Raspberries, frozen rewards a little know-how: how to choose them, cook them, store them, and substitute in a pinch. Browse 29 recipes to cook with them.

What is raspberries, frozen?

Frozen raspberries are picked and flash-frozen at their peak, which means a bag in January often tastes better than the tired fresh clamshell sitting next to it. They cost a fraction as much and keep for months, so for anything you cook or blend they are the right call.

Freezing ruptures the cell walls, so the berries go soft and weepy as they thaw. That makes them useless for a fruit salad but ideal for sauce, where you want them to break down anyway.

Putting Them to Work

For a coulis or dessert sauce, tip the frozen berries straight into a pot with a little sugar and lemon. They thaw and collapse in minutes, then you push the puree through a sieve to leave the seeds behind. A smooth raspberry sauce wants that straining step every time.

In baking, add them frozen and do not thaw first. Thawed berries bleed pink streaks through batter and sink to the bottom. Folded in hard and frozen, they hold their shape, which is how Raspberry Pudding Cake and Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake Muffins keep their berries distinct.

A light toss in flour before folding helps them stay suspended rather than dropping. Expect a few extra minutes of bake time, since the cold fruit lowers the batter temperature.

Smoothies are where they really pay off. No ice needed, since the frozen fruit does the chilling and thickening, and they blend into frozen desserts like Frozen Raspberry Mousse without a thaw.

Pairings and the Mistakes to Skip

Frozen raspberries carry the same partners as fresh: chocolate, vanilla, cream cheese, and lemon. White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake leans on the tart-against-sweet contrast, and Raspberry-Cranberry Sauce pairs them with another tart berry for the holiday table.

The big mistake is thawing them before they go into batter. Once thawed they leak juice, and that excess liquid throws off the moisture balance and tints everything pink.

The second is skipping the strainer. Taste a gritty sauce once and you will pass the next one through a fine sieve while it is still warm.

What to Use Instead

Fresh raspberries are the obvious swap, one cup for one cup, though they cost more and turn quickly. Use fresh when the berries stay raw and visible; use frozen when they get cooked or blended.

Frozen blackberries or strawberries also sub in for sauces and baking. Blackberries match the tartness most closely. Strawberries run sweeter, so cut back the sugar a little.

Buying and Storing

Buy bags that feel loose and rattle when you shake them. If the berries have clumped into a solid mass, the bag thawed and refroze at some point, and the texture will be mushier and the flavor flatter.

Look for berries frozen whole with no added sugar or syrup unless a recipe calls for it. Plain unsweetened gives you the most control.

Keep them at 0°F (minus 18°C) and they hold their quality for eight to twelve months. Reseal tightly or slide the bag into a second freezer bag to fend off freezer burn, and scoop out only what you need so the rest stays frozen solid.

Quick facts

Where to find raspberries, frozen: Raspberries, frozen is usually found in the frozen foods section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.

In Chinese

覆盆子，冻结

British (UK) term

Raspberries, frozen

en français

framboises, congelées

en español

Frambuesas congeladas

Recipes using raspberries, frozen

There are 29 recipes that contain this ingredient.

All 29 recipes