Can You Freeze Croissants?

This flaky, buttery pastry is a breakfast staple best enjoyed fresh with a warming cup of coffee.

However, if you’ve bought a few too many (I’ve been there) and you don’t want this delicious pastry to go to waste, what are your options?

In this guide, I’ll let you know whether or not you can freeze croissants and provide some other helpful storage tips.

So, Can You Freeze Croissants?

Yes, you can freeze croissants.

In fact, croissants freeze very well, but you’ll need to put in a little leg work to preserve their flavor and texture.

Stored at room temperature, croissants usually last only a couple of days.

If you’re unlikely to get through all of your croissants in that time, it can be best to freeze them before they are past their best.

How To Freeze Croissants

One of the most important things to remember before you freeze croissants is that they must be fully cool before tossing them in the freezer.

If you just pulled your croissants out of the oven, set them on a baking rack to speed up the cooling process.

Once your croissants are at room temperature, follow the steps below to ensure they come out of your freezer as fresh as they went into it.

• Step 1: Take a piece of plastic wrap and wrap it around the croissants. Make sure to wrap each croissant individually.
• Step 2: Cover the croissants once or twice more in layers of plastic wrap—this step is crucial to keep air out.
• Step 3: If the plastic wrap doesn’t seal well onto itself, use freezer tape to secure it into place.
• Step 4: Take all your individually wrapped croissants and place them into a freezer bag. Leave about two inches of space at the top.
• Step 5: Squeeze out all the air from the bag*. It’s important to leave space at the top of the freezer bag for this reason.
• Step 6: Put the freezer bag against your freezer’s wall to speed up how quickly they freeze. After 24 hours, move the bag towards the center of your freezer.

*You can also insert a straw in the bag and suck out any remaining air in your effort to keep your croissants as fresh as possible.

If you don’t have plastic wrap, you can cover your croissants with aluminum foil. The purpose of wrapping the croissants apart is to prevent them from drying out.

Don’t forget to label the packaging with a date so you know exactly when they were frozen.

Can You Freeze Filled Croissants?

Absolutely, you can freeze filled croissants.

Similar to plain croissants, filled ones also preserve well in the freezer, retaining their taste and texture.

However, the type of filling can influence how well they freeze.

Cream or custard-filled croissants might not freeze as perfectly as those with fruit or chocolate fillings, as dairy-based fillings can separate and become watery upon thawing.

To freeze filled croissants, ensure they’re completely cool, then wrap them individually in plastic wrap, followed by aluminum foil, or place them in a freezer bag. This double protection helps maintain freshness and prevents freezer burn.

Remember to squeeze out as much air as possible from the freezer bag.

You can store filled croissants in the freezer for up to two months.

When you’re ready to enjoy them, thaw them overnight in the refrigerator and warm them slightly in the oven.

How To Freeze Costco Croissants

Costco croissants are hugely popular, but we can all have the tendency to buy too many.

If that’s the case, the good news is that you can follow my steps above to freeze and enjoy them at a later date.

How Long Can You Freeze Croissants For?

You can freeze croissants for up to two months.

This is why I recommend labeling them with a date before popping them in the freezer, so you know when they need to be eaten.

You may be able to get away with keeping them frozen for a little longer than two months – even up to a year in some cases – but I personally wouldn’t leave them in for too much longer than two months, or the quality may deteriorate.

How Do You Defrost Frozen Croissants?

Once you’re ready to eat your frozen croissants, you’ll need to do a little planning.

Take your frozen croissants out of the freezer and let them sit in your fridge overnight.

Alternatively, if you’re short on time, you can reheat them in your oven.

Every oven is different, so you’ll need to adjust the defrost settings on yours accordingly.

However, a 350°F setting is generally a good rule of thumb. You’ll want to start by baking your croissants in the foil until they become springy to the touch.

Then, remove the foil and continue baking them for a couple of minutes until they become crisp.

