Can You Freeze Quorn Mince?

You can buy Quorn mince chilled or frozen. Either way, it’s a tasty alternative to regular mince and can be used in many different recipes. It’s also very healthy and contains far less fat than regular mince. 

Quorn mince can be frozen before you cook with it and also after you’ve made a meal with it, as long as it has cooled down beforehand. You can even cook meals using frozen Quorn mince without defrosting it. 

Quorn mince is vegetarian and so versatile that you can use it in any recipe where you’d find regular mince. It’s high in protein and fiber so you have good reason to add it to all of your favorite recipes too, even if you eat meat. 

In fact, many people are turning to “fake meat” products such as Quorn mince because they are healthier and have the added benefit of helping the planet by being a more sustainable option. Quorn claims that the carbon footprint of Quorn frozen mince in the UK is less than 80% than that of beef. 

There are also reports that there are more meat-eaters who consume Quorn than vegetarians. Regardless, from a meatless bolognese to meatless homemade patties, Quorn mince recipes are everywhere from Instagram to Facebook, proving its undeniable popularity. 

Apart from being healthy and helping the earth, Quorn mince is tasty. Launched in 1985, Quorn was one of the frontrunners in the meat-free “meat” industry. Over time, the company has finessed its recipe so that now it has two varieties of mince: fresh mince and frozen mince. Both can be used in the same recipes, just prepared in slightly different ways. 

How to Prepare Quorn Mince for Freezing

If you buy the version of Quorn mince that is available frozen, this means that you should store it in the freezer when you get home from the shop. You can just put it into the freezer in its packaging. 

If you buy the fresh chilled version of Quorn mince you can also freeze it. Make sure you put it in the freezer on the day of purchase.

If you take either out of the freezer and don’t use it all, place the remaining Quorn mince in a plastic container with a sealed lid, or fold the packaging and cover it with plastic wrap before replacing it in the freezer. 

How to Freeze Quorn Mince

Whether you are freezing the fresh chilled Quorn mince or frozen version, as long as you keep them in their original packet, these can go directly into the freezer straight from the store. You can transfer these into different containers if you’d rather, just make sure that they’re airtight. 

How Long Can You Keep Quorn Mince in the Freezer?

As long as you put your Quorn mince in the freezer on the day you buy it, it will keep for three months. 

You can also safely store Quorn mince and meals in the freezer once cooked. As long as everything else in the meal is fine to freeze, you can keep it in the freezer for up to one month. 

How Does It Affect the Flavor?

Quorn mince comes in two varieties: frozen and fresh. The frozen mince is designed to be cooked straight from frozen and will still produce a soft and flavorsome meal. If you freeze the fresh Quorn mince on the day of shopping, the flavor will not be affected once cooked.

If you cook a meal using Quorn mince and freeze it afterward the flavor will not be affected.

How to Defrost Quorn Mince?

If you have a cooked meal in the freezer using Quorn mince, you can defrost it in a number of ways:

• Overnight in the fridge – especially if you have made something large like a pie.
• In the microwave – for solo or smaller portions, this is an easy and functional way using the defrost mode.
• On the benchtop – again, this is a better option for larger portions or a full meal. If you’ve made leftovers and kept them in the fridge, you can also take them out before leaving for work, as long as you’re not in a warmer climate, and keep them out of direct sunlight. 

Once defrosted, heat it again within 24 hours and make sure that the food is steaming hot before eating it. 

If you are using frozen Quorn mince from the packaging, you don’t need to defrost it before cooking it. Whether you’re cooking spaghetti bolognese or chili con “carne” you just add the Quorn mince and there is no need to defrost it beforehand.

Other Ways of Storing Quorn Mince

If you buy the fresh Quorn mince you can store it in the fridge until the use-by date that is stated on the packaging. 

Can You Re-Freeze Quorn Mince?

Yes, you can, as long as it has been prepared properly. The US Department of Agriculture states that it is safe to re-freeze raw or cooked food that has been thawed in the refrigerator.

It is not safe to re-freeze any foods that have been outside of the refrigerator for more than two hours. 

How to Reheat Quorn Mince

Quorn mince is perfectly safe to reheat once cooked, but there are a few things to remember:

• It has to have been kept cool in the fridge and consumed within 48 hours or placed in the freezer
• Don’t reheat it more than once (which is the same safety guidelines as most foods)
• Make sure that it is steaming hot once you’ve reheated it
• If you have used Quorn mince in a meal and frozen it, you need to defrost it first and make sure that it’s piping hot when you reheat it

You can reheat your Quorn mince in the microwave, the oven, or on the stovetop, depending on the type of meal you used it in.

