Maybe you got a great deal at the grocery store or purchased more mushrooms than you need right now. Hey, we get it—sometimes a nice batch of shiitakes or baby bellas are hard to pass up. Whatever the case, don’t let those savory mushrooms go to waste.
You can freeze your mushrooms to use in tasty sauces, soups, or blended recipes—and we’d love to share how. Can you freeze mushrooms without compromising their quality? How do you freeze mushrooms? We've got all the answers to all of your questions and reliable steps for how to freeze mushrooms safely.
First, Can Mushrooms Be Frozen?
Customers ask us all the time, “Can you store mushrooms in the freezer?”
Contrary to what a lot of people suspect, you sure can. When you love mushrooms and catch your faves for a good price, it's only natural to want to take advantage. In the fridge, most mushrooms will keep for about a week, possibly more and possibly less. Placing them in the freezer like other forms of produce is an easy way to protect your purchase for the longer term.
How to Store Mushrooms in the Freezer
1. Ensure your mushrooms are fresh enough to freeze
The very first rule to learn in storing mushrooms in your freezer is never, ever freeze not-fresh mushrooms. Mushrooms past their shelf life raw will come out of the freezer the same way—not what you want. Before freezing your mushrooms, do a freshness test.
The quickest way to test a mushroom’s freshness is to try to break its cap. You want to hear a distinct snap. If it falls off or is rubbery and won’t tear, compost the fungi and pick up a new container for freezing.
Read our other post, 6 Mushroom Preparation Tips for Serving the Freshest ‘Shrooms, Every Time, for more tips on selecting flavorful mushrooms.
2. Cook your mushrooms first, without crowding the pan
We don’t advise sticking raw mushrooms into the freezer. There will be too much water content in the fungi, which equates to a soggy mess when you retrieve your frozen goodies.
Instead, clean your mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Then, heat up your pan with a bit of oil or butter and place your sliced mushrooms roughly one inch apart from one another on the pan. Mushrooms are about 95% water and overcrowding them while cooking doesn’t allow released moisture to escape— which could make your mushrooms soggy.
You can also make use of extras with whatever mushroom cooking you're already doing. Next time you have a lot of mushrooms to sauté, divide them into batches and freeze what you don't eat. Or, consider grilling them before freezing.
3. Freeze on the pan for 30 minutes
Does it matter if your mushrooms keep their shape when you’re ready to use them? If you want nicely shaped mushrooms when dethawed, space your fungi neatly apart on a cookie sheet and pop them in the freezer uncovered for about 30 minutes. This will ensure they do not stick together and freeze individually.
If you are making a soup, sauce, or blended burger where you’ll be puréeing or finely dicing your mushrooms, it doesn’t much matter if they freeze in a chunk— and you can skip this step.
4. Spoon your mushrooms into an airtight container or freezer-safe bag
When storing mushrooms in your refrigerator, you can use a paper bag to allow them to breathe, but when freezing fungi use airtight containers to keep the frost out. Plastic containers, freezer storage bags, and anything that keeps air out will work.
Place them in freezer-safe plastic bags, or even reusable Shasher bags. As long as they’re sealed, they’ll keep just fine. We recommend dividing your mushrooms into small batches to unthaw a convenient amount for your next recipe.
5. Date your freezer bag or container
Your mushrooms will last six months in your freezer if properly prepared and stored. Use a marker to write on disposable plastic bags or a place sticker on plastic containers to monitor your freeze date.
Don’t want to stick anything on the container or use a marker on it? Set a reminder on your phone for a month before the freshness window is ending to remember to use your mushrooms.
That’s it! Remove your mushrooms from the freezer and put directly into hot soups or sauces, or place them in the fridge for 24 hours before making blended burgers.
Beyond How to Freeze Mushrooms - More Food For Thought!
In addition to freezing, there are other ways you can store your mushrooms to extend their shelf life. Consider marinating or dehydrating your extra mushrooms instead.
Check out our Italian Marinated Mushrooms Canning Recipe to jar your flavored fungi. Then, read these tips for drying out and turning your fungi into nutritious mushroom powder.
Use Your Frozen Mushrooms
Ready to put your newfound freezing skills to use? Dethaw your mushrooms and make one of these delicious mushroom soups or these blended recipes.
