How long does it actually keep?
Cooked rice, leftover chicken, opened milk. Safe fridge and freezer times for 35+ everyday foods.
Cooked rice keeps 3 to 4 days in the fridge, cooked chicken 3 to 4 days, cooked pasta 3 to 5 days, and opened milk about 7 days. The clock starts when the food was cooked, not when you put it away: get leftovers into the fridge within 2 hours or the safe window shrinks.
Times follow USDA and FoodKeeper guidance at the conservative end, counting from when the food went into the fridge (within 2 hours of cooking, 1 hour on a hot day). When in doubt, throw it out.
Fridge and freezer storage times
Times assume a fridge at 4 C (40 F) or colder and food sealed within 2 hours of cooking.
| Food | Fridge | Freezer |
|---|---|---|
| Cooked rice | 3 to 4 days | 2 months |
| Cooked pasta | 3 to 5 days | 2 months |
| Cooked chicken | 3 to 4 days | 2 to 6 months |
| Cooked beef or pork | 3 to 4 days | 2 to 3 months |
| Cooked fish | 3 to 4 days | 1 to 3 months |
| Leftover pizza | 3 to 4 days | 1 to 2 months |
| Soup or stew | 3 to 4 days | 2 to 3 months |
| Cooked vegetables | 3 to 4 days | 2 to 12 months |
| Cooked beans or lentils | 3 to 5 days | 2 to 3 months |
| Curry or chili | 3 to 4 days | 2 to 3 months |
| Raw chicken or turkey | 1 to 2 days | 9 to 12 months |
| Raw ground meat | 1 to 2 days | 3 to 4 months |
| Raw steaks or chops | 3 to 5 days | 4 to 12 months |
| Raw fish or shellfish | 1 to 2 days | 3 to 8 months |
| Bacon (opened) | 1 week | 1 month |
| Sausages (raw) | 1 to 2 days | 1 to 2 months |
| Deli meat (opened) | 3 to 5 days | 1 to 2 months |
| Eggs (raw, in shell) | 3 to 5 weeks | Not recommended |
| Hard-boiled eggs | 1 week | Not recommended |
| Milk (opened) | 4 to 7 days | 3 months |
| Yogurt (opened) | 1 to 2 weeks | 1 to 2 months |
| Hard cheese (opened) | 3 to 4 weeks | 6 months |
| Soft cheese (opened) | 1 to 2 weeks | Not recommended |
| Butter | 1 to 3 months | 6 to 9 months |
| Heavy cream (opened) | 5 to 7 days | 2 to 3 months |
| Bread | 1 to 2 weeks (dries out) | 3 months |
| Berries | 3 to 7 days | 8 to 12 months |
| Leafy greens (washed) | 3 to 7 days | Not recommended |
| Fresh herbs | 1 to 2 weeks | 2 to 6 months |
| Opened pasta sauce (jar) | 5 to 7 days | 2 to 3 months |
| Opened canned food (rehomed) | 3 to 4 days | 2 months |
| Cooked potatoes | 3 to 4 days | Not recommended |
| Guacamole or hummus (opened) | 3 to 4 days | 1 to 2 months |
| Stock or broth (opened) | 4 to 5 days | 2 to 3 months |
| Tofu (opened) | 3 to 5 days | 3 to 5 months |
Freezer times are about QUALITY, not safety: food frozen solid at -18 C stays safe indefinitely, it just degrades.
The sniff test misses the bacteria that matter most, and the calendar guess ends with the 6-day-old rice getting eaten. These are the official storage windows, conservative end, counting from the moment the food went into the fridge.
Questions people ask
How long does cooked rice last in the fridge?
3 to 4 days, and cooling it fast matters more than the exact day. Rice carries Bacillus cereus spores that survive boiling and multiply at room temperature, so spread it out and refrigerate within an hour of cooking.
How long do leftovers last in the fridge?
Most cooked leftovers are good for 3 to 4 days at 4 C or colder. Anything with cream, seafood or raw egg drops to 1 to 2 days. If you cannot remember which day you cooked it, that is your answer.
Can you eat food past these dates if it smells fine?
Smell catches spoilage bacteria, not the toxins that cause food poisoning. Bacillus cereus toxin in old rice is odorless and survives reheating. The dates above are the honest limit, not a suggestion.
Does freezing kill bacteria?
No, it pauses them. Freezing stops growth but bacteria wake up when thawed, so the fridge clock resumes where it left off. Thaw in the fridge, never on the counter.
Good to know
All the times here assume the food was refrigerated within 2 hours of cooking (1 hour on a hot day). Food that sat out overnight is done, no matter what any chart says.
Freezer times are about quality, not safety. Food kept at -18 C stays safe indefinitely, it just slowly gets dry and dull. Fridge times are the real safety windows.
A strip of masking tape and a date takes 5 seconds and ends the was-this-Tuesday-or-Sunday debate for good. Day-count guessing is how old rice gets eaten.
Cooking guides
Pann plans your week around what you cook, so leftovers get planned into tomorrow's lunch instead of dying in the back of the fridge.