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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 I think we can all agree things that make our lives easier are lovely.
And if you’re running out of freezer space, you can try your hand at canning potatoes or dehydrating potatoes.
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 through freezing whole potatoes.
Quick note: you will need to blanch the potatoes before freezing them. This prevents them from turning black upon thawing.
Thankfully, it’s super easy to blanch potatoes, and I’ll walk you through the process in the post and the printable recipe card.
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.
- For best results, freeze your potatoes unseasoned, as it gives you more flexibility for cooking them later.
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 sliced 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 or slightly thawed, do not fully defrost first.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
After I peel and cut the potato into cubes, I want to soak them in cold water for about an hour, pour the water off, rinse them good in colander until rinse water is completely clear before continuing with recipe. Would this be ok to do this?
Absolute, Martha! The soak will cause the potatoes to be a bit extra plump, so I would allow them to drain a few extra minutes before freezing.
Our family farmette ended up with too many potatoes this year! I am using Sarah’s method to save them for later. This was a super simple and safe way to have potatoes for the whole winter. Can’t wait to use them in the months to come.
There is nothing more pleasing than dumping some frozen potatoes into a soup and knowing you didn’t have to do any prep that day!
Update: I used this in your cast-iron skillet potatoes. It was amazing. The potatoes were crisp on the outside, fluffy on the inside, and I didn’t have to thaw them out first!
I’m so thrilled to hear that! I freaking love a good meal prep hack.
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!
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!
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.
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.