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No matter how much I love baked food, I cannot avoid a guilty feeling with the environment whenever I turn my oven on.

Normally I try baking as much as possible in one go to make a better use of the space. Recently I am wondering which type of baked food (ingredients or companions, not full dishes) are OK to freeze and reuse later as a side dish or part of other recipes?

Although I understand that the flavor will change, I am looking for food that can be baked and still be acceptable later as a side dish itself or part of one.

For example, I was planning baking a batch of bell peppers and see how they test as unfrozen side dish. I also love baked eggplant, but since it is so juicy, the taste loss will be far more dramatic.

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    Are you asking if you can freeze vegetables to cook with later? The answer is generally yes, but most need to be prepared or par-cooked in some way, and the outcome may be different than fresh. Still, this question is very broad and hard to answer. Can you narrow it down or make it more focused?
    – SAJ14SAJ
    Nov 29, 2013 at 13:28
  • My question is more for home-survival than home-wanna-be-chef. I want to add some "baked" feeling to my cooking. More than just freezing vegetables, I am looking for already "baked vegetables" or side-dish-recipe that can be frozen and retain later some tiny part of the "baked" feeling. It is not intended to be used as a full dish, but as a companion of other dish. Yes, it will not be as great as fresh, but from a home-economics perspective, I want to make good use of the oven once I warm it up. This might not be very specific, but I have no idea about where to start experimenting.
    – SystematicFrank
    Nov 29, 2013 at 17:03

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Most things baked in a casserole will freeze well ... in part it's because you have a container that's got a relatively low surface to mass ratio, and only exposed to evaporation on one side.

That being said, when you say 'a guilty feeling with the environment', if you're talking about an enviromentalist type perspective, then cooking, freezing, then cooking again is not energy efficient. (your energy, sure ... but not electricity & gas ... unless it's the trips to the store that you're avoiding).

There are a fair number of cookbooks out there for what's called 'freezer cooking' or 'once a month cooking'. You should find a few websites if you search on those terms. (and we've even had a question about it before).

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  • Stuff that's fully cooked and frozen can be defrosted and eaten cold if it's palatable that way, I suppose...
    – Yamikuronue
    Nov 29, 2013 at 23:55
  • @Yamikuronue : I've been trying to think of something that might fit, and I'm not having much luck. The only thing I could think of were some custard pies, which I don't know that I'd describe as a 'side disk'. Even for savary, the only thing I can think of is quice, which I'd use as a main, not a side (and I don't know how well it freezes)
    – Joe
    Nov 30, 2013 at 5:03

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