Can You Freeze Cheese?

Which types of cheese can be frozen?

Can you freeze cream cheese? Can you freeze mozzarella cheese? Can you freeze ricotta cheese?

To answer this, when you compare our shelf life pages for hard cheese and soft cheese you will note that the firmer the cheese, the longer its shelf life. Similarly, firmness is a major factor with cheese quality after the cheese is frozen and whether or not it is desirable to freeze cheese.

The best cheese to freeze is shredded firm cheese. Firmer cheeses freeze better, especially if they are shredded. Blocks of cheese also freeze well, but they tend to crumble instead of slicing nicely after thawing.

Softer cheeses do not freeze well because the moisture within the cheese forms ice crystals. When defrosted, these crystals destroy the texture of the cheese. So softer cheeses are grainy after freezing, the texture is more noticeably altered.

Can You Freeze Cheese?

	Does Cheese Freeze?	Thawed Result
Does Cream Cheese Freeze?	Not well	Dry, Chunky and Crumbly
Does Ricotta Cheese Freeze?	Not Well	Runny – Separated and Watery
Does Brie Cheese Freeze?	Yes	Grainer texture
Does Cheddar Cheese Freeze	Yes	Crumblier
Does Mozzarella Cheese Freeze?	Yes	Slightly Rubbery & Yellowed

*NOTE: Any cheese, once defrosted, is better if used for cooking than just eating plain.

Additional Information

How Do You Defrost Frozen Cheese?

Frozen cheese should be defrosted in the refrigerator. Cheese that has been frozen is best used within 2-3 days after thawing.

Frozen shredded cheese can also be used from the frozen state for cooking in casseroles like lasagna.

You can buy bags of shredded cheese when they are on sale and keep them in the freezer for use anytime. They freeze well and defrost very quickly.

Can You Freeze Cheesecake?

Cheesecake actually freezes very well, since the cream cheese ingredient has been baked. There is no notable difference between frozen and unfrozen cheesecake. Even the Cheesecake Factory freezes their cheesecakes, if you order a whole one it often comes frozen.

Can You Freeze Cream Cheese?

If you freeze cream cheese, you will not be happy with the cream cheese that has been frozen when you try to spread it on your bagel. Frozen cream cheese is very difficult to spread, it just crumbles into tiny bits!

Hope this helps with the question of can you freeze cheese. You can freeze cheese, especially frozen cheese that will later be used for cooking purposes.