Long Shelf Life Foods – What Lasts Best (with Chart)
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Beat rising food costs by shopping now for long shelf life foods. These long lasting foods are ranked from those that last the longest – decades – to those that last for weeks.
We recommend that you keep a mix of long shelf life foods – dry goods, canned goods and other foodstuffs. If you can afford it, freeze dried food has a great shelf life and adds variety to meals.
See more info on freeze dried foods: 5 Best Freeze Dried Foods Companies.
Stock what you eat. Stockpiling a bit of food can save you money AND prepare you for an emergency!
In the list below includes storage tips, and we’re working on a series of articles with more detailed information on storage and growing tips, including produce varieties that have a longer storage life.
Why Stockpile Food?
Manmade and natural disasters happen. Whether it is supply chain failure, a flood, pandemic, blizzard, earthquake, hurricane or even war, something will happen that will require food and water when grocery stores are closed or you can’t get to them.
Buying larger amounts of foods that have a longer shelf life gives you a food cushion for emergencies, or unexpected job loss. Even a small amount of emergency food storage can make a difference. If you opt for shelf stable foods, they’ll keep well even if there’s a power outage.
It’s great to have a little extra food on hand in case you are sick and can’t go out shopping, or you need to feed unexpected guests. If you buy bulk foods when they are on sale, you can save money, too. The way inflation keeps increasing, foods that last a long time are a good investment.
How do you determine shelf life of food?
Food from a supermarket will have a expiration date. That expiration date is an indication of when the product might start to go bad or lose taste. Many food products can be safely eaten far after their expiration date.
Fresh food is a little trickier. Specific fruit and vegetable varieties last longer than others. For instance, hot onions typically last longer than sweet onions. Growing conditions and storage conditions also make a difference.
Experiment and pay attention to what keeps well for you.
Try the foods before you store them
Make sure you like the taste of what you plan to store. Try cooking with it, and try it in various dishes. Test out different kinds of foods before you buy 50 pounds of something you don’t like. For instance, you might like black beans but not pinto beans.
Salt and sugar are easy to use, but foods like dried beans require a bit of skill to use well. Someone else might think the dried beans are good to eat, but you might not like them at all.
What are Dry Goods
Dry goods include foods like salt, sugar, grains like wheat berries, flour, rice and dried beans. They can generally can be stored at room temperature.
Historically, dry goods were critical food supplies that would be stored in bulk for months or years.
Best Way to Extend Shelf Life
- Cool place – keep the food in a cool place, some prefer freezing temperatures.
- Humidity
- Dry Place – Low or no Moisture in the air for wheat, flour and other items. This is true for 99% of dry goods.
- Moist Place – Fresh foods like apples, potatoes, carrots, and others require specific humidity levels to extend the amount of time it can be kept in storage. (See “Root Cellars 101“.)
- Dark – Sunlight adds heat and can bleach foods. For long term storage, keep all foods out of direct sunlight.
- Lower fat content improves shelf life. (Fats react with oxygen and go rancid.)
- Reduce oxygen. Oxygen causes oxidation which spoil foods, oxygen also carries smells which can penetrate salt, sugar and flour as examples. Use tightly sealed containers (with oxygen absorbers for longer storage) to reduce oxidation.
What foods have longest shelf life?
Unless otherwise noted, store these foods in cool, dry conditions, out of direct sunlight, in an airtight container. White flour and white rice last longer than whole wheat flour or brown rice because they have a lower fat content.
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| Foods & Foodstuffs | Shelf Life | Notes |
| Salt | Indefinite | Requires airtight container. No temperature control needed. Storage: Dry, Sealed. How to Store Salt Long Term |
| Sugar | Indefinite | Requires airtight container. No temperature control needed Storage: Dry, Sealed. How to store Sugar |
| RAW Honey | Indefinite | Store in glass. No temperature control needed. Must be PURE RAW HONEY if anything is added, including water, it will limit shelf life Storage: Dry, Sealed, no sunlight, preferably cool. How to Store Honey Long Term |
| Maple Syrup | Indefinite | Store in glass. No temperature control needed. Must be MAPLE SYRUP if anything is added, including water, it will limit shelf life. Many products labeled as maple syrup are NOT real pure maple syrup Aunt Jemima Maple Syrup is NOT pure maple syrup. – Maple Syrup – 6 Things You Need to Know – How to Store Maple Syrup |
| Liquor | Indefinite | Hard alcohol, wine* (*some wines improve with age, others do not) |
| Jello | Indefinite | Dry jello mix or unflavored gelatin will last indefinitely, but may develop off flavors over time . |
| Water | Indefinite | Water will store pretty much forever, but water can leach chemicals from the container, and will pick up chemicals from the air if not sealed. We recommend filtering ALL stored water for drinking using a Berkey Filter or ZeroWater filter. Emergency Water Storage and Filtration – What You Need to Know Before Emergencies Hit |
| Vinegar | Indefinite | This includes Apple Cider Vinegar |
| Baking Soda | Indefinite | |
| Frozen Ghee | Indefinite | |
| Hard Candy | Indefinite | |
| Corn Syrup | Indefinite | |
| Popcorn | Indefinite | Whole kernel popcorn lasts for years, but packaged microwave popcorn only lasts 2-3months past the expiration date. |
Foods that last 25 to 30+ years
Mylar, glass, or other durable airtight containers maximize shelf life for dry goods. Oxygen absorbers and vacuum sealing also improve shelf life. See “Best Mylar Bags for Food Storage“.
