Experts Say You Can Freeze These 6 Foods—and Eat Them Weeks Past the Expiration Date

Key Takeaways

• Freezing pauses bacterial growth and slows spoilage, meaning foods like bread, berries, and hard cheeses can stay safe to eat well past their fridge expiration dates.

• Proper freezing and thawing matter: use airtight packaging, freeze food while it’s still fresh, and always thaw in the refrigerator to avoid safety risks.

• Texture may change after freezing—especially with berries or cheese—but that doesn’t mean the food is unsafe, and many items work perfectly in cooked or baked dishes.

Freezing food is one of the simplest ways to save time and money, especially if your lifestyle requires you to have fast, easy meals on hand—or you just hate wasting leftovers. But expiration dates can make things confusing, especially when they are based on time spent in the refrigerator, not the freezer.

We spoke with food safety experts who shared which foods freeze particularly well when stored and thawed correctly. Here are the items that last long after their original expiration dates in the freezer, and how to make sure they’re still safe to eat. 

Meet the Experts

• Sanjay Gummalla, PhD, a nutrition and food scientist and senior vice president of food safety and scientific affairs at American Frozen Food Institute

• Abbey Thiel, PhD, a food scientist and founder of Abbey the Food Scientist

1 - Bread

Freezing can help prolong the short life of bread, which is known for molding relatively quickly. While it won’t ever “go bad” in the freezer, the quality will decline in a few months. “Bread goes stale on the counter because starch molecules realign and push water out. This is called retrogradation,” says Abbey Thiel, PhD, a food scientist and founder of Abbey the Food Scientist. “Freezing stops that process completely, so your bread stays soft and delicious months past the printed date.”

If it’s been in the freezer for many months, the worst that usually happens is freezer burn or dry, white patches. “It’s not unsafe, just a bad texture. Actual spoilage (mold) would have happened before freezing, so if you froze it while it looked good, it’ll stay safe,” Thiel says. To thaw, Thiel recommends warming bread at room temperature, or popping frozen slices straight into the toaster. If there is freezer burn, repurpose the bread for toast, croutons, or breadcrumbs, where texture doesn’t matter.

2 - Poultry

Raw chicken usually lasts about a week in the fridge, but it can last up to a year in the freezer. “Microbes need liquid water that they can actually use. Freezing changes that water into ice crystals, so bacteria basically can’t do anything,” says Thiel, who explains that freezing pauses bacterial growth rather than killing it outright.

When you’re finally ready to use the chicken, thaw it in the fridge. “Slow thawing keeps the meat in the safe temperature zone (below 40°F) while the ice melts,” Thiel says. “Do not set it out on the counter at room temperature!” Once thawed, examine the smell and texture to see if the chicken has gone bad—or was bad before you froze it. “Slimy surface, gray-green discoloration, or a sour smell means you should toss it. Freezer burn doesn’t mean it’s unsafe, just a little dried out,” Thiel explains.

3 - Beef and Pork

Like poultry, some beef and pork freezes well, especially if it’s not ground or fatty. “Freezing essentially stops food spoilage by hitting the pause button on bacterial growth,” says Sanjay Gummalla, PhD, a nutrition and food scientist and senior vice president of food safety and scientific affairs at American Frozen Food Institute. “If meat is properly frozen, the expiration date or ‘best by’ date will no longer reflect original food safety concerns.”

As with most expiration dates, Gummalla notes that the date on meat typically refers to refrigerated condition. “When frozen, not only is bacterial growth paused, but enzymatic activity is significantly slowed, which extends the shelf life,” he says, adding that there may still be a gradual decline in quality because of a loss of moisture. When thawing meat, use the fridge since meat on the counter can reach unsafe temperatures that allow bacterial growth, “even when the food interior is still frozen.” If vacuum sealed, beef and pork should last anywhere from three months (for ground beef) to a year (for steaks and roasts) in the freezer.

4 - Fresh Berries

Fruit with high water content doesn’t last as long in the freezer as berries do. For context, raspberries might start looking moldy within 48 hours, but in the freezer, they can stay mold-free for months. “Berries spoil because enzymes keep breaking things down and microbes increase in numbers,” says Thiel. “Freezing shuts down both the microbes and the enzymes. That’s why your strawberries, blueberries, or pineapple can easily last six to 12 months [in the freezer].”

Thawing is best done in the refrigerator, but even the slowest thaw might still result in mushy (but not spoiled) fruit. “If you are cooking with frozen berries, such as making a compote, home frozen berries are ideal since their structural integrity is less relevant at this point,” Gummalla says. While texture isn’t a solid indicator of spoilage, it's best to use your eyes and nose. “If things look off or smell bad, you should toss them,” Thiel adds.

5 - Leftovers

You can get away with freezing multicomponent leftovers to significantly prolong their shelf life. “Freezing stalls bacterial growth, but quality parameters like color, texture, flavor, etc. all depend on the specific types of foods and ingredients,” says Gummalla. “Frozen meals, appetizers, etc. should ideally be taken straight from the freezer and cooked on the stovetop, in a microwave, or oven.”

To prevent freezer burn, which is especially common for leftovers, Gummalla says to avoid frequent opening of freezer doors, use airtight containers or freezer bags, and remove excess air. You’ll know the food was frozen incorrectly if it looks off: “Always evaluate the sensory quality as the first test of approval—appearance, texture, smell, and ultimately taste,” he adds.

6 - Cheese

In the fridge, most hard cheeses last a few weeks once opened, but freezing can extend their usable life by many months. “While most foods remain safe indefinitely at frozen storage temperatures, quality will decline gradually, especially if exposed to excess air or due to loss of moisture,” says Gummalla. “Hard cheese freezes well for many months, but its texture can become slightly crumbly.”

To thaw, move the frozen cheese to the refrigerator and let it defrost slowly, then plan to use it in cooked dishes like casseroles, soups, or sauces where texture changes are less noticeable.