Home » Freeze It! » Dairy » Cheese
Helpful: 100%

Can You Freeze Grated Cheese?

Last Updated:

By Ross Young

*This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure to learn more.

Reading Time: 4 minutes

When it comes to eating cheese, many of us love to use it grated. It’s convenient and often the best way to add to sauces or meals. So it is no wonder that it’s common to ask what the best way to store it is.

Can You Freeze Grated Cheese?

Yes, you can freeze grated cheese for up to 2 months. You can freeze a number of cheeses when grated, including cheddar, gruyere and parmesan cheese.

Does Grated Cheese Freeze Well? Sometimes

Can You Refreeze Grated Cheese? No

How To Freeze Grated Cheese

Freezing grated cheese is a really easy process. Just follow these few steps.

  1. Grate: Although it’s an obvious first step, you need to grate your cheese if it has not been purchased pre-grated.
  2. Bag Up and Shake: Pop your grated cheese into a freezer bag with a spoonful of corn flour (cornstarch in the US). Give the bag a shake to cover the cheese pieces.
  3. Label: Label the bag with the contents and the date.
  4. Seal: Squeeze out any excess air and then seal it tightly. If you want to ensure the cheese is protected, you can double-bag it before freezing.
  5. Freeze: Pop the bag into the freezer and let it freeze.

How to Freeze Specific Grated Cheeses

Cheese comes in a whole range of shapes and sizes. So how do you freeze certain types of cheese when it is grated? 

How to Freeze Grated Mozzarella

Mozzarella is a fantastic cheese to have on hand, especially if you enjoy homemade pizza. Luckily this is also a great type of cheese to freeze.

Just be careful not to freeze fresh mozzarella as this has high water content and won’t freeze either. If you have bought pre-shredded mozzarella then you can freeze it using the same method as above.

Frozen mozzarella will suffer some of the same issues as any cheese that has been frozen. It will be a little crumblier but once it is melted into food there will be no difference.

How to Freeze Grated Parmesan

Not only can you freeze grated parmesan but it is the best way to freeze it! Parmesan has a low water content which makes it a little easier to freeze and when you grate it this improves its chances of freezing well.

To freeze grated parmesan cheese, you can follow the steps outlined above in this article’s howto freeze cheese section.

3 Tips for Freezing Grated Cheese

Now you know how to freeze it, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing grated cheese to have the best results:

Use Cornflour
A small sprinkling of cornflour coating the outside of the cheese is one way of stopping the cheese from sticking together in one large ball.

Shake the Bag
Once the cheese has been in the freezer for 30 minutes, give it a vigorous shake. This is a further step that can prevent the cheese from clumping together. 

Freeze It Mixed
You can freeze multiple cheese types grated and mixed together. Parmesan and gruyere work particularly well on dauphinoise, for example. Just make sure you label the mixture clearly. 

How Long Can You Freeze Grated Cheese?

How long you can freeze your grated cheese will depend on the style of cheese you have chosen to freeze. Grated cheddar, for example, can be frozen for about 2 months before it deteriorates too much.

Parmesan cheese can be frozen for longer, up to 9 months.

How Long Does Grated Cheese Last in the Fridge?

Once opened or grated at home, grated cheese will last for between 3 and 4 days in the fridge, when kept in an airtight container or resealable bag.

How Do You Defrost Grated Cheese?

When it comes to thawing out and using your grated cheese you have a couple of options to choose from.

You can either allow the cheese to defrost slowly by popping it into a bowl and leaving it in the fridge to thaw out slowly overnight or choose to use it right from frozen.

To use from frozen just pop your cheese into your cooking and cook as normal. For use as a melted topping sprinkle the frozen grated cheese on top and pop the meal in the oven to allow the cheese to melt.

Can You Refreeze Grated Cheese?

You shouldn’t refreeze grated cheese or any cheese for that matter. Freezing and thawing will deteriorate the structure of the cheese and the more times you do this, the worse it will get.

Thawing and refreezing might also allow extra bacteria to grow; nobody wants a stomach ache or to get sick!

Does Grated Cheese Freeze Well?

Cheese, as with most dairy products, doesn’t freeze particularly well. The fats, proteins and water all tend to separate out which causes cheese to become crumbly.

This is why trying and using cheese in sandwiches, for example, isn’t recommended. You should only use frozen cheese to cook or bake with instead, as by the time it is cooked, any change in texture won’t be noticed.

However, it is worth noting that if you want to freeze cheese, then grating it first is the best way to freeze it.

The smaller pieces of cheese allow for less separation so although it will still become crumbly, it shouldn’t be quite as bad as when you freeze a whole block of cheese.

Related FAQs

If you’ve still got questions about freezing grated cheese or cheese in general, then these may help:

How Do You Prevent Grated Cheese from Clumping?

A small sprinkling of corn flour (or cornstarch in the US) mixed into the grated cheese is a great way to prevent it from clumping without impacting on the flavour or texture.

Sources

We have verified the information on this page using the following resources:

Real Simple

Still Tasty

Was this helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

Leave a Comment