As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Learn all the tips and tricks for how to freeze potatoes to build a freezer stash of this versatile vegetable. Freezing potatoes is a great way to preserve without needing to know any special kitchen skills.
Frozen veggies that are ready to be added to meals are incredible time savers. Having frozen potatoes ready to go for main dishes, soups, or casseroles helps make your day just a little bit easier.
And if you’re running out of freezer space, you can try your hand at Canning Potatoes or try dehydrating potatoes.
Can You Freeze Potatoes?
Yes, and you absolutely should! It’s a wonderful way to meal prep for future quick weeknight meals.
My preference is to freeze potatoes diced as it gives you many options for how to use them later. But, I’ll also walk you though freezing whole potatoes.
How to Freeze Potatoes
*I’ll walk you through it here with some photos and tips, and you’ll also find a printable recipe card at the bottom of the post with exact measurements, etc. You can also click “jump to recipe” to skip down.
Start by washing the potatoes under cool running water. Decide if you are freezing the potatoes peeled or unpeeled. If freezing peeled, peel the potatoes and then rinse again.
Fill a medium bowl with ice water and set it aside. Set up another large bowl of cold water, and set that aside. Set a large pot of water to boil on the stove.
Cut the potatoes into uniform pieces, and place them in the bowl of cold water. This will prevent them from oxidizing (browning) until you are ready to blanch them.
Once the pot of water is at a rolling boil, add potatoes to the pot and boil for 3-5 minutes depending on size:
- 3 min for diced (homefries size)
- 3 minutes for fry-size potatoes
- 4 minutes for quartered potatoes
- 5 minutes for halves or whole
Once the time is up, strain the potatoes through a colander or scoop pieces out of the water with a large slotted spoon and immediately add the potatoes to the ice water for two minutes. Strain again and set aside to drain.
Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment, waxed paper, or a silpat. Add the potatoes to the baking sheet without crowding the tray and place the tray in the freezer.
Freeze the potatoes for 4 hours. Break apart any clumps that have formed on the baking sheet and transfer frozen potatoes to freezer-proof storage.
Frequently Asked Questions
Potatoes will quickly discolor when exposed to air, so the best way to freeze blanched potatoes is to quickly vacuum seal, or flash freeze them on a baking sheet.
Flash freezing allows each potato or potato piece to freeze separately. This will allow them to be stored together without being frozen in one big clump.
Yes, you do. There are many recipes out there telling you to just chop potatoes and stick them in the freezer. Uncooked frozen potatoes will discolor and turn black upon defrosting.
Thankfully, it’s super easy to blanch potatoes. You’ll just need to bring a pot of water to a boil, add the spuds, and cook for 3-5 minutes depending on the size. Scoop them out with a slotted spoon and put them into a bowl with ice water. THAT’S IT.
No, it is not recommended due to discoloration.
Yes, you can freeze whole potatoes if you select smaller potatoes and blanch for the full 5 minutes.
Yes! Thanks to the fat content in mashed potatoes (from cream, cream cheese, milk, sour cream, and/or butter), they freeze incredibly well. Freeze in air-tight containers for up to 3 months. Get all the details in this post on Freezing Mashed Potatoes.
I have three delicious mashed potato recipes that will freeze like a dream: Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes, Boursin Mashed Potatoes, and Mashed Potatoes With Wasabi.
You can store frozen potatoes in a conventional freezer for 3 months, or 6-12 in a deep freezer.
How to Use Frozen Potatoes
To use, slightly defrost the container of frozen potatoes in cool water or on the countertop for an hour.
Use diced potatoes to make Instant Pot Beef Stew, Instant Pot Beef Barley Soup, Air Fryer Potatoes, Instant Pot Potato Salad, Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana, Instant Pot Potato Soup, or Cast Iron Potatoes. Use frozen potato “sticks” for Air Fryer Fries.
Add some cubed potatoes to these Green Beans in Tomato Sauce for a super-fast version of Fasolakia.
PRO TIPS/RECIPE NOTES
- There is no need to fully thaw the potatoes before using them in recipes.
- You can leave the skins on prior to freezing. Depending on how you cook them, the skins may slip off when reheating.
