What to Do With Food That's About to Expire
You open the fridge and spot it: a tub of yogurt dated tomorrow, half a bag of spinach going soft at the edges, and chicken you meant to cook two nights ago. Nobody wants to throw good food away, but nobody has a plan for it either.
The good news is that "about to expire" usually means you still have options. With a quick check and a few simple moves, most of that food can become dinner, a smoothie, or a freezer meal instead of trash. Here's what to do, step by step.
Check the date and the food first
Start by figuring out what kind of date you're looking at, because most dates are about quality, not safety.
A "best by" or "best if used by" date tells you when the food should taste its best. A "use by" date is the last day the maker recommends for peak quality. A "sell by" date is a note for the store. The USDA explains that, apart from infant formula, these dates generally aren't safety dates. Our guide on best by vs. use by walks through each one.
That doesn't mean dates don't matter. Here's a simple way to check:
- Shelf-stable foods (crackers, cereal, pasta, canned goods in good shape) are usually fine a little past a best by date. They may just be less crisp or flavorful.
- Fridge foods (dairy, deli meat, raw meat, leftovers) deserve more care. Follow the package label and the FoodSafety.gov cold storage chart. Cooked leftovers generally keep 3 to 4 days in the fridge.
- Look and smell, but don't rely on them alone. Mold, an off smell, a bulging can, or slimy texture means it goes. Some bacteria that make people sick don't change how food looks or smells, so for anything risky, stick to the official guidance.
When you're not sure, follow the FoodSafety.gov rule of thumb: when in doubt, throw it out. Saving a few dollars isn't worth getting sick.
Move it to a use-first spot
Once you know what's still good, put it where nobody can miss it.
Pick one shelf in the fridge, or one small bin, as your "use first" spot. Anything close to its date goes there: the last of the yogurt, the open jar of salsa, the half onion, the leftovers from Tuesday. Do the same with a small basket on the pantry shelf for crackers, bread, or snacks that need to go soon.
Then make it a habit for everyone in your home. Before anyone cooks, packs a lunch, or grabs a snack, they check the use-first spot. It works because it takes the guessing out. Nobody has to remember what's expiring. They just look in one place.
Cook it into something new
Food that's close to its date is often perfect for meals that don't need anything to look pretty.
A few easy ways to use things up:
- Soft vegetables go into soups, stir-fries, pasta sauce, fried rice, or a sheet pan with some oil and salt.
- Wilting greens like spinach and kale cook down into eggs, soups, and pasta.
- Ripe fruit works in smoothies, oatmeal, muffins, or banana bread.
- Yogurt and sour cream go into dips, dressings, or baking.
- Stale bread becomes toast, croutons, breadcrumbs, or French toast.
- Leftover rice and grains are great in fried rice or grain bowls.
It helps to plan one "use it up" meal a week. Look at your use-first spot, pick two or three items, and build dinner around them. Our list of habits that cut food waste at home has more ideas for making this stick.
If you cook something and won't eat it all, cool it and get it in the fridge within 2 hours, then eat it within a few days or freeze it.
Freeze it before it turns
The freezer is your best friend for food you can't eat in time. The trick is to freeze it while it's still good, not after it starts to go.
According to the USDA, food kept frozen at 0°F stays safe, though the quality slowly drops over time. Freezing doesn't make food better, it just pauses it. So freeze things at their best.
Things that usually freeze well:
- Raw meat and poultry, ideally by the date on the package
- Bread, tortillas, and muffins
- Cooked leftovers, soups, and sauces
- Ripe bananas and berries (great for smoothies later)
- Shredded cheese and butter
Label everything with what it is and the date you froze it. A strip of masking tape and a marker is enough. Then thaw it in the fridge, not on the counter, when you're ready to use it.
Share what you won't use
Sometimes you just have more than you'll eat. That's fine. Give it a second home.
- Ask a neighbor, friend, or family member if they'd use that extra bag of apples or the unopened box of crackers.
- Bring it to work or a gathering if it's a snack or baked good people will finish.
- Donate unopened, shelf-stable food to a local food bank or pantry. Each one has its own rules about what they accept, so check with them first.
Only share food that's still safe and in good shape. If you wouldn't eat it, don't pass it on.
Learn from what keeps expiring
The last step takes one minute, and it's the one that saves the most over time.
Notice what you're always rescuing. If it's the same bag of salad every week, buy a smaller one or switch to frozen vegetables. If the yogurt always runs out of time, buy fewer cups and restock more often. If bread goes stale, freeze half the loaf the day you buy it.
Before your next shopping trip, take a quick look at what you have so you don't add more of something that's already waiting. A short pantry inventory once in a while makes this much easier.
Doing it with Domesio
If you'd like a little help, Domesio is a free home inventory and shopping list app. Add expiration dates to your items and see what to use first, so your use-first spot is always on your phone too.
The waste tracker lets you log what gets thrown out, so you can see what goes to waste most over time and buy a little less of it. And when everyone in your home shares one household, anyone can check what needs using before they open something new.
Either way, a quick check, one use-first spot, and a freezer bag or two will save a lot of good food from the trash.