Frozen spinach is a great way to have a healthy vegetable available in the freezer whenever you need a side for your meal.
Do frozen spinach go bad? Yes, frozen spinach does go bad. It needs to stay frozen because once it is thawed, it must be used immediately. When frozen spinach is stored in a home freezer, it can last from 9 to 14 months as long as it has no damage to the package.
For frozen foods, damage to the package is indicated by punctures or holes created by other containers that pierce the frozen spinach bag. Damage can also mean the bag of spinach develops freezer burn from the inside, and the spinach is not only colorless but unusable.
Once a bag of spinach is taken out of the freezer and thawed, it must be used immediately, or it will go bad.
How Long Does Frozen Spinach Last?
Unlike fresh spinach, which turns bad in less than two weeks, a frozen spinach package can last from 9 to 13 months. If it is stored in the freezer and the bag is never tampered with, or the spinach never develops freezer burn, it will be ready when you need it.
The length of time frozen spinach lasts a major difference from how long fresh spinach lasts. Now we can see why frozen spinach is preferred to fresh spinach, especially when busy people with chaotic lives choose it.
How Long Does Frozen Spinach Last if it is Thawed?
Depending on how the frozen spinach was thawed out, it can last only 24 hours over up to four days. There are two standard methods to defrosting frozen vegetables, the microwave and in the refrigerator.
If the spinach is thawed in the microwave, it needs to be eaten within 24 hours. The microwave removes a lot of water from the frozen spinach, which will cause it to turn bad faster.
If the spinach is thawed out in a bowl in the refrigerator, it will last for 3 to 4 days. When it thaws out in the refrigerator, it will take longer, but it won’t deteriorate as quickly, and it will keep its flavor and texture.
How to Thaw Out Frozen Spinach in the Microwave
Thawing out frozen spinach in the microwave is relatively easy to do. All you need to do is remove the frozen spinach from its packaging and break off a piece if you don’t need the entire block. You can also place an entire block of spinach in a bowl.
Then, take the bowl and place it into your microwave. If your microwave has a frozen veggie setting, press the button and let it start. If it simply has a thaw setting, then use that button.
Allow the microwave to thaw the spinach for about 30 seconds. Then take off a fork and try to find soft areas in the block of spinach and wiggle your fork through it. Then allow the microwave to run for 30 more seconds and then repeat.
All of this may seem excessive but separating the frozen spinach from the thawed spinach will keep the leaves from cooking too much and drying out.
How to Store Frozen Spinach
If you are purchasing frozen veggies from the grocery store, be sure to go back home and stick them in your freezer immediately. The faster the frozen vegetables go from your grocery store card to your freezer, the better.
You do not want your frozen spinach to stop thawing out on the counter. For added protection, you can place the package of frozen spinach in a freezer drain Ziplock bag. This is another layer of protection against freezer burn.
How Long Does Frozen Spinach Last? Shelf Life [Chart]
| Type of Spinach | Length of Time |
| Spinach, frozen | 9 to 13 months |
| Spinach, thawed in the microwave | 24 hours |
| Spinach, thawed in the fridge | 3 to 4 days |
How is Frozen Spinach Made?
Frozen vegetables are an easy way to preserve vegetables and have them ready when you want to cook. One of the biggest issues with food in general, but mostly fruits and vegetables, is how quickly they rot.
With so many people working tirelessly all day long at their jobs and then taking care of kids and parents or going to school, it seems like it only takes a day or two for most veggies to turn bad. People can’t go to the grocery store every day and pick out their food, so frozen vegetables are the next best thing.
Spinach is a common vegetable that is frozen and stored in the freezer. But how is frozen spinach made?
First things first: a farm that produces spinach harvests the leaves and then ships them to a food processing plant.
Then, the shipment of spinach is placed on the conveyor belt, where it is chopped up into little bits.
After that, a machine selects a specific amount of chopped up spinach and places it into a boiling pot of water, where it is then blanched. The blanching causes the spinach to shrink.
When this step is over, the spinach is allowed to cool, and then it is flash-frozen to prevent microbial growth that would cause it to rot. The frozen chunk of chopped spinach is then placed into a packaging bag and then shipped to one of the many grocery stores across the world that sells frozen spinach.
What Foods Require Frozen Spinach?
Once it is thawed, frozen spinach can be added to most dishes and foods that regular spinach goes into. Since it is just a block of spinach, people like to add frozen spinach into their soup since it will warm up inside the soup. But they can be used for other dishes.
So, frozen spinach can be added to spinach dip, a quiche, soups, stews, omelet, and other foods. However, we do not suggest that you use frozen spinach in a recipe that calls for completely fresh uncooked spinach.
For example, if you like to put fresh whole spinach leaves on your sandwich, do not replace the fresh spinach with frozen spinach. The frozen spinach is far too concentrated, and it will taste very thick and have a strong vegetable flavor.
Also, do not use frozen spinach when you are creating a salad. So, if you’re making a mixed green salad and the recipe calls for spinach, don’t even think of reaching for the frozen spinach. I don’t think anybody will eat it and all your hard work will go to waste.
Lastly, do not use frozen spinach in a green smoothie. Green smoothies usually require uncooked spinach added to the blender and frozen spinach just has a different texture. Frozen spinach is best used in foods where the spinach has to cook along with other ingredients.
Conclusion
- Frozen vegetables are practical because they do not spoil as fast as fresh vegetables.
- Frozen vegetables are a great way for busy people to get the vegetables they need when they’re able to cook.
- Spinach is a very popular vegetable to freeze.
- To freeze spinach, it first must be chopped up, then blanched so the leaves can shrink.
- Then the spinach is flash frozen and placed into packaging so it can be shipped out.
- Frozen spinach can be added to nearly every dish that requires fresh spinach.
- We recommend that you do not use frozen spinach when a recipe requires fresh uncooked spinach.
- As long as a package of frozen spinach is tampered with, it will last for 9 to 13 months.
- Frozen spinach that is thawed out in the microwave must be eaten within 24 hours.
- Frozen spinach that is thawed out in the refrigerator can last for four days.