Written by Sara Ibrahim. Sara researches home and kitchen products for Cupindy.
Published October 2026 · Last reviewed October 24, 2026 · Cupindy is not affiliated with any brand on this page.
The short answer
Yes, you can freeze mason jars and glass containers the maker marks freezer safe. Use jars with straight or tapered sides, never ones with a shoulder. Leave space at the top for the food to expand, chill hot food in the fridge first, and thaw the jar in the fridge, not in hot water.
Ball puts it in one line: “not all jars are freezer-safe.” And a freezer-safe jar can still crack if it is filled to the rim or goes from hot to frozen too fast. Here is what Ball and the National Center for Home Food Preservation actually say, and which jars to buy.
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Our quick pick for the freezer
Ball Wide Mouth Pint Jars, 16 oz, Pack of 3
Straight-sided, wide mouth, no shoulder. Number one in Amazon's Canning Jars best sellers on October 24, 2026.
See the Ball pint jars on AmazonThe drawback: two-piece metal lids, and only three jars in the pack.
Which Mason Jars Are Freezer Safe?
Look at the jar from the side. Ball says tapered and straight-sided jars are freezer safe, and “Shoulder jars are not.” A shoulder is the spot near the top where the glass curves in to a narrower neck. Food expands as it freezes, and a shoulder gives it nowhere to go but out against the glass.
The National Center for Home Food Preservation (NCHFP) recommends “wide mouth dual purpose jars made for freezing and canning”, which it says “have been tempered to withstand extremes in temperatures,” and adds that “The wide mouth allows easy removal of partially thawed foods.” It also warns that “Regular glass jars break easily at freezer temperatures.” We read that as covering the pasta sauce and pickle jars most of us save. Keep those for the pantry.
Regular mouth canning jars can go in the freezer too, with more room at the top. For narrow mouth jars the NCHFP says to leave extra headspace, because “Expansion of the liquid could cause the jars to break at the neck.” A jar with a shoulder is a different case: Ball says not to freeze in it at all.
If you vacuum seal your jars, the same rules apply; our guide to mason jar sealers covers what sealing does and does not do.
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Best overall
Ball Wide Mouth Pint Jars, 16 oz, Pack of 3
Ball's 16-ounce wide mouth pint has straight sides and a top nearly as wide as the jar, the shape both Ball's and the NCHFP's advice points to. Lids and bands are included, and the listing says BPA free and made in the USA.
Good for: Soup, broth, chili, sauce, single portions
The drawback: two-piece metal lids. Vanessa Gilic of Maple + Mango swaps them for plastic caps in the freezer because they “don't rust.” The pack is only three jars.
See the Ball pint jars on Amazon
The one with a fill rule
SEWANTA Wide Mouth Mason Jars, 16 oz, Pack of 5
SEWANTA is the only listing we read that says how far to fill: “(To freeze, fill up to 12 oz.)” That leaves about a quarter of the jar empty, and the embossed measurement marks make the 12-ounce line easy to find. Sold in packs of 5, 10 or 18.
Good for: Batch cooking, anyone who wants a line to fill to
The drawback: the 12-ounce rule is the seller's own, not Ball's or the NCHFP's, and it leaves less room for food than Ball's half-inch rule.
See the SEWANTA jars on AmazonAll three jars at a glance. Each listing was read on October 24, 2026.
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| Jar | Best for | Amazon |
|---|---|---|
|
Ball wide mouth pint, 3-pack Our quick pick |
Soup, broth, sauce; easy to empty | See it |
|
SEWANTA wide mouth 16 oz, 5-pack Prints a fill-to-12-oz rule |
Batch cooking with a fill line | See it |
|
Ball regular mouth pint, 8-count Narrow top, more headspace |
Jam and thick sauces | See it |
How Full Can You Fill a Mason Jar for the Freezer?
