At Butternut Box, we want to ensure your pup's fresh meals are kept in tip-top condition. Proper storage and handling keep the food safe, highly nutritious, and delicious for your dog. Below is the essential guidance to help you safely store your dog's Butternut and keep their meals fresh.
Core Meal Storage Rules
How do I safely store Butternut Box meals?
Butternut Box meals are cooked fresh, flash-frozen to lock in nutrients, and delivered frozen straight to your door. To store our meals safely, please follow these storage timelines and guidelines:
Place the majority of your delivery straight into the freezer upon arrival. Unopened pouches can be kept safely in the freezer up until their Best Before Date show on the front of the pouch.
Transfer a few pouches into the refrigerator ahead of time so they can thaw. Unopened pouches can be kept in the fridge for up to 7 days.
Once a pouch has been cut open, it must be stored in the fridge and fed to your dog within 2 days. We highly recommend popping open pouches into a sealed plastic container, such as a clean food storage box, to maintain ultimate freshness.
Managing Freezer Space
What should I do if I am struggling with freezer space?
If you're worried about having enough freezer space, you do not have to worry about your meals spoiling or taking over your kitchen. To manage your storage limits and adjust your account, you can use the following steps:
Log into your online Butternut Box account and navigate to your delivery plan settings.
Edit the plan to fit your needs, with the following options in mind:
a) Change your delivery frequency so that you receive fewer pouches per delivery, which means you will need less physical space in your freezer at any one time
b) If you find deliveries are coming before you’ve been able to use your current pouches, you can change the delivery frequency, pouch size and number of pouches to suit you.
c) If you just need to delay the current order, as long as you make the change before the cut-off, you can change the delivery date in your account to push your order back.
Defrosting Timelines and Quick Fixes
How long does it take to defrost Butternut meals?
To safely defrost Butternut meals, you must allow them to thaw slowly inside the refrigerator. The exact time it takes to defrost depends directly on the physical weight and size of the pouch:
For our smaller pouch sizes, which include the 125-gram, 200-gram, and 300-gram packs, it takes roughly 24 hours to fully defrost in the fridge.
For our larger pouch sizes, which include the 400-gram, 500-gram, and 600-gram packs, it takes at least 36 hours to fully defrost in the fridge.
To maintain a seamless routine, simply swap a fresh, frozen pouch from the freezer into the fridge every time you open a fully defrosted one.
What can I do if I have forgotten to defrost my dog’s meal?
If you have forgotten to defrost your dog's meal overnight, do not panic. If you have a microwave at home, you can safely use the following method to get dinner ready in no time:
Place the frozen pouch into a microwave-safe bowl.
Set your microwave on Defrost mode and run the cycle until the food has thawed.
Always stir the food thoroughly after defrosting and check the temperature is not hot, before serving to your dog. It’s important to ensure that the meal is completely evenly warmed and contains no localised hot spots that could burn your pup's mouth.
Note: Please ensure to check the pouch regularly whilst defrosting and be careful not to overheat the pouch.
Can I microwave the meal in the pouch?
Yes, you can safely microwave the meal while it is still inside the pouch, provided you use a defrost setting. At the heart of our mission is the safety and quality of our dogs' meals, which is why our pouches are carefully designed to withstand extreme temperature changes during both the cooking and freezing processes.
Portioned Freezing and Refreezing
Can I divide my meals into smaller amounts and put them back in the freezer?
While we can guarantee the safety and quality of our meals when they are kept sealed in their original packaging, we cannot control their safety once a pouch has been opened and transferred into new containers. Because of this, we do not actively recommend manually dividing defrosted meals at home and putting them back in the freezer.
If you require smaller daily portions for your dog, the safest and easiest solution is to update your plan to our smallest pouch size, which is just 125 grams. This allows you to serve small, perfectly fresh portions without the hassle or risk of manually dividing the food back into the freezer.
Can I re-freeze a pouch that has been sitting in the fridge?
The short answer is no. While it might seem a bit confusing, there is a big safety difference between a pouch that defrosted on its way to you versus one that has been sitting in your fridge.
It all comes down to temperature control and the "shelf-life clock":
Thawed in transit (Safe to freeze): If your pouches arrive defrosted (within our 50-hour safety window) but are still cold to the touch, they are perfectly safe to put straight into the freezer. Because they stayed at a safe, bacteria-stunting temperature inside our insulated boxes, they only just defrosted, meaning we can safely "pause" their shelf life by freezing them immediately.
Thawed in your home fridge (Do not refreeze): Once a pouch is placed in your fridge at home, its 7-day shelf-life clock officially starts ticking. If a pouch sits in the fridge for a few days, it experiences normal, slow bacterial growth. If you were to refreeze it and thaw it out again later, you would be adding even more days to that clock, pushing the meat into unsafe territory and altering its texture.
To keep your dog's meals perfectly safe and fresh, please feed any pouches placed in the fridge within their standard shelf life rather than putting them back in the freezer.
Can I add Butternut to Kongs to refreeze?
We do not recommend defrosting meals at home or opening them and and putting them back in the freezer, however, you can use an enrichment toy such as a clean Kong or Lickimat as a fun way to feed them their meals, fresh from the fridge.
Note: For further details on this, please read the section under: Can I re-freeze a pouch that has been sitting in the fridge?
For a fantastic alternative that avoids opening and refreezing your core meals, we highly recommend using our delicious Butternut Box Broths for enrichment instead. Our broths offer a much safer, easier routine. Although our broths are perfectly safe at ambient temperature until opened, we highly recommend popping them in the fridge first. This helps the liquid cool and naturally thicken up, making it much easier to add to ice cube trays or pack directly into a Kong or other freezer-safe enrichment toy without the liquid running everywhere.
To freeze your toy using our chilled broth, use the following steps:
Thoroughly wash the Kong or your chosen freezer-safe enrichment toy with warm, soapy water and rinse it completely before you begin.
Squeeze the chilled, thickened Butternut Box Broth directly into the central cavity of the toy.
If using a hollow toy, you can also use a small piece of a tasty dog treat to plug the small drainage hole at the bottom for extra security.
Alternatively, squeeze the thickened broth directly into a clean ice cube tray and freeze it into handy broth cubes that you can pop straight into the toy later.
Place the stuffed toy or tray into the freezer for at least two hours until frozen rock-solid, making a long-lasting, hydrating treat for your dog to enjoy.