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Got potatoes and want to preserve them? Here’s how to freeze potatoes to extend the life of this hearty root vegetable.
Got more potatoes than you need? Potatoes are generally easy to use up, since they have a longer shelf life than most vegetables. But if you’ve got too many on hand, a great way to preserve their life? Pop them in the freezer! The texture of potatoes holds up while frozen so you can reuse them in wedges, fries, potato soup, mashed potatoes, and more.
How to freeze potatoes
The first step to how to freeze potatoes? Parboiling. Parboiling boiling a food until it’s just tender but not cooked all the way through. This technique is used when the food is cooked all the way through in a different way later (for example, parboiling potatoes before grilling). Potatoes contain a lot of water, so it’s important to parboil them before freezing so they don’t end up mushy or grainy. Here’s how to freeze potatoes:
- Cut the potatoes: peel and dice them, cut them into fries, cut them into wedges, or use whatever cut you plan to use after freezing.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then add the potatoes and parboil them for 3 minutes.
- Drain the potatoes into a strainer, then run cold water on them until they are cool to the touch. Pat the potatoes dry.
- Place the potatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze the tray for 1 hour.
- Transfer the potatoes to a sealable freezer safe bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
- If you’re making Homemade Baked Fries, you can skip the soaking step and proceed right to seasoning the fries (cook them directly from frozen and add a few minutes to the bake time as necessary until crispy on the outside and tender on the inside).
Not sure how you’re planning to use the potatoes after you freeze them? Go for peeled and diced, which is the most versatile cut.
Ways to use frozen potatoes
Frozen potatoes work well in many different recipes. Keep in mind you may need to cook the potatoes slightly less than the recipe indicates, since the parboiling process shortcuts a few minutes of cook time. Here are some potato recipes that work well with frozen potatoes:
- Fries like Baked French Fries, Seasoned Fries, Parmesan Truffle Fries, Cajun Fries or Garlic Fries
- Soups like Loaded Potato Soup, Broccoli Potato Soup or Vegan Potato Soup
- Sautees like Pan Fried Potatoes (adjust the cook time as necessary for the cut of potato)
- Salad like Classic Potato Salad (boil the potatoes until tender; take approximately 5 minutes off of the boil time)
- Mashed like Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Best Mashed Potatoes, or Horseradish Mashed Potatoes (same note as above)
- Boiled like Perfect Boiled Potatoes
- Roasted like Classic Roasted Potatoes or Roasted Red Potatoes (adjust the cook time as necessary)
- Grilled like Perfect Grilled Potatoes
- Casseroles like Shepherd’s Pie
More freezing methods
Want to freeze more fruits and vegetables? Here are a few more methods for preserving fresh food and reducing food waste:
- Learn how to freeze Broccoli, Green Beans, Zucchini, Corn or Tomatoes
- Go for How to Freeze Bread
- Extend the life of fruit by learning how to freeze Strawberries, Peaches, Blueberries or Bananas
How to Freeze Potatoes
Got potatoes and want to preserve them? Here’s how to freeze potatoes to extend the life of this hearty root vegetable.
- Prep Time: 12 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: N/A
- Category: N/A
- Method: Frozen
- Cuisine: Frozen
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- Potatoes
Instructions
- Cut the potatoes: peel and dice them, cut them into fries, cut them into wedges, or use whatever cut you plan to use after freezing.*
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then add the potatoes and parboil them for 3 minutes.
- Drain the potatoes into a strainer, then run cold water on them until they are cool to the touch. Pat the potatoes dry.
- Place the potatoes in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze the tray for 1 hour.
- Transfer the potatoes to a sealable freezer safe bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
- If you’re making Homemade Baked Fries, you can skip the soaking step and proceed right to seasoning the fries (cook them directly from frozen and add a few minutes to the bake time as necessary until crispy on the outside and tender on the inside).
Notes
*Not sure how you’re planning to use the potatoes after you freeze them? Go for peeled and diced, which is the most versatile cut. It works for pan fried, soups, mashed potatoes and more.
Hi! If I freeze french fries, can I fry them in oil straight from the freezer?
Yes
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