You don’t need much for freezing food, besides having a freezer, of course. But there are a couple of tools that I use time and again when I freeze food, and having those around helps tremendously.
The good news is, you should easily find some of those in your kitchen already. For the ones that are missing, consider buying only when you know you’re going to use it often enough to get your money’s worth. Buying to have them in case you need them isn’t the best idea here.
In the list below, I included affiliate links to Amazon. If you buy any of the products, I get a small commission, without any extra costs for you. Of course, you can buy most of these in your local supermarket as well.
Without further ado, let’s go through the most useful tools for freezing foods.
Freezer Bags
Freezer bags are the meat and potatoes of freezing food. You can use them to freeze basically everything, including liquids. Make sure the bag is leak-proof before putting one with liquid into the freezer, though.
They’re reusable, so after buying a bigger pack, they should cover all your freezing needs for quite some time. They don’t last forever, though.
Consider buying a bunch of smaller bags and a handful of bigger ones. This way, you can pack individual portions into smaller bags and transfer them into a bigger one to avoid chaos in the freezer.
Since you can use these until they wore down, they’re both budget-friendly and better for the environment than freezer wrap. Freezer bags are a must-have if you freeze food regularly.
Freezer Containers
Airtight containers are another freezing staple, and my favorite tool.
You can use freezer containers to freeze anything. They work best for freezing more substantial portions of food, soups, or as a way to group a couple of freezer bags.
Having a few on hand, is in most cases, all you need.
You can choose between plastic and glass containers. While plastic ones are cheaper, glass containers are more versatile. They’re safe to use in a microwave and often even in the oven. Choose ones that better suit your needs.
Meal-Prep Containers
Meal-prep containers are another popular option, and a must have for any meal-preppers out there.
You can choose between containers with 1, 2, or 3 compartments. I prefer the ones with two compartments so that I can store my carbs and proteins in the bigger compartment and the veggies in the other one.
Before buying a pack of those, think about your needs. When you know what types of meals you’re going to freeze, choosing a set of bento boxes shouldn’t be that difficult.
Before buying, make sure the containers are stackable (so they don’t take the entire cupboard) and BPA-free.
Baking Sheet & Silicone Mat
A baking sheet is one of the best tools for pre-freezing foods like veggies and fruits.
It provides a flat surface on which you can put the food that needs to be pre-frozen and takes as little space in the freezer as possible. When buying one for pre-freezing, make sure it fits into your freezer.
To make things even more convenient, add a silicone mat into the mix. While pre-frozen food sometimes sticks to the baking sheet, you can avoid the issue whatsoever by using a non-stick silicone mat.
Yup, that’s another piece of equipment meant for baking that’s super useful for freezing too.
Ice Cube Tray
If you’re freezing any liquids or semi-liquids (like sauces), you need an ice cube tray.
Ice cube trays are often used for freezing dairy-free milk alternatives, yogurt, or even pureed fruit. If you’d like to freeze some coffee whitener, pour it into an ice cube tray, freeze, and it’s ready to go. You can now get as much of it as needed for your morning shot of caffeine in no time.
Last but not least, an ice cube tray is also super useful in the warmer months for making ice cubes. And a more environment-friendly alternative to ice cube bags.
Cookie Scoop
Buying a cookie scoop for freezing purposes only makes sense if you often need to freeze portions of uniform size or weight. If that’s the case, you can use one instead of struggling with a kitchen scale or measuring cups.
Obviously, a cookie scoop has a ton of uses apart from freezing food, so it might make sense to buy one even if you won’t use it for freezing that often.
About the Author
Marcin is the managing editor of CanYouFreezeThis.com. He is making sure all the freezing info on this page is accurate and the posts easy to digest and use.