Freeze This Food

Can You Freeze Cheese?

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Illustration of cheese

It depends on the cheese. Firm, low-moisture cheeses like cheddar and mozzarella freeze acceptably, especially for cooking, though they turn crumbly and lose their slice-ability. Soft, high-moisture cheeses — cream cheese, ricotta, brie — separate and go grainy and are best avoided. Grate or portion before freezing, and use hard cheese within about 4 to 6 months.

Can you freeze cheese?

Yes — with caveats
How long it keeps frozen
4 to 6 months for hard cheeseUniversity of Illinois Extension's range for hard cheese. A constant 0 °F (−18 °C) keeps it safe far beyond the window; only the texture suffers, growing steadily more crumbly the longer it is stored.
How to freeze it
  1. Choose firm cheeses; cut them into blocks of about 250 g or less, or grate them.
  2. Wrap blocks tightly in cling film, then foil or a freezer bag, pressing out the air.
  3. For grated cheese, bag it and squeeze the air out so it freezes loose and pourable.
  4. Label with the type and date, and freeze quickly.
How to thaw & use
Thaw blocks slowly in the fridge to limit crumbling; use grated cheese straight from frozen, scattering it onto pizza, pasta bakes, or toasties.
Texture & quality
Freezing makes hard cheese crumbly and harder to slice cleanly, because ice disrupts its structure — which is why it suits melting and grating rather than a cheeseboard. Soft cheeses fare worse, splitting into watery and grainy parts, so reserve those for cooked dishes if you freeze them at all.

More in this group: Freezing dairy & eggs

Frequently asked questions

Which cheeses can you freeze and which can't you?

Firm, low-moisture cheeses — cheddar, mozzarella, Gruyère — freeze acceptably, best for cooking. Soft, high-moisture ones — cream cheese, ricotta, cottage cheese, brie — separate into watery and grainy parts and are not worth freezing except for cooked dishes.

Why does frozen cheese go crumbly?

Ice crystals form between the protein and fat and disrupt the cheese's structure, so it loses cohesion and breaks apart rather than slicing cleanly. That crumbliness is fine for grating and melting, which is where frozen cheese earns its place.

Should you grate cheese before freezing it?

It is often the easiest approach. Grated cheese freezes loose if you press the air out of the bag, so you can scatter a handful straight onto pizza or pasta from frozen, sidestepping the crumbly-slice problem entirely.

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