Can You Freeze Dumplings?

3 minutes

Dumplings are amongst the most popular and delicious oriental appetisers and can be prepared at home in several ways. They’re most traditionally filled with meat, fish, and vegetables and can then be steamed or fried, depending on your preference.

But if you’ve made too many dumplings to enjoy in one go, what’s the best way to preserve them? Can you freeze dumplings?

How to Freeze Dumplings

The first thing to acknowledge is that you can freeze both cooked and uncooked dumplings. You will just need to be careful as they might stick together. Below are the steps you need to take to freeze dumplings successfully: 

1. Cool
   If you’re freezing cooked dumplings, you will need to allow them to cool to room temperature before freezing, which shouldn’t take too long. If you’re freezing uncooked dumplings, you can skip this step. 
2. Freeze Initially
   Line a tray with baking parchment and place your dumplings on top, ensuring they’re not touching one another. Then, transfer the tray to the freezer and leave the dumplings inside until they have frozen solid. This should take between 1-3 hours. 
3. Place Into Freezer-Safe Container
   Once your dumplings have frozen solid, remove the tray from the freezer, and place each of your dumplings in a freezer-safe bag or container. 
4. Label and Freeze
   Write the date that you prepared the dumplings, as well as their use-by date on the front of the bag or container, before placing them in the freezer. Remember, you can freeze dumplings for around three months. 

3 Tips for Freezing Dumplings

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

• Don’t Refrigerate – If you’re dealing with uncooked dumplings, it’s important not to refrigerate them. Doing so will cause them to go soggy, which is something you will want to avoid. Therefore, the only way to preserve uncooked dumplings that you don’t plan to use right away is to store them in the freezer. 
• Steam, Boil, Microwave, or Fry – You’re spoiled for choice when it comes to cooking dumplings, as they can be steamed, boiled, microwaved, or fried, depending on your taste preference. What’s more, you don’t need to defrost them first, which saves you time when preparing them for your dinner guests. 
• Freeze Shop-Bought or Homemade Dumplings – Whether you’ve made the dumplings yourself or purchased them from the supermarket, they freeze just the same. You can even buy frozen dumplings from Chinese supermarkets that can be added straight to the pan. 

How Long Can You Freeze Dumplings?

You can freeze dumplings for around three months. 

Both uncooked and cooked dumplings freeze equally well, but you must freeze them initially on a tray before bagging them up. Skipping this step will cause your dumplings to stick together, and it will be really difficult to separate them. 

You Can Freeze Dumplings for up to 3 Months

How Do You Defrost Dumplings?

You don’t actually need to defrost dumplings before cooking or reheating them. In fact, the best way to cook them is straight from frozen, regardless of the cooking method that you employ.

Dumplings are incredibly sensitive to moisture, and thawing them in the fridge will almost certainly cause them to go soggy, which is far from ideal. 

Can You Refreeze Dumplings?

Refreezing dumplings is not a good idea. As you will be aware, one of the most delicious things about dumplings is their unique texture, so you don’t want to jeopardise it by freezing them more than once.

Freezing and refreezing dumplings will affect their moisture content and will cause them to go soggy or break up during the cooking process.

If you’re concerned about wastage, you should freeze your dumplings in smaller portion sizes and only remove them from the freezer when you’re ready to cook them.

Do Dumplings Freeze Well?

Freezing dumplings is the best way to preserve them. Regardless of whether your dumplings are homemade or shop-bought, they will last for up to three months in the freezer.

Just make sure you freeze your dumplings initially before transferring them to a freezer-safe bag or container, as this will ensure they don’t stick together and will be ideal for cooking directly from frozen. 

Related FAQs

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

Can You Freeze Gyoza?

Gyoza are simply a type of dumpling so everything written in this article can be applied to gyoza. This does mean that you can freeze gyoza for around 3 months. 

Can You Freeze Dumpling Filling?

If you’ve made a little too much filling then you may want to freeze this instead. The good news is that you can freeze dumpling filling. If it is warm, then allow it to cool. Once cooled, portion into freezer bags, seal the bags up and place them into the freezer.