- You can also freeze sweet potatoes but they need to be almost fully cooked prior to freezing. You can find various sweet potato cooking instructions here: Air Fryer Sweet Potatoes and Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes.
- For best results, freeze your potatoes unseasoned as it gives you more flexibility for cooking them later.
MORE “HOW TO” RECIPES LIKE THIS
How to Freeze Potatoes
Equipment
- Vegetable peeler
Ingredients
- potatoes
- ice
Instructions
How to Blanch Potatoes For Freezing
- Remove any dirt from the potatoes with cool running water. Peel (optional) and then rinse again.potatoes
- Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil.
- Set up a large bowl full of cold water.
- Set up a bowl full of ice water.ice
- Halve or chop potatoes into uniform pieces.Place them in the cold water until you're ready to blanch them.
- Add potatoes to the boiling water and boil for 3-5 minutes depending on size.*3 min for diced (home fry size)*3 minutes for fry-size potatoes*4 minutes for quartered potatoes*5 minutes for halves or whole
- Once the time is up, strain the potatoes through a colander or scoop pieces out of the water with a slotted spoon and immediately add to the ice water for two minutes.
- Strain again and set aside to drain.
How to Freeze Potatoes
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment or a silpat.
- Add the potatoes to the baking sheet without crowding the tray and place the tray in the freezer.
- Freeze for four hours.
- Break apart any clumps that have formed on the baking sheet and transfer to freezer-proof storage.
Notes
- Store in a conventional freezer for 3 months, or 6-12 in a deep freezer.
- Cook from frozen, do not fully defrost first.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Does frozen diced potatoes make good mashed potatoes when thawed
Absolutely! Assuming that you mash it without over-mashing it. Over-mashing causes the starches in potatoes to “activate” and will result in a gluey texture.
I froze some mashed potatoes but when I thawed them they were extremely watery. What did I do wrong?
It’s normal that they’re watery when thawed. When you cook them, all the extra water will “bake-off”.
Hi.. When the potatos are placed into the boiling water do I start timing right away
or when the water comes back to a boil? Do the potatos need to be completely dry
before placing in freezer bags or can they still be a little damp? I really pat them alot but can’t seem to get
then completely dry.Thanks so much,Georgia
The water should remain at a rolling boil when you put them in unless you’re overloading the pot. So if that is happening, you’d start timing when it comes back to a boil.
A little damp is totally fine!
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.
Oh wow, that sounds like an incredible root cellar and potato haul!!
As always, your timing is perfect! I have some potatoes that need to be dealt with, and soon! Would it be weird to ask for a vacuum sealer for Mother’s Day?
Well, I bought myself a clothesline for Mother’s Day one year, so clearly I’m going to vote “it’s not weird”. 🙂
Nice!!  I have some potatoes leftover from Easter that i didn’t want to go to waste. Perfect way to use them up! Â
I’ll make you a prepper yet!!
Well super timely post. Thanks!  They only had a 10 pound bag at the grocery store and I bought it knowing we wouldn’t go through all those potatoes.  I’m also interested  the sealer as well so thanks for the post! Â
It’s such a great way to stock the freezer on the cheap.
Perfect timing. I have a 10 pound bag I was trying to figure out how to use before I had to toss them!! Project for today.Â
Your afternoon is about to get very exciting Monica!!
I was just thinking about you and potatoes! I thought I remember reading a post about prepping potatoes and leaving then in water in the fridge. But this works also!!!
Thanks!
Yes, that was me! I leave them chopped in the fridge in water overnight for making mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving. But having a bunch frozen and ready to go makes so much sense too.
This post came at just the right time! We were just wondering if potatoes could be frozen at home or if factories did something special to make them not discolor while frozen that couldn’t be replicated at home. Thank you!
They do something to hashbrowns at the factory to keep them from losing shape. They also mix them with dextrose (sugar), so that’s not always a healthy way to enjoy some spuds.
Ah, I must have read that about hash browns at some point. I knew there was a reason I didn’t buy them anymore.
The Cascadian Farms brand is just potatoes and maybe salt. They’re a Pacific Northwest company so I’m not sure if they’re in stores nationwide.