Cooking an excess of this dish will need preservative methods and that might pop up the question of “can you freeze roasted sweet potatoes?”
Sweet potatoes are a very popular dish amongst all the different foods we eat worldwide. It is eaten in different cultures due to its very tasty nature when prepared.
Sweet potatoes can be cooked in different sorts of ways including roasting.
Roasted sweet potatoes are well-liked by kids and adults so it appears very often on our menu.
This article was well researched and written to answer this.
Why Do You Need to Freeze Your Roasted Sweet Potatoes?
Freezing your roasted sweet potatoes can help them last for up to 6 months!
Yes, you heard that right. It is the most effective way of preserving this dish.
You do not necessarily have to throw your leftovers away if you can store them properly in the freezer and come back to them later. It will help you reduce wastage to the barest minimum.
If you are looking to manage your finances on food, preserving your leftovers is a good way of managing your food budget.
Roasted sweet potatoes can still maintain their crispy texture and taste after reheating when frozen properly.
It is not on the red list of foods that should not be frozen at all according to nutritionists.
You only need to avoid re-freezing them to prevent significant loss of texture and quality.
Roasted sweet potatoes freeze very well as they do not contain a whole lot of moisture.
Does Freezing Them Kill Microorganisms?
Freezing slows down the growth of microorganisms and enzyme activity that can cause food spoilage and foodborne illness.
There is also little to no loss of vitamins unless it’s water-soluble vitamins like vitamin C which might be lost in the defrosting process.
Roasted Sweet potatoes freeze more than uncooked potatoes and it does not lose their texture when you later bring them out for reheating.
It saves you time and even makes the cooking faster at the time of reheating as the initial roasting is already completed.
You will have an ongoing batch of roasted sweet potatoes that you can eat whenever you need some delicious dishes.
Can You Freeze Roasted Sweet Potatoes?
It is highly possible that you sometimes end up cooking excess sweet potatoes and you want to know if you can put them in the freezer.
The answer is yes! You can freeze roasted potatoes if you can’t eat everything all at once.
It helps you prevent the wastage of your delicious sweet potatoes so you can relish them longer
Limitations Of Freezing Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Freezing roasted sweet potatoes might leave them with a stale taste, especially potatoes that were roasted with spices like pepper, cloves, garlic, and onions.
These spices can get bitter or have an off-taste because freezing can alter their tastes.
You can freeze roasted sweet potatoes but the taste would not be as good as fresh roasted sweet potatoes as you can’t fully preserve the taste and texture but it is still manageable.
There can also be a loss of nutrients.
The slow growth of microorganisms can still occur in cases of improper packaging thereby altering the nutritional value of the food and can lead to food-borne infections.
You have to reheat properly if you don’t want soggy or still cold sweet potatoes.
You have to reheat continuously to make sure the heat gets into the inside.
You can’t refreeze previously frozen roasted sweet potatoes. You have to eat them immediately after thawing and reheating.
Refreezing your roasted sweet potatoes multiple times will make the potatoes mushy and flavorless.
Does Freezing Roasted Sweet Potatoes Change Their Taste?
Freezing roasted sweet potatoes does not change their taste to a significant extent when frozen properly.
But altogether, it can still leave it with a stale taste.
This is caused by loss of moisture and it can be prevented by proper packaging so it is water-resistant.
Sweet Potatoes that were roasted with spices like pepper, cloves, garlic, and onions can get bitter or have an off taste because freezing can alter the taste of these spices.
Note: Putting roasted sweet potatoes in the freezer with other varieties of food might cause a mixture of odor and this can alter the taste of your potato to a very large extent.
Ways You Can Preserve Roasted Sweet Potatoes
If you want to preserve roasted sweet potatoes for a short period of time, like maybe a day or two, you can just put them in the refrigerator.
Store in Freezer
You have to store them in the freezer within two hours after preparation. This is to ensure that the quality is preserved.
Let it get cold to room temperature before putting them in the freezer. Make sure the fridge door is closed always to allow for maximum cooling.
Set the temperature of the fridge to less than 30” C.
The maximum length of days for sweet roasted potatoes in the fridge is three days.
The most efficient way to preserve roasted sweet potatoes for a long time is by freezing.
Tip: Do not overcrowd the freezer so the stored food can cool rapidly. Cool air will be able to circulate faster and freeze the stored foods.
How to Extend the Shelf Life of Sweet Potatoes
If you can follow the steps I listed below, you will be able to extend the shelf life of your roasted sweet potatoes with the freezing method;
- You need to freeze your leftovers as early as possible to maintain the quality. Don’t wait for more than an hour.
- You need to allow the roasted sweet potatoes to cool completely to room temperature first before freezing
- You can wrap the sweet potatoes with a plastic wrap for maximum preservation of freshness. This will prevent the odor of different foods from mixing.
Are There Other Ways?
You need to get a freezer container or a Ziploc bag where you will put the wrapped sweet potatoes that you want to freeze.
Make sure you put the right amount the bag can take at once, if there are more sweet potatoes to freeze then get another Ziploc bag to put the rest of it.
Squeeze out excess air from the bag with a vacuum and then seal the bag.
If you don’t have a vacuum, you can use a small straw to help remove air from bags before freezing.
Ensure you write a label and a date with a permanent marker on the bag so you can remember how long the food has been there and prioritize when to eat it.
Don’t forget to keep the freezer at 0’F (-18’C) the entire time you are storing your food.
Store separately
Ensure that they are put inside containers alone. Do not put other vegetables inside the containers with the sweet potatoes to prevent loss of taste.
Label the containers so as to know when to get them out for reheating.
After taking them out of the fridge for reheating, do not put them back in again. It will affect the quality of the roasted potatoes.
How Long Can You Freeze Roasted Sweet Potatoes?
You can freeze them for as long as one year but it is best to eat them within three months for the best quality and taste.
Eat your roasted sweet potatoes while it’s still fresh and crispy. Check the label for accuracy because the texture might decline after three months.
To prevent this, you can use a vacuum sealer to suck out the excess air from the Ziploc bag you put your sweet roasted potatoes in.
This should be done so it is not affected by the leftover oxygen when you are freezing them.
Read Now: How Frozen French Fries are Made?
Conclusion
All in all, if you read the whole article, you would have discovered that you can freeze roasted sweet potatoes and still maintain their maximum quality to prevent wasting your leftovers.
As long as the refrigeration or freezing process is followed holistically, you can defrost and reheat your dish and still get all the satisfaction.
It would be as if you were eating freshly roasted sweet potatoes.