Frozen food has come a long way in recent years. Gone are the days when the freezer aisle was filled with just additive-packed foods; today, you'll find these freezers stacked with more affordable options that don't compromise on flavour or taste. The lower price isn't the only good thing about frozen food – it's often as nutritious as fresh, helps prevent food waste and means you can always have ingredients on hand. To help you choose what to buy, we've ranked the best frozen foods on offer, with tips on how to use them.

Click or scroll through our gallery as we count down to reveal the best frozen food of all time. 

Fresh cherries have a short season and spoil quickly, so enterprising growers came up with the idea of freezing their surplus fruit. The best part? These perfectly-pink fruits are already pitted for you, and they're still high in vitamins A and C. You can use frozen cherries in desserts and cakes, and they work especially well in homemade jams and compotes. 

A delicious veggie used in Middle Eastern stews and Indian curries, okra is a great one to have on hand. It's available fresh, though it's often hard to find in bigger supermarkets and isn’t always affordable, so purchasing a bag of the frozen variety is a good alternative. It comes either whole or chopped, and it brilliantly retains its shape, taste and texture.  

These immature soybeans were first cultivated in China centuries ago, but it wasn't until the 20th century that they began to appear in the UK, US and Europe. They're now readily available frozen, either in the pod or podded. High in protein and nutrients, they're a great addition to noodle bowls, stir-fries and salads – or simply heat them as the packet suggests and toss them in a drizzle of sesame oil with salt and chilli flakes. 

Loved by Brits, you'll find a Yorkshire pudding filled with gravy on a Sunday roast. These crispy batter puddings were commercially made frozen for UK holiday camp Butlins in 1974. In 1995, the British brand Aunt Bessie's began supplying them to supermarkets as a bake-from-frozen timesaver to resounding success. Even having homemade ones in the freezer can be handy when you're cooking for a crowd. 

A popular potato enjoyed around the globe, frozen roast potatoes are a game-changer, especially useful for smaller households and to save time. In the UK, frozen roast potatoes first appeared commercially in 1999, made by iconic British brand Aunt Bessie's. These crowd favourites can be cooked from frozen in around 25 minutes, with a perfectly crisp exterior and a fluffy interior. Try adding some chopped rosemary, smoked paprika or garlic powder to jazz them up. 

A Japanese speciality, gyoza are meat and vegetable–filled dumplings, wrapped in a thin, light dough. The dough is delicately pinched around the filling, so the dumplings can be incredibly fiddly to make from scratch. Thankfully, frozen gyoza brands have begun popping up in supermarkets, meaning all you need to do is warm them through in a bamboo steaming basket or pan-fry them to crisp, soft perfection.   

In 1905, 11-year-old Frank Epperson left a cup with powdered soda, water and a stirring stick on his porch in San Francisco. Cold overnight temperatures caused it to freeze, and his 'Epsicle' was born. He launched it in California in 1923, after his kids persuaded him to call it a 'popsicle'. Whether you make your own using ice lolly moulds, fruit juice, fresh fruit and water or buy them from the shops, ice lollies are a freezer essential, particularly popular with children.

Highly nutritious and packed with antioxidants, broccoli is one of the most popular frozen veggies around. It's convenient and quick to prepare, and it can be served as a side, added to soups, quiches and salads, used in a stir-fry or roasted to charred perfection. It's a great one to have on hand in the freezer when you're low on time. 

You can buy frozen onions pre-chopped or sliced, making them perfect for sensitive eyes or time-poor cooks. But the best ones of all are frozen pearl or pickling onions, which are fiddly to peel when fresh. Packed with a mild, sweet flavour, these onions work brilliantly in slow-cooked stews; simply add a handful in an hour or so before the dish is ready to serve to ensure they stay intact and don't break up. 

Tropical fruits, such as mango and pineapple, are another great option to have stored away in your freezer. Buying them in frozen chunks takes away the hassle of ripening and cutting the fruit, meaning you can enjoy the delicious, juicy flavours with ease. Ready chopped and prepared, pop frozen mango into breakfast smoothies, baked goods and desserts for a touch of fruitiness. 

Frozen mixed vegetables have been a freezer staple since the 1950s. An easy way to ensure you're getting a varied amount of vegetables into your diet, they're handy for adding to stir-fries, fried rice, soups and stews, or serving up as a simple side. If you're enjoying the latter, experiment with adding in a few herbs and spices to make them even tastier. 

Raspberries are frozen within a few hours of picking, so they retain all their nutritional content. Fresh raspberries don't have a long fridge life, so it's worth having a bag in the freezer, especially when they're out of season. Use them from frozen in delicious compotes and jams, and in baked goods like brownies, tarts and cakes. 

Top-quality frozen scallops are a great buy, as they're often hard to track down fresh. Remember to defrost them in the fridge before using them, and pat them dry before cooking. Adding a sprinkling of salt to your scallops once thawed will draw out any excess moisture. 

Fresh squash takes time to chop up, especially if your knives aren't very sharp – so frozen, pre-prepared squash is one of the most useful vegetables to have stashed away in the freezer. Packed with nutrients and a mildly sweet flavour, you can use it in soups, roast it, add it to salads, make it into a purée, or even blend it into the sauce for a tasty twist on classic macaroni cheese.

Whether it's patisserie, bread or pizza dough, this section of the freezer aisle has grown rapidly over the past 20 years, with ever more innovative and exciting products available to buy. The waft of a freshly baked loaf (especially one that has taken zero effort to make) is always a winner. You could buy the dough from the supermarket frozen, or you whip up an easy bread dough, allowing for its first rise before freezing it for a future time. 

