I have had several questions lately on how to save money on cheese. We don’t find the best deals very often with our coupons for cheese. There can be great deals, but it isn’t often enough to last my cheese eating family. So instead of relying on coupons, I buy our shredded cheese in bulk and then freeze it.
How to Save Money on Cheese
If you head to Sam’s you will find the BIG bags of shredded cheese for as low as $11.30. (I think the price has gone up a bit since I took this picture, but it is a good price) Now, when I say BIG I mean they are 5 lbs of shredded cheese. We love cheese, but that is a big bag! 🙂 That means that you are paying $2.26 per pound of cheese.
However, the small packages you normally buy at Crest, Walmart, or Homeland are just the 8 0z size (which is a half of a pound). So… if we did the math our 8 oz packages of cheese would cost us just $1.13!
This is a GREAT deal, because cheese doesn’t get that cheap very often. In fact, a sale can mean paying $2 or $1.50 per package. That means we are saving at least $.40 or more buy buying it in bulk.
We have been able to get shredded cheese for $1, but not often enough for my cheese loving family. 😉
The problem is… it is almost impossible to eat 5 pounds of cheese before it goes bad! So… do what my family does and FREEZE it. If you have a smaller family then you will need 10 quart size freezer bags so you can make your own 8 oz packages of cheese. If you have a cheese loving family then you will want 5 quart size freezer bags so you can freeze them in one pound packages.
All you have to do is place the cheese in the freezer. Once they are frozen you can use them anytime. Pull out and place in the fridge about 24 hours before you need it. Or you can set it on the counter about an hour before you need it and your cheese is ready to use.
I especially do this with mozzarella cheese because it tends to be a bit more expensive and we need it for our homemade pizza night!
Since we are getting into soup season, we have often forgotten to thaw the cheese and we will use the cheese frozen. It melts instantly as it hits your soup. I know it sounds weird, but it still tastes amazing. 😉
Here are a few more helpful money saving tips:
- 7 Ways to save on meat without using coupons
- Best Money saving apps to use at the grocery store
- Couponing 101 – Everything you need to know about coupons
Check out my other money saving and frugal tips here.
I stock up on cheese when Harris Teeter has them B2G3F sale and then we freeze them. I believe I pay 1.20 ea. to stock up on.
If you buy block cheddar and freeze it in blocks when it thaws out it is the crumble cheese Kraft used to sell.
Why haven’t I thought of this? I really need to do this. I buy so much cheese. Especially since my little guy would live off of quesadillas if I let him.
When the cheese thaws is it wet and sticky? Should it be used only for baking or could I use on salads
Has anyone tried using a FoodSaver to vacuum-seal their cheese fractions? My guess is the removal of air and the heavy duty plastic would increase freezer longevity. Can anyone confirm this?
Yes!. I have been freezing cheese since my sister in law told me about it 5 years ago. Works just fine. I have 3 person household and started out freezing Kroger Sales. Now I have been freezing my Sam’s Club cheese both sliced and shredded. options for sandwiches burgers and other uses.