No Ice Cube Tray? Here's a Smart Hack to Freeze Small Portions of Food

Got some spare plastic egg cartons? They make fantastic temporary containers for freezing extra portions of food or ingredients. A clever reuse of something you might already have lying around!

Make sure to give the carton a good wash before using it, since eggs can carry harmful bacteria like salmonella. Wash with soap and hot water, let it dry, and then fill the 12 sections with cooled food portions. Seal it with plastic wrap, foil, or a large ziplock bag and pop it in the freezer. Once frozen, you can either leave it as is or remove the portions (run warm water on the bottom if they’re stuck) and store them in a ziplock bag or container for easy access.

While ice cube trays are handy, they're not always plentiful when you need to freeze extra ingredients. In those cases, a plastic egg carton can be a lifesaver. Just be aware that paper and foam cartons aren’t suitable for liquids, nor can they be sanitized properly for food use.

What can you freeze, you ask? Pretty much everything!

Pasta Sauces

Got extra tomato sauce, Alfredo sauce, or pesto? Plastic egg cartons are perfect for freezing them into convenient single servings. When you're ready for pasta, just defrost a portion in the microwave or a small pot, then toss with noodles. Or use it to spread on homemade pizza for a quick, tasty dinner.

Dips

You can freeze a variety of dips like guacamole, salsa, hummus, baba ghanoush, and other spreads in the individual cups of an egg carton. Just remember to let them thaw in the fridge or at room temperature before serving—avoid defrosting in the microwave.

Leftover Ingredients

A plastic egg carton is perfect for freezing small amounts of various ingredients, including chopped herbs in olive oil, leftover heavy cream, coconut milk, compound butter, browned butter, minced garlic, cream cheese frosting, caramelized onions, egg whites, or even 1- to 2-tablespoon portions of tomato paste (ideal for recipes!). You can even prep miso soup ingredients by freezing vegetables rolled in miso in each cup.

Fruit

If you have overripe fruits like mangoes, strawberries, or bananas, puree them and freeze in egg carton cups—perfect for making smoothies later. These frozen fruit portions are also great for mixing into muffin or pancake batter, topping your pancakes or waffles, or even adding flavor to yogurt-granola parfaits.

Cocktail Mixers

Make cocktail prep easy by pre-mixing ingredients and freezing them for quick, chilled drinks later. For example, create michelada ice cubes by combining all the ingredients (except the beer) and freezing them. You can also freeze fresh lime or lemon juice, simple syrup (infused or plain), or rosé wine for making slushy cocktails in the blender.