Can You Freeze Potatoes?

You can freeze potatoes in any form, but should you? The answer relies on how cooked they are.

Don’t freeze them raw.

Technically you can freeze raw potatoes, however doing so can make them turn black. Even worse, during the thawing process they can become mushy and grainy from the large amount of water and enzymes inside.

Partially cooked potatoes

If you want to prep potatoes for faster cooking later, you can par-cook and freeze them. These steps will help you get the best results:

• Peel them – even though you can freeze the peel, blanching works better without it
• Cut them up – chop them into cubes or wedges, julienne, or grate them. Whatever your recipe requires
• Blanch them – this means boil them until they are crisp-tender, about 2-5 minutes, then immediately transfer them in a bowl of ice water
• Dry them – remove the excess moisture with a towel
• Freeze them – use an airtight container because potatoes can turn brown when exposed to air once they are peeled

Fully cooked potatoes

If you’ve already prepared your potatoes, such as roasting, baking, frying, or making mashed potatoes, they can be frozen after. These cooked potatoes will last about a year in the freezer versus four to five days in the refrigerator.

How to cook frozen potatoes

If you’ve already fully cooked your potatoes, you just need to thaw and reheat them. But if you’ve done the par-prep step above, there are a few ways to use them.

• Let them fully thaw. Most preparations require them to be room temp before cooking, but make sure they don’t turn dark from the air. Keep them in their airtight container.
• In their frozen form, you can drop them into soups, stews and casseroles. Just make sure you’re using the right kind of potatoes for the recipe by checking out our blog on types of potatoes. 
• French fries are actually better once they’ve been fried, then frozen, then given a second fry in their frozen state. Most restaurants prepare fries in this way as it makes them a lot crispier.

Is freezing even necessary?

Potatoes generally last a long time when stored correctly in a cool, dry place (not in a refrigerator). The main reasons you may want to freeze them are for easier preparation at a later date, or to save fully cooked potatoes for leftovers.

Wondering what’s the best way to store potatoes? Check out our latest blog on the best way to keep potatoes fresh.