Gooey, melted cheese pressed between two slices of buttery bread. Is there a more indulgent lunch? It’s easy to get carried away and make too much grilled cheese. So, what can you possibly do with those leftovers?
Can You Freeze Grilled Cheese Sandwiches?
Yes, you can freeze grilled cheese sandwiches for up to 3 months. Assemble a grilled cheese sandwich and place it into a freezer bag. Remove excess air, and freeze. When you thaw it, you will cook it fresh – you can even cook it from frozen!
Do Do Grilled Cheese Sandwiches freeze well? Yes
Can you refreeze Grilled Cheese Sandwiches? No
How to Freeze Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Freezing grilled cheese sandwiches isnāt quite as simple as tossing a hot sandwich into your freezer. Instead, follow our instructions to achieve success.
- Assemble: The first step to freezing grilled cheese is to make sandwiches. Assemble the bread, cheese, and butter in your usual way but do not cook them.
- Bag Up: Place each prepared sandwich into a small freezer bag. Ideally, the bag shouldnāt be much bigger than the sandwich itself. When the sandwich is in the bag, remove excess air, and seal.
- Stack: Create a stack of sandwiches on your countertop, and, if needed, remove excess air by pressing on the top of the stack. This will allow you to freeze the sandwiches much more efficiently.
- Freeze: Place the sandwiches into the centre of the freezer so that you can prevent freezer burn for as long as possible, and then freeze them in there for up to 3 months.
3 Tips for Freezing Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Now you know how to freeze it, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing grilled cheese to have the best results:
Bag the Sandwiches Individually
Bagging the sandwiches individually will allow you to easily remove one sandwich at a time to be thawed and cooked. This means that it will be easier to avoid waste, which is better for your pocket and the planet.Ā
Wrap in Baking Paper
Since a layer of butter or mayo is standard on the outermost layer of grilled cheese sandwiches, we might suggest ensuring that you wrap them in baking paper before placing them into the bags. This will prevent them from freezing together.
Line Your Freezer With Them
Once the sandwiches are frozen solid in your freezer, you can use their shape and size to your advantage. Use them to, essentially, line the inside of your freezer. This will protect more vulnerable foods from freezer burn.
How Long Can You Freeze Grilled Cheese Sandwiches?
You can freeze grilled cheese sandwiches for around 3 months before theyāre no longer in their best shape.
Beyond that first 3 months, theyāll still be safe to eat, but their texture and flavour will likely have decreased quite noticeably. To that end, itās wise not to allow them to freeze for longer than three months.
You can keep cooked grilled cheese sandwiches in the fridge for around 3 days before they must be either reheated or thrown out.
How Do You Defrost Grilled Cheese Sandwiches?
If the grilled cheese sandwich only contains cheese, then it is likely to be relatively thin. This means that you donāt need to defrost it – you can simply place it onto a hot pan, and as the sandwich thaws in front of you, it will also cook.
However, if the sandwich youāre thawing and eating is thicker, for instance, if it contains a lot of fillings, then your best course of action is to allow it to thaw on the countertop totally before you cook it in the pan.
You could also use the defrost setting on your microwave to thaw the sandwich without cooking it.
Can You Refreeze Grilled Cheese Sandwiches?
Technically, yes, you can refreeze grilled cheese sandwiches. However, we would advise against it.
The reason for this is that grilled cheese sandwiches are fairly air-dense, meaning that they can have quite a lot of air bubbles within the bread. These bubbles can condense to water and freeze to ice, which would lead to a freezer burn within the food that youāre making.
To avoid this, don’t bother refreezing your grilled cheese sandwiches after theyāve been thawed.
Do Grilled Cheese Sandwiches Freeze Well?
Yes, grilled cheese sandwiches do freeze well.
The reason for this is that the thing which damages a lot of frozen items is the impact of moisture from the freezer. In this case, when you thaw and cook the sandwich, youāll remove the moisture from it.
Therefore, you can be sure that the sandwiches will freeze relatively well and that the filling will survive the freezer well too.
Related FAQs
If youāve still got questions about freezing grilled cheese sandwiches or grilled cheese in general, then these may help:
Freezing cooked cheese on toast will not have the best results, unfortunately. The cheese topping will become dry and rubbery and lose its attractive gooeyness.
Although it is possible to freeze it, you’ll find that the cheese filling becomes increasingly rubbery and dry the longer it is stored in the freezer. It is better to store them uncooked.
