Is Frozen Fruit Good for You? Yes, and It Even Has Some Advantages
Key takeaways:
Frozen fruit is just as nutritious as fresh fruit. It has fiber, prebiotics, vitamins, and antioxidants.
Frozen fruit and fresh fruit can differ in terms of cost, convenience, taste, and texture.
The best fruits to buy frozen are those that are easy to snack on (like frozen blueberries) or use in smoothies or baking.
Table of contents
Most Americans don’t eat enough fruit. In fact, only about 1 in 10 adults in the U.S. meet the daily recommended fruit intake of 1½ to 2 cups per day. So, does this mean you need to stock up on loads of fresh fruit to keep at home?
Many people assume fresh fruit is the most nutritious type of fruit. But frozen fruit also has plenty of health benefits. It even has some advantages over fresh fruit. Let’s take a closer look at what science says about this underrated grocery store staple.
Is frozen fruit nutritious?
Yes, frozen fruit is good for you. Studies have found that frozen fruit is just as nutritious as fresh fruit. Eating fruit regularly has many health benefits, including better heart health, lower cancer risk, and even helping you live longer.
Fruit is good for you because it:
Has dietary fiber (including prebiotics) that helps improve gut and overall health
Contains many vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin C, potassium, and folate
Is filled with phytochemicals, plant-based compounds with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties
Does frozen fruit contain sugar?
Like fresh fruit, frozen fruit naturally contains sugar. The sugar in fruit is called fructose, a natural form of sugar. This natural sugar is an important part of a balanced diet. It’s better for you than refined sugar, which is made from processed sugar and added to food. When you eat fruit, you also get all the important vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that fruit provides.
Long-lasting fruits: There are some easy changes you can make to increase the shelf life of your fruits and help them last weeks or months in your fridge.
Is fruit sugar bad for you? Fruit contains natural sugar called fructose, which is part of a balanced diet. This is different from added sugar, which can harm your health.
Are fresh vegetables better than frozen ones? No. The nutritional differences between fresh and frozen vegetables are so small that they’re unlikely to affect your health.
Some fruits contain more sugar than others. Low-glycemic fruits, like berries and apples, won’t raise your blood sugar as much as high-glycemic fruits, like watermelon and pineapple.
Is frozen fruit as healthy as fresh fruit?
Yes. Frozen fruit is as nutritious as fresh fruit.
The process of freezing fruit may decrease the amount of some vitamins. But research has found that if any nutrients are lost, it’s only a small amount.
Plus, any minor vitamin loss may be balanced out by the fact that the freezing process captures fruit at “peak ripeness.” During peak ripeness, fruit has the highest concentration of vitamins and minerals. Once frozen, the amount of nutrients stays stable over time. This is different from fresh fruit, which tends to lose nutrients while being stored and transported to supermarkets. So, some vitamins may actually be higher in frozen fruit than in fresh fruit.
Most store-bought frozen fruit contains only fruit — no additives. But some brands add sugar or syrup to enhance the taste. Make sure to choose frozen fruit without any added sugars.
Should you choose frozen or fresh?
Eating plenty of fruit is an important part of a balanced diet, whether you reach for fresh or frozen. Which type of fruit you should choose might depend on convenience, cost, and how you plan to use it.
Here are a few factors to consider:
Nutrients: As mentioned above, the amount of vitamins and minerals is similar in fresh and frozen fruit. But fresh fruit loses some of its vitamins over time. The vitamin content in frozen fruit stays constant.
Longer shelf life: Frozen fruit can be stored in the freezer indefinitely (but for best quality, use it within 8 to 12 months). Fresh fruit has a shorter shelf life.
Cost: There isn’t a clear winner when it comes to cost. It depends on the fruit. Frozen blueberries are more expensive than fresh. But frozen blackberries are less expensive than their fresh counterparts.
Taste and texture: Fresh fruit usually has a crisper texture, which makes it ideal for snacking or meals. Frozen fruit softens when thawed, so it may be a better choice for smoothies or baked goods.
Which fruits are best to buy frozen?
The best fruits to buy frozen are those that maintain their crispness when thawed or fruits that you can add to smoothies or baked goods. Some of the best fruits to buy frozen include:
Blueberries: Frozen blueberries can be a tasty snack on their own. They also add a satisfying crunch when you add them to yogurt.
Strawberries: Try adding them to smoothies or pancake batter.
Avocados: Frozen avocados chunks can be thawed and spread on toast.
Bananas: You can add frozen bananas to smoothies or use them in baking. Bananas also have a creamy texture when frozen, almost like ice cream. Try dipping a banana in dark chocolate, freezing it, and enjoying a nutritious, sweet treat.
Mango: Frozen mango chunks have one big advantage over fresh mango — there’s no need to peel it, slice it, or deal with that pesky pit in the middle.
What are the disadvantages of freezing fruit?
While frozen fruit offers convenience, there are some drawbacks. The disadvantages of frozen fruit include:
Change in texture: When you freeze fruit, the water inside the cells forms tiny ice crystals. These crystals affect the texture, making the fruit softer and squishier when thawed compared to fresh fruit.
Change in taste: The ice crystals from freezing can also make the fruit taste a bit watered down. Freezing and thawing fruit can also change the sugar content (some sugars decrease, while others increase). This may also affect the taste.
Increased cost: As noted above, certain fruit — like peaches and cherries — are more expensive when you buy them frozen.
Frequently asked questions
Frozen fruit doesn’t go bad. As long as it’s kept in the freezer, fruit won’t grow bacteria. So, you don’t need to worry about it becoming contaminated or causing illness. But the taste of frozen fruit may not hold up well after 8 to 12 months. For that reason, it’s a good idea to use it before then.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) recommends eating about 1 ½ to 2 cups of fruit each day. Frozen fruit can help you meet that goal. Just keep in mind that fruit is filling due to its high fiber and water content. If you eat more than 2 or 3 cups of fruit per day, you may feel quite full. This could leave less room in your diet for other nutrient-dense foods like whole grains, protein, and vegetables.
Yes. Freezer burn happens when air comes into contact with food in cold conditions, causing ice crystals to form. Freezer burn doesn’t make fruit unsafe to eat. But it can affect the taste.
If you’re planning on using the fruit to make a smoothie, you can still throw the fruit into the blender — freezer burn and all.
The bottom line
When it comes to making sure you get enough fruit in your diet, frozen fruit is a great option. It offers the same fiber, prebiotics, vitamins, and antioxidants as fresh fruit does. One advantage of frozen fruit is that it can last much longer than fresh fruit. And some frozen fruits are less expensive than fresh fruit. The texture of frozen fruit differs from that of fresh fruit, so consider how you plan to use it. For smoothies or baking in particular, frozen fruit can be a simple, convenient, and nutritious choice.
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References
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