How to Cook Quorn Mince

Cooking times will vary slightly depending on whether you are using fresh chilled Quorn mince or frozen. Follow the instructions below for the simplest way to cook Quorn mince. You can use store-bought sauce or homemade and add the cooked mince and sauce to rice, pasta, or anything of your choosing. 

These instructions are for the mince and sauce only:

Cooking Method	Fresh Chilled Quorn Mince (350g)	Frozen Quorn Mince (300g)
Stove top (recommended)	Heat your sauce on the stovetop then add your Quorn mince. Stir the sauce through, then cover and let it simmer for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.	Heat your sauce on the stovetop then add your Quorn mince. Stir the sauce through, then cover and let it simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Microwave	Put your Quorn mince in a microwaveable dish. Add the sauce and stir through. Cover it with plastic film and pierce it. Cook at 800w for 9 minutes, stirring at the halfway mark. Let it stand for 1 minute after cooking.	Put your Quorn mince in a microwaveable dish. Add the sauce and stir through. Cover it with plastic film and pierce it. Cook at 800w for 10 minutes, stirring at the halfway mark. Let it stand for 1 minute after cooking.

Recipe Ideas Using Quorn Mince

Quorn mince is very versatile and can be used to make a number of recipes. Here are some recipes you will find on the Quorn website.

Recipe	Cooking time	Calories per serve
Cottage pie or deconstructed cottage pie	20 minutes and 15 minutes respectively	345 calories and 340 calories respectively
Mince, onion, and ale pie	20 minutes	458 calories
Spaghetti bolognese	15 minutes	464 calories
Spicy aubergine shakshuka	20 minutes	333 calories
Quick and easy mince burritos	15 minutes	508 calories
Air fryer taquitos	20 minutes	663 calories
Hoisin lettuce cups	20 minutes	185 calories
Easy Thai salad	15 minutes	229 calories
Cheese and onion burgers	25 minutes	225 calories
Vegetarian spring rolls	20 minutes	233 calories
Courgette and Quorn mince lasagna	45 minutes	385 calories
Mediterranean lentils burger	18 minutes	172 calories
Aromatic Thai bites skewers with lime and peanut dipping sauce	15 minutes	250 calories
Homemade butternut squash sausage rolls	60 minutes	253 calories

Which Quorn Products Can You Freeze and Which Can’t You Freeze?

Quorn recommends always following the labels on the packaging. Some of the Quorn food products are designed to be frozen, whereas others don’t require cooking and should not be frozen and just require refrigeration. 

Here are the Quorn items available and information about whether they can be frozen:

Quorn product	Can it be frozen?	Vegan or vegetarian
Frozen Quorn mince	Yes	Vegetarian
Fresh Quorn mince	Yes	Vegetarian
Quorn meatless patties	Yes	Vegetarian
Quorn sausages	Yes	Vegetarian
Quorn sriracha crumbed tenders	Yes	Vegetarian
Quorn meatless vegetarian turkey roast	Yes	Vegetarian
Quorn vegan fishless sticks	Yes	Vegan
Quorn meatless grounds	Yes	Vegetarian
Quorn meatless meatballs	Yes	Vegetarian
Quorn meatless lasagna entrée	Yes	Vegetarian
Quorn vegan meatless chipotle cutlets	Yes	Vegan
Quorn vegan buffalo dippers	Yes	Vegan
Quorn meatless parmigiana cutlet entrée	Yes	Vegetarian
Quorn meatless cheesy nuggets	Yes	Vegetarian
Quorn meatless steak-style strips	Yes	Vegetarian
Quorn Meatless Salisbury-style steaks	No	Vegetarian
Quorn meatless pieces	Yes	Vegetarian
Quorn vegan meatless pieces	Yes	Vegan
Quorn meatless sharp cheese cutlets	Yes	Vegetarian
Quorn meatless pesto ; mozzarella cutlets	Yes	Vegetarian
Quorn meatless turkey-style deli slices	No	Vegetarian
Quorn meatless strips	No	Vegetarian

Freezing and re-heating Quorn mince are safe and convenient both before and after cooking.