Top 20+ foods that are still safe to eat after their expiry date

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Expiry dates can be a helpful guideline, but they’re not always the final word on whether food is safe to eat. In fact, many products can be consumed well past their expiration or best-before dates — provided they’ve been stored properly. Trust your senses, especially sight and smell, to help you decide. Here are 20 common foods that often stay good longer than you might think.

Mustard

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Yellow mustard can stay in the pantry for up to two years beyond its expiry date, but should be consumed within a year of opening after that.

Cereal

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As long as you keep your cereal stored in a cool, dark place and the bag is well sealed, cereal can easily last months longer than its expiry date. It might be a little stale, but it’s still safe to consume.

Canned goods

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Most canned goods have expiry dates that are about three years after they’ve been shelved, but as long as there are no dents or rust on the cans, and they’ve been stored in a cool space, they’re safe to eat for another three to four years after that.

Pickled vegetables

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Pickled vegetables are still good for about one or two years past their best-before date, even if you’ve already opened the jar. You might find they lose their crunch as time goes on, but as long as the seal is still tight and the lid hasn’t domed, you should be fine.

Eggs

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Eggs are one of those staples that not all homes go through before they reach their expiry date, and that’s perfectly OK. You can tell if an egg is still good to eat by placing it in a glass of water. If it sinks, dig in; if it floats, toss it.

Pasta

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Dry pasta has a rather long shelf life already, at one to two years, but because it doesn’t contain any water, it can actually last even longer than that. Be sure to keep it in a cool, dry place to prolong its life.

Butter

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It’s best to keep only small portions of butter on the counter in order to avoid it spoiling. Kept in the fridge (or better yet, the freezer!) butter is perfectly fine to eat past its expiration date, as long as it doesn’t smell rancid.

Chips

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Like the grain products on our list, chips might be a little stale if you reach for them past their expiry date, but they’re still perfectly safe to eat. If the bag is sealed, you should be fine for a few months past the best-before, while an open bag tightly closed is good for a couple more weeks.

Yogurt

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Open yogurt will spoil faster than an unopened container, but is still generally safe to eat for about a week after its expiry date. As long as the container is still sealed, most yogurt is safe to eat up to three weeks beyond its expiry date if it passes the sniff test.

Chocolate

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You might have noticed a white film on your chocolate, but don’t worry, it’s not mold—it’s what’s known as chocolate bloom. As long as you’ve kept it in a cool place, it should be perfectly safe to enjoy.

Salad mixes

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Most prepackaged salad greens are fine to eat a few days beyond their expiry date, as long as they aren’t slimy, mushy, or stinky. For any leaves that have wilted, just remove them and enjoy those that are still fresh.

Frozen foods

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Frozen foods still have expiry dates, but there’s a lot more flexibility with them than fresh foods. They might not be as tasty after their best-before, especially if they’re freezer-burned, but you can still safely eat them.

Cookies

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Most prepared cookies are safe to eat beyond their expiry date, so long as you’ve kept them in a cool, dry place. They often contain oils that can go rancid over time, but as long as they still smell sweet you should be good.

Crackers

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Like chips, pasta, and bread, crackers will be at their crispiest and tastiest before their expiry date, but they are still safe to eat beyond that. Keep the package well sealed to lock out moisture in order to avoid spoilage and chewy crackers.

Salad dressing

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That bottle of balsamic dressing you forgot about in the back of the cupboard should be safe to use beyond its expiry date, but give it a sniff first to see if the oils have turned. Same goes for any bottles lingering in the fridge.

Peanut butter

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Both smooth and crunchy varieties of peanut butter are safe to eat for about a year after their original expiry date, if still sealed. Once opened, both are good for about three to four months in the pantry or six to eight months in the fridge after the expiry. Keep in mind that “natural” versions will spoil more quickly.

Bread

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Like cereal, bread might get a little stale past its expiration date, but it’s still safe to eat. In fact, stale bread makes the best croutons for salads! Even if there’s a bit of mold on the end, just cut it off before you enjoy a slice.

Jam

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Jam contains a lot of sugar that helps to preserve it and keep it safe to eat long after its expiry date. As long as you aren’t contaminating it—like by using the peanut butter knife—you should be fine to enjoy sweet spreads long after their expiry date.

Ketchup

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Ketchup is one of those condiments that’s perfectly fine to eat after its best-before date. In fact, you can keep it sealed in the pantry for up to a year after its expiry. Just consume within about six months after opening.

Hard cheese

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Cheese is one of those foods that you might toss should it pass its expiry date, but you’d be wasting good cheddar! The way the cheese is made and aged allows it to remain safe to eat even past its expiry date. Just be sure to cut off any mold at least two or three centimetres (an inch) before you dig in.

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