Free printable sheet
Freezer and fridge storage sheet for meal prep
How long common meal-prep dishes keep in the fridge and the freezer, with a prep-day checklist and a blank week log. Print it or save it as PDF from your browser.
How long it keeps
Fridge at 40°F (4°C) or below, freezer at 0°F (-18°C) or below. Freezer times are for quality only: food kept frozen at 0°F or below stays safe indefinitely, it just gets drier and loses flavor.
| Food | Fridge | Freezer |
|---|---|---|
| Soups and stews (vegetable or meat added) | 3 to 4 days | 2 to 3 months |
| Cooked meat or poultry (leftovers) | 3 to 4 days | 2 to 6 months |
| Casseroles with eggs (after baking) | 3 to 4 days | 2 to 3 months |
| Quiche with filling (after baking) | 3 to 5 days | 2 to 3 months |
| Chicken nuggets or patties (leftovers) | 3 to 4 days | 1 to 3 months |
| Pizza (leftovers) | 3 to 4 days | 1 to 2 months |
| Raw ground meat or ground poultry | 1 to 2 days | 3 to 4 months |
| Raw chicken or turkey pieces | 1 to 2 days | 9 months |
| Raw steaks, chops or roasts (beef, pork, lamb) | 3 to 5 days | 4 to 12 months |
| Egg, chicken, tuna or macaroni salads | 3 to 4 days | Does not freeze well |
| Hard-cooked eggs | 1 week | Do not freeze |
Prep-day checklist
- Decide before you cook which portions go in the fridge (eaten within the fridge time above) and which go in the freezer.
- Let food stop steaming, then chill it: portion into shallow containers so it cools fast.
- Label every container with the dish and the date you cooked it.
- Freeze flat in portions you will eat at one meal.
- Thaw in the fridge overnight, not on the counter.
- Reheat leftovers until steaming hot all the way through.
My week
| Dish | Cooked on | Fridge or freezer | Eat by |
|---|---|---|---|
Sources
This sheet is free. It comes from Prepfreezer, a planned book imprint of Bardach Technologies LLC; the book itself is not written yet. About the planned book