For the good of our wallets and the planet, we’re all trying to reduce our personal food waste. Freezing food is one of the best ways to preserve it for later use and prevent it from spoiling. The good news is there are a lot of freezable items you might not even know about. Today we share 18 surprising items that you can stash in the freezer. 

1. Jalapeños. These spicy peppers aren’t for everyone, so if you’re not cooking for a spice lover, you can store the peppers in the freezer to extend their life and even make them more versatile. Frozen peppers can be grated on a microplane to add more dispersed spice to dishes. 
2. Broccoli stalks. Most people toss the stalks of broccoli, but you can collect them in the freezer to make a delicious broccoli soup. 
3. Celery. Rarely do we ever use an entire bunch of celery, but the crunchy stalks can be tossed in the freezer and cooked down into soups or stews at a later date. 
4. Fresh herbs. If you don’t want to dry your herbs, you can freeze them in ice cube trays filled with oil for easy and flavorful recipe starters. 
5. Seedless grapes. Once grapes start to become mushy, most people no longer want to eat them. Make them last longer by keeping them in the freezer for a deliciously crunchy frozen snack.
6. Avocados. Peeled and pitted avocados can be tossed with a bit of lemon juice and frozen for easy use in smoothies. 
7. Butter. Freezing butter by its “use by” date can extend its life by several months. Just pull out a stick and let it defrost on the counter when needed. 
8. Parmesan rinds. These rinds are actually tasty and edible. Keep them in the freezer and pop them into stews and sauces for some extra flavor. 
9. Flour. Did you know that flour can go stale? If you don’t use your flour often, store it in the freezer to keep it fresh. This is especially important for whole wheat varieties. 
10. Yeast. If you’ve got stockpiled yeast leftover from your pandemic baking phase, it can be kept in the freezer for up to two years to keep it fresh and active. 
11. Egg whites. Have a recipe that calls for only yolks? Keep those extra whites in the freezer and defrost for use in egg white omelets or meringues. 
12. Tomato paste. It can be hard to use an entire tube of tomato paste before it goes bad, but keeping it in the freezer in pre-measured proportions will make it easy to whip it out when you need it. 
13. Sauces. Pretty much every leftover sauce can be frozen for later use. 
14. Pesto. Pesto goes bad quickly, but keeping it frozen in ice trays with a layer of olive oil over each cube will keep it perfectly fresh until your next pasta night. 
15. Pizza dough. Make pizza dough in bulk and store in the freezer in an oil-drizzled airtight container for later use. Defrost before pizza night for a deliciously fresh homemade crust. 
16. Bread. Bread starts to go stale almost immediately, so slicing it and freezing it is a great way to have toast when you need it without the whole loaf spoiling on the counter. You can even keep entire banana bread loaves in the freezer. 
17. Soup. Most soup recipes make many servings, so you can preserve the extras by freezing them. This is a great way to use up leftover chicken soup for a rainy day treat. 
18. Meat. Meat is often cheaper in bulk and keeping it in the freezer is a great way to keep it handy without feeling pressure to cook it all up. Freeze by the “use by” date and defrost in a bag in the fridge or in a bowl of cool water.