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Wondering if you can freeze butter? This dairy ingredient actually holds up extremely well when frozen: here’s how to do it!
Got too much butter on hand? Butter lasts for a few months refrigerated. But if you can’t use it all at once: is the freezer a good option? Luckily in this case, it is! Many ingredients lose texture or flavor when frozen, but butter is one of the best dairy products to freeze. It comes out of its frozen state almost unchanged! Here’s what you need to know to preserve this ingredient.
Can you freeze butter?
Freezing butter is a very effective way to preserve it; its texture and flavor remain unchanged. Some dairy products become grainy or separated after freezing, but butter is much more stable. Butter lasts in the refrigerator for 1 to 3 months. If you’d like to preserve butter beyond that point, you can freeze it for up to 6 months.
How to freeze butter
Freezing butter is a simple process. Here’s how to do it:
- If unopened, leave it in the original packaging. Place the butter in a resealable freezer safe plastic bag. If the wrapper is opened, wrap the butter in plastic and place it into a plastic bag.
- Mark the “Use by” date. Use a permanent marker to label the butter with a “use by” date that is 6 months in the future. Partially seal the bag, then use a straw to suck out all air from the bag.
- Freeze. Place the butter in the freezer and freeze for up to 6 months.
How to defrost butter
When defrosted from frozen, butter keeps its signature texture. Other dairy products can become grainy after thawing, like sour cream or cottage cheese. But butter defrosts easily with no texture changes. Here’s how to thaw butter:
- Place the butter in the refrigerator 24 hours to defrost. To speed up the process, you can place the butter at room temperature for 1 hour, then place it in the refrigerator to finish the defrosting.
- Or, use the butter frozen. Some baked recipes like scones and biscuits call for frozen butter, which helps to create a flaky texture when baked. Try these Easy Homemade Biscuits or Blueberry Scones.
Avoid refreezing the butter, since multiple freeze and thaw cycles could affect the texture adversely. And that’s it! Let us know if you try freezing butter and how it goes.
More ways to freeze ingredients
Want to freeze more dairy products, fruits or veggies? Here are a few methods:
- Learn how to freeze dairy products, like cheese, milk, heavy cream, sour cream, ricotta, yogurt, Greek yogurt, butter, cream cheese, cottage cheese and mozzarella
- Try freezing rice, guacamole, tortillas, quiche, or hummus
- Go for freezing almond milk or coconut milk
- Freeze vegetables like broccoli, spinach, kale, lettuce, onions, carrots, celery, cabbage, eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, asparagus, cucumber, garlic, avocados, or tomatoes,
- Freeze fruits like grapes, apples, lemons, strawberries, peaches, blueberries or bananas
More with butter
Can You Freeze Butter?
Wondering if you can freeze butter? This dairy ingredient actually holds up extremely well when frozen: here’s how to do it!
- Prep Time: 1 minute
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 1 minute
- Yield: N/A
- Category: Frozen
- Method: Frozen
- Cuisine: Frozen
Ingredients
- Butter*
Instructions
- If the butter is unopened, leave it in the original packaging and place the butter in a resealable freezer safe plastic bag. If not, wrap the butter in plastic wrap, then place it in a plastic bag.
- Use a permanent marker to label the butter with a “use by” date that is 6 months in the future. Partially seal the plastic bag, then use a straw to suck out all air from the bag.
- Place the butter in the freezer and freeze for up to 6 months. To defrost the butter, place it in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Do not refreeze the butter.
Notes
*Freeze butter that is as fresh as possible. Do not freeze butter past its expiration date.