Which household with children doesn't have a bag of breaded chicken in the freezer? The chicken nugget was invented by Robert C. Baker, a food science professor at Cornell University, USA, in the 1950s. Its popularity has since soared, and you'll find multiple brands of nuggs lining supermarket freezer aisles across the globe. They're great to have on hand, and you can even make healthier, homemade ones by cutting chicken breasts into nugget-sized pieces, coating them in an egg wash, flour mix and breadcrumbs, and keep them in the freezer for better ingredient control. 

Most prawns that are sold frozen are farmed – but look out for wild-caught shellfish from South America, which are fat and juicy. A classic addition to anyone's freezer, frozen prawns have so many uses. You can try them in salads, fish cakes, curries, noodle bowls and stir-fries, or simply marinate them in a garlic and chilli blend and grill them up as a delicious barbecue option. 

A soft-serve dessert similar to ice cream, frozen yogurt was first developed in the 1970s by entrepreneur H.P. Hood. After noticing that consumers wanted a healthier alternative to ice cream, a company called TCBY opened a frozen yogurt shop, which subsequently developed into a large chain. Frozen yogurt is now one of the top sellers in the frozen dessert category, and pairs brilliantly with fresh (or frozen) berries, chopped nuts and chocolate chips for a delicious after-dinner option.

Having observed the Inuit people preserving their fish on ice in Canada, Clarence Birdseye was inspired to create a fast-freezing method to preserve food. The first machine he designed, in 1924, was created to freeze haddock fillets. It wasn't until after World War II, when freezers were more affordable, that domestic consumption of frozen food took off, and the iconic Birdseye brand became internationally adored. Having frozen filets in the freezer is always handy, great for marinating or adding to stews and soups. 

You can buy frozen sweetcorn as kernels or whole cobs, and it tastes as good as fresh. To cook it straight from the freezer, either sauté or stir-fry it – never boil it, as you'll sacrifice losing its delicate taste and texture. Frozen sweetcorn kernels are also great additions to soups, stews and sauces when you're trying to up your veg intake. 

Fresh spinach can be gritty and needs careful washing – plus, you'll need a huge amount of it to make a decent soup. The flavour of frozen spinach, meanwhile, is more intense than fresh, and you can easily portion it out with no waste. Frozen in small bundles, you can simply defrost it in the microwave, in the fridge overnight, or directly in a hot pan before removing from the heat to squeeze out all of the excess water. You can pop frozen spinach directly into sauces, too; just ensure you cook it down so the ice crystals melt and any excess water evaporates. ​

Tricky and time-consuming to make from scratch, puff pastry is always easier to buy frozen. Even big-name chefs will recommend skipping the laborious task of making it, and it’ll likely taste better using a frozen pack anyway. It has a long shelf life and just needs to be thawed overnight in the fridge. Once it’s thawed, remove it from the fridge, allowing the pastry to come to room temperature before working with it.  

Italian immigrants brought ice cream to the UK and US, though it has been around for centuries. Once a luxury, it became a freezer staple in the 1950s when domestic refrigeration became more affordable. Ben & Jerry's is one of the biggest brands around the world, yet despite their huge range of flavours, ice creams with chocolate, vanilla and strawberry in them remain favourites.

It's widely believed that the ready meal was created by American salesman Gerry Thomas, whose company Swanson was left with a massive amount of turkey after Thanksgiving. Taking inspiration from the way meals were served on airlines, the first 'TV dinner' was turkey, gravy, sweet potato, cornbread stuffing and peas – and 10 million of them were sold. Other competitors followed suit, into a market where innovation never ceases to this day. 

It's fair to say everyone loves pizza; the global frozen pizza market is estimated to be around £15.2 billion ($20.4 billion), and it's only rising. Cheese and pepperoni are still the bestsellers, with global consumer trends showing a preference for thick crusts. There's also a growing trend for sourdough bases, and for plant-based and vegan pizzas, all of which are great to have in the freezer.

With a real push towards healthier eating and convenience foods, the quality of meat used in beef burgers has improved dramatically in recent years. That said, when buying frozen burgers, you're best off reading the ingredients label. Some supermarket brands still pump their patties with additives, preservatives and nasties. Instead look for those with few ingredients – it should really only state meat, salt and pepper. 

We have, once again, Clarence Birdseye to thank for this invention, which came to market in 1955. Fish fingers are the best-selling frozen fish product in the UK, and continue to be enjoyed across the globe, too. Loved by children and adults alike, they're an easy and tasty way to incorporate fish into your diet. You don't have to just eat them with frozen fries, either; you can turn them into delicious breaded fish tacos or enjoy stuffed in a sandwich with homemade tartare sauce. 

Where would we be without a bag of these in the freezer? Whether you prefer French fries, chunky chips, oven chips or crinkle-cut, buying them frozen takes all the hassle out of making your own. Recent innovations follow the cheffy trend of triple-cooked chips, which are chunky, light and fluffy on the inside, and crisp on the outside. McCain Foods, a Canadian company founded in 1957, is the world's biggest supplier of frozen chips and potato products. You can fancy them up, too; cook your fries as normal, then grate over aged Parmesan, fresh parsley and shaved black truffle. 

In the 1920s, Clarence Birdseye discovered that quickly blanching and flash-freezing fresh peas preserved their flavour and vivid green colour. To this day, peas are frozen within a few hours of harvest, so they're invariably fresher than any you'd find elsewhere in the shops. They make a great addition to just about any meal, from stews and soups to gravy dinners and fish suppers. 

Now discover the best recipes to make with frozen foods 

Last updated by Lottie Woodrow.