Leave headspace, the gap between the food and the lid. Ball's rule for rigid containers is to “leave ½-inch headspace to allow for expansion of liquids.” The NCHFP asks for more with wetter food and narrow tops. Its chart is written for fruit; for broth and thin soup, the juice row is the nearest match.
| What you are freezing | Wide mouth pint | Wide mouth quart | Narrow mouth pint | Narrow mouth quart |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fruit in juice, syrup or water; crushed or pureed fruit | ½ inch | 1 inch | ¾ inch | 1½ inch |
| Fruit or vegetables with no added liquid | ½ inch | ½ inch | ½ inch | ½ inch |
| Juice | ½ inch | 1 inch | 1½ inch | 1½ inch |
Source: NCHFP, "Headspace to Allow." Narrow mouth means a regular mouth canning jar.
Where Ball and the NCHFP differ, go with the bigger number for broth and thin soup. Half an inch of extra space is cheap insurance. Some jars mark the spot for you: Maple + Mango points to 16-ounce Ball jars with “FOR FREEZING – FILL HERE” moulded into the glass. If yours has that line, fill to it.
Cool It First, Freeze It Upright, Tighten the Lid Later
Jars crack when they are filled too high or moved too fast between hot and cold. Rural Sprout's Tracey Besemer, who freezes soup in pint jars, warns that “If your food is still hot, it can cause thermal shock, and the glass will crack.” Ball's freezing steps cover the lid and the shelf.
- Chill the food fast. The USDA says leftovers must go in the fridge within 2 hours and that hot food can go straight in; it suggests you “divide large amounts of food into shallow containers” so they cool quicker. Fill the jars once the food is cold.
- Fill to the headspace in the chart above, and wipe the rim clean.
- Put the lid on and screw the band on loosely. Ball's jam recipe says to “Apply bands and adjust loosely.”
- Stand the jars upright in a single layer near the coldest part of the freezer, as Ball suggests. Maple + Mango leaves a little space between jars so they do not knock together.
- Once the food is frozen, tighten the band. Ball: “Once jam is frozen, adjust bands to fingertip-tight.”
- Label the jar with the food and the date, and stack jars only after they are frozen solid.
Ball says to store frozen food at 0°F. If you have never checked your freezer, a cheap thermometer settles it; our fridge and freezer thermometer guide shows where to put one.
Soup, Broth, Sauce and Jam: What Freezes Well in Jars
Anything wet and spoonable does well in a jar: soup, stock, chili, tomato sauce, applesauce, beans in their liquid and freezer jam. These are the foods that expand most, so use the wetter rows of the chart.
For broth, Besemer leaves the fat on. It sets into a cap on top that you can lift off after thawing. Freezer jam is Ball's own example: its recipe keeps the jam frozen for up to a year, and once thawed it says to “use within 3 weeks.”
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For jam and thick sauces
Ball Regular Mouth Pint Jars, 16 oz, 8-Count
Ball's regular mouth pint, with the listing line “Freezer and refrigerator safe for long-term food storage.” The narrower top suits jam, jelly and pourable sauces.
Good for: Freezer jam, pesto, thick sauces
The drawback: the narrow top needs more headspace, and some foods have to thaw fully before they will slide out.
See the Ball regular mouth jars on AmazonHow Do You Know if a Glass Container Is Freezer Safe?
Turn it over and look for a freezer mark; many makers use a snowflake symbol. Then check the box or care sheet. If the maker says nothing about the freezer, keep the container in the fridge.
You will read that borosilicate glass is freezer safe and soda-lime glass is not. Makers rarely say which glass they use, and SEWANTA's listing calls its jars soda-lime while selling them for the freezer. Go by the maker's instruction, not the glass type.
The lid matters too, since it wears out long before the glass. Our guide to food storage containers goes through lids, gaskets and seals.
Can You Freeze Pyrex and Other Glass Dishes?
Yes. Pyrex's use-and-care sheet says its glassware “Can be used in a refrigerator or freezer.” It sets two limits: let hot glassware cool before you freeze it, and “DO NOT transfer directly from freezer to hot oven.” The sheet's general rule is to “AVOID sudden temperature changes.”
