Here you’ll find a comprehensive guide and tips on how to freeze different kinds of food, so you can easily pack them for your bento box for stress-free morning!
This is the basic guide to storing freezer-friendly dishes for your bento lunch box. Once you learn how to properly freeze pre-cooked meals, you can save so much time to make bento in the morning!
In this post, I’ll cover:
- Helpful Tools
- How to Freeze Cooked Rice
- How to Freeze Pan-Fried Food
- How to Freeze Deep-Fried Food
- How to Freeze Vegetables
- How To Freeze Vegetable Dishes
- How to Freeze Tamagoyaki
Helpful Tools
To keep everything organized, I find these containers and silicon cups extremely helpful.
- Glass containers for storing rice
- Glass containers for meal prep
- Silicone cups (I have both mini and regular sizes)
How To Freeze Cooked Rice
You don’t have to cook rice just to make bento every morning. My go-to method for storing extra steamed rice is to freeze it. Even if it’s for the following day, freezing rice is the best way. Rice gets hard and dry in the fridge, but not if you store in the freezer! I make extra and always keep a few containers of steamed rice in the freezer.
To make it easy, I have different size containers for bento portion, 1 serving of rice, and 2 servings of rice. It’s easy to take it out and pop in the microwave to defrost the frozen rice in the morning. Once the rice is warmed through, pack it in bento boxes or make rice balls (onigiri).
- (Ideally, as soon as rice is done cooking) Pack the cooked rice with steam and cover the lid immediately to seal in the steam and moisture.
- Let cool completely on the kitchen counter. You do not want to spoil your food in the freezer with your hot/warm rice.
- Store in the freezer for up to 1 month.
- Reheat by microwaving. Make sure to let cool completely before packing in the bento box (Why do we need to re-heat and let cool? Click here.).
👉🏻 Read more about How to Store Cooked Rice
How To Freeze Pan-Fried Food
- Option 1: Put each portion the cooked food (2 meatballs) in a silicone cup and place all the silicone cups in a larger container.
- Option 2: Put each portion of the cooked food (2 meatballs) in separate small containers.
- Let cool completely, keeping the container lid(s) open, on the kitchen counter.
- Store in the freezer for up to 3 weeks.
- Reheat thoroughly by microwaving, pan-frying, or baking at 350ºF (180ºC). Make sure to let cool completely before packing in the bento box (Why do we need to re-heat and let cool? Click here.).
How To Freeze Deep-Fried Food
- After deep frying, let cool completely.
- Option 1: Put them in a large airtight container, separate each portion with parchment paper (see above).
- Option 2: Put individual serving in separate small containers.
- Store in freezer for up to 3 weeks.
- Reheat thoroughly (without thawing) by baking at 375ºF (190ºC) in the oven or the toaster oven till heated through and crispy. Make sure to let cool completely before packing in the bento box (Why do we need to re-heat and let cool? Click here.).
How To Freeze Vegetables
- Blanch vegetables* till tender but crisp (don’t overcook!) and drain well or squeeze water out.
- Let cool completely.
- Pat dry with paper towel to make sure all the moisture is removed.
- Option 1: Put each portion in a silicone cup and place all the silicone cups in a larger container.
- Option 2: Put each portion in separate small containerners.
- Store in freezer for up to 2-3 weeks.
- Pack directly into your bento box (no reheat!) or thaw overnight in the fridge (and serve with a salad dressing), or cook/stir-fry in the morning while frozen.
*Broccoli, asparagus, green beans, bell peppers, zucchini, carrots, corn etc.
How To Freeze Vegetable Dishes
- Drain (if there is any liquid) and put each portion in a silicone cup and place all the silicone cups in a larger container.
- Let cool completely.
- Store in freezer for up to 2-3 weeks.
- Pack directly into your bento box (no reheat!) or thaw overnight in the fridge.
How To Freeze Tamagoyaki
- Let cool completely.
- Option 1: Place the tamagoyaki slices in a container that fits and keep each piece detoched (so it’s easy to take one out).
- Option 2: Wrap each slice of tamagoyaki in plastic wrap and put it in a freezer bag.
