How long will a casserole keep in the freezer?

Asked by srmorgan (6773

) February 19th, 2013

I made some lentils with sausage and greens in February of last year. The excess went into the garage freezer in a large plastic container and has sat there ever since. The freezer is kept at a high setting and is opened very infrequently.
Question is whether the casserole is still going to be good to eat.

I understand that the only way to find out is to actually defrost it and eat it but I don’t want to find myself at dinnertime looking for something else to cook or eat. I want an idea whether I can count on this still being OK to eat.

SRM

food
soup

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6 Answers

Should be fine.

janbb (63199

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It should be fine, safety-wise, but the quality of the casserole may have gone down a bit. I would say that 3 or 4 months would be your best window of time for having it defrost and taste like you expect.

Here’s a guide for Frozen Foods

Kardamom (33484

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As long as you can keep the freezer powered on and cold enough, and keep the package sealed so that the moisture doesn’t all sublimate, that is “freeze dry”, then it should be fine. If the packaging isn’t very waterproof (and freezeproof), then it’ll just turn to unpalatable dust eventually, even if it remains “frozen”.

With too much sublimation of the moisture your casserole would be a freeze-dried casserole, which you probably couldn’t repair just by adding water and reheating.

CWOTUS (26102

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In case the quality of the casserole is not exactly what you want, have some of the following on tap: Worcestershire sauce; BBQ sauce; steak sauce; oil and vinegar dressing; your favorite mustard; hot sauce. Use one to adjust the flavor.

Sunny2 (18852

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Probably it will be OK.

marinelife (62485

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Why don’t you take it out of the freezer the day before you want to eat it, in the morning because it will probably take some time to thaw, put it in the fridge and then you will know early the next day whether it is okay, or not as the case may be.

Adagio (14059

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