Can switching to frozen food save you money?

As food prices continue to soar, shoppers are increasingly heading to the frozen food aisles in search of savings.

Last year, a Which? survey* found one in five households were buying more frozen food to help cut their grocery bills.

Using snapshot research we've checked the price of fresh foods versus frozen alternatives, and spoken to experts about which option is better for nutrition, taste, texture and more.

Is frozen food cheaper than fresh food?

Which? captured the prices of own-brand fresh and frozen products across eight popular food categories from Aldi, Asda, Iceland, Lidl, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Ocado (including M&S own-label) and Waitrose in February 2023. 

This is illustrative snapshot research that included one own-label fresh and one own-label frozen** version of an item from each supermarket across the food categories (where comparable items were available).

We then calculated the price per 100g for each item, and used those figures to determine a price range of what you could expect to pay for the fresh version of the product compared to the frozen version.

Buying frozen could save you money for the majority of the items in our analysis. 

Our snapshot look at pricing found that breaded cod, raspberries, pork sausages, meat feast pizzas, chips and broccoli had a cheaper price range per 100g when bought frozen. 

The results were less clear cut for pain au chocolat and the cottage pie ready meals we included in our basket. 

• Find out more: how to stock your freezer to save money and prevent food waste and the best fridge freezer deals 2023

Expert views: when is frozen food as good as fresh? 

To help weigh up whether fresh or frozen is the best option for you, we spoke to dietitians and frozen food experts to get further insight on health and nutritional benefits, as well as appropriateness for cooking. We also asked about the typical taste, texture and quality differences.

Fruits and vegetables

Nutrition: Fresh produce is often viewed as the best option but this isn't necessarily the case.

According to Which? nutritionist and principal food researcher/writer Shefalee Loth: 'The vitamins in fruit and veg start to deteriorate once they’re harvested, and it can sometimes be weeks until they reach the supermarket shelves.' 

Before being frozen, fruit is picked at peak ripeness, meaning it’s at its freshest (and possibly its most nutritious) at that point. Dietitian Kiri Pointon-Bell told Which?: ‘Commercial practices mean there’s very little delay between harvest and freezing of many varieties of fruit, so nutritional losses are negligible.’  

Fresh fruit, meanwhile, may be picked before it’s ripe and can lose nutrients during shipping and storage.

It’s likely that frozen vegetables have a higher concentration of nutrients than their fresh counterparts too. Pointon-Bell told us it’s common for frozen veg like peas, broccoli, spinach and carrots to have higher content of vitamin C than fresh veg. 

‘Fresh vegetables are often stored for prolonged periods before consumption, and during this time at warmer temperatures the vitamin C is oxidised and lost,’ she said. ‘Whereas frozen vegetables lock in nutrients, as they’re picked at their peak in terms of freshness.’

Both fresh and frozen fruit and veg counts towards your NHS recommended five-a-day portions and the NHS states that fresh and frozen veg (and tinned for that matter) are equally as nutritious when prepared in the same way.

Sustainability: Rupert Ashby, chief executive of the British Frozen Food Federation, told Which?: ‘As frozen food is available during all seasons, [shoppers] have an affordable and environmentally friendly way to enjoy seasonal [fruit] throughout the year.’

Taste/texture: Frozen fruit can go mushy once it starts defrosting, which works fine for smoothies or if you're adding it to cereal or yogurt that's already wet, but the texture won't work well for a fruit salad.  Frozen vegetables are a great way to add bulk (and fibre) to stews and curries as well.

Cooking time: Frozen produce is usually pre-chopped, so it can be easier and quicker to use.

• Sign up to our free food and health monthly newsletter to get all the latest news, analysis and research to help you shop savvy, eat well and stay healthy.

Fish, meat and poultry 

Nutrition: Whether it’s fresh or frozen, fish is a good source of vitamins and minerals including protein, magnesium and selenium. Oily fish is particularly high in omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D, which can help to keep your heart healthy, according to the NHS.

Pointon-Bell told Which? there ‘may be some additional nutritional benefits with frozen fish compared to fresh, as some fresh fish may not be consumed for many days after it’s caught, so frozen fish can end up being a superior choice in terms of overall quality.’ 

It's a different story for meat though. ‘Fresh meat is almost always better nutritionally speaking as it has the highest nutrient count, [although it] can lose minerals and vitamins as time passes,' according to Pointon-Bell.