- Keep in freezer for up to 2 weeks.
- Pack directly into your bento box (no reheat).
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Hi Nami!
This is so helpful, thank you! I have a follow-up question about putting vegetables directly into the bento box without thawing/reheating, if I’m using a lunch jar (like the Zojirushi), will the vegetables completely thaw by lunchtime? I am not sure if the extra insulation might slow down the thawing process.
Thank you!
Meno
Hi Meno! Thank you very much for reading Nami’s post and for your kind feedback!
It depends on the type of your lunch box. If it’s an insulated thermos container, it might slow down the throwing process. If that is the case, recommend reheating the food in the morning and let it cool. Then you can pack it in the lunch jar.
We hope this helps!
In Australia we are told to either have rice hot (over 60degrees) then cool down very quickly and place in a fridge or freezer as soon as the steam is gone. If we reheat it we are told to reheat it very quickly and eat while hot, it’s recommended to only reheat once. We are taught that bacteria thrive between 0-60degrees Celsius, so based on that, it would make more sense to put cold rice in a bento box and to keep it cold with an ice pack, and eat it cold if not able to reheat at work. The only reason to reheat would be if you were going to keep it insulated and as hot as possible until eating. The idea of reheating and then letting it cool down under 60 degrees but not putting it in a fridge and eating again hours later sounds more dangerous than eating it cold and chilled with an ice pack all day. How does bringing the rice into the dangerous 0-60degree C zone make it safer, when it could be eaten cold (like sushi rice)?
Hi Tamara! Most Japanese do not keep the rice in the refrigerator and we freeze them to store. So we have to reheat the frozen rice in the morning. To bring the temperature of the hot rice to a safe cool temperature, using ice packs underneath is recommended and often used. Like you said lukewarm temperature is dangerous and you want to pass that as fast as possible. Once the rice is reheated, the texture becomes “fluffy” (I’m only talking about Japanese rice, not sure about other variety), and it will stay that way till lunch even though you put ice packs to keep it cool. However, the chilled rice (from the fridge) will never become fluffy if it’s kept chilled until lunchtime.
his is pretty standard method Japanese use for making the bento. This is not related but I don’t remember my bento was in an insulated lunch bag when I was a child, and it was wrapped in old fashion style bento box napkin. Thinking back, I’m surprised I (or kids back then) didn’t get food poisoning from not having an ice pack or insulated bag…
Thanks! That’s an awesome cultural insight!
It’s funny, but my husband is from a Chinese family and I think they didn’t have as much money when he was growing up straight after they immigrated, as a result I think he ate some low quality food (his sister even mentions unintentional bugs in the dried plant food delivered from overseas!) Now he can eat off the same plate as me and not get sick while I will! His mum would even leave rice in the rice cooker (off and on the counter) overnight and he wouldn’t get sick!
Hi Tamara! Some people have a strong stomach. I’m usually the weakest one so everyone in my family checks with me if I had any stomach before they worry. LOL.
Love your bentos!
Thank you Ellen! 🙂
HI Nami,
I know this is an old post but I have a few questions about freezing tamagoyaki. Every time I pack frozen tamagoyaki, a lot of juice comes out when thawing and leaks through my bento box. Any idea on how to solve this? Also, the texture becomes chewy and a little dry, instead of being soft and fluffy like fresh tamagoyaki. Is it something I’m doing wrong, or just a sacrifice we take for freezing it? Thank you so much!
Hi Annie! 1) When your tamagoyaki has lots of dashi (aka dashimaki tamago), the dashi is probably coming out as you defrost the tamagoyaki, especially when you put frozen tamagoyaki in the bento (no moisture escaping from reheating). 2) One way to solve is to put tamagoyaki in the silicone mold by itself, so juice sort of stay inside (unless you make bento upside down). 3) Dry and chewy… hmmm… nothing beats freshly made tamagoyaki. When you freeze the tamagoyaki, do you pack in airtight container and make sure it doesn’t get freezer burn? If so… probably due to freezing, texture may change… Hope this helps!
