Have you ever wondered how long you can keep food in the refrigerator? If the inside of your refrigerator looks like most people’s, the things you use most often are in the front, and the things that don’t get used as much get pushed to the back. And if your refrigerator is anything like mine, there are a few things that you forgot about before they went bad. These food storage guidelines will help you use things up before they go bad.
How Long Can You Keep Food In The Refrigerator?
{This post was sponsored by Indiana’s Family of Farmers. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Referral links are used in this post.}
Keeping your refrigerator cleaned out and well organized can help you see what foods you have and what foods need to be used up. Not everything will last the same amount of time in the refrigerator. Those chicken breasts should be cooked (or frozen) in 1-2 days, while the bacon will last up to a week. Apples will keep for up to 4-6 weeks, but strawberries will only be good for 3-6 days.
Using the dates on the package your food came in is important for knowing if the food in your refrigerator is safe to eat. But once you open the package, you often need to use the product up before the date on the package. A good habit to get into is to keep a Sharpie near your refrigerator. Date everything when you open it, and then you’ll know if something is still safe or should get tossed. If anything looks or smells like it might not be good, be safe and throw it away. Remember – when in doubt, throw it out!
How Long to Keep Foods in the Freezer
Are you wondering about how long you can store food in the freezer? This post has the answers!
Fruits
Some fruits will do better stored in the refrigerator, and some can be stored at room temperature. Still others (like apples and pears) can be kept on your counter until they are ripe, and then stored in the refrigerator until you eat them. Not all of your fruits can be stashed in the low humidity drawer of your refrigerator, so be sure you know which fruits play nicely together before you stock up on fresh fruit.
| Fruits | Time to Store in Refrigerator |
| Apples | 4-6 weeks |
| Blueberries | 10 days |
| Cherries | 7 days |
| Blackberries, Raspberries, Strawberries | 3-6 days |
| Citrus fruits | 1-3 weeks |
| Grapes | 7 days |
| Melons | Whole 2 weeks; cut 2-4 days |
| Peaches, Nectarines, Plums, Pears | 3-5 days |
| Pineapple | 5-7 days |
Vegetables
Most vegetables should be stored in the high-humidity drawer of your refrigerator. There are a few vegetables that should be stored in the low-humidity drawer, or that do better stored at room temperature. (Here is more information on where to store your veggies.) You might be surprised that many of them have a pretty short storage time!
| Vegetables | Time to Store in Refrigerator |
| Avocado | 3-4 days |
| Asparagus | 2-4 days |
| Green beans, Peas | 3-5 days |
| Broccoli, Cauliflower | 3-5 days |
| Carrots | 2-3 weeks |
| Celery | 1-2 weeks |
| Corn | 1-2 days |
| Cucumbers | 4-6 days |
| Eggplant | 4-7 days |
| Greens | 4-7 days |
| Mushrooms | 3-7 days |
| Peppers | 4-14 days |
| Rhubarb | 3-7 days |
| Summer squash, Zucchini | 4-5 days |
| Tofu | use package date; 2-3 days after opening |
Dairy and Eggs
All of your dairy and eggs should have a date on the package. This might be the sell by date, the use by date, or the best by date. (Here’s a quick refresher of what all those dates mean.) The date on the package is your best estimate of how long this food will be good for. These dates are some additional guidelines, and are very helpful once the container is opened.