The NHS guidance outlines that meat is an important source of zinc, iron, magnesium, selenium, B vitamins and vitamin A, and is one of our main sources of vitamin B12.

Variety: Going for frozen fish can give you a wider variety to choose from, given some types are only available intermittently throughout the year. It's also worth noting that the meat content in sausages can differ across fresh and frozen variants, as can the fish to breadcrumb ratio on items such as the breaded cod we looked at in our research.

Taste/texture: Fresh fish has its benefits as well. ‘The fresher the fish, the better it’s likely to taste,’ said Pointon-Bell. ‘Fresh fish that was just caught will have incomparable taste and texture.’

Cooking time:  Loth points out: 'In the case of meat and fish, you can’t always cook straight from frozen, so you do need to factor in defrosting time, which means planning ahead.'

Appearance: Either buying frozen meat or freezing fresh meat, and later defrosting, can cause changes in its structure. 

So if the fish, meat or poultry is the main event of a dish you’re making, a fresh product may be the best option for good presentation after cooking thanks to its firmer texture.

• Find out more: best frozen battered fish

Ready meals, chips and pizza

Nutrition: When it comes to ready meals the quality of ingredients are important. ‘Any impact of storage temperature will be negligible compared to the variety and quantity of ingredients in the product,’ said  Pointon-Bell. 

Ready meals can be high in salt and fat and low in other nutrients, and the NHS states too much salt can cause raised blood pressure, while too much fat in your diet, especially saturated fats, can raise cholesterol which increases the risk of heart disease.

When it comes to chips, there are many different styles of frozen chips and ways of cooking potatoes, and these styles have more significant impact on their nutritional value than comparing frozen variants to fresh.

Meanwhile, there’s limited evidence on the advantages and disadvantages of fresh pizza compared to frozen, but the overall nutritional quality of the product is important to consider. Looking at the nutritional labelling and traffic light label on food packaging (a colour-coded system in which green is low in a particular nutrient, amber means medium and red is high) is the best way to make comparisons between a frozen and fresh pizza in terms of nutritional benefits.

It's also worth noting that the meat content in ready meals such as cottage pies, and meat pizzas can differ across fresh and frozen variants.

Cooking times: Frozen ready meals and pizzas take a little longer to cook than fresh ones, so if you want more time on your side, fresh could be best suited to you. 

Taste/texture: If you’re after more rise and potentially a softer texture in your pizza, then fresh is likely to be the best option. But if you prefer more of a crunch, and the convenience of being able to take the pizza straight out the freezer to pop it in the oven, then frozen may be the most suitable choice for you. 

• Find out more: cheapest supermarket of the month

Desserts and pastries 

Nutrition: There doesn’t tend to be a great deal of difference in the composition of fresh desserts compared to frozen, according to Pointon-Bell.

Taste/texture: Pastries' lack of water means once they are defrosted, they can retain their flavour and texture, however, as Pointon-Bell says, ‘you may notice the crust is a little softer after defrosting than it may have been if you ate a fresh one.’ 

• Find out more: the best frozen pain au chocolat

Why do people buy frozen food?

We surveyed 1,130 Which? members in February 2023 about their frozen food buying habits. Six in 10 said they prefer to buy frozen food, even when there’s a fresh alternative available.

The statement frozen food shoppers agreed with most on why they buy frozen food was ‘frozen food has a longer shelf life than fresh food’ (77%), followed by ‘frozen food provides flexibility with meal planning’ (71%), then 'frozen food reduces food waste'  (50%), 'frozen food is just as nutritious as fresh food' (44%), 'frozen food is good quality' (41%), and 'frozen food is cheaper' (20%).

Chips and potatoes were the most popular type of frozen food members said they prefer over a fresh variant, with more than a third (35%) telling us as much, while fish was the second most popular, with over one in five (21%) stating they prefer it.

• Find out more: four ways to reduce your household food waste

Support our Affordable Food For All campaign

Millions of families are skipping meals to survive the cost of living crisis, and with the price of essential products soaring, supermarkets have a crucial role to help. 

Which? is calling on the big supermarkets to commit to clear pricing, better access to budget ranges that enable healthy choices, and more offers for those who need them most.

Do you want to see your supermarket take action to support you through the cost of living crisis? - sign our Affordable Food For All petition

*Yonder, on behalf of Which?, conducted an online survey of 2,791 UK adults (aged 18+) between 8-9 August 2022. Figures are weighted to be nationally representative. 

**Frozen products tend to weigh a bit more than fresh or thawed variants due to their water content.