Hi Nami, thank you for responding to my question. Yes, I fish for tuna when given the chance. My problem is how to freeze fresh tuna when I have a lot left after eating and giving away some to friends. My last effort turned out extremely powerful fishy smelling, eveven after using my food saver. Can you give me a clue?
Hi Ken! I see… I’m not an expert in this, but what I know is that it’s important to breed the fish. Maybe talk to the fisherman or google might have some good articles. Sorry I wish I could help more…
One article said: To freeze fresh tuna, prepare a solution of 1 tablespoon ascorbic acid crystals to 1 quart of water or 1/4 cup salt dissolved in 1 quart of water. Dip the fish into the solution to firm it up. Seal in plastic wrap and then in a zip-top bag.
Better yet, freeze it in an ice block by putting into a zip-top bag and covering with water. Squeeze out all the air and seal the bag. Freeze up to three months.
I would like to know how to freeze. Tuna.
Hi Ken! Hmmm you mean you fish tuna and how to freeze it?
for fried food, does it have to be frozen for three weeks or no??
Hi Niko! No, it’s “up to” 3 weeks, so you can keep it for 3 weeks if you want to. 🙂
This is super duper helpful. Thank you SO much!!
Thank you Jen! 🙂
Thank you! I just discovered this site and will be coming back! Thank you for making the prep and all seem so doable 🙂 Arigatou gozaimashita!
Hi Kelly! So happy that you found my site. Thank you for visiting! I hope you find some recipes that you enjoy. 🙂
I tried to freeze your crispy baked salmon. But after I reheated them using oven toaster (I thawed them first), they tend to be a bit dry on the inside (the salmon). Any advice on how I should do it? Thanks ????
Hi Leony! I usually don’t defrost panko fried foods and I put directly into toaster oven. Once it’s thawed, the panko coating gets soggy. Maybe the moisture also left when you defrosted? Hope this helps!
Hi,
can you teach how to freeze noodle / pasta?
Hi Lynette! Cook normally, drain, pack in an air-tight container, close the lid, let cool on the kitchen counter, and then to freeze. 🙂
can i freeze Japanese curry?
Sure! I do that all the time! However, potato’s texture will change after frozen, so I usually remove potato (or purposely eat them so no leftover potatoes) and freeze the rest. 🙂
Hey, Thanks for all of your advice! You do a fantastic job of explaining things that others do not! I love making bento for myself and enjoy the recipes and creation but I have a question that I can’t find an answer too.
When I make Onigiri do I cool it down to room temp on a plate before putting it in the bento and closing the lid? If so does this make it dry out? and when you say leave things to cool down before closing the lid do you mean placing warm food into the bento and letting it cool inside? Doesnt that leave moisture under the food ?
Please help : )
Hi Kyle! Thank you so much for your kind feedback! Here are my answers:
1) If you are making onigiri with very hot rice (like just finished cooking), I’d definitely keep it outside on the plate until it cools down. Onigiri will dry out if you leave it for a long time, but not so much for 10 minutes or so (in fact, if I serve onigiri for a meal time, I still consider onigiri is not dry during the whole meal time). The surface of rice gets a bit dry, but it’s not too bad. Oh but I use Japanese rice, which has more moisture than other kinds of rice.
2) If the rice is not super hot, I may add it into the bento box (only when other bento menus are all warm) and keep it open until cool down.
3) In general, if you add warm food into bento box, it takes longer time to cool down because it’s surrounded by the other warm food and wall of bento box… It’s faster if you keep the food outside first. If I’m still doing something in the kitchen, I usually put all the food in silicon cups and leave them out until cool down, then pack all them into a bento box. However, when I have to leave the kitchen, I would finish packing (still warm) food in the bento, and let it cool. But all I need to do is to close the lid before we leave the house. So it works either way, but you want to cool your bento as much as possible so there will be no condensation.
Hope that helps?! 🙂
Thank you soo much, I’ve been wondering how to freeze food for bento for a while now, and you covered everything really clearly! ☺ Maya
Hi Maya! I’m so glad to hear that! Thank you very much for your kind feedback! xo 🙂
Hi Nami,
Thank you for the post–this is super helpful. I have a question regarding freezing vegetables that have sauce. Would you wrap it in individual servings with the sauce, or should the sauce even be frozen at all?
