Freezer label maker: printable freezer and leftover labels
Type what's in the container, the date you made or froze it and how many portions it holds, and this freezer label maker lays the labels out on a real label sheet for you to print. It fits Avery 5160, Avery 5163, the A4 sheets L7160 and L7163, or plain paper you cut up. There's no email to hand over and no PDF to edit, and nothing you type leaves your browser.
A freezer label needs three things: what the food is, the date it went in, and how much is in the pack. USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service suggests the name, the date and where you bought it for meat, plus the plant's establishment number so a recall can be matched. Everything else, like reheating steps, is a note to yourself.
How to use the label maker
The label maker turns one line of typing into a sheet of labels that line up with the sticker sheet in your printer.
- Pick your label sheet. The product number is printed on the pack, usually on the front and on each sheet's edge.
- Fill in one label per dish: what it is, freezer or fridge, the date, the portions and a note if you want one ("add 1 cup water", "no salt yet").
- Set the copies. Six bags of chili from one batch means six copies of one label, not six labels.
- On a sheet you've already used part of, set "Start at position" to the first empty label. Positions count across the rows, left to right, from the top.
- Check the preview, then press Print labels and print at 100% scale.
Leave the date blank and the label prints "Frozen" or "Made" with a line to write the date on by hand, which is handy for printing a stack before a big cooking day. The same goes for portions. If a name or note is too long for the label, the tool shrinks the name first and then cuts what still doesn't fit, and it tells you which label it cut above the preview. Nothing ever runs over onto the next label.
"Copy a link to these labels" saves the whole sheet in the link itself, so you can print the same labels next month without typing them again.
What to write on a freezer label
What to write on a freezer label comes down to the food's name, the date and the amount, with anything else as a note. Two sources say it in almost the same words:
- FSIS, answering how to package bulk packs of meat and poultry for the freezer: "it is helpful to label the package with the name of the product, date and place of purchase" (Ask USDA). It also suggests copying the USDA establishment number from the store pack onto your label, so you can tell whether a recall includes it.
- Texas A&M AgriLife Extension's Safe Home Food Storage guide says to label all freezer foods "with the date, type of food, and weight or number of servings".
| On the label | Why it earns the space |
|---|---|
| What it is | "Chili" and "bolognese" look the same once frozen. Be specific: "beef chili, mild". |
| Date frozen or made | The only way to tell last month's bag from last winter's. |
| Portions or weight | Lets you pull out exactly enough for dinner. |
| Note | Reheating steps, what to add, or the recall number from the store pack. |
Which date to write matters less than writing the same one every time. For cooked food, write the day you cooked it. For raw meat you freeze on the day you buy it, that's the same day anyway; for meat that sat in the fridge first, the day you froze it is the one that tells you how long it's been in the cold.
Freezer labels vs leftover labels
A freezer label and a leftover label carry the same facts, but the date means a different wait. FSIS gives leftovers 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator or 3 to 4 months in the freezer, and says frozen leftovers, "although safe indefinitely", lose moisture and flavor the longer they're kept.
In the freezer, the date is about quality. FSIS's Freezing and Food Safety page puts it plainly: "Freezer storage is for quality only." In the fridge, the days count for more, which is why a date on a tub of leftover rice is worth more than one on a bag of frozen peas. Our guide to how long leftovers last has the rest of the agency's advice, from cooling to reheating.
That's also why the label maker won't print a "use by" or "eat by" date. It would have to guess how the food was handled, and it can't. Look the food up in the food storage time lookup, which gives the federal chart's times word for word, and write your own date in the note if you want one on the label.
How to print on label sheets
Printing on label sheets works when the page prints at its true size. Three settings decide it.
- Scale: 100%. In the print dialog, choose "Actual size", "100%" or "Default", never "Fit to page" or "Shrink to fit". At 95%, the bottom row of an 11-inch sheet lands almost half an inch above its labels.
- Paper size: the sheet's own. Letter for the Avery 5160 and 5163 sheets, A4 for L7160 and L7163. The label maker asks for the right size, but some print dialogs keep the last one used.
- Margins: none or default. The sheet's margins are built into the layout, so the browser doesn't need to add any.
Before you use a sheet of labels, print once on plain paper with "Print outlines" ticked, hold it against a label sheet up to a window and check the boxes sit on the labels. Many printers leave a blank strip along the page edges. The labels here keep their text inside the padding, but an outline near the edge may print short.
| Sheet | Paper | Label size | Labels per sheet | Same layout as |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avery 5160 | Letter | 1" x 2-5/8" | 30 | 8160, 5260, 5960, 18160 and others |
| Avery 5163 | Letter | 2" x 4" | 10 | 8163, 5263, 5963, 18163 and others |
| Avery L7160 | A4 | 63.5 x 38.1 mm | 21 | |
| Avery L7163 | A4 | 99.1 x 38.1 mm | 14 | |
| Plain paper | Letter or A4 | 2-1/2" x 4" or 65 x 98 mm | 8 | Cut along the dashed lines |
The "same layout as" numbers are from Avery's own 5160 and 5163 template pages, which list the products that print from the same template. Store brands sold as "5160 compatible" usually match too, but check one with a test print.
For small containers, 5160 is enough for a name, a date and a short note. For gallon bags and tubs, the 5163 or the plain-paper labels leave room for reheating steps you'll be glad of in February.
Making labels last in the freezer
Freezer labels come off because of frost and damp, so the fix is in how you put them on. Stick the label on a dry container before it goes in, not on a bag that's already frosted, and press it flat for a few seconds. Regular paper labels often hold in a home freezer, but they can lift from soft plastic bags that flex; a strip of clear packing tape over the label holds it.
If you'd rather not use stickers at all, print the plain-paper version, cut the labels out and tape one to each lid, or slip it inside a clear bag facing out. For reusable containers, tape peels off more cleanly than label adhesive.
Labels only help if you can find the right bag, which is where a freezer inventory sheet on the door comes in: the labels say what each pack is, and the sheet says what's in there without opening the door. Our guide on how to organize a freezer covers where to put things so the oldest bag gets eaten first.
Common questions
Do I need special freezer labels?
Not always. Standard paper address labels like Avery 5160 often hold in a home freezer if you stick them on a dry container before freezing. Labels sold as freezer labels are made for cold surfaces and are the better pick for soft bags. If regular labels peel, a strip of clear tape over each one holds them.
Can I print freezer labels without label sheets?
Yes. Pick "Plain Letter paper" or "Plain A4 paper" and the label maker prints eight labels per page with dashed cut lines. Cut them out and tape them to the container or lid, or slip them inside a clear freezer bag.
Why doesn't the label say when to eat it by?
The label maker prints only what you type, because a date to eat by depends on the food, how it was handled and how cold your fridge or freezer is, and a label tool can't know any of that. FSIS says frozen food kept frozen stays safe indefinitely and the months on its chart are for quality. For how long foods keep, see the cold food storage chart at FoodSafety.gov.
How do I label leftovers in the fridge?
Label leftovers with what they are and the date they were cooked, and put them where you'll see them first. The label maker's "Fridge" option prints "Made" and the date. FSIS gives most leftovers 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator, so the date matters more there than in the freezer.
Which freezer foods can I label ahead of time?
Anything. Leave the date blank and each label prints a line to write the date on with a marker, so you can print a sheet of "Beef chili" or "Chicken stock" labels once and date them as you fill containers.
Which foods don't freeze well?
Salad greens, raw salad vegetables and mayonnaise are on the list of foods that don't freeze well; most cooked dishes, raw meat and bread do. Our guide to what you can freeze goes food by food, and what freezer burn is explains the dry grey patches on anything kept too long.