Assuming you’ve let your croissants defrost in your fridge overnight, you should still aim to bake them in your oven before eating in order to mirror the taste and texture of freshly baked croissants.

I recommend setting your oven between 200°F and 250°F and letting it heat up for approximately three minutes.

Keep in mind that you shouldn’t reheat croissants more than once. Otherwise, they’ll lose their flakiness and taste stale.

Can You Freeze Fresh Croissant Dough?

If you’ve made your own croissants and want to freeze some dough for another time, it’s perfectly fine to do this.

Just like croissants, the dough freezes well.

To freeze croissant dough, follow my steps below:

• Step 1: Take the dough and shape it into croissants, placing it with space apart on a baking sheet.
• Step 2: Put the baking sheet in your freezer.
• Step 3: Once the croissant dough is fully frozen, pull the croissants off the sheet and store them in a freezer bag.
• Step 4: Once you’re ready to bake your croissants, you’ll need to take the frozen dough out of your freezer the night before. Once the dough thaws, cover each croissant with an egg wash, preheat your oven, and prepare for a tasty breakfast – frozen and thawed croissant bread is just as flaky and buttery as fresh croissants.

My top tip: It’s critical that you let the frozen croissant dough thaw in your fridge overnight. Croissant dough is more susceptible to bacteria than cooked croissants, so this will minimize the possibility of contamination.

As with cooked croissants, you should never freeze, defrost, or re-freeze croissant dough. Doing so will ruin their texture and taste.

More Tips For Freezing Croissants

Now that you have a good idea of how to freeze croissants, I’ve included some extra tips to help you become a croissant-freezing expert:

• Don’t place anything on top of the croissants. Even though they’re frozen, they’re still filled mostly with air and will get crushed if you place heavier items on them.
• When possible, freeze croissants as soon as they cool from the oven to maximize their freshness and longevity in the freezer. However, you can also freeze croissants that are a day or two old.
• You can reheat croissants in a toaster if you don’t need to heat many. Make sure to keep the heat setting low to avoid them burning.
• It’s okay to put your croissants in the fridge after you’ve frozen and reheated them. However, you should never freeze the same croissants twice.

How Long Do Croissants Last In The Fridge?

Whether you’ve just bought fresh croissants or defrosted some from your freezer, it’s worth knowing how long they can last in the refrigerator.

Croissants will generally last up to a week in the fridge as long as they are stored in an airtight container.

If you’re working with defrosted croissants, I would aim to use them within a few days.

How To Tell If Your Croissant Is Bad

No matter how much care you put into storing or freezing your croissants, a bag puncture or anything else can happen that causes them to go bad.

If you’re working with frozen, cooked croissants, it’s unlikely that eating a bad one will send you to the emergency room, but no one wants to eat a spoiled croissant, so it can be helpful to know what to look out for.

A croissant that’s gone off may have:

• Visible mold (mold is more unlikely if they are frozen)
• An off smell
• A strange or stale taste

Provided that you follow the instructions in this article, you shouldn’t have to worry about your croissants experiencing freezer burn.

However, if you do notice those pesky crystals on your croissants, you can still eat them as long as they smell normal.

What To Do With Frozen Croissants

Defrosting and heating your frozen croissants is the most obvious thing to do with them, but if you fancy something a bit different, there are lots of other ways to eat croissants.

Pairing them with jam, butter, and fruit is a popular option and will be great for using up your croissants.

If the cook in you wants even more of a croissant concoction, consider whipping up croissant French toast.

Use the same egg-based batter that you would for regular French toast, except croissants serve as your slices of bread.

A croissant with maple syrup and whipped cream is delicious – it’s always a big hit with my kids.
If French toast isn’t for you, I’ve got some other ideas to tantalize your taste buds.

Why not try:

• Bread pudding
• Making a sandwich
• Bread casserole
• Croque Madame

As with the French toast, you can use your regular recipes for any of the dishes above and replace bread with croissants.

Final Thoughts