The quick answers
These assume your fridge runs at or below 40°F (4°C). Warmer than that and everything below shortens.
How long do leftovers last in the fridge?
3–4 days, counted from the day you cooked. Freeze them within that window if you won't make it.
How long does raw chicken last in the fridge?
1–2 days. It's the shortest fuse in your fridge. Cook it or freeze it.
How long does cooked chicken last in the fridge?
3–4 days, the same as most leftovers.
How long does milk last after opening?
About a week. Keep it on a shelf, not in the door.
How long do eggs last in the fridge?
3–5 weeks in the shell. Hard-boiled, one week.
How long does cooked rice or pasta last in the fridge?
3–4 days. Get rice into the fridge within a couple of hours of cooking it.
The full chart
Times are for a fridge at 40°F (4°C) or below. Freezer times are about quality, not safety — frozen food stays safe indefinitely, it just slowly gets worse to eat.
| Food | Fridge | Freezer | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raw meat, poultry & fish | |||
| Chicken or turkey, raw | 1–2 days | 9–12 months | Cook or freeze fast. This one catches everyone. |
| Ground meat, raw | 1–2 days | 3–4 months | |
| Beef steaks & roasts, raw | 3–5 days | 4–12 months | |
| Pork chops, raw | 3–5 days | 4–6 months | |
| Bacon | 1 week | 1 month | Once the pack is open. |
| Raw sausage | 1–2 days | 1–2 months | |
| Deli meat, opened | 3–5 days | 1–2 months | Unopened packs last about 2 weeks. |
| Hot dogs, opened | 1 week | 1–2 months | Unopened, about 2 weeks. |
| Lean fish (cod, tilapia), raw | 1–2 days | 6–8 months | |
| Fatty fish (salmon), raw | 1–2 days | 2–3 months | |
| Shrimp, raw | 1–2 days | 6–12 months | |
| Cooked food & leftovers | |||
| Leftovers, general | 3–4 days | 2–3 months | Count from the day you cooked, not the day you remembered. |
| Cooked chicken | 3–4 days | 2–6 months | |
| Soups & stews | 3–4 days | 2–3 months | Freeze in portions you'd actually eat. |
| Pizza | 3–4 days | 1–2 months | |
| Cooked rice or pasta | 3–4 days | 1–2 months | Get rice into the fridge within a couple of hours of cooking. |
| Egg dishes (quiche, frittata) | 3–4 days | 2–3 months | |
| Dairy & eggs | |||
| Milk, opened | 1 week | 3 months | Keep it on a shelf, not in the door. The door is the warmest spot. |
| Yogurt | 1–2 weeks | 1–2 months | |
| Butter | 1–3 months | 6–9 months | |
| Hard cheese, opened | 3–4 weeks | 6 months | A little surface mold on hard cheese can be cut off. An inch around it, to be safe. |
| Soft cheese, opened | 1 week | — | Brie, goat, fresh mozzarella. Mold here means toss it. |
| Cream cheese | 2 weeks | — | |
| Eggs, in the shell | 3–5 weeks | — | Don't freeze in the shell. |
| Hard-boiled eggs | 1 week | — | |
| Produce | |||
| Salad greens & spinach | 3–5 days | — | Dry them well. Moisture is what turns the bag to soup. |
| Berries | 2–5 days | 8–12 months | Wash right before eating, not before storing. |
| Broccoli | 3–5 days | — | |
| Mushrooms | 4–7 days | — | Paper bag beats plastic. |
| Cucumbers | About 1 week | — | |
| Bell peppers | 1–2 weeks | — | |
| Grapes | 1–2 weeks | — | |
| Celery | 1–2 weeks | — | |
| Carrots | 2–3 weeks | — | |
| Citrus | 3–4 weeks | — | Lasts far longer in the fridge than the fruit bowl. |
| Apples | 4–6 weeks | — | |
| Avocado, ripe | 3–4 days | — | Ripen on the counter first. Fridge pauses ripening. |
| Tomatoes | Counter | — | The fridge dulls the flavor. Keep them out. |
| Fresh soft herbs | Up to 1 week | — | Stand them in a glass of water like flowers. |
| Condiments, opened | |||
| Ketchup | 6 months | — | |
| Mustard | 12 months | — | |
| Mayonnaise | 2 months | — | |
| Jarred salsa | 1 month | — | |
| Soy sauce | 1 year | — | |
Are the dates on packages safety dates?
No. "Best by," "sell by," and "use by" are quality dates set by the manufacturer. In the US they aren't federally regulated for safety on anything except infant formula. Milk that's a day past its date and smells fine usually is fine. The chart above tells you more about safety than the printed date does.
One caveat. Bacteria that make you sick don't always announce themselves. Smell catches spoilage, not pathogens. So the sniff test can tell you food has gone off, but it can't tell you food is safe. For high-risk items like raw meat and old leftovers, go by days, not by nose.
How do you make food last longer in the fridge?
- Check the temperature. At or below 40°F (4°C). Most fridges have never been checked once.
- Use the door for condiments. It's the warmest zone. Milk and eggs belong on a shelf.
- Keep raw meat on the bottom shelf. Coldest spot, and nothing can drip onto it from above.
- Freeze earlier than you think. The freezer works best the day before something turns, not the day after.
- Put new groceries behind old ones. The stuff that needs eating first should be the stuff you see first.
More of these in our guide to throwing out less food — nine habits, most of them ten-second changes.
Or stop memorizing charts
This page exists because nobody remembers 40 storage windows. That's the entire reason we built NeverToss. You scan your grocery receipt, and the app applies windows like these to everything on it, then sends you one calm reminder about what to use first. Every date is an estimate and the app says so. If it guesses wrong, you fix it with one tap.