Can You Freeze Kiwi? Here’s How and When to Freeze Kiwis

Worried that you bought too many kiwis and some of them are going to spoil? That’s why you started wondering: can you freeze kiwi?

That’s the gist of freezing kiwis.

Interested in learning more? Here’s what we cover below:

• how freezing affects kiwifruit
• how to freeze and defrost kiwi
• frequently asked questions about freezing kiwis

Let’s get right into it.

Can You Freeze Kiwi?

You can freeze kiwi in a few ways: sliced, whole, or pureed. What you should remember is that the fruit will be soft and mushy after defrosting, and that it works best in smoothies and cooked dishes that don’t rely on its texture.

To illustrate the point, here’s a defrosted kiwi slice:

As you can tell, it’s super soft, so it might not be a great option for eating neat or adding it to a fruit salad. Unless you don’t mind that the kiwi is soft, of course.

Because of that, probably the best way to use a frozen and defrosted kiwi is a smoothie, where everything is blended together anyway, and the fact that the kiwi was soft doesn’t change much.

Finally, it’s best to have a plan on how you’re going to use the kiwi after defrosting. This way, you know how to prep it so that it’s ready to use once it defrosts.

Other Considerations

Kiwis last quite a long time in the fridge, even a couple of weeks. That, in most cases, gives you plenty of time to go through your supply without having to freeze the fruit.

In other words, only freeze kiwis if you know they’re going to spoil before you can eat them.

Related: How long do kiwis last?

And if you bought a bunch of unripe kiwis, you can store them in the fridge to get even more storage time.

Related: How to store kiwis?

Last, only freeze kiwis that are ripe. I didn’t test it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if a frozen unripe kiwi (even if you froze it whole) would never ripen properly and wouldn’t develop its signature taste properly.

Knowing that, it’s time to cover how to go about freezing kiwis.

How to Freeze Kiwi?

Freezing kiwis is a simple process. Here’s how you do it:

1. Prep. Peel and slice or dice all the kiwis that you want to freeze. You take care of the prep now so that the fruit is ready for use after defrosting. Plus, you can use the kiwi while it’s still frozen.
2. Pre-freeze. Grab a cookie sheet, line it with a silicone mat or aluminum foil, and place all the slices in a single layer in a way they don’t touch one another. Put the cookie sheet in the freezer, and leave it there until the pieces freeze solid. That usually takes 2 to 3 hours, but you might as well leave it in the freezer overnight.
3. Transfer frozen slices into a freezer bag. Once the slices are rock solid, you can transfer all of them into a single bag. Since they are all pre-frozen, they won’t freeze together, and you can easily scoop as many slices as you need when needed.
4. Place the bags in the freezer. Feel free to label the bag with the name and date before you chuck it in the freezer.

That’s it. The whole procedure shouldn’t take more than 10 minutes, including slicing the fruit.

Now that the kiwi is in the freezer, you might be wondering how long you can freeze kiwi for.

How Long Does Kiwi Last in the Freezer?

There isn’t a set-in-stone answer, but the sooner you use the fruit, the better the quality you should expect.

That said, try to use your frozen kiwi within 1 to 3 months. This way, it should still be good enough quality-wise, and you should still vaguely remember freezing the fruit.

The longer it sits in the freezer, the higher the chance you’re going to forget about it only to find it buried under other foods while cleaning the freezer in a year or two.

Of course, if it sits in the freezer for more than those three months (or half a year), it’ll still be safe to eat. Just make sure to check the quality before using it.

How to Defrost Frozen Kiwi?

If you need to defrost your frozen kiwi, transfer as many slices as you need from the freezer into an airtight container and in the fridge. The slices should defrost overnight if you start defrosting them in the evening.

After defrosting, you’re going to be left with soft kiwi slices and some water. Here’s how that might look like:

Drain that water before using the fruit.

Alternatively, in many cases, you can skip defrosting the kiwi whatsoever. For example, that’s the case when you’re using the fruit in a smoothie (make sure your blender can process ice cubes, though).

How to Use Frozen Kiwi?

If up until this point you only ate kiwi neat or in a fruit salad, I’ve got good news: there’s a whole host of cooked or baked dishes you can use your defrosted kiwis in.

Here are a couple of ideas you might consider:

• kiwi bread (similar to banana bread, but with a kiwi instead)
• kiwi muffins (you can do muffins with almost anything, so why not kiwis?)
• kiwi cupcakes
• kiwi pound cake
• a smoothie

For a more extensive list, check out this article by insanelygoodrecipes.com. Or google “kiwi recipes” for even more ideas for using your thawed kiwis.

Frequently Asked Questions About Freezing Kiwis

Can You Freeze Kiwi Whole?

You can freeze the kiwi whole, but it’s better to do all the prep before putting the fruit in the freezer. That means peeling it and slicing or dicing, depending on your needs.

As you already know, kiwi turns soft and mushy after defrosting, which makes it a bit difficult to both peel and slice.

Of course, if you’re not quite sure how you’re going to use the kiwi after thawing, remove the skin and freeze it whole well wrapped.

Can I Freeze Kiwi With the Skin On?

You can freeze kiwi with the skin on, but you’re probably going to regret it. Kiwis turn soft and mushy after thawing, and if you’ve ever peeled a mushy fruit or veggie, you know it’s a pain.

It’s doable, of course, but it’s much better to spend that minute or two on peeling before freezing the fruit.

If you’re going to use the fruit with the skin on, however, feel free to leave the kiwi unpeeled.

Can You Freeze Kiwi Fruit Puree?

Yes, you can freeze pureed kiwi. If you need kiwi puree in whatever you’re cooking, pureeing the fruit before freezing is definitely the way to go.

Here’s how you freeze kiwi puree:

1. Prep. Peel and puree all the kiwis that you have.
2. Freeze in an ice cube tray. Pour the puree into an ice cube tray and place that tray in the freezer until the puree freezes solid. It usually takes two to three hours, but feel free to leave the tray in the freezer overnight.
3. Transfer the cubes. Once the cubes are rock solid, pop them and transfer into an airtight container or freezer bag. This both gives them some protection against freezer burn and frees up your ice cube tray. Label the container with name and date if needed.
4. Put them back in the freezer. Return the pureed kiwi cubes to the freezer, where they can sit until you need them.

Those frozen kiwi puree cubes work great in smoothies, where you can use them instead of ice cubes. That gives the smoothie a bit more flavor without diluting it with extra water from ice cubes.