Get a great deal on potatoes? Have extras that you won’t use up before they sprout? Freezing potatoes is a great way to maximize your savings.
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Potatoes are ultimate comfort food. So good that you never want to run out. And what about when there’s a killer sale? You want to stock your kitchen and take advantage of a good deal, right?
So you need to learn how you can stash potatoes away for another time.
But, here’s the million dollar question:
Can you freeze potatoes?
You can freeze potatoes. Surely, you’ve purchased frozen potatoes at the grocery store. You know you can freeze potatoes.
However, the potatoes you buy in the freezer section have been treated in a special way that’s not usually available to us home cooks.
You can freeze potatoes at home, but there are some strategies to ensure success. I’ve tried many methods, some that the internet swore would work, and I came up with differing results from those folks. Your mileage may vary.
In my experience, potatoes can go funny in the freezer. I’ve seen all kinds of recipes circling on Pinterest that show folks just chopping potatoes to toss in the freezer. This is a bad move. Trust me. Raw potatoes will get gross. Even cooked potatoes can be fickle beasts.
I’ve tested soups and stews with potatoes in the freezer, and the spuds generally develop a funny texture. The texture change just isn’t worth it for me.
Furthermore, russets aren’t always friendly to freezer cooking. As a general rule, yukon gold and red potatoes freeze the best, but there are ways to make russets work as well.
The trick to freezing potatoes
Freeze cooked potatoes that have been mixed with a good portion of fat, like butter, cream, or olive oil. This is typically done in mashed potatoes or stuffed potatoes.
These methods will ensure potatoes that have great texture before and after freezer storage.
You can freeze mashed potatoes.
Potatoes mixed with a hearty portion of fat, like cream, sour cream, cheese, or cream cheese, freeze very well. There’s something about the combination of cooked potato with these creamy elements that helps them retain a nice texture after thawing.
Try these recipes:
- Easy Alfredo Mashed Potatoes Recipe
- Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes
- The Mashed Potato Casserole My Kids Go Nuts For
- Shepherd’s Pie with Cheddar Mash ($1.23/serving)
How to freeze mashed potatoes: Prepare the recipe according to the directions. Spoon the mashed potatoes into freezer-safe containers. Chill the potatoes completely before storing in the freezer.
How to serve the mashed potatoes: Thaw the potatoes completely in the refrigerator. Reheat in the microwave or in the oven. Stir to recombine and fluff the potatoes before serving.
You can freeze stuffed potatoes.
Again, with the fat. It seems that this same rule applies to stuffed potatoes. While it does require a bit of extra work before tossing your potatoes in the freezer, the advantage is that your potatoes are all ready to serve once frozen.
Keep a batch of stuffed potatoes in the freezer for quick lunches, snacks, and dinner time sides.
Try my favorite: Ultimate Cheesy Stuffed Potatoes Recipe—they’re only 51 cents/serving!
To freeze stuffed potatoes: Prepare your stuffed potatoes. Chill completely. Wrap in foil or plastic wrap. Place the potatoes in a ziptop freezer bag and freeze.
To reheat frozen stuffed potatoes: Thawed or frozen, the potatoes can be reheated in the microwave, toaster oven, or regular oven.
Other ideas
One source recommends blanching potatoes. That has always seemed like too much work to me. If I’m going to do that work, I’d rather have a freezer meal all ready to go.
How long can potatoes be frozen?
Frozen food is good indefinitely below zero, however time can ravage its tastes and texture. The USDA freezer storage chart recommends 3-4 months for TV dinners and casseroles, in essence what we’re talking about when prepping stuffed or mashed potatoes for the freezer.
So if you see a sale on potatoes, prep these recipes and stock up your freezer for some great savings, but be sure to use it up in the next few months.
Kitchen equipment
These recipes really couldn’t be easier, but having the right kitchen tools can make your time in the kitchen more enjoyable. Over time, I’ve honed my collection so that they are perfect for my needs.
Here are the tools that I use for making mashed or stuffed potatoes for the freezer:
- vegetable brush
- potato masher
- Pyrex baking dishes with lids
- sheet pan
- Ziplock gallon freezer bags
- Rubber spatula
- stainless steel mixing bowls
How ’bout you? Have you had good success with freezing potatoes? What’s been your experience? Share in the comments what’s worked well for you.
This post was originally published on December 4, 2010. It has been updated for content and clarity.
Sylvia
I have cooked slices potatoes. Can I freezes them.
Jessica Fisher
If they are cooked, you can freeze them, but they may be mushy or mealy after freezing, depending on what kind they are.
Karen
How do you do the potato wedges to freeze? How would you do potatoes for french fries would you cook those first?
Jessica Fisher
You can only freeze (successfully) potatoes that have been cooked. And even then, your mileage may vary. I don’t recommend freezing French fries. I prefer mashed potatoes and stuffed potatoes for freezing.
Megan
I have a wonderful stew recipe. However, I froze it once with the cooked potatoes in it and they were horrible (mealy) when I served it later. I now just cook it with carrots if I plan to freeze it, but miss the potatoes. Any suggestions for successful frozen potatoes in stew?
