Have you ever bought a container of muffins from Costco and realized that you weren’t going to be able to finish them all before they went bad? If so, we have the solution for you!
Like most things sold at Costco, Costco muffins are known for being jumbo sized. While this is definitely a bonus when it comes to getting the most muffin for your buck, it also poses a challenge if you don’t have a large family or tons of people to share your muffins with.
This is why we recommend storing your excess Costco muffins in the freezer to prevent them from spoiling before you can eat them. These muffins tend to store very well and retain their flavor and texture after they have been thawed and reheated.
You can expect your Costco muffins to last for about three months in the freezer. After that, they will likely begin to dry out and lose their satisfyingly moist texture.
Tips For Freezing Costco Muffins
Before you chuck your Costco muffins in the freezer, it’s important to keep a few things in mind.
Depending on how you store your muffins, they could end up drying out more quickly than you would like. This is why we recommend storing your muffins in an airtight Ziploc bag or a vacuum sealed bag or container. This is the best way to ensure freshness for as long as possible.
If you plan to eat your muffins within a few weeks, there’s nothing wrong with simply tossing them into a Tupperware container with a tightly sealing lid. However, we do not recommend storing them in their original packaging in the freezer, as this will not retain the muffin’s moisture effectively enough.
That said, if you would prefer to just put your muffins in the freezer as is, you can absolutely do this and there is no harm. While your muffins might get stale a little quicker than they would otherwise, you probably won’t notice a huge difference.
What You Need
To freeze your muffins, you will need one of the following…
- a plastic food storage container with a tightly sealing lid
- a heavy duty plastic food storage bag (such as a Ziplock) with a functioning lock or seal
- a vacuum sealer and vacuum freezer bags
Vacuum sealing your muffins in freezer bags is not necessary. However, if you want to ensure the utmost freshness of your muffins and you happen to have a vacuum sealer accessible already, then this is a great way to go.
Dos and Don’ts
The main thing we recommend avoiding when freezing any baked goods is freezing them outside of any sort of packaging or container. For example, if you simply place your muffins into the freezer without any packaging at all, they are bound to dry out and get freezer burn fairly quickly.
A helpful tip that we picked up from a Costco shopper on Reddit is to consider cutting your Costco muffins in half prior to freezing them. While this will certainly lead to a dryer muffin overall if you leave them frozen for too long, it will also make thawing and reheating them a lot easier when that time comes…
Another recommendation we’ll pass on is to consider wrapping your muffins individually. By doing this, you will cut down on the amount of air that will inevitably draw out moisture from your muffins. Freezing them individually will also prevent them from sticking together, which can pose complications when you’re ready to take one of your muffins out of the freezer.
If you really want to get serious with your muffin storage, consider storing each muffin individually in its own vacuum-sealed container. But really, this isn’t necessary and will probably seem a bit excessive to most people.
How To Thaw & Reheat Your Costco Muffins
When you’re ready to thaw and reheat one of your frozen Costco muffins, simply remove one from the freezer and let it thaw either in the refrigerator or out on your kitchen counter. Thawing in the refrigerator should take about 24 hours, while thawing at room temperature will only take a few hours.
Once your muffin is thawed, you can enjoy it at room temperature.
If you would rather heat it up, you can do so in the toaster oven or in the conventional oven. by To do this, heat your oven to 350°F and place your muffin onto the center rack for about 3 to 5 minutes. If your muffin is not entirely thawed before putting it in the oven, it will need to stay in for a little bit longer. Just keep in mind that the longer you heat up your muffin, the dryer it will become.
You can also heat your muffin up in the microwave if you’d like. To do this, thaw your muffin first and then microwave it on high for about 15 seconds.
FAQs
Is it better to freeze or refrigerate muffins?
This depends on how long you want your muffins to last. If you think you will use up all of your muffins within about a week, then storing them in the refrigerator will do just fine. However, if you want them to last longer than that, you will definitely want to store them in the freezer.
Does freezing muffins dry them out?
It can, but how much depends on how you store them. If you store your muffins in a relatively airtight container in the freezer, they shouldn’t lose much moisture.
No. As far as we can tell, Costco does not sell any frozen muffins. All of their muffins can be found near the bakery section. However, as products and inventory vary by location, your local Costco Warehouse might sell certain types of muffins in the frozen section.
