Of course! Freezing cooked chicken is an excellent way to extend its shelf life. But, making cooked chicken last in your freezer is all about doing it the right way. Your cooked chicken can be kept in the freezer for 3 to 4 months.
Cooked chicken can safely be stored in the refrigerator for up to two days. After that, it's best to freeze it. 1 Shredded chicken defrosts much faster than whole pieces of the bird, but you can freeze whole pieces if you prefer.
Never freeze chicken that has been left out at room temperature for more than two hours, or stored in the fridge for more than four days.
If you need to store raw chicken for more than two days (or leftover chicken for more than four days), then it's best to keep it in your freezer.
Use or freeze beef, veal, pork, and lamb products with a "Sell-By" date within 3 to 5 days of purchase. Fresh chicken, turkey, ground meat, and ground poultry should be cooked or frozen within 1 to 2 days of purchase.
Information. If kept frozen continuously, chicken will be safe indefinitely, so after freezing, it's not important if any package dates expire. For best quality, taste and texture, keep whole raw chicken in the freezer up to one year; parts, 9 months; and giblets or ground chicken, 3 to 4 months.
Packaged, raw chicken can be refrigerated in its original wrapping in the coldest part of the refrigerator for 48 hours after purchase. If it is not to be used in 48 hours, freezing is recommended.
USDA recommends using cooked chicken within three to four days, kept refrigerated (40°F or less). Refrigeration slows but does not stop bacterial growth. USDA recommends using cooked leftovers within three to four days.
Leftovers should be stored in the fridge as soon as hot food has stopped steaming. Cooked chicken should be used within two to three days, or one day if you are pregnant, immunocompromised or elderly. Freeze if more than two days' storage is required.
Freeze leftovers within 3-4 days. Do not refreeze any foods left outside the refrigerator longer than 2 hours; 1 hour in temperatures above 90 °F. If you purchase previously frozen meat, poultry or fish at a retail store, you can refreeze if it has been handled properly.
If you can't eat the chicken within four days, place it in an airtight container and freeze it for up to four months.
The myth that it is not safe to re-freeze chicken meat that has been defrosted is a mix between two issues: quality and safety. While it is safe to put chicken that has been defrosted below 5 degrees, back into the freezer, freezing and re-freezing chicken may deteriorate the quality of the meat.
While foods are in the process of thawing in the refrigerator (40 °F or less), they remain safe. After thawing, use ground meats, poultry, and fish within one or two additional days, and use beef, pork, lamb or veal (roasts, steaks, or chops) within three to five days.
If stored properly (in a ziplock storage bag or sealed container), the USDA says that cooked chicken can last three to four days in the refrigerator. 1 And that goes for any type of cooked chicken—store-bought, homemade, or restaurant leftovers.
"Cooked chicken will start to appear gray or greenish, and have a softer or slimier texture when it starts to go bad; as well as a foul smell. Cooked chicken may also develop mold or white patches on it, which indicates it has gone bad," says Katie Tomaschko, M.S., RDN.
Chicken is no different from other meats, and you can reheat it safely two or more times. When you reheat chicken, it is important that you properly heat it the whole way through. Pieces of chicken must be steaming in the middle.
The USDA recommends that fresh chicken should be cooked or frozen within 1 to 2 days of purchase. If you purchased it before the sell-by date, it should last for up to two days past that date, possibly more if it has been properly stored. However, you should always check for signs of spoilage before consuming.
When your chicken meat is cooked, frozen, thawed and reheated, it is best not to refreeze it as bacteria grow each time the food is handled. The general rule of thumb is only to cook, freeze (or refrigerate), defrost and reheat your food once.
Chicken Breast: A cooked chicken breast can last around three to four days in the fridge, and a raw chicken breast can last up to two days. In both cases, it's better to store chicken breasts in the freezer whenever possible.
According to the USDA and U.S. Food and Drug Administration, raw chicken (regardless of if it's whole; in pieces such as breasts, thighs, drumsticks, and wings; or ground) should be stored for no longer than one to two days in the refrigerator.
“Raw chicken can have a somewhat slimy feel to it, but if it has a slimy feel after it is rinsed off and patted dried, it's no longer good,” Danielson said. Another test is to press down on the meat. If the flesh is so soft it leaves an imprint, it's likely bad.
Leftovers can be kept for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator. After that, the risk of food poisoning goes up. If you don't think you'll be able to eat leftovers within four days, freeze them right away.