Food Thawing Time Calculator for Safe Defrosting

What you’ll see after you calculate

This food thawing time calculator for safe fridge, water, and microwave methods gives practical starting points tailored to your cut and thickness. You’ll see an estimated time, method notes, and formatted weights in your chosen units so you can plan confidently.

Safety basics by method

• Fridge (1–4 °C): Safest and most even. Place on a tray on a low shelf to catch drips.
• Cold water (<5 °C): Package must be sealed. Submerge and change the water every 30 minutes.
• Microwave defrost: Best for small items. Use short bursts, rotate, and cook immediately.

What affects thaw time

Thicker and denser cuts take longer than thin pieces at the same weight. Poultry and fish often thaw faster than big beef or pork roasts. For very small items like shrimp, cold water is usually quickest with minimal quality loss. Keep raw juices away from ready-to-eat foods and sanitize surfaces after prep.

Refreezing & cook-from-frozen

Refreezing is acceptable after a fridge thaw if the food remained cold. Avoid refreezing after water or microwave thawing unless the food has been cooked. Thin items can be cooked from frozen—start at lower heat, add 30–50% time, and finish to a safe internal temperature.

The model blends weight-based baselines with modifiers for cut type, thickness, and method. Fridge time scales in hours per kilogram with a slower curve for large roasts or whole birds. Cold water scales in minutes per kilogram and increases with thickness. Microwave time scales in minutes per kilogram but is capped for thin items to reduce partial cooking.

These numbers are planning guides, not guarantees—packaging, starting temperature, and appliance performance vary. Always finish by cooking to a safe internal temperature for the specific food.

• USDA — Safe thawing methods: Fridge, cold water, microwave; no counter.