The best part of any party is the leftover food. I remember fond Christmas memories of leftover ham and turkey, delicious deserts, and my favorite dips. Who says you have to wait a whole year to enjoy your favorite dips (heaven forbid a trip to the store!)? Can you freeze these 5 popular dips?
Veggie/Dill Dip and Other Sour Cream-Based Dips
Dairy-based dips come in a variety of flavors from traditional French onion to creamy spinach and artichoke dips; there are even lite options that use yogurt instead of sour cream, reducing the total calories by an average of 67% and the fat by 88% when compared to the leading sour cream dips. But can you freeze it? It turns out that you can, although prolonged freezer exposure changes the texture of the dip, so you might not like it.
Guacamole
When I was young my mother showed me how to make authentic guacamole using lime, salt, fresh roma tomatoes, and perfectly ripened avocados. With a little pico de gallo and a fresh salsa, any meal in my family’s home could be taken up to 11. I can say from experience that you can freeze guac, but you have to make sure you use a tightly sealed container and get all of the air out. You honestly can’t tell the difference between fresh and thawed guacamole.
Cheese Dips
What kid doesn’t practically life on cheese when growing up. Just like the sour cream dips however, the dairy in the cheese dips end up breaking down once you freeze them, altering their texture. They tend to be much more watery than when the cheese dip is fresh, which may again turn some cheese connoisseurs off.
Hummus
I recently discovered Mediterranean food when I was in college, and I never looked back thanks to hummus. The green dip is made from crushed chick peas, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and a sesame paste called tahini; hummus compliments many foods with its savory, tangy flavor. But can it be frozen? Hummus actually can be frozen to increase its shelf-life with minimum impact on the finished product. Now you can enjoy homemade hummus year-round, just make sure to make enough for leftovers!
Salsa
Like guacamole, my mom always made her salsa fresh every day, so I never asked the question, “can you freeze salsa” during my childhood. In Spanish, salsa just means sauce, and can refer to a variety of tomato based canned vegetable blends like salsa verde, pico de gallo, southwestern salsa mix, and roasted garlic salsa to name a few. But can can you freeze salsa? As long as there is no dairy in your salsa you can freeze salsa without fear of the ingredients breaking down, although the question of whether or not can you freeze salsa largely depends on the container in question.
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