Why do frozen vegetables taste better?

I became a frozen fruits and veggies gal because of a box of frozen spinach. Besides the big bag of green peas I kept behind the ice cream in case of knee or ankle injury, I used to be a “fresh produce only” person, and kind of a snob about it. I considered managing the decline of my weekly grocery haul from picture-perfect to past-its-prime an ethical responsibility. I spent as much time cooking for fun as I did making mishmashed dinners out of a desperate need to use up all the miscellaneous fruits and vegetables before they went bad.

It was the tactical and logistical puzzle of grocery shopping during the pandemic that changed my tune. Now I know the truth—that frozen produce is just as good as fresh, and sometimes even better and more cost-efficient.

In the spring of 2020, two things happened simultaneously: I had to slow my shopping trips to twice monthly for safety, and I tried Priya Krishna’s saag feta recipe for the first time. Despite my best efforts, very little fresh produce could survive all the way until my next trek to the market, so I started buying frozen instead. And when I put a box of frozen spinach to use in Priya’s bright, comforting dish, I was forever changed. With a freezer full of spinach, I could have this greens-packed, weeknight-friendly meal whenever I wanted, with no special shopping trip required or timeline attached to use the fresh greens before they went slimy. I became a frozen produce lover, branching out from spinach to integrate green beans, berries, and even that languishing bag of peas more readily into my rotation.

Here are three reasons why you should be packing your freezer with fruits and vegetables for last-minute meals whenever the mood strikes you, with no compromise on flavor.

They won’t go bad on you

Bringing a quart of strawberries or few bunches of broccoli into your kitchen can go from inspiring to stressful really quickly; with a full fridge comes the added pressure of using it all before things go fuzzy or limp. Frozen produce eliminates that ticking clock, so you can chip away at a giant bag of blueberries on your own timeline, smoothie by smoothie (speaking from experience here), with no concern that you’ll let any go to waste. Like anything you keep at icy temperatures, you’ll have to be careful about resealing packaging and using airtight containers to prevent freezer burn, but in general, frozen produce is much lower maintenance than the fresh stuff.

They’re perfectly ripe

Freezer aisle fruits and vegetables are (pun sort of intended) frozen in time at the absolutely peak moment of freshness, so every peach wedge or leaf of spinach is as flavorful as possible—not something you can say for fresh produce that can get goopy or battered due to temperature fluctuations or rough handling in transit. When a recipe calls for something you have frozen, you can be sure that post-thaw it will be as good-tasting as a fresh version on its very best day.

They perform just as well as fresh

Some fruits and vegetables are particularly easy to work with frozen, such that they get specific callouts in recipes (we’re looking at you, “fresh or frozen peas” or “fresh or frozen raspberries”). But with a little foresight, anything frozen can be integrated into a recipe that calls for the same thing fresh.

Move a bag from the freezer to the fridge the night before you plan to use it if a full thaw is required, or stick the produce itself in a strainer and run it under warm water if you just need to take the icy edge off before adding it to a baked good batter. For grain or pasta dishes, you can add peas, corn, green beans, broccoli, and more directly from the freezer to the pot of boiling water a minute or two before everything else is done, then drain it all together and proceed as normal.

The more you work with frozen produce, the better you’ll get at shepherding each item from cold to hot—a skill I now consider just as important as using up a fresh bunch of kale before it’s compost-bound.

Put your freezer to work:

We remixed pasta e fagioli, turning the brothy pasta into a welcome party for our favorite seasonal triumvirate: peas, mint, and ricotta.

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There’s nothing like a moist, fluffy, berry-streaked cake to make any weeknight (or, um, weekday morning) feel special.

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This riff on the classic dish swaps paneer out for salty chunks of feta (but keeps the garlicky spiced spinach sauce).

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I love saving time when it comes to food prep and cooking. Plus, food prices are up and access to fresh produce isn't always the most affordable option. That's when I turn to the freezer.

Frozen produce is typically flash-frozen directly after harvest, when it's at its nutritional and flavorful best. Not only are they chock-full of nutrients and deliver on flavor, but frozen fruits and vegetables are often cheaper than their fresh counterparts, making them a budget-friendly option.

The problem with frozen produce is that you often end up with limp and lifeless food (especially if you follow the package directions for cooking).

So when I heard that roasting frozen vegetables straight from the freezer would somehow result in crispy, perfectly roasted vegetables (compared to the mushy, soggy consistency synonymous with frozen vegetables), I wasn't sure if I could believe it.

Instagram user @lizmoody shared a video of her "favorite healthy cooking hack" for roasting frozen broccoli to perfection. The video quickly gained a lot of traction and I can see why: The cooked vegetables look crisped, charred and too good to be true, so I had to try the method myself.

How to Get Crispy Roasted Frozen Vegetables

So how does this all work? First, pick a frozen vegetable then preheat your oven to 400°F. Add your still-frozen vegetables (with absolutely nothing on them—Liz says adding oil at this stage will actually trap in the moisture, causing soggy veggies) to a parchment-lined baking sheet and roast for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, add any oil and seasonings, return to the oven and roast another 8 to 10 minutes. That's it.

Can You Get Crispy Roasted Frozen Vegetables?

Like all good experiments, I had to start at the beginning which meant that I needed to choose my vegetable. Since everyone online seemed to be using frozen broccoli, I of course chose frozen broccoli. Why stray?

Next, I decided to go a bit rogue from the basic technique by placing my baking sheet in the oven while it preheated. This is one of my favorite hacks for roasting anything, so I figured it was a safe bet here.

Once my oven was preheated, I pulled out my pan (with an oven mitt, of course), lined it with parchment and added my straight-from-the-bag, tossed-with-nothing frozen broccoli. It seemed wrong, but I did it. And then I put it in the oven and waited.

Since I had preheated my pan and because my broccoli florets were pretty small, I knew cooking time wouldn't need to be so long, so I set my timer for 20 minutes and let it go.

The timer went off and sure enough, I pulled out the pan and the broccoli was already crispy and looking so good. I tossed it with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper and put it back in for another 5 minutes. When I pulled it out the last time I was impressed. My broccoli looked great, tasted amazing, and I instantly became a believer.

Tips for Getting Crispy Roasted Frozen Vegetables

This method works, but there a few nuances. Below are a few tips to help ensure you get those cripsy vegetables you're after:

• Keep it even: Make sure your pan is big enough so that you can spread your veggies out in a single layer. They need enough space between each other so that they roast instead of steam.
• Preheat the pan: This speeds up the process even more, so why not stick that pan in the oven while it preheats? Just be careful when handling the now-hot pan once you pull it out.
• Check often: Frozen vegetables come in all shapes and sizes, that means they're all going to cook a bit differently. You can start with the same oven temp, but check on smaller vegetables closer to the 15 to 20 minute mark. And f they're not done, cook them in 5 minute increments to make sure they don't burn.
• Use parchment: Unless you want your delicious roasted vegetables stuck to your pan, you better line it with parchment. And line it right before you put your vegetables on the pan (NOT while it's preheating) because burnt parchment is no good.