These Are The Best And Worst Foods To Buy Frozen

Updated: Jul 14, 2023By Amanda JamiFood

This article originally appeared on Investing.com. It has been republished here with permission.

Frozen Burger, @Chatham172/Shutterstock / Fresh Burger, @Fedorovacz/Shutterstock

When it comes to the food we prepare at home, it is always a delicate balance of health and convenience. We all want to do the best we can for our family, providing healthy, balanced meals. At the same time we face time constraints due to demanding work schedules and the modern daily grind.

Very often it is much easier to grab a frozen bag of vegetables or frozen burgers for dinner, but are they as healthy as their fresh counterpart? Can we benefit from the same nutritional value with frozen food? We discuss the best food to prepare fresh and which food is just as good, if not better frozen.

1. Smoothie Base Mix

Fresh or Frozen: Fresh
Estimated Cost: $2

While it may be convenient to have frozen fruit on hand to blend in the morning, fresh fruit is better for a few reasons. Firstly, if the fruit you are eating (or drinking in this case) is in season it is likely to be less expensive and available in higher quantities.

Smoothie base mix ©Carey Jaman / Shutterstock.com

It is also likely to be more flavorful if fresh and in season. If you’ve ever tasted a frozen strawberry vs a fresh, in season strawberry, you will know that fresh is always sweeter. If that is not reason enough, fresh seasonal fruit is also higher in nutrients.

2. Broccoli

Fresh or Frozen: Frozen
Estimated Cost: $1.93

Broccoli can be hard to find and expensive, especially during winter. When choosing frozen it is fairly inexpensive by comparison. Not only considering the financial aspect though, frozen broccoli has been shown to be as healthy as fresh, perhaps even more.

Broccoli ©Xanya69 / Shutterstock.com

Studies have suggested that frozen broccoli contains more vitamins A, B2, C and Folic Acid after being frozen for an entire year. The convenience alone is enough of a reason for many, they are usually blanched before being frozen so this cuts down cooking time drastically.

3. Salmon

Fresh or Frozen: Frozen
Estimated Cost: $9 per pound

When fish are caught to be frozen, they are frozen immediately. Essentially this stops time and by the time the fish is defrosted and prepared at home by you, it is exactly as fresh as it was when caught. It has been shown that this process does not compromise the nutrients of the fish at all.

Salmon ©sculler / Shutterstock.com

When eating fresh fish, as much as we would like to think it’s right off the boat, it often isn’t. It can take several days to get from them to your supermarket. Unless you have access to truly fresh fish at a fishmonger or market, frozen is usually a safer bet in ensuring the produce is as fresh as it can be.

4. Soup

Fresh or Frozen: Frozen
Estimated Cost: $2.50

Frozen soup comes out best here because when made properly, it is possible to use the freshest ingredients in frozen soup and they will remain just as fresh for up to a year of being frozen. They lose no nutritional value at all and are extremely convenient and easy to heat up.

Soup ©Ahanov Michael / Shutterstock.com

Canned soup needs to have all sorts of additives to allow it to remain ‘fresh’ in the can and usually contains all kinds of MSG and preservatives that we would prefer to avoid. Soup made from scratch at home is another good alternative, especially to use vegetables that are about to go off, though it is time consuming to prepare.

5. Pasta

Fresh or Frozen: Fresh
Estimated Cost: $1.20

Pasta is one of those incredible ingredients that we can stock up that has a very long shelf life. Cooking fresh pasta is fast, family friendly and convenient. It is very inexpensive and comes in many different forms and the best sauces are the simplest ones, just ask any Italian!

Pasta ©denio109 / Shutterstock.com

This family favorite is best eaten fresh though. Freezing pasta, while possible, is not recommended. Leftovers are better eaten the next day rather than freezing for another day and because it is so easy and fast to make fresh there is no reason to buy frozen or to cook in bulk and freeze.

6. Carrots

Fresh or Frozen: Fresh
Estimated Cost: 49¢ -$4 a pound

Carrots are a firm family favorite and are enjoyed both raw, with a dip of some kind or in a salad, as well as cooked. The sweet and aromatic vegetable is not just good for the eyes, as the kids all say, but they are also a rich source of β-carotene.

Carrots ©5 second Studio / Shutterstock.com

It has been found that after just 10 days in storage, fresh carrots lose up to 10% of β-carotene, so they are best eaten fresh. You should select carrots with their green leaves, as they will last longer. By contrast, frozen carrots have been found to lose up to 50% of their β-carotene, making fresh the much better option in this case.

