Freeze-dried food shelf life chart

Typical cycle length and storage life for 47 common foods, from the FreezeLog guide.

General guidance only. Follow your freeze dryer manufacturer's instructions and current food-safety guidance. These are rough figures, not a promise that any food is safe to store or eat. Actual results depend on your machine, load, packing and storage.

How to read the chart

Cycle and extra dry hours are typical starting points. Your machine and load will differ, so check each batch is dry before you pack it. Shelf life is the number of months of good quality you can plan for when the food is fully dry and sealed in an airtight container or mylar bag with an oxygen absorber, stored cool and dark. It is an estimate of quality, not a safety limit. Foods high in fat, raw meat and egg dishes need extra care, and the notes column says where. Tap a food for its prep, tray loading, storage and sources, or browse the food guide by category.

Food	Type	Cycle (h)	Extra dry (h)	Shelf life (months)	Note
Cheese	Dairy	30	4	3	High-fat foods can turn rancid even when dried. Treat the shelf life as a short default, keep the product cool and dark, and discard anything that smells sharp, soapy or stale. Cheese is also perishable dairy.
Cottage cheese	Dairy	32	4	6	Dairy products are perishable and the freeze-drying process does not change that. Use only pasteurized, fresh, properly chilled ingredients, keep dried product sealed and dry, and discard anything that smells off or looks unusual.
Milk	Dairy	34	4	6	Dairy products are perishable and the freeze-drying process does not change that. Use only pasteurized, fresh, properly chilled ingredients, keep dried product sealed and dry, and discard anything that smells off or looks unusual.
Yogurt drops	Dairy	28	2	6	Dairy products are perishable and the freeze-drying process does not change that. Use only pasteurized, fresh, properly chilled ingredients, keep dried product sealed and dry, and discard anything that smells off or looks unusual.
Cake	Desserts	30	3	6	Extension services say baked goods do not freeze-dry well at home. Leave out cakes with cream, custard or fresh-fruit fillings. Keep dried pieces sealed and dry, and discard anything that smells stale.
Cheesecake	Desserts	36	6	4	Dairy products are perishable and the freeze-drying process does not change that. Use only pasteurized, fresh, properly chilled ingredients, keep dried product sealed and dry, and discard anything that smells off or looks unusual. Fat and eggs shorten how long it keeps.
Hard fruit candy	Desserts	4	1	12
Ice cream	Desserts	36	5	4	Dairy products are perishable and freeze-drying does not change that. Use only pasteurized, fresh, properly chilled ingredients, keep dried product sealed and dry, and discard anything that smells off or looks unusual. Extension services list high-fat, high-sugar foods like ice cream as harder to dry and quicker to turn rancid.
Marshmallows	Desserts	4	1	12
Apples	Fruit	28	3	12
Bananas	Fruit	30	4	12
Blueberries	Fruit	32	5	12
Cherries	Fruit	34	5	12
Grapes	Fruit	34	6	12
Mango	Fruit	32	5	12
Orange segments	Fruit	32	5	12
Peaches	Fruit	30	4	12
Pears	Fruit	30	3	12
Pineapple	Fruit	48	4	12
Raspberries	Fruit	28	3	12
Strawberries	Fruit	28	3	12
Watermelon	Fruit	36	4	12
Basil	Herbs	20	0	12
Cilantro	Herbs	20	0	12
Mint	Herbs	20	0	12
Chili	Meals	36	6	6	Prepared meals can carry bacteria if they were handled or cooled poorly before drying. Cool and load them promptly, store them fully dry, and follow current food-safety guidance when rehydrating and eating.
Cooked pasta	Meals	30	3	6	Prepared meals can carry bacteria if they were handled or cooled poorly before drying. Cool and load them promptly, store them fully dry, and follow current food-safety guidance when rehydrating and eating.
Cooked rice	Meals	28	3	6	Cooked rice can carry spores that survive cooking. If rice cools slowly they make a toxin that reheating does not destroy. Cool it to 70 °F within 2 hours, keep it cold until it goes in, keep dried rice sealed and dry, and heat it to 165 °F after rehydrating.
Macaroni and cheese	Meals	34	5	4	Prepared meals can carry bacteria if they were handled or cooled poorly before drying. Cool and load them promptly, store them fully dry, and follow current food-safety guidance when rehydrating and eating. The cheese content can turn rancid, so treat shelf life as a short default.
Scrambled eggs	Meals	30	4	4	Prepared meals can carry bacteria if they were handled or cooled poorly before drying. Cool and load them promptly, store them fully dry, and follow current food-safety guidance when rehydrating and eating. Eggs and added butter or oil also shorten storage time.
Soup	Meals	36	5	6	Prepared meals can carry bacteria if they were handled or cooled poorly before drying. Cool and load them promptly, store them fully dry, and follow current food-safety guidance when rehydrating and eating.
Cooked bacon	Meat	30	3	1	Extension services list high-fat foods as hard to freeze-dry and quicker to spoil. Treat the shelf life as a short default, keep the product cool and dark, and discard anything that smells sharp, soapy or stale, or looks wrong. Blot off as much grease as you can before drying.
Cooked chicken	Meat	32	4	6	Meat and poultry need careful handling before and after drying. Cook to the temperature recommended by official food-safety guidance, keep dried pieces completely dry, and discard anything that smells or looks wrong.
Cooked ground beef	Meat	32	4	6	Meat and poultry need careful handling before and after drying. Cook to the temperature recommended by official food-safety guidance, keep dried pieces completely dry, and discard anything that smells or looks wrong. Fat left in the meat shortens how long it stays good.
Cooked ham	Meat	32	4	6	Meat needs careful handling before and after drying. Use fully cooked ham, keep dried pieces completely dry, and discard anything that smells or looks wrong. Fat in cured meats shortens storage time.
Cooked shrimp	Meat	32	4	6	Seafood spoils quickly and needs careful handling before and after drying. Cook shrimp until the flesh is pearly and opaque (145 °F), chill it fast and keep it cold until it goes in. Keep dried pieces completely dry, and discard anything that smells or looks wrong.
Bell peppers	Vegetables	28	3	12
Broccoli	Vegetables	30	3	12
Carrots	Vegetables	28	3	12
Green beans	Vegetables	28	3	12
Green peas	Vegetables	26	2	12
Mushrooms	Vegetables	30	3	12	Do not freeze-dry wild-picked mushrooms. Poisonous species are hard to tell from edible ones. Their toxins are not destroyed by cooking or freezing, and freeze-drying only removes water.
Potatoes	Vegetables	32	4	12
Spinach	Vegetables	24	1	12
Sweet corn	Vegetables	26	2	12
Sweet potatoes	Vegetables	34	5	12
Zucchini	Vegetables	30	3	12

Track your own numbers

Your own batches are the best data you have. FreezeLog uses these figures as a starting point for the cycle estimate and the pantry best-by date, then learns from your past batches. Read how to tell when a batch is done or see the app.