| Foods and Foodstuffs | Shelf Life | Notes |
| White Rice | 25 to 30yrs | 5gal bucket = 16,400 calories or 8 days 1 person |
| Wild Rice | 25 to 30yrs | Not related to Asian rice. |
| Grains | 20 to 30yrs | Flour, rolled oats, corn, buckwheat, or red/white winter wheat – cool dry place Bulk Grain – Where to Get it, How to Store it |
| Dried Legumes | 20 to 30yrs | Pinto Beans, Black Beans etc. 5gal bucket = 19,600 calories or 9 days 1 person |
| Waxed Cheese | 25yrs+ | Waxed hard cheese in cool storage. Flavor and texture changes over time. |
| Dehydrated fruit slices | 5yr to 30 years | If they are not fully dehydrated that don’t last as long. |
| Freeze Dried Eggs | 15-30yrs | Varies with fat content and manufacturer |
| Vanilla Extract | 15-25yrs | Store in a glass container. Imitation Vanilla extract is only 2-4yrs. |
| 4mo-1yr | ||
| #10 Can Instant Coffee (freeze dried) | 20yrs to 30yrs | Instant coffee from a supermarket likely will only keep a few years as most store coffee isn’t sealed well |
| Hard red, white winter wheat | 10yrs to 25yrs | You need a hand grinder/mill to use these. Practice baking with fresh ground grain before you buy bulk. Bulk Grain – Where to Get it, How to Store it |
| Rolled oats, buckwheat | 10yrs to 25yrs | If stored dry, in mylar and/or a 5gal bucket, with O2 absorbers, in steady cool temperature. |
| Dried corn (dent or flint corn) | 10yrs to 25yrs | If stored dry, in mylar and/or a 5gal bucket, with O2 absorbers, in steady cool temperature. |
| Hardtack | 30yrs to 50+yrs | Hard baked flour and salt, not tasty but lasts 50+ years |
| Soy Sauce | 5-25yrs | Varies with contents, look for a simple ingredients list and glass jar |
| Freeze dried meals | 15yrs to 35yrs | Valley Food Storage, Readywise, MREs, Mountain House, Augason Farms and Backpackers Pantry 8 Best Freeze Dried Foods (For Prepping & Long Term Storage) Home Freeze Drying – Read this Before You Buy a Freeze Dryer |
Foods that last 5 to 25 years
| Foods and Foodstuffs | Shelf Life | Notes |
| Raw Molasses | up to 10 years | Must NOT have other ingredients stored in glass jars or heavy sealed food grade buckets (not squeezable plastic) |
| Powdered Eggs | 5-10yrs | |
| Dehydrated carrots | 5-20 years | Shelf life depends on the volume of moisture left in the carrots |
| White Flour | 3yr to 5yrs | Freeze it the flour first, then package for long term storage in Mylar and a food grade bucket with oxygen absorbers How to store flour long term |
| Ghee | 10yrs to 15yrs | Clarified butter. This can be canned at home. Indefinite in freezer |
| #10 can powdered Lowfat Milk | 7 to 20yrs | Shelf life depends on fat content |
| Powered sour cream | 5-10 years | |
| Favorite Canned Goods | 1yr to 25 yrs | Varies widely with the contents. Higher fat lower shelf life. |
| Freeze dried Bacon | 1yr – 10yrs | Varies. Longer storage life, has fat removed and is more like jerky. |
| Freeze Dried Fruit | 10 to 25yrs | Freeze dried blueberries, apples, and other fruits will last much longer than just “dried” fruit |
Foods that last a 2 to 5 Years
| Foods and Foodstuffs | Shelf Life | Notes |
| Virgin Coconut Oil | up to 5 years | Tastes like coconut |
| Spices | Varies | Airtight container, out of sunlight in a cool dry place depending on the spice. Some spices don’t react well to either oxygen absorbers or moisture absorbers. |
| Mustard Powder | 3-4yrs | Stored in mylar |
| Dark Chocolate | 2-5yrs | Varies with fat content of the dark chocolate |
| Cocoa Powder | 1-5yrs | Varies with fat content of the cocoa |
| Dried Pasta / Macaroni | 2-4 years | |
| Shell Beans | 2-3yrs | Note note DRIED BEANS, these are the same but havent been dried. What are Shell Beans? (Growing Tips, Usage, Storage) |
