# Can I freeze stuffed peppers? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 3, 2006, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-freeze-stuffed-peppers/371294 "2006-09-03T14:13:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![IntelInside](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a5b964/32.png) [@IntelInside](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IntelInside)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2006, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-freeze-stuffed-peppers/371294/1 "2006-09-03T14:13:44Z")
I made a batch of stuffed peppers yesterday, and since I’m the only one in the household who likes them, I have extras. Can I freeze them? Is there anything special I have to do? I have them refrigerated now in individual [ziploc](http://www.ziploc.com/i/html_product/img7.jpg) containers in about two inches of sauce. Will freezing make them mushyier and slimy? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2006, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-freeze-stuffed-peppers/371294/2 "2006-09-03T14:21:02Z")
They should freeze just fine. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2006, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-freeze-stuffed-peppers/371294/3 "2006-09-03T14:25:39Z")
Freezing will make them mushier, but depending on how mushy you like your stuffed peppers, they may be ok to your taste. I make my stuffing separately and only roast it in the peppers for a few minutes for show, because I like my peppers still crisp. I tried freezing them once and was very disappointed in the mushiness. However my son, who likes his peppers softer, liked them a lot. So YMMdefinitelyV. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2006, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-freeze-stuffed-peppers/371294/4 "2006-09-03T15:36:26Z")
As noted above, they will be noticeably mushier, and you may get a separation of solid and liquid in the stuffing, with some resulting wateriness. Still, at worst they’ll just seem like most pre-frozen dinners. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2006, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-freeze-stuffed-peppers/371294/5 "2006-09-03T16:06:38Z")
Freeze the sauce and peppers in separate containers. I believe Stouffer’s or someone makes a frozen stuffed pepper, so I say go ahead and freeze 'em. ---
**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2006, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-freeze-stuffed-peppers/371294/6 "2006-09-03T17:18:55Z")
Pack 'em in dry ice and send them to me. I luv’s my stuffed bell peppers! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2006, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-freeze-stuffed-peppers/371294/7 "2006-09-03T17:35:14Z")
[QUOTE=Jake] Pack 'em in dry ice and send them to me. I luv’s my stuffed bell peppers! 🙂 [/QUOTE] BINGO! Dry ice is the key to freezing fresh veggies without breaking down the cell walls, making them mushy. Dry ice in a cooler will flash freeze your peppers, then you can put them in the freezer. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2006, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-freeze-stuffed-peppers/371294/8 "2006-09-03T18:18:49Z")
[QUOTE=AskNott] BINGO! Dry ice is the key to freezing fresh veggies without breaking down the cell walls, making them mushy. Dry ice in a cooler will flash freeze your peppers, then you can put them in the freezer. [/QUOTE] I’ma hafta ax for a cite on this one. I kinda think that frozen plant cells are frozen plant cells, and that water expands as it freezes no matter the process. No? ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2006, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-freeze-stuffed-peppers/371294/9 "2006-09-03T23:14:25Z")
They freeze great. If you didn’t do it this time, next time just cook the peppers crisp so that when you reheat them they won’t be nasty. Now I want to make a batch. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-freeze-stuffed-peppers/371294/10 "2006-09-04T01:44:38Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] I’ma hafta ax for a cite on this one. I kinda think that frozen plant cells are frozen plant cells, and that water expands as it freezes no matter the process. No? [/QUOTE] First, a cite. [http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show\_ea/episode/0,1976,FOOD\_9956\_20684,00.html](http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_ea/episode/0,1976,FOOD_9956_20684,00.html) IIRC, Clarence Birdseye invented flash freezing to preserve the texture of veggies. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-freeze-stuffed-peppers/371294/11 "2006-09-04T01:55:42Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] I’ma hafta ax for a cite on this one. I kinda think that frozen plant cells are frozen plant cells, and that water expands as it freezes no matter the process. No? [/QUOTE] I’ll back up my Not brother, even if he spells his surname incorrectly. 😉 At least, I’ve used dry ice for freezing strawberries and other fruits, and it doesn’t mushify them. I never thought to try it on stuffed pepper, though. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-freeze-stuffed-peppers/371294/12 "2006-09-04T16:29:54Z")
Hmm. Not the kind of cite I was hoping for. I’m sure there are many people who use this method, and who believe that it does what you say it does. I was hoping for a more “scientific” cite, that confirms that somehow this method of freezing does not, in fact, break down cell walls; that somehow the “law” that water expands as it freezes is suspended when this method is employed. Is this a culinary myth, as my instincts suggest, or can it be confirmed that the laws of physics are somehow suspended when dry ice and strawberries converge? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2006, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-freeze-stuffed-peppers/371294/13 "2006-09-04T17:11:17Z")
You will always get some cell damage from freezing, but if you flash-freeze it prevents large crystals from forming and puncturing the cell walls. That’s what really does the damage. To freeze peppers, undercook them so the peppers still maintain some wall rigidity, then freeze as quickly as possible.