This post is sponsored by Vesta Precision. All opinions are my own.
Learn all the tips and tricks for freezing potatoes to save a ton of time and money. Learning how to freeze potatoes for side dishes, soups, and fast meals is a great way to preserve this staple of so many recipes.
Frozen veggies that are ready to be added to meals are incredible time savers. Having components ready to go for main dishes, soups, or casseroles helps make your day just a little bit easier.
Can You Freeze Potatoes?
Yes, and you absolutely should! It’s a wonderful way to meal prep for future quick weeknight meals. Imagine how quickly your Instant Pot Beef Stew will come together when you pull frozen potatoes, frozen carrots, frozen onions, and frozen garlic from your stash of freezer essentials. No chopping or last-minute prep work needed.
My preference is to freeze potatoes diced as it gives you many options for how to use them later. You can freeze whole potatoes if you select smaller potatoes and blanch for the full 5 minutes.
Running out of freezer space? If you have a pressure canner, you can try your hand at Canning Potatoes or try dehydrating potatoes.
What Is the Best Way to Freeze Potatoes?
Potatoes will quickly discolor when exposed to air, so the best way to freeze them is to quickly vacuum seal, or flash freeze on a baking sheet. Flash freezing basically allows each potato to freeze separately. This will allow them to be stored together without being frozen in one big clump.
For potatoes, I prefer to use my Vesta Precision Vacumn Sealer. You don’t have to wait for flash freezing and the air-tight seal means they will not discolor in the freezer. And because the machine is so easy to use, I can process 10-pounds of potatoes in under 10 minutes.
Do You Have to Blanch Potatoes Before Freezing?
Yes, you do. There are many recipes out there telling you to just chop potatoes and stick them in the freezer. That’s not going to work and it is not safe.
Uncooked frozen potatoes will discolor upon defrosting. According to the NCHFP, “blanching stops enzyme actions which can cause loss of flavor, color and texture. Blanching cleanses the surface of dirt and organisms, brightens the color and helps retard loss of vitamins. Underblanching stimulates the activity of enzymes and is worse than no blanching. Overblanching causes loss of flavor, color, vitamins and minerals”. (source)
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 into a bowl with ice water. THAT’S IT.
Can You Freeze Mashed Potatoes?
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-tighter containers for up to 3 months. Get all the details in this post on Freezing Mashed Potatoes.
I have three delicious mashed potatoes recipes that will freeze like a dream: Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes, Instant Pot Whole30 Mashed Potatoes, and Mashed Potatoes With Wasabi.
TOOLS FOR FREEZING Potatoes
- Vesta Precision Vac’n Seal Elite
- Large saucepan
- Strainer/colander
- Vacuum sealer or freezer-safe storage bags
- Ice
- Large bowl
Sustainability tip: Since Vesta’s freezer bags are made from food-grade polyethylene BPA-free plastic, you can recycle clean and dry used bags at grocery stores or any retailer that offers plastic bag recycling.
PRO TIPS/RECIPE NOTES
- You can also freeze potato sticks for homemade french fries. Blanch for 3 minutes prior to freezing.
- There is no need to fully thaw the potatoes before cooking.
- You can leave the skins on prior to freezing. Depending on how you cook them, the skins may slip off when heating.
- 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.
- Freeze your spuds unseasoned as it gives you more flexibility for cooking them later.
- The Vac’n Seal Elite is also perfect to use with a home sous vide machine.
How to Use Frozen Potatoes
To use, slightly defrost the bag in cool water or on the countertop for an hour. Sustainability tip: cut your Vesta Precision bag directly under the seal. You can wash, dry, and reuse the bags until there is not enough plastic left to seal. And recycle what is left.
Use diced potatoes to make Instant Pot Beef Barley Soup, Crispy Ranch Air Fryer Potatoes, Instant Pot Potato Salad, Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana, Whole30 Potato Soup, or Cast Iron Potatoes. Use frozen “sticks” for Air Fryer Fries.
Add some to these Green Beans in Tomato Sauce for a super-fast version of Fasolakia.
MORE “HOW TO” RECIPES LIKE THIS
- How to Freeze Fresh Produce
- Complete Guide to What to Preserve in Fall
- Freezing Peaches
- How to Freeze Rhubarb
- Freezing Raspberries
- How to Freeze Corn on the Cob
- Freezing Scrambled Eggs
- How to Freeze Pumpkin
- Freezing Peppers
- How to Dehydrate Tomatoes
- Freezing Cauliflower
- How to Freeze Cranberries
- Freezing Blueberries
- Freezing Tomatoes the Easy Way
- How to Freeze Pesto
- Freezing Celery
- How to Freeze Garlic
- Freezing Peas
- Freezing Cherries
- How to Freeze Asparagus
- Freezing Strawberries
- How to Roast Frozen Vegetables
How to Freeze Potatoes
Ingredients
- Vesta Precision Vac'n Seal Elite {optional}
- 1 chef's knife
- 1 vegetable peeler
- 1 cutting board
- 1 large saucepan
- 1 colander or slotted spoon
- 1 mixing bowl
- ice
- 1 rimmed baking sheet
- 1 silpat or parchment
Instructions
How to Blanch Potatoes
- Remove any dirt with cool running water. Peel (optional) and then rinse again.
- Halve or chop into uniform pieces. Keep cut potatoes in a bowl of cold water until you're ready to blanch them.
- Set up a bowl full of ice water.
- Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil.
- Add potatoes to the boiling water and boil for 3-5 minutes depending on size. 3 min for diced (homefries size) or sticks, 4 minutes for quartered potatoes, and 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 Vacumn Seal Potatoes
- Select desired size of vacuum seal bag. Fill bag 2/3 - 3/4 full. Shake potatoes down to settle the distribution in the bag.
- Place the open end of the bag into the liquid groove of the Vesta Precision Vac'n Seal Eite. Close and press the lid to "lock".
- Press "Power", "Food" then press until "moist" is displayed, and then "vacuum and seal"
- The Vac'n Seal Elite will begin to remove air from the bag. After the process is complete, the "vacuum and seal" button will turn white and there will be several beeps.
- Press the latch buttons, open the lid, remove the bag, label, and freeze.
Freezing Potatoes Without a Vesta Precision Vacumn Sealer
- 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
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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.