Can You Vacuum Seal Vegetables, Cheese & Bread?

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The short answer: yes, you can vacuum seal cheese, vegetables and bread, but each needs a different approach. Hard cheese vacuum seals well and lasts longer in the fridge. Vegetables should be blanched and frozen, not sealed raw for the fridge. Bread must be frozen firm before sealing or it gets crushed flat. A few foods, such as soft fresh cheeses, raw onions, raw garlic and fresh mushrooms, are better left out of vacuum packs.

The reason is the same in every case. Vacuum sealing removes oxygen. That stops mold and drying, but it can favor bacteria that grow without air, including Clostridium botulinum. Below are the rules for each food group, a quick reference table, and the mistakes that cause problems.

The one rule that covers everything

Montana State University Extension puts it plainly: vacuum sealing can extend the shelf life of some foods, but it is not a food preservation method by itself. If a food needed refrigeration or freezing before you sealed it, it still needs it after.

UConn Extension goes further for low-oxygen packs, advising that perishable vacuum-packaged foods be kept refrigerated at 34 to 38 °F, or frozen at 0 °F, and never stored at room temperature. Clemson Cooperative Extension adds that C. botulinum grows at room temperature in low-acid, moist foods, and that removing oxygen and spoilage bacteria can make it easier for it to grow. Keep your refrigerator cold, and use a thermometer to check.

Quick reference: what to vacuum seal and how

Vacuum sealing cheese

Hard and semi-hard cheese

Hard cheese is one of the best uses for a vacuum sealer. Mold needs oxygen, and a tight seal keeps air off the cut faces, so a block of cheddar holds up much better than in plastic wrap. Most of the cheese you buy is already vacuum packed for the same reason.

1. Cut into portions you will use in a week or so after opening.
2. Wipe off excess moisture from the surface with a paper towel.
3. Seal with a little headspace so you can reseal the bag after cutting off a piece.
4. Label and refrigerate. Once opened, rewrap or reseal what is left.

A handheld sealer with zip valve bags is handy for cheese, because you can open, slice and reseal in seconds. See our handheld vacuum sealer guide.

Freezing cheese

Freezing changes texture more than flavor. The UC Master Food Preservers of Central Sierra advise cutting blocks into chunks of half a pound or less before freezing, and say hard cheeses such as block cheddar or Parmesan can be frozen for up to 6 months. Frozen cheese tends to turn crumbly, so use it for cooking, melting and grating rather than a cheese board. Thaw it in the refrigerator.

Cream cheese splits after freezing, which is fine for dips, sauces and baking, but not for spreading.

Soft and fresh cheese

This is the group to be careful with. Presto's vacuum sealer instructions advise against vacuum packaging soft cheeses such as Brie, blue, goat, ricotta and fresh mozzarella, as well as unpasteurized cheese, because they are more prone to mold and anaerobic bacteria. They are also high in moisture and easy to crush. Keep them in their original packaging or a container and eat them within the date on the label.

Vacuum sealing vegetables

Blanch before you freeze

For the freezer, blanching is the step that makes vacuum-sealed vegetables taste good months later. The University of Minnesota Extension explains that blanching stops enzyme actions that cause loss of flavor, color and texture, and that under-blanching is worse than not blanching at all because it stimulates enzymes. Over-blanching costs flavor, color and nutrients.

1. Wash and cut the vegetables into even pieces.
2. Blanch in boiling water for the time listed for that vegetable on the National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP) chart or your extension service's chart. Times vary widely, so look them up rather than guessing.
3. Cool immediately in ice water, but do not let them soak.
4. Drain and dry thoroughly. Water at the seal line ruins seals.
5. Pre-freeze in a single layer on a tray until firm. This keeps pieces separate and stops the vacuum from crushing them.
6. Seal, label and return to the freezer.

Extension guidance generally advises against microwave blanching because it can heat unevenly.

Raw vegetables in the fridge

Sealing raw vegetables for the refrigerator is where food safety gets tricky. UConn Extension flags low-acid vegetables sealed at home as a concern, because botulism is most likely in moist, low-acid foods packed without air. A vacuum-sealed bag of raw vegetables is also prone to soften and spoil faster as the produce keeps respiring. For fridge storage, keep produce in its normal crisper or use a vacuum container for a few days at most.

Onions, garlic and mushrooms

Michigan State University Extension notes that vacuum sealer manufacturers advise against packaging raw onions, fresh mushrooms and fresh garlic. A food safety specialist answering on Ask Extension explains why: garlic and mushrooms are low in acid (about pH 6.0), high in available water, and grown in contact with soil, so C. botulinum spores are likely to be present. Her advice, if you do vacuum pack them, is to vacuum package and freeze, and to open the bag when you thaw so oxygen gets in. Presto adds that gases from raw onions and garlic can inflate a sealed bag.

Cooked dishes that contain onions, garlic or mushrooms are a different story: cool them fast, seal and freeze them like any leftover.

Leafy greens

Bags crush lettuce and tender herbs. Use a vacuum canister or container with a pump lid instead, and keep it in the fridge. Our mason jar vacuum sealer guide covers jar attachments that work well for salad greens and herbs.

Vacuum sealing bread

Bread is safe at room temperature, so vacuum sealing it is about quality: stopping it from going stale or picking up freezer burn. The problem is that a full vacuum flattens a soft loaf.

1. Slice the loaf (optional, but you can then take out a few slices at a time).
2. Freeze on a tray until firm, usually a couple of hours.
3. Seal with a gentle or pulse setting, stopping the vacuum before the bread compresses.
4. Freeze until needed. Toast slices straight from frozen.

For bread you will eat in a few days, a vacuum canister is easier and avoids crushing. Crackers, cookies and chips can be sealed with pulse control or in a canister for the pantry.

Common mistakes

• Treating vacuum sealing as preservation. It slows spoilage; it does not replace refrigeration or freezing.
• Sealing raw vegetables for the fridge and forgetting them. Freeze them after blanching instead.
• Skipping or rushing blanching. Under-blanching is worse than none.
• Sealing wet produce. Dry it well or the seal fails.
• Vacuum sealing soft cheese and leaving it for weeks.
• Sealing raw onions, garlic or mushrooms for room-temperature or fridge storage.
• Crushing bread with a full vacuum. Freeze it first and use pulse.

FAQ

Keep going

New to sealing? Start with how to use a vacuum sealer. If you are building a freezer of ready meals, read our guide to vacuum sealing for meal prep, and for meat and fish, our vacuum-sealed meat storage chart. To pick a machine with a gentle mode for bread and produce, see the best vacuum sealers.