Ice Cream and Frozen Treat Recipes & Ideas

Among the essential staple foods I keep on hand in the kitchen at all times (I’m looking at you, olive oil, grains, and canned tomatoes) are frozen vegetables. I’m not talking about a single bag, but a selection of a few different veggies. Not only are they economical, but they also won’t go bad anytime soon. Keep them tucked away in the freezer and you can rest easy knowing that quick side dishes, wholesome dinners, and hearty breakfasts are just an arm’s reach away.

You know puff pastry, phyllo, and pie dough as the backbone of many a sweet dessert, but these versatile doughs are good for so much more. In fact, one of my favorite ways to use them is for savory snacks and appetizers, from puff pastry cheese sticks to fresh corn galettes. Frozen dough is my secret to no-fuss, last-minute get-togethers with friends and family. But these doughs, while similar, are not created equal.

A box of frozen puff pastry is something of a miracle ingredient. If you’ve ever baked with it, you know exactly what I’m talking about. It puffs into delicate, buttery layers, turning even the most basic recipe into something that feels totally fancy. It’s also super easy to use — all you need to do is pull the box out of the freezer and pop the dough in the oven, right? Well, not quite, although we promise it’s almost that simple.

So you finally got around to pulling your ice cream maker from the depths of your kitchen cabinet, and you’re getting ready to churn up a batch of this cool, creamy treat. In addition to narrowing down your flavor options (so many choices!), there’s one more task at hand: finding the right container to store the ice cream. Here are five choices that get the job done.

When I started making ice cream from scratch, I dove in deep, churning out a mix of flavors weekly. I read through The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz cover to cover, and practically kept it by my nightstand during that first summer. While he taught me all about the best mix-ins and flavoring agents, the biggest tip I took away was how to ensure that my ice cream was as soft and scoopable as those from the best mom-and-pop shops.

Growing up, my dad always chose half gallons of French vanilla ice cream over vanilla ice cream when we’d go shopping together. They all looked beige and creamy to me, but I trusted his instinct. With “French” on the label, he assumed superior quality — they make pretty phenomenal cheese and wine, after all — but was he right? What actually is the difference between a tub of plain ol’ vanilla and French vanilla ice cream?

Here’s the secret no Southern cook wants you to know: As much pride as we have for our state’s peaches, we all have a bag (or more) of frozen peaches hidden away in the deep freeze. Yes, a peak-season peach is worthy of songs and stories of longing, but frozen peaches are a steadfast staple of Southern cooks in the know. First of all, let me be clear that I’m talking about frozen peaches, not canned peaches.

Picture this: You’re doing your weekly grocery shop and there’s a great deal on a family pack of chicken thighs. And now that you’re looking in the meat section, you were thinking maybe you’d have a cookout this weekend and the ground beef is on sale. And you might as well stock up on buns because, well, it’s still summer-ish and you need buns. Somehow you walk out of the store with more than enough to feed you, your family, and then some.

So you bought a pound of ground beef when it was on sale last week because you were finally going to make that Philly cheesesteak pasta skillet. But the week got away from you and now you’ve got to act fast before this perfectly lovely mix of 85/15 ground chuck goes bad. What are you to do? Freeze it, right? Yes, but there’s one little thing you’ve got to do first that’s going to make all the difference when it comes time to use it.

A few days ago, one of my internet friends posted an Instagram story with step-by-step pics of his first Halo Top experience, like an ice cream unboxing sequence. He’d never had Halo Top before, which is weird because I assumed that the entire world was pretty much in agreement that it was the pinnacle of human achievement.

We're going to be honest, okay?

My first experience with “nice” ice cream was 10 years ago on a family vacation in Hawaii. The hotel served some type of magical dairy-free pineapple soft-serve, and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how they made it. So I ate as much of it as I could before the trip was over, then promptly resumed my nightly Graeter’s habit upon our return home to Cincinnati. I figured the magical stuff could only be created in the tropical oasis that is Maui.