| Most Canned Soup and Chili | 3-5yrs | |
| Canned Tuna, Chicken, Beef | 2-5yrs | Supermarket canned. Note: #10 canned freeze dried tuna, chicken or beef shelf life is closer to 15 to 30 years. |
| Flavored Liquor | 6mo-2yrs | Flavored liquor, or liquor mixes such as: Kahluha, Baileys, Bloody Mary Mix etc |
| Pemmican | 1-5yrs | American Indian long term food preparation. Shelf life depends on moisture and fat content + temperature. |
| Frozen Eggs | 10mo-3yrs | Supermarket eggs only store 3-5 weeks. Unwashed eggs have a membrane that lets them keep longer up to 3mo. Mineral oil coated eggs store 6mo-1yr. Frozen eggs will last 10mo to 3 years |
| Jelly | 2yrs+ | Depends on sugar content and amount of fruit remaining. Full sugar recipes keep the longest. |
| Jam | 1yr+ | Depends on sugar content and amount of fruit remaining Low sugar generally have shorter shelf life |
| Canned Fruit | 1-2yrs | Varies with the fruit and how much sugar is used |
| Pickled veggies | 1-2yrs | Pickles whether from a store or canned at home will be safe to eat after they are no longer palatable |
| Peppercorns | 1-4yrs | Store in Mylar or glass. Will need a pepper grinder to grind them into pepper. |
Foods that last 1-2 years
| Foods and Foodstuffs | Shelf Life | Notes |
| Regular Beef Jerky | up to 2yrs | Shelf life varies with moisture and fat content. |
| Bouillion Cubes | up to 2yrs | The less fats and oils they have the longer they last. Do NOT use oxygen or moisture absorbers with them. Store cool and dry. |
| Canned Tomato Sauce, Salsa and other Tomato based products | 1-2 years | |
| Store vegetable oil | 1 year | |
| Powdered Milk, whole | 1 to 1.5yrs | |
| Peanut Butter | up to 2yrs | if low fats/oils (check jar for details) |
| Dried Raisins/Cranberries/Cherries | up to 2yrs (varies) | Varies with moisture and sugar content Freeze dried last much longer |
| Gatorade bottle | 1-3 years | |
| Mineral Oil Coated Eggs | 6mo-1yr | Mineral oil coated eggs store 6mo-1yr. |
| Vitamins | varies | |
| Homegrown Garlic | 4-12 months | How to Grow Garlic in the Garden – From Planting to Harvest |
| Pancake mix | 1yr in original container | |
| Raspberries | days to 30 yrs | Fresh Raspberries a few days in the fridge Frozen or Dehydrated Raspberries 1 year Store Jam/Jelly 2 years to 5 years Home Made Jam / Jelly 2 years Freeze Dried Raspberries 5 to 30 years How to store Raspberries |
| Dry Yeast, and baking powder | 4mo to 2yrs | Varies with storage. Fresh yeast will only last a few weeks. Lasts longer in a freezer. It loses 10-25% of its potency per year (in good storage) more in bad conditions. |
| Ground Pepper | 4mo to ? | Doesn’t go bad, but loses flavor over time |
| Frozen Broccoli, corn off the cob | 9mo-18mo | They last longer in the freezer vacuum sealed |
| Vacuum Sealed Frozen Meat | 9mo-18months |
Foods that last 3 to 9 Months
| Foods and Foodstuffs | Shelf Life | Notes |
| Hard Winter Squash | up to 9 months+ | Some of our spaghetti squash last from one harvest to the next. We eat it and also cook and feed it to the chickens to supplement their feed. When to Harvest Pumpkins and Winter Squash (and how to store them) |
| Peanut Butter | 2-9 months | depending on brand (ones with more oils go bad faster) |
| Long Storage Apples | 6-9 months | Varieties such as Russets will last a few 3 to 6 months in a cool root cellar. – Dehydrating Apples for Easy Homemade Apple Chips – Preserve Apples for Year Round Use 17 Easy and Creative Ways |
| Long storage potatoes | 6-9 months | Some good storage varieties include: Elba, Katahdin, Red Chieftain, Yukon Gold, Burbank Russet, German Butterball, Yukon Gem, Red Pontiac, All Blue, and Kennebec. |