| Dairy | Time to Store in Refrigerator |
| Butter | 1-3 months |
| Margarine | 6 months |
| Milk | 1 week |
| Cheese, hard | 6 months unopened; 3-4 weeks after opening |
| Cheese, soft | 1-2 weeks |
| Cheese, shredded | 1 month |
| Cheese, Parmesan, shredded | 12 months |
| Cheese slices | 3-4 weeks |
| Cheese, processed slices | 3-4 weeks |
| Cottage cheese, Ricotta cheese | 2 weeks unopened; 1 week after opening |
| Cream cheese | 2 weeks |
| Buttermilk | 1-2 weeks |
| Coffee creamer | 3 weeks |
| Half and half | 3-4 days |
| Cream, heavy | 10 days |
| Cream, light | 2 weeks unopened; 1 week after opening |
| Sour cream | 7-21 days; use package date |
| Dips, sour cream based | 2 weeks |
| Whipped cream, aerosol | 3-4 weeks |
| Whipped topping, tub | 2 weeks |
| Yogurt | 7-14 days |
| Eggs | Time to Store in Refrigerator |
| Eggs, in shell | 3-5 weeks |
| Eggs, hard boiled | 7 days |
| Eggs, raw, out of shell | 2-4 days |
| Egg substitute | 10 days unopened; 3 days after opening |
Meat & Seafood
Fresh meats and seafood don’t keep very long in your refrigerator. A good rule of thumb is to only buy what you will use in the next few days, and freeze anything that you don’t plan on using in 2-3 days.
| Meats | Time to Store in Refrigerator |
| Bacon | 7 days |
| Beef, lamb, or pork – Chops, steaks, and roasts | 3-5 days |
| Ground meat, Stew meat | 1-2 days |
| Ground chicken, turkey | 1-2 days |
| Sausage, raw bulk or patties | 1-2 days |
| Sausage, cooked links | 7 days |
| Sausage, hard | 2-3 weeks |
| Ham, canned | 6-9 months |
| Ham, cook before eating | 1 week |
| Ham, cooked slices | 3-4 days |
| Ham, cooked whole | 7 days |
| Chicken or turkey, whole or parts | 1-2 days |
| Duck or goose, whole | 1-2 days |
| Chicken nuggets or patties | 1-2 days |
| Giblets | 1-2 days |
| Hot dogs | 2 weeks unopened; 1 week after opening |
| Lunch meats | 2 weeks unopened; 3-5 days after opening |
| Seafood | Time to Store in Refrigerator |
| Crab legs | 2-4 days |
| Crab meat | 1-3 days |
| Fatty fish | 4-6 days |
| Lean fish | 4-6 days |
| Lobster tail, whole lobster | 1-2 days |
| Fresh clams, mussels, oysters | 5-10 days; 3-10 days shucked |
| Shrimp, scallops, crayfish, squid | 1-3 days |
Beverages
We already covered milk in the dairy section, but what about the other tasty drinks you may have stashed in your refrigerator?
| Beverages | Time to Store in Refrigerator |
| Juice, sold refrigerated | use package date; 6-10 days after opening |
| Juice, shelf-stable | use package date; 8-12 days after opening |
| Nectar | 5-7 days after opening |
| Soda | 2-3 days after opening |
| Soy or Rice drink | 7-10 days after opening |
Condiments
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been known to find forgotten bottles of salad dressing or half-used bottles of ketchup in the back of my refrigerator. Many condiments do have a long shelf life, but it’s probably not as long as we think.
| Condiments | Time to Store in Refrigerator |
| Mayonnaise | 2 months |
| Olives | 2 weeks |
| Pickles | 1-3 months |
| Salad dressings | 1-3 months |
| Salsa | 1 month |
| Soy sauce | 1 month |
| Vinegar | 1 year |
| Worcestershire sauce | 1 year |
Leftovers
No matter what kind of leftovers you have, they should only be kept in your refrigerator for a maximum of three days. Be sure to use up or freeze any leftovers by that third day. After 3 days, it should get tossed. This is the time where it might not look or smell like it has gone bad, but there could be enough bacteria in the food to make you sick.
Check out my friend Taylor’s site for a great cheat-sheet printable of food storage times on Home Storage Solutions 101. You can find more information on food storage times at FoodSafety.gov and with this Food Storage Database from the Food Marketing Institute.
So… is it time to clean out your refrigerator? I definitely need to do some excavating in the back of mine!
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