Every so often, a recipe will call for blue cheese crumbles. If you haven’t come across one yet, try adding crumbled blue cheese to your salad, burger, pizza, or pasta the next time you make one. Its salty taste and pungent smell pair exceptionally well with sweeter ingredients like onions, pears, and dried fruit.
There are two ways to grab hold of blue cheese crumbles. You can buy a block of blue cheese and crumble it yourself, or you can simply buy ready-made blue cheese crumbles (they tend to come in 5-oz containers).
Whichever you choose, you’re likely to end up with leftovers. And, since blue cheese is a pretty distinct ingredient, you may not want to eat them tomorrow or the day after.
This leads many home cooks to ask… Can blue cheese crumbles be frozen?
Blue cheese crumbles can be frozen. Frozen in their original packaging or in a food storage container with the lid closed, blue cheese crumbles will last for up to 6 months
To thaw frozen blue cheese crumbles, simply transfer them from your freezer to your fridge 24 hours before you plan to eat or cook with them.
Thawing blue cheese crumbles in the microwave is not necessarily a good idea. It can separate the whey and milk from the cheese, making the crumbles oily and wet. Do this only if you’re in a rush and will melt the cheese as part of the recipe.
Here’s a useful habit I picked up after years of trying to figure out how to thaw random ingredients on the fly. Think about what I’d like to cook for dinner every day of the week—and simply move any frozen ingredients to the fridge the night before.
How Long Will Blue Cheese Crumbles Last?
Maximize the shelf life of blue cheese crumbles by refrigerating them at all times in their original package.
If the blue cheese crumbles came in a package or container that can’t be resealed, transfer them to a food storage container with a lead or an airtight freezer bag before putting them in the fridge.
An unopened package of blue cheese crumbles will last until its “best by” date. Once opened, the blue cheese crumbles will stay good for up to 7 days in the fridge and up to 6 months in the freezer.
Don’t each blue cheese after the “best by” date unless you have purposefully frozen it for long-term storage.
Can You Leave Blue Cheese Crumbles Out?
Don’t leave crumbled blue cheese out for more than 2 hours. If you do, it might get populated by bad bacteria and become unsafe to eat or cook with.
Bacteria thrive at temperatures between 40°F and 140°F. The average room temperature, according to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, is 68-72°F.
If the cheese looks sweaty and has developed an off smell, throw it away. This may be a sign that bacteria known to cause food-borne illness may have populated the crumbles, making them unsafe for human consumption.
Can You Freeze Blue Cheese Dressing?
You can freeze blue cheese dressing, but it’s not really recommended. The dressing might contain mayonnaise, cream, or cheese—and dairy products don’t thaw well.
Dairy-based salad dressings will separate when thawed. No matter how hard you try to whip them back together (even if you use a mixer), you won’t be able to reverse it.
Even though you will extend the shelf life of a blue cheese dressing by freezing it, its texture once thawed will probably be too unappealing and unappetizing to eat.
Conclusion
Blue cheese crumbles are great for spicing up a salad or adding tanginess to a beef burger. If you have some leftover, they’re also really easy to freeze.
Just make sure to put them in an airtight container or ziplock bag, so that they won’t catch any smells from the circulating freezer air.
Blue cheese dressing is… a different story. Keep it in the fridge and eat it shortly after opening. Dairy sauces separate once thawed, so there’s not much sense in freezing it.