7. Rice

Fresh or Frozen: Fresh
Estimated Cost: 71¢ per pound

Rice is another family favorite. An inexpensive dry ingredient that can be stored away for a long time, requiring minimal cooking time. It is a perfect starch for basically any protein. It’s no wonder that rice is incredibly popular all around the globe.

Rice ©Africa Studio / Shutterstock.com

However, rice should always be eaten fresh. Uncooked, it contains a bacteria called Bacillus cereus which can cause food poisoning. It can also survive the cooking process so it is best to never leave rice out at room temperature.

8. Burgers

Fresh or Frozen: Fresh
Estimated Cost: $3.80 per pound

The best way to prepare your own burger is fresh at home from ground beef that was reliably sourced. It is surprisingly easy to do and you can then add all kinds of ingredients like extra garlic or herbs to create the perfect burger for your tastes.

Burger @Jag_cz/Shutterstock

Frozen burgers tend to be less flavorful and unless they are made by a reliable manufacturer, it is hard to know exactly what is in them. Cooking from fresh is also less expensive and less time consuming as it cuts out the step of defrosting the burgers.

9. Mussels

Fresh or Frozen: Fresh
Estimated Cost: $7 per pound

Fresh mussels are the clear preference in this case. The soft delicate texture and light color are lost when frozen. Not to mention the cathartic experience of actually opening the shells and picking out the morsel of the mussel.

Mussels ©ilolab / Shutterstock.com

When frozen they tend to become more chewy. Not just that but they are usually deshelled and some coloring is added to give them a pinkish hue. When it comes to shellfish, one should opt for the ‘in shell’ option. Closer to nature the better.

10. Bread

Fresh or Frozen: Fresh
Estimated Cost: $2.50

There is truly nothing like fresh bread. The aroma, the texture, the soft inners and crispy crust. The smell of a bakery immediately transports you to the cobblestones of a small French street and all we need in that moment is a baguette and an espresso to be in pure heaven.

While frozen bread is not technically bad, meaning the nutritional value is no less, it is simply not as good as fresh. Though if you are going to freeze your bread, be sure to not freeze warm bread (if it’s just been baked, let it cool first) and best to eat it within 6 months to prevent freezer burn.

11. Butternut Squash

Fresh or Frozen: Frozen
Estimated Cost: $1.29 per pound

Time is money as they say. Money is also money. And those are two reasons why butternut squash is better bought frozen rather than fresh. A firm favorite in soups, roasted or grilled, this nutritious veggie is rich in vitamin C, A, Potassium and magnesium.

Butternut Squash @Emmaali1 / Twitter.com

They are wonderful but they are hard work! Large and clunky with incredibly hard skin, not to mention all the pips. To open up and prepare a fresh butternut squash can replace a game of squash when it comes to calorie counting. Frozen wins here simply to save time and money (and energy).

12. Lobster

Fresh or Frozen: Fresh
Estimated Cost: $10 per pound

Lobster is best prepared fresh. Incredibly fresh. Like, couldn’t be more fresh than how they prepare lobster. There is a reason for this, a type of Vibrio bacteria appears on the lobster if not cooked right away and this bacteria can cause severe food poisoning.

Lobster ©Maksym Poriechkin / Shutterstock.com

For this reason, they are best eaten fresh. Not only that, the texture of frozen lobster tends to be off, as well as a general consensus on a lack of flavor and enjoyment. So while it may be cheaper to eat frozen, the pricier fresh option is far superior, even if it means enjoying it less frequently.

13. Kale

Fresh or Frozen: Frozen
Estimated Cost: $1

Fresh kale can be quite tough and bulky. It takes a lot of fridge space for what ends up being very little when cooked as it cooks down so much. There is also quite a process when preparing to cook, making sure the thick inner stem is removed and the kale is properly washed is time consuming.

Frozen kale is very inexpensive and easy to cook. Since it’s already been de-stemmed it takes up little space in the freezer relative to its fresh counterpart. Especially for those who are perhaps less familiar with kale, frozen is definitely the better option.

14. Corn

Fresh or Frozen: Frozen
Estimated Cost: $1.25 per pound

In the case of frozen vs fresh corn, frozen is the preferred option. Space is a big factor here, as one bag of corn contains way more actual corn than fresh as the cob itself is so bulky.

The other factors to take in are simple ease of preparation. The taste is basically the same as fresh when prepared and not to mention the fact that in frozen corn there are in fact less calories! Corn is quite starchy and caloric, so we can enjoy the buttery goodness without (as much) guilt!