Jessica Fisher
Russet potatoes definitely do that once frozen. Yucky, I know. I’ve had better luck with waxy potatoes, like small red ones. These tend to hold their texture better.
Alison Conger
I love your site and posts. When you talked about freezing russet potatoes dos you bake them in the oven for an hour, let them cool and freeze them whole? Then pull them out when you wanna make fries or stuffed potatoes? OR did you bake them, then make your stuffed potatoes and then freeze them?
Jessica Fisher
I have found the best success with baking potatoes, then stuffing, then freezing before the second baking. Potatoes really need fat combined with them so as not to get mealy while frozen.
Patti Capps
We make what we call potato boats. We buy baking potatoes in bulk scrub with vegetable brush & cut in half, then take a large spoon & scoop out each half leaving about 3/4” of potato. Take the halves and fry in oil until they start to brown (potato won’t be done) drain on paper towels and place wax paper in between layers. Then seal in vacuum seal bags. These freeze really well for up to 6 months. The scooped out potatoes would be great for the mashed potato freeze recipe. We thaw potatoes in fridge then place in oven at 350* for about 15 minutes then take out and place 1TBSP Bacon Pieces, 1TBSP green onions and 1/4 c. Grated cheese or just fill . Place back in oven and heat until cheese is melted, top with ranch dip. These freeze really well without loosing texture. Great to have on hand for unexpected company or large meals.
Noble
? Since I live alone, and on a budget, I’ve started freezing more since it is cheaper to buy in larger quantities. A 5lb bag of potatoes is cheaper than buying 2-3. I am currently baking potatoes in the crock pot (summer time), after washing the tatters, I lightly coated the skins with olive oil. The skins look really good and I didn’t have a bunch of eyes looking at me. After cooking in the crock pot, I was going to let them cool, place most of them in a zip-lock-bag and put them in the freezer. Then cock them in the micro-wave when ready? Is this a good plan? Also, I’ve started using greek yogurt instead of sour cream, it’s close but when you have to watch what you eat. I’ve also subbed greek yogurt for mayonnaise when making old fashion potato salad. I would greatly appreciate any suggestions. Again, I am a bachelor and can use all the help I can get that doesn’t require a diamond ring :).
Jessica Fisher
The baked potatoes might get mealy during freezing. If you can do twice-baked potatoes, where you mix the potato with some fat, like the greek yogurt or olive oil and seasonings, the potatoes tend to reheat better. Hope that helps!
Dan
can you freeze already cooked potatoes ? we had a fund raiser and had dozens of baked poatoes left over is it possible to freeze in vacaum bags ?
Jessica Fisher
Yes, you can. When you reheat them they probably won’t be light and fluffy. But, they’ll be edible. I’ve found if I season them heavily and serve hot, we like them. If you have time to make twice baked with those, they will freeze better and have better texture.
Martha Artyomenko
I have only frozen twice baked potatoes! They came out nice!
Teri
Here’s an easy way to make hash browns for your freezer: bake as many russet potatoes as you can fit into a big roasting pan, bake only until 3/4 cooked. Let cool, peel and shred. (I shred the potatoes with my box shredder instead of a processor since the processor makes the potatoes mushy). Then, I package them in quart sized zip-top bags. When ready to cook, I thaw a bag in the refrigerator over night and fry them in oil/butter in my electric skillet. They brown nicely and are very tasty! Sometimes, I top them with a little grated cheese (also from my freezer). I have also canned potato chunks and often put leftover mashed potatoes in the freezer. Both ways with success. And I always make my potato cassarole ahead and freeze it for the holidays.
Thanks for all the great comments.
Elisabeth
I make my mashed potatoes up to 2 days ahead and store them in whatever size dish I need (9×13, chafing dish…whatever needed). After cooking them, I take them out of the pan and place them in a bowl with a dot of butter on top and you would never know they were prepared ahead of time. They’re delicious.
I’ve never tried freezing them. I guess I’m a little leery since I hear so many have mixed successes.
Grace
I double bake potatoes and freeze them I scoop out the potatoe season them and add butter cream cheese sour cream but no milk as I found that the milk tends to seperate when frozen, My kids love them we add cheese afterwards
I have also added cooked ground beef and brocolli
Amy LaRue
When you freeze the mashed potatoes, what kind of a container did you freeze them in? thanks
Jessica
Usually in a glass baking dish, double wrapped in foil.
Nicole Walgamott
HELP! Just tried to to make mashed potatoes using the russets, which I don’t normally use. I cut up 10 lbs and have already cooked and prepped 5 lbs. Unfortunately, the potatoes turned out kind of mealy (before freezing). Any ideas on whether that was user error or the type of potato? I have made them before with great success, but I have always used the yukon gold. I am hoping to come up with a solution before I ruin the last 5 lbs.:(
Jessica
I almost always use russets, so I don’t know –except that maybe they weren’t cooked enough? I typically boil until very soft. Drain well and let the heat in the pan steam off extra liquid. Then mash really well before adding any butter or other fat. Then add the liquid. I’m not sure what else to tell you. Bummer.