So a cooled casserole can go into the freezer in its Pyrex dish, and it should thaw in the fridge before it goes into a preheated oven.
How to Thaw Frozen Jars Without Cracking Them
Move the jar to the fridge a day ahead. Ball's instruction is “Thaw in refrigerator.” Stand the jar on a plate or towel to catch the water that forms on the outside.
In a hurry, run the jar under cold water until the food comes away from the glass, then tip the frozen block into a pot. That is how Besemer does it, and she stresses cold water. Skip hot water and the microwave for a frozen jar. Our page on microwaving glass explains why cold glass should warm up before it is heated.
What to Do if a Jar Cracks in the Freezer
Throw the food away, even if the crack looks small. K-State food scientist Karen Blakeslee, talking about canned food that froze in storage, recommends discarding canned food with broken glass, “which can lead to contamination.” The same logic applies to a freezer jar: you cannot see every chip in frozen food.
Our advice for the cleanup: let the jar thaw in a bowl in the fridge so the glass and the mess stay together, then wrap the pieces in newspaper before they go in the trash.
Questions People Ask
Is it better to freeze food in glass or plastic?
Both work. Glass does not stain or hold smells, and you can see what is inside, but it is heavier and can crack if you skip the steps above. Plastic is light and will not shatter. Our glass vs plastic comparison covers the trade-offs, and our food storage container guide covers what to look for in either.
Can you freeze spaghetti sauce in a glass jar?
Yes, in a freezer-safe canning jar: half an inch of headspace in a wide mouth pint, an inch in a wide mouth quart. Cool homemade sauce in the fridge first, and do not freeze it in the store jar it came in.
How long can food stay frozen in a mason jar?
FoodSafety.gov says “The guidelines for freezer storage are for quality only.” It lists soups and stews at 2 to 3 months, and says food stored continuously at 0°F or below stays safe indefinitely. Ball keeps freezer jam for up to a year.
Do glass containers with plastic lids work in the freezer?
Yes, if the maker says the lid is freezer safe, so check the lid's care note as well as the container's. For jars, Maple + Mango's Gilic likes plastic screw caps because they don't rust and skip the fuss of a two-piece lid.
Does glass explode in the freezer?
Usually it cracks rather than shatters, when ice presses on a shoulder or a jar filled to the rim, or when a warm jar goes into the cold. A freezer-safe jar filled to the headspace line, with cold food in it, should hold up.
How We Checked
On October 24, 2026 we read Amazon's Best Sellers in Canning Jars and each listing in full for a New York address, and checked stock through Amazon's product data the same day. We kept best-selling jars with strong, long-running ratings whose listings say they can be frozen, and dropped a quart set sold by Amazon's resale arm and a 24-pack whose listing details named a different jar from its title. The rules come from Ball, the NCHFP, Pyrex, the USDA, FoodSafety.gov and K-State, with tips from two food bloggers, Rural Sprout and Maple + Mango. We did not freeze-test these jars, and no brand saw this page before it went up.
Sources (opened October 24, 2026). Product facts come from each Amazon listing on the same date.
- Ball Mason Jars: Step-by-Step Freezing
- National Center for Home Food Preservation: Containers for Freezing
- National Center for Home Food Preservation: Headspace to Allow
- Pyrex: Product Warranties, Safety and Usage
- K-State Research and Extension: Are frozen canned foods still safe to eat? (January 7, 2026)
- FoodSafety.gov: Cold Food Storage Chart
- USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service: Leftovers and Food Safety
- Rural Sprout: Yes! You Can Freeze Food in Mason Jars (October 17, 2025)
- Maple + Mango: How To Freeze Food In Mason Jars
Ball, SEWANTA and Pyrex are trademarks of their owners and are named here only to identify their products. Listings change; check the listing before you buy.
