs – It doesn’t happen too often but I find recipes which require a yolk or a white but not both really frustrating. The unused part normally ends up in the bin. But according to this website, you can freeze both yolks or whites – perfect for the next recipe that requires one or the other.  You can also freeze beaten eggs.

Cakes – I don’t know why this wasn’t obvious, but I only started freezing leftover or reduced portions of cakes five or six years ago. Some types of frosting/topping might not freeze well though.

Pizza – If you’ve made your own pizzas, you’ll know they’re so much better than frozen ones. But the latter can be really convenient. Well, you can get the best of both. Whether you’re using a ready-made base or one of your own, prepare it as usual, top it, then cover it in clingfilm before freezing. AND you can cook it straight out of the freezer.

Pasta – I’ve read a few mixed things here so it might be one to try next time you have leftovers. But in theory, though the texture won’t be as good as when you first cooked it, it’s fine to bag up a portion of pasta and sauce. If you know you’re going to freeze some, then it’s better to remove some from the pan when it’s al dente.

Vegetables – It helps to parboil veg then immediately put them in ice water before freezing. You can then boil or roast them straight from the freezer.

Herbs – Whenever we get fresh herbs from the supermarket there are always too many, so we freeze the leftovers. These tend to be fine for cooking with later, though you wouldn’t want to use them for salads. We tend to put the packs in an airtight container, but I’ve read that you can also chop the herbs up and put them in a little water in an ice cube tray.

Garlic – Just put the cloves in a freezer bag. It obviously helps to separate them first.

Bananas – Ever since the TV show Arrested Development featured the frozen banana stand, I’ve experimented with freezing my own. My number one tip is to take the skin off! You can blend frozen ones into a nice dessert, not too dissimilar to ice cream or you can chop them and dip in chocolate before freezing for bite-size snacks.

Grapes, lemons and limes – Put a frozen grape or slice of lime (chop it before freezing) in a glass and you’ve got a great alternative to ice.

Wine – If you’ve got a bit of a bottle left, rather than chuck it out, you can freeze it. Then it’s there to use for cooking when you need it. Ice cube trays are a good way to portion out what you have left.

What you can’t freeze

These are the most common items I found which people advise you not to freeze. Though, with the exception of whole eggs you can potentially cook with most of the items.

Salad – Avoid high water content fruit and veg like tomatoes, cucumber and lettuce.

Eggs – Raw or hardboiled eggs are a no-no unless you take them out of the shell.

Yogurts and creams – On the whole, the advice is you can’t freeze things like this as they’ll split. So this includes cream and cream based sauce, soft cheeses such as cottage cheese or cream cheese, yogurts, sour cream,  and mayonnaise. However I did read a few sites which said you could freeze the odd exception, such as full-fat cream cheese. 

Soft cheese – These too won’t survive the freezing process in a way that makes them edible.

Cooked rice – Apparently just not very nice at all.

Fried food – You’ll lose the crisp and crunch of fried food when freezing it, so it’s probably not worth it!

Meringue and egg white based frosting – Best to avoid.

Galatine based – Jelly won’t freeze! So along with cream and custard, it means you really do have to eat all of the trifle.

Defrosted meat – You know this one right? If you’ve frozen raw meat or fish, and defrosted it, you can only freeze it again if you’ve then cooked it.

When to freeze food

Anything that’s fresh should go in the freezer before the use-by date (you can read more on the different dates on packs here). Of course, if it’s looking or smelling a bit dodgy then it’s best to bin it.

If you’re freezing leftovers or are pre-cooking meals to freeze make sure it’s cooled down first.

If you can, put it in the coldest draw so it freezes faster. If you’re adding a huge haul then put the freezer on fast-freeze (just remember to switch it back to no

How long to freeze food for

The guidance seems to be to read the packaging and go with the advice there. If there’s nothing on the pack then it’s best to search online. I wanted to share a simple list but the three most comprehensive ones I found all contradicted each other! Even so, if something’s been lurking in there for around nine months to a year, it’s best to eat it or bin it.

Make sure you rotate the contents of your freezer, especially if you have a large chest freezer, so you’re using the oldest stuff first. A list helps too. I keep in on the notes app on my phone and update it when I shop or use something.

How to defrost frozen food

Meat and fish should be defrosted in the fridge, ideally overnight, though I’ve seen some articles say it’s ok to use the defrost function on a microwave. Either way, make sure you put it on a plate and covered to prevent cross-contamination and check it’s fully defrosted before cooking.

You can also cook lots of items straight from frozen, including some I didn’t realise like sausages. You can even make your own pizzas to freeze. Just top the bases as normal and cover in clingfilm. Then whack it straight in the oven when you want it.

Freezing hacks

Now you know the rules, it’s time to use some of these tricks. They’ll save space so you can store more and help you avoid further waste.

Take food out of packets

The more reduced food and leftovers you can get in your freezer the more money you’ll save. But if you overstuff your freezer it can force the motor to work harder – increasing the chances of it breaking down.

So it makes sense to utilise the space as best you can, and one of the best ways is to cut down unnecessary packaging. Though some supermarkets are getting better at reducing the size of plastic trays or removing them completely, not all are. So move your mince and anything else that could take up less space.

Make sure you put it in airtight containers or bags to avoid freezer burn. If you’re using bags, squeeze out as much air as you can, and seal with a twist-tie.

Separate before freezing

This is a good trick to ensure you’re taking out only what you need, not the full pack. 

Take fruit for example. Freeze a pack and it’s one giant mass of berries. Instead put them on a baking tray on some baking paper in the draw to freeze. The berries will all freeze separately so when you combine them into a bag the won’t join together.

You can do something similar for things like raw chicken breasts. Wrap them individually in clingfilm and put into a bigger freezer bag. For cooked items, like slices of ham, you can put pieces of baking paper in between.

When you freeze leftovers, try to keep it as square as possible to help stack them in the freezer. I’m going to start putting things like a bag of chili into a square box. Once it’s frozen I should be able to take the bag out of the box, which I can use again for the next portion. 

Label it

This is really important. Of course you want to know what’s in the pack, but don’t forget quantities, the date it’s frozen and cooking instructions. You can write this on with a sharpie marker pen, or tear off the label from the packaging. 

Pre-prepare

You can also make your life easier, and use up random leftovers, by chopping them up ready to use. This is good for things like herbs and onion – just make the latter is sealed tight to stop the smell. Cheese can be frozen grated too so you can sprinkle it onto hot dishes straight from the draw.

You can also save time by increasing how much you cook when you prepare a meal. So last night rather than making chili with one pack of mince, I made it with two (bought on special offer). This means I’ve got a few extra portions to throw in the freezer. And later this week I’m going to poach some (reduced) chicken breasts and shred them before freezing, great for quick tacos at a later date.