How Many Times You Can Actually Thaw and Refreeze Food, According to an Expert

It happens way too often at our house. We take out some chicken from the freezer and end up only using half of it. Or we thaw some leftover muffins and end up eating just one or two. We usually just pop them back in the freezer, but I’m never sure this is the best idea.

Many foods are OK to freeze repeatedly, but their quality and taste may be affected, says Kaavya Rathnakumar, PhD, senior scientist at Balchem Human Nutrition and Health and chairperson of the Institute of Food Technologists Product Development Division. Whether you can pop food in and out of the freezer depends on what it is. Here’s a look at the foods that repeatedly freeze well—and some that don’t.

Bread and Baked Goods

Bread, for example, does well going in and out of the freezer. “Bread and baked goods are low in water, and their airy structure prevents significant damage from ice crystals,” says Rathnakumar. “Repeated freezing slightly dries out these foods but doesn’t compromise safety.” From a scientific standpoint, she explains that the gluten in bread helps to protect its quality, while the fat in pastries helps maintain their flakiness.

Soups and Sauces

Soups and broths that are very high in water and fat can be frozen and thawed over and over without losing much of their taste and quality, says Rathnakumar. “Provided they don’t contain dairy or starch-thickened bases, which may separate,” she says. While some foods get drier because they lose moisture when they freeze and thaw, liquids don’t have that problem, so their texture and taste doesn’t change very much.

Fruits and Vegetables

The frozen fruits and vegetables you buy at the supermarket are prepared by flash freezing quickly at very low temperatures. Science-wise, that causes small ice crystals to form, which preserves the cell walls.

It’s a little different when you freeze fruits and vegetables in your own freezer. “Home freezing introduces larger crystals that can rupture cell structures, but refreezing remains safe,” Rathnakumar says. When you freeze produce over and over, it can cause the foods to turn brown when they thaw because those cells are broken. To help avoid the browning, blanch vegetables before freezing them.

Meat and Poultry

As long as you thawed meat properly in the refrigerator—not sitting on the counter or in the sink—then it’s OK to freeze it again. But because some moisture is lost during the thawing process, it may not be at peak quality when you thaw it again and then prepare it. It may be drier and a little tougher, but it’s still safe to eat.

If you thaw some meat and decide not to eat it right away, you might consider cooking it and then freezing it. Cooked meats refreeze better than raw meat, Rathnakumar says.

Foods You Should Avoid Refreezing

Some foods just don’t fare well if they are taken in and out of the freezer and refrigerator. Try to avoid thawing and freezing these foods more than once, Rathnakumar suggests:

• Raw Seafood: Refreezing can change the texture, making it mushy

• Eggs: Thawing and refreezing can change an egg’s texture and make it watery

• High-water Produce: Fruits and veggies like lettuce and cucumbers will lose water and change texture

• Casseroles and Creamy Soups: Anything with a lot of moisture or dairy can separate and curdle when it's thawed, refrozen, and thawed again

• Dairy-Heavy Foods: Similarly, foods with cheese or heavy cream can separate and curdle when repeatedly frozen. The food can also develop gritty or watery textures.

Tips for Freezing and Thawing Food Successfully

• It can be tempting to speed things along by putting frozen food out on the counter, but always thaw food in the refrigerator. Letting it sit at room temperature can encourage bacteria to grow.

• Freeze foods in portions, so you don’t have so much extra that you have to freeze it all over again. Be sure to use airtight containers—or better yet, vacuum sealing—to avoid freezer burn from air exposure.

• Blanch vegetables by boiling them very briefly before freezing them. That helps preserve color, taste, and texture and makes them more resilient to freezing, Rathnakumar says.

• When possible, cook frozen food without thawing it. Soups, casseroles, and stews, for example, don’t have to be thawed first. Skipping the thawing step helps preserve flavor and texture.

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