Jess
This is great! I often want to buy big bags of potatoes when they go on sale but I stop myself b/c potatoes are something we don’t eat often, and they always go bad when I get a big bag. Thanks to you now I can get those big bags and cook and freeze. Thank you!
Al Kholos
I live alone, and if I don’t go through them quickly in the summer, many do go bad. That’s why I’m here!
Amber H
I actually had some potatoes awhile ago that were nearing the end… lol… I had never tried freezing them before, but didn’t want to waste them, so I chopped them up (into homefry-sized portions) and stuck them in a ziplock freezer bag (well, 2 bags). I know that when you don’t want apples to brown you can dip them quickly in lightly salted water before you refrigerate them. It doesn’t affect the flavor but it keeps them from getting that unappealing look (and rubbery texture). I figured, why not try it with potatoes (so that they didn’t turn gray, which I learned by trial & error one Thanksgiving when I was trying to “get ahead” of the meal.) so I dunked the potatoes into a salt water bath (a little more salted than for apples since they are potatoes & are good with a dash of salt) and it worked great. They looked perfectly fresh when I pulled them out of the freezer & cooked up perfectly. LOVE the mashing idea, though, I will definitely be doing that next time there’s a great sale on potatoes!
Pearl A
@Amber H, thanks for that tip I’m going to try it because I would love to have them cut and ready to fry when I’m in a hurry. Was worried about them getting black and mushy! Just got 3 10 lb bags from my brother in law and was wondering how to use them up.
Jessica
The potato people wrote me (it might be a comment on this string) and very specifically said not to freeze potatoes. So, I guess I would recommend doing a test batch before you do all 30 pounds. 😉
Inez
Isn’t that a little crazy, considering all the frozen potatoes we buy pre-packaged. I’m not trying to make a fuss, here, it just doesn’t make sense. Of course the pre-pkg. stuff is loaded with sulfites or something. @Jessica,
Jessica
I know. It’s what they’re treated with. So, I assume that the home cook can’t treat fresh potatoes in the same way for it to work. Your guess is as good as mine.
Doreen
Hi Amber, so I want to totally understand your post, because I have a large amount raw potatoes that I would like to freeze. So I take the raw potatoes slice them up whatever way I want and then dip them into salt water? Do I just dip them in saltwater or do I soak them for a period of time? I’d appreciate any help I can get, thank you in advance!
Bridget
you must wash, peel and chop into shapes what you want to make, par boil, salted and light veg oil cold water bath immediately, rack dry, single layer freeze before putting in freezer bag. Otherwise bacterial will build up. Russel potatoes works best I have tried. Now I have tons of red potatoes which are a pain to peel but must again to keep bacterial out.. ok to have skin on very small diced hash browns small dices or skinny french. Smaller the cut less chance of bacterial getting under skin. It is a pain to freeze potatoes this way but they come out better than the store and can stand up to reboiling of soups, baking or frying.
Sharon
Great! We are digging up a huge load of red potatoes tomorrow and I wanted to avoid peeling them.
LynnC
I grow my potatoes. So storage is not an issue. When I do make a huge batch for events or to freeze, I use the dishwasher to wash them too. Kids giggle at me. Glad to know I am not alone. I tell my kids all the time Laziness Breeds Ingenuity! The faster and easier I can do it all the better.
Nancy
i have a mashed potato recipe similar to yours that i’ve done for the freezer before; works great!
Martha Artyomenko
I would like to try the frozen hashbrowns…..We eat lots of potatoes…
I get about 500 pounds or so every fall and keep them in our root cellar room off our basement. They are still dirty and keep really well, so I have never tried freezing them.
Jessica
@Martha Artyomenko, the hashbrowns from frozen aren’t as good as regular, but they work.
Anne
I have frozen mashed potatoes (but w/o dairy, for my food-allergic son) before, but that’s it. I have to comment, though, b/c I’m jealous of your .10/lb prices. The LOWest we get around here is .50/lb and that’s not very frequent.
Al Kholos
A 10 pound bag is now $2 at the 99 Cents Store if you have one nearby. Still about a dollar a bag at some of the ethnic/cheap grocery stores when they are on sale. They are all smallish, with an occasional potatoto or two that are dinner baking size.
Dr. Potato
Be sure to cook the potatoes first before freezing, freezing raw potatoes will turn black.
Rita @ Creatively Domestic
I just did some potato freezer cooking, too, and did Mashed Potatoes and Oven Fried Potato Wedges. I like the idea of hash browns ready to go, so I’ll save that for my next list of freezer cooking! Great idea!
Kristi
When you say you rinse them in the dishwasher…do you stick them on the top rack with nothing else in the dishwasher (and no soap, of course)? I’ve never heard that before!! Do you always do that or just when you’re going to freeze them?
Jessica
That is what I did. I’ve only done it once because I had read that tip from The Happy Housewife. I think the link is in the post.