Thank you!
Hi Yuna!
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this post! What kind of sauce you are talking about? Is it thinly water-based sauce, or creamy milk/oil base sauce?
Normally, the flavor gets stronger/saltier when you freeze with seasonings. The texture also gets more wilted too from salt content. I would personally freeze the sauce and vegetables separately and combine together when I put the salad. If it’s easy to make the sauce, I might make it ahead of time and combine together to toss. Hope this helps! 🙂
Hi Nami,
I enjoy reading your tips on how to make bento. May I know do you defrost the frozen pan fried food before reheating?
Thanks!
Dianne
Hi Dianne! Thank you for reading my post. 🙂 If it’s pan fried food, I’d defrost it in the fridge overnight, and I reheat it by a microwave or cooking in the pan in the morning. It depends. If the food is thick and it looks like a long time to reheat, I’d definitely defrost ahead of time in the fridge before reheating. But if the food looks like it will heat up quickly, then I sometimes reheat the food directly from the freezer. Hope this helps! 🙂
Thanks Nami!
Hi Nami
I am totally new to making Bentos.
Would you be able to give us an idea on how early you wake up to prepare the bento?
Could you do a post on this? Pls also do share with us how you use the insulated bag etc.
Many thanks!
Hi BK! I usually spend maximum 20 minutes for bento making besides making breakfast. I usually re-heat leftover food and let the food cool down takes up the most of bento making time.
Please refer to my bento post and start reading here: https://www.justonecookbook.com/recipes/how-to-make-bento/
Hi Nami,
Thanks for your so your clear explanation on how to store and prepare bento food. May I know
1) You mentioned to freeze the Tamogoyaki and vegetables and put in bento box without reheating. Will the vege or egg be cold when they eat the food during lunch time?
I’m always worried about kids eating over-night / leftover food or even store few weeks, but with your recommendations and tips, I felt much more safer and at ease. Thanks so much.
Hi Shirley! It should be cool or room temp depending on how you store the bento until lunch time. If you put it in thermal lunch box with ice pack, I think it will stay cool. Otherwise, by lunch time, it should be at room temp. How do your kids bring lunch to school? I recommend to put bento box in insulated bag with ice. If it’s made fresh on previous night (for dinner), I am pretty comfortable to put leftover dinner in lunch box, keep in refrigerator (after cool down), and put the bento box straight to lunch bag. However, if the food was a few days old etc, I will usually avoid putting in lunch box (but I would eat it at home after reheating). Since school doesn’t have microwave or stove, I don’t feel comfortable to pack in lunch box. I hope this helps. 🙂
Hi Nami,
I know this is an old post, but I’m learning how to make bento box for my son. I plan to use the leftover dinner from previous night. Do you mean that I can just pack the leftover food straight into the bento box, refrigerate the food inside the lunch box, and then just put the lunch box to the lunch bag, without reheating? I read from your other post, about food safety, that you recommend to re-heat the food before packing for that day. Please advise. I am a bit confused here 🙂
Hi Dewi! In Japan where lunch box is eaten at room temperature, it’s commonly prepared in the morning. For the food safety reason, food is usually re-heated (to kill any bacteria that you don’t see), and let it cool down completely before packed into the lunch box. Japanese moms usually wake up at super early before 6 am to pack kids’ lunch… but it’s not common outside of Japan to do that. So as long as the food prepared previous night is fresh (not old food), I think it’s okay to pack the leftover dinner in the lunch box, keep in the fridge, and continue to chill in the lunch box with ice packs until lunch time. Bacterias grow at warmer temperature, so that way, you can keep it safer. When I was growing up, there was no ice packs – even when you buy lunch box in Japan, it’s kept at room temperature. No ice packs (that will ruin the lunch in a way). So food is prepared in the morning and packed properly (after cool down). Hope this makes sense?
You explain the basics of bulk cooking, storing and reheating extremely well！
Thank you！！
Thank you! 🙂