It’s my day job here at Kitchn that convinced me that frozen shrimp was worth keeping in my freezer at all times. Previously, I’d simply buy shrimp from the fish counter at the grocery store when I needed it. Then my colleagues kept gushing about the freshness and convenience of frozen shrimp and I soon realized a whole lot of the “fresh” shrimp I was buying at the grocery store was actually previously frozen. So I gave it a try and almost instantly became a convert.

Since I grew up on frozen vegetables that were cooked in the microwave until they turned to mush, I wrote them all off as soon as I was an adult. I avoided the freezer aisle completely and proclaimed I’d only buy fresh vegetables from then on out. Then I walked into Trader Joe’s, where it’s basically impossible to write off the freezer aisle. And it was there I discovered the one frozen vegetable that completely changed my opinion: frozen artichokes.

If you don’t already have a bag or two of frozen broccoli in your freezer, add it to your grocery list immediately. We’re huge fans of the stuff here at Kitchn — not only for its affordability and ease (forget about chopping down a big head of fresh broccoli!), but also for its versatility. Here are seven ways we love to use it. Add a little green to your breakfast by throwing frozen broccoli into your scrambled egg routine.

After a (much-too-long) hiatus, I’ve reintroduced tater tots to my meal plan. And you know what? I think they taste even more amazing now than they did when I was a kid. All I had to do was change the way I cooked them. To cook a batch of irresistibly delicious tater tots, you’re going to need more time on the clock than what’s instructed on the bag.

For many of us, artichokes aren’t a staple in the way frozen peas and broccoli are, so they can be easy to overlook during your weekly stroll down the freezer aisle. But I hope I can help you change that, because a bag of frozen artichokes (yes, go for the bag over the box!) is unbelievably versatile and can be used to make so many satisfying meals. Artichokes are the freezer vegetable with the power to make even the simplest bowl of weeknight pasta feel fancy.

By nature, stir-fries are quick-cooking meals that can be a breeze to pull together on weeknights. Fire up your wok, and watch dinner come together fast (like, under the 10-minute mark fast). But that doesn’t account for the vegetable prep — the washing, peeling, slicing, and dicing (and cleanup that goes along with it) before you can start cooking. There’s a way to make this weeknight wonder easier still, and it starts with a trip down the freezer aisle.

If that row of rainbow veggies is any indication, frozen vegetables are ready to be celebrated. And over the past few weeks, we’ve done exactly that (even Queen Elsa chimed in!). Our deep dive into the freezer aisle revealed just how transformative frozen veggies can be — both in how much time they save and the instant nutrition they provide. Here, we’re rounding up our biggest deep-freeze learnings in hopes that you, too, will stock a rainbow-filled freezer.

A smartly stocked freezer is a true asset for a solo cook. It ensures easy, fast meals for one are always within arm’s reach, no matter the day or occasion. And, of course, it’s a great place to stash leftovers. Here are seven ways to stock your freezer if you’re cooking for one. Keep a few bags of frozen fruits and vegetables in your freezer and you’ll always have something wholesome to reach for.

I have vivid childhood memories of my mom standing over the kitchen sink on Christmas day squeezing the water out of defrosted packs of spinach to make her famous spinach casserole. Later my sister took over the task and she’d be shuddering from the semi-thawed clumps in her hands. It always seemed like such a nuisance — and so cold! So as an adult, I sort of tried to avoid frozen spinach all together.

Frozen salmon fillets are a freezer staple these days. Keep a few fillets on hand and you have a healthy meal on your hands at all times without having to run to the fish market on your way home. Transfer a portion or two to the fridge in the morning to defrost, and in the evening you’ll have countless options for dinner. Here are 10 ideas to get you started. Salmon might not be the first fish that comes to mind when you’re thinking tacos, but it makes for some seriously tasty ones.

Vanilla ice cream doesn’t have the best reputation in the frozen dessert world. For starters, it’s an insult to call something “vanilla,” as the suggestion implies that whatever you’re referring to is essentially boring AF. Now we are about to add insult to injury with some cold-hearted facts: Nearly one in five store-bought vanilla ice creams doesn’t even contain vanilla, according to U.K. consumer insight organization Which?.

