Can you freeze mince pies?
Yes, before its final cook. Freeze the pieces on a lined tray until firm, then pack them into a container.
How to freeze and defrost it, with the Food Standards Agency’s advice at each step.
The recipe
One batch makes 8 portions.
Ingredients for 8 portions
Method
Make the cases
- Unroll shortcrust pastry and cut out 24 circles with a 7.5cm round cutter, pressing the scraps together and rolling them out again as you go.
- Press the circles into two 12-hole bun tins.
- Roll out what's left and cut 24 small stars.
Fill them
- Spoon mincemeat into the cases, a heaped teaspoon in each.
- Lay a star on top of each one.
- Beat medium egg and brush it over the stars.
To eat now
- Heat the oven to 200°C fan.
- Bake for 18 minutes until the pastry is golden.
- Leave in the tins for 10 minutes, then lift out and dust with icing sugar.
How to freeze
-
cool any warm dishes before putting them in your freezer
, says the Food Standards Agency. - Freeze them in the tins until solid, then lift them out.
- Spread them out on a lined tray and freeze until firm, then pack into your container.
How to defrost
-
the safest way to defrost food is in the fridge overnight
, says the Food Standards Agency. - Take it out of its container.
- Put them back in the bun tins.
- Heat it in the oven until it’s steaming hot all the way through and golden.
-
it is important that food is cooked to steaming hot throughout, rather than warmed
, says the Food Standards Agency. - Leave for 10 minutes, then dust with icing sugar.
How we’d cook it, not advice. We don’t check recipes for allergens, and ingredients vary by brand, so check the label on everything you use. Prepare and cook food the way the Food Standards Agency says. Allergens and food safety
Made some already? Add it to your stash. Mark it always in and Nomstash tells you when you’re running low.
For Christmas Eve
- Serve it with Cream, brandy butter or a slice of cheese.
- 24 pies, 3 each One batch makes 8 portions.
- Vegetarian Some mincemeat is made with beef suet, so check the jar says vegetarian.
No special kit
- Works best in air-tight containers Any freezer-safe container does the job too.
- Everything from one shop Batch cook it with Nomstash and the air-tight containers go on the same shopping list as the food.
Cook what you already cook
-
Already keep a freezer spreadsheet?
Paste it in from Excel or Google Sheets, or choose a CSV file, and Nomstash reads it into your stash.
Bring in my freezer list
Freezing and defrosting safely
The Food Standards Agency’s advice, in their words.
Label everything you freeze.
label food you freeze so you don’t end up with Unidentified Frozen Objects (UFOs)
The rest of the Food Standards Agency’s advice, in their words, is in our freezing and defrosting guide.
Sources
- Food Standards Agency How to chill, freeze and defrost food safely gov.uk
- Food Standards Agency Cooking your food gov.uk
Last checked . Each quotation on this page was read against the page it links to.