Rice and beans make an incredibly versatile and hearty meal. Growing up, my mom used to cook a huge batch of rice and beans every now and then for our family and we’d always have lots of leftovers.
At the time I never thought about how much time it took to cook this recipe or the fact that she always made so darn much of it at a time.
However, now that I cook my own food, I realize just how time-consuming it is and I often cook dishes that I can easily freeze or refrigerate to have later. This way, I simply reheat the leftovers and it saves me so much time and effort.
So, this brings us to the question, “Can you freeze rice and beans?”
Read on to find out whether rice and beans can be frozen and how you can freeze them.
Can You Freeze Rice and Beans?
Yes, there’s no question about it! You can for sure freeze rice and beans. I often cook a generous amount of rice and beans and freeze them so that I can use it later on instead of taking out the time to cook a meal from scratch. You can simply take the dish out of your freezer, reheat it, and chow down!
How to Freeze Rice and Beans
You can freeze all varieties of rice and beans quite easily. Freezing rice and beans is a pretty straightforward process as long as you know the right steps to follow. Here’s how you can freeze rice and beans:
- Allow your cooked batch of rice and beans to cool and come to room temperature. You can even lay the dish onto a baking tray making sure that it’s in an even layer. It will take about 30 minutes for the dish to cool down completely. Pro Tip: Prevent the rice from sticking to the baking tray surface by holding the tray under running water before putting the rice and beans on it.
- Alternatively, you can cool the rice and beans in your fridge to speed up the cooling process.
- Divide the cooled rice and beans into 1 or 2 cup portions, depending on how much of the prepared dish is left. This will ensure that the dish remains free of freezer burn. Moreover, this will allow you to reheat the exact amount of rice and beans whenever you want to eat it.
- Put the divided portions of rice into airtight freezer bags such as Ziploc bags or vacuum sealer bags. Once all the rice and beans are in the bag, flatten the bag out to create a thin, even layer.
- Label each bag with the contents and the amount inside. Also, add the date of storage to the label. This way, when you take out the rice and beans to reheat them, it will help you determine how long the dish has been in your freezer and how many servings you have.
- Put the bags of rice and beans in your freezer.
How to Defrost Rice and Beans
When you take the bag of rice and beans out of the freezer to use, make sure that you don’t thaw the rice in your fridge at room temperature or in cold water. Thawing the rice via these slow methods will cause it to become mushy and unpalatable.
The best method of defrosting and reheating rice and beans simultaneously is to reheat it in a frying pan directly. Just make sure to add a couple of tablespoons of water in the pan and place it over low heat to defrost the rice and beans. Make sure to slowly stir the rice and beans as the clump breaks over time.
However, if you want to take a faster approach to defrost the rice and beans, put them in the microwave with a glass of water and reheat the rice and beans in 1-minute increments. The water will help prevent the loss of moisture from the rice and beans. Make sure to stir the rice and beans after each increment.
How Long Will Rice and Beans Last in the Freezer
Cooked rice and beans will easily last for about 6 months in the freezer. However, you need to make sure that your freezer is at a constant temperature of 0 degrees Fahrenheit so that the rice doesn’t go bad.
Also, make sure to tightly seal the bags that you put the rice and beans in to ensure that no moisture enters the rice and spoils it.
Tips and Tricks
Here are some tips and tricks that you need to follow to properly freeze rice and beans and keep the frozen food free of freezer burn:
- Make sure that the rice and beans are as tightly sealed as possible. You can also wrap the dish in two sealable Ziploc bags or heavy-duty freezer bags and make sure that the bag is tightly pressed against the food. This will ensure that moisture doesn’t escape from the rice and beans and the moisture and cold air from inside the freezer doesn’t enter the contents of the bag. You can use a vacuum sealer to make certain that the Ziploc bags are tightly sealed.
- Even though it’s completely safe to store rice and beans in the freezer for a long time, make sure to devour them quickly so that they don’t develop freezer burn.
- Make sure your freezer is constantly at 0 degrees Fahrenheit. The steady, cold temperature will also help prevent the frozen rice and beans from developing freezer burn.
- Always cool the rice and beans to room temperature before putting it in the freezer. This is because if you put hot food inside the freezer, it will change the temperature inside the freezer and might lead the other stored and frozen food to develop freezer burn.
- Make sure that you don’t leave the freezer door open for extended periods of time so that the temperature remains consistently cold and your stored rice and beans remain safe.
- Always break the rice up into smaller portions as it prevents it from clumping together and becoming overly mushy in the freezer.
- Don’t slow-thaw the rice as it will become mushy.
The Bottom Line
I hope this guide has helped answer your question, “Can you freeze rice and beans?” Make sure to follow the method that I’ve detailed above to freeze rice and beans and eat them later on and remember to make use of the aforementioned tips and tricks to make sure that the frozen rice and beans remain free of freezer burn and last for a long time.
Good Luck!
Can You Freeze Rice and Beans?
Ingredients
- Rice and beans
- Ziploc bags or vacuum sealer bags
- Marker
- Freezer
Instructions
- Allow your cooked batch of rice and beans to cool and come to room temperature. You can even lay the dish onto a baking tray making sure that it’s in an even layer. It will take about 30 minutes for the dish to cool down completely.
- Alternatively, you can cool the rice and beans in your fridge to speed up the cooling process.
- Divide the cooled rice and beans into 1 or 2 cup portions, depending on how much of the prepared dish is left. This will ensure that the dish remains free of freezer burn. Moreover, this will allow you to reheat the exact amount of rice and beans whenever you want to eat it.
- Put the divided portions of rice into airtight freezer bags such as Ziploc bags or vacuum sealer bags. Once all the rice and beans are in the bag, flatten the bag out to create a thin, even layer.
- Label each bag with the contents and the amount inside. Also, add the date of storage to the label. This way, when you take out the rice and beans to reheat them, it will help you determine how long the dish has been in your freezer and how many servings you have.
- Put the bags of rice and beans in your freezer.
Notes
- Make sure that the rice and beans are as tightly sealed as possible.
- Make sure to devour them quickly so that they don’t develop freezer burn.
- Always cool the rice and beans to room temperature before putting it in the freezer.
- Make sure that you don’t leave the freezer door open for extended periods of time so that the temperature remains consistently cold and your stored rice and beans remain safe.
- Always break the rice up into smaller portions as it prevents it from clumping together and becoming overly mushy in the freezer.
- Don’t slow-thaw the rice as it will become mushy.
WANT TO SAVE THIS RECIPE?
Don't lose this recipe! Enter your email and we'll send it instantly.
Thanks a lot.I really enjoyed this post about freezing rice and beans.I knew about freezing rice and beans but I was always scared of freezing rice because it becomes mushy.But now I know what to do due to your post.thanks once again.would always love to get wonderful informations like this.I love coo and trying new things.