When I was growing up, my mom always had a bag of frozen mixed vegetables in the freezer. Mostly she used it for icing boo-boos and hiding the box of Popsicles behind it, although occasionally she served a long-freezer-burned (and then microwave-steamed) serving of that bright-colored corn, carrot, and green bean medley.

We know you’ve got that bag of frozen peas or cauliflower languishing in the freezer because we do too. Want to make more room for ice cream in your freezer by using up those frozen vegetables regularly? Same! Our very best advice for using up the frozen vegetables is to skip the lengthy directions on the back of the box or bag and try these few shortcuts instead. You’ll get the same tasty, nutritious vegetables in less time from the freezer.

The freezer is such a treasure chest of kitchen delights. I reach into my own for frozen vegetables to get dinner done in a pinch, ice for cold brew and boo-boos alike, and frozen fruit like berries, cherries, and peaches (yes, even in the height of summer!). And yet, I’m not making smoothies every day. No, I’m using frozen fruit for everything from dessert to dinner in a few surprising ways that makes these frozen gems worth their weight in gold.

I love meal planning. It is one of my favorite ways to feel prepared for each week and reduce my daily stress. But meal prep? The final step in meal planning where you chop veggies, make dressings, maybe even cook some meals? I’m really bad at it. Finding time — even just a few hours — over the weekend to cook is probably as hard for you as it is for me. Lately, I’ve been relying on the freezer aisle to help me prep parts of our meal plans to save me time during the week.

Frozen vegetables are a smart cook’s secret weapon. They eliminate two of the biggest roadblocks in the kitchen: washing and prepping produce (hello, slippery squash and stubborn edamame pods) and the time-consuming cleanup that inevitably follows. And, they’re pretty much the easiest way to work more veggies into your diet.

This summer we think you should give banana ice cream, also known as nice cream, a try. Why? Well, for one it’s the easiest freezer treat that you can make without an ice cream maker. Nice cream is also full of fruit, easily customizable, and so dang delicious you’ll be eating it for breakfast too.

Valentine’s Day is next week. I felt like I had to get that information out of the way for anyone, like me, who has been sitting around thinking, Why is everyone writing so many Valentine’s Day stories right now? I still haven’t taken off all my New Year’s Eve makeup. Valentine’s Day is a million years away. But Valentine’s Day is actually next week, so you should start making plans. Personally, I don’t really like going out on Valentine’s Day.

Your freezer wants to be your best friend. Let it. Who else will make your food taste better than before? Check out this list of items better when consumed frozen as well as those that are better for having been frozen. You’ll find new life for many of your favorites just by giving them a chance to chill out. Some things are pretty tasty with a chill still on them. They tend to lean toward the sweeter side, which means a cool dessert is always close at hand.

Soup night is one of my favorites. About once a week in cooler months, I rummage through my freezer for little nuggets of gold that I can quickly turn into soup. Soup is so forgiving and can be made with the smallest bits of different things. Paired with a loaded bread basket, soup night is a winner. Here are 10 foods to stash in your freezer for quick and easy soup suppers. A good stock or broth is key to a great soup.

Have you ever opened up your freezer to find that your once red beef is looking a little brown? Or taken a pint of ice cream out only to discover the top is covered in ice crystals? Freezer burn happens to the best of us. Here’s what you should know. When you see that your red meat has taken on a dull brown shade, or your chicken has gone a bit pale, it’s easy to worry it’s gone bad — but it’s totally safe to eat!

Ice cream is loved around the globe and if you think the United States is the largest per capita consumer of the treat, it’s time to recalibrate your knowledge. According to an annual report from Mintel, the U.S. is neither the country that consumes the most ice cream nor the nation with the highest per capita intake. Last year, the U.S. scarfed down 2.7 billion liters of ice cream. That’s a lot.