| Brown Rice | 6-9 months | |
| Short storage potatoes | weeks to 3 months | These are potatoes that tend to be softer and get spongy in storage |
| Breakfast Cereals | ||
| Block Cheese | 2-4mo | 2 to 4 months stored in a refrigerator |
| Farm Fresh (unwashed) Eggs | up to 3mo | Supermarket eggs only store 3-5 weeks. Unwashed eggs have a membrane that lets them keep longer up to 3mo. Mineral oil coated eggs store 6mo-1yr. Frozen eggs will last 10mo to 3 years |
| Granola Bars | 3-6mo | |
| Home Grown Carrots or Parsnips | 4-6mo | We store ours in a root cellar or in the garden – The 5 Easiest Vegetables to Store (Perfect for Home Gardens) – Growing Carrots – From Planting to Harvest |
| Microwave Popcorn bags | 2-3months past package expiration | |
| Supermarket Garlic Cloves | 3-6mo | |
| Vanilla beans | 6mo-1yr | |
| Maple Flavored Syrup | 6mo-1yr | Artificial flavoring will break down, as will the plastic bottle. It will still be edible past the best by date. |
| Storage Onions | 4mo-9mo | Yellow onions Stuttgarter Reisen and Yellow of Parma are our favorite storing onions. Hot onions tend to store better than sweet onions. – How to Store Onions so they last – When to Harvest Onions – Growing Onions from Seed |
| Sausage | 6mo-1yr | varies |
| Beer | 3mo-6mo | varies |
| Store packaged frozen meat | 4mo-12mo | Hamburger, turkey, chicken, beef, other poultry, veal, pork, lamb etc |
Long Shelf Life Fresh Foods that last a couple of weeks to 3 months
| Foods and Foodstuffs | Shelf Life | Notes |
| Sweet Onions | 3weeks to 2mo | Sweet (soft) onions last from weeks to a couple months at most – How to Store Onions so they last – When to Harvest Onions – Growing Onions from Seed |
| Minced jarred garlic | 3w-3mo | |
| Pears | 3day-10yr | 3-6days in fridge, some pears are “harder” and store much better dried (dehydrated) pears 6-12mo, canned pears 18-24mo, freeze dried 10-25yrs – Dehydrating Pears (With Tips for Prep and Storage) – 9 Ways to Preserve Pears, Plus Tips to Prevent Browning |
| Short Storage Apples | 1-2 weeks | might only last a couple weeks on the counter |
| Supermarket eggs | 3-5weeks | Supermarket eggs only store 3-5 weeks. Unwashed eggs have a membrane that lets them keep longer up to 3mo. Mineral oil coated eggs store 6mo-1yr. Frozen eggs will last 10mo to 3 years |
| Regular Squash | 3weeks to 3months | Pie pumpkins, acorn squash, and other thin skinned varieties don’t keep as well as others known for storage |
| Strawberries | Varies | 3-7days fridge, 8-12months frozen, 4-12months dehydrated, 10-25years freeze dried. How to Store Strawberries 12 Ways – Plus Tips to Keep Berries Fresh |
| Walnuts | 2-3mo shelled, 2+ years in the shell | 2-3months refrigerated, 18-36 months frozen (flavor starts to go at 24mo) Harvesting Walnuts – The Right Way to Pick & Store Walnuts for Freshness |
| Garden Tomatoes | Up to 4 weeks | When hard frost threatens, we pick all tomatoes near full size and bring them inside in trays. They will ripen over the following weeks. |
| Pumpkin | 2-3mo | Whole fresh pumpkin stores 2-3mo, refrig 3-5mo some harder squash pumpkin varieties will keep longer, canned or processed last longer. When to Harvest Pumpkins (and the Best Ways to Store Them) |
| Supermarket tomatoes | 1 week to 2 weeks at most | Remember they are a week to as much as month old before you buy them |
| Asparagus | 3days to 12mo | 3-5days fridge, 6mo-12mo freezer 25+ Healthy Asparagus Recipes Plus 4 Ways to Store Asparagus |
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Printable Long Shelf Life Foods List (PDF)