Onion bhajis are a fantastic food that brings together a whole host of textures, flavours and colours to create this delightful side dish and they are pretty easy to make at home too! But what if you want to store them for the long term?
Can You Freeze Onion Bhajis?
Yes, you can freeze onion bhajis for up to 1 month. To freeze onion bhajis, cook and cool them then freeze them on a baking tray. Once solid, carefully transfer them to a freezer bag and then place them in the freezer.
Do Do Onion Bhajis freeze well? Yes
Can you refreeze Onion Bhajis? No
How To Freeze Onion Bhajis
Freezing onion bhajis is super simple and takes very few steps. Just follow the below for a stash of tasty treats in your freezer for you to grab whenever you need them.
- Cook
Cook your onion bhajis according to the recipe you love most. - Cool
Allow them to cool completely. - Spread Onto a Baking Sheet
Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the onion bhajis on top. Just make sure they don’t touch or they might freeze together in a lump instead of in handy potions. - Freeze
Pop the sheet into the freezer. Make sure you keep it flat. Allow the onion bhajis to freeze for a few hours. - Bag Up and Freeze Again
Take them out of the freezer and pop them into a labelled freezer bag and replace them back in the freezer. It really is as easy as that!
3 Tips for Freezing Onion Bhajis
Now you know how to freeze them, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing onion bhajis to have the best results:
Label Clearly
You’d be surprised how difficult it can be to tell the difference between onion bhajis and other items in the freezer so ensure you label them clearly. This is especially important if you’ve made different bhajis with vegetables other than onions.
Freeze Twice
By flash-freezing onion bhajis on a tray, you can ensure none of them clumps together while storing them all in one bag.
Use Good-Quality Freeze Bags
Those cheap sandwich bags you bought simply won’t do when it comes to freezing onion bhajis, unfortunately. Before you know it, your whole freezer will stink. Instead, ensure you use thick good-quality bags.
How Long Can You Freeze Onion Bhajis?
How long you can freeze this dish will depend on your recipe so check the instructions that come with the recipe too.
As a general rule of thumb, you can freeze onion bhajis for up to a month in an airtight bag or container without them degrading or suffering too much freezer burn.
You Can Freeze Onion Bhajis for Around 1 Month
How Do You Defrost Onion Bhajis?
It is just as easy to defrost and heat these up as it was to freeze them in the first place! Just take out the number of bhajis you want and pop them into a bowl. Place it in the fridge overnight and allow them to defrost slowly.
We wouldn’t recommend you try and defrost them in the microwave as that could cause them to end up soggy rather than the crispy bhajis we all know and love.
Yes, you can cook bhajis from frozen. Just pop them into a hot oven on a preheated baking tray for around 15 minutes until cooked through and turning crispy.
Can You Refreeze Onion Bhajis?
Refreezing onion bhajis is not something we would recommend doing. Unfortunately, it can completely ruin the crispy outer texture and soft interior. Instead, the texture will all become soft and the bhajis can actually become rubbery.
Do Onion Bhajis Freeze Well?
On the whole, onion bhajis do freeze well. Once cooked and frozen there is little taste change in the end dish. However, you might find that you get a little bit of texture change. It’s rare for a food to be completely unchanged after freezing.
The main thing to watch with this dish is to not keep them frozen too long. If they are in the freezer longer than a month they may start to degrade or become freezer burned.
You can minimise this by ensuring that they are in a sealed and airtight container.
Related FAQs
If you’ve still got questions about freezing onion bhajis or bhajis in general, then these may help:
You can freeze takeaway onion bhajis using the same method as above. Often, onion bhajis are quite greasy so make sure you pay dry with a kitchen towel before freezing on a baking tray. Once solid, tip into a freezer bag.
Although it is possible to freeze onion bhaji mix, it doesn’t freeze particularly well and takes a long time to then thaw and use. Instead, you’re better off frying your bhajis and freezing them ready-cooked.
What if u half fry in oil, then freeze, then finish cooking from frozen in oil again.
Excellent suggestion! You can indeed freeze half-fried foods, and when ready to finish cooking them, you can either bake them or fry them directly from frozen. Let us know how they turn out for you …. and, remember to ensure they reach a safe internal temperature to be fully cooked.