Kitchen Tips How To How to Pack a Cooler To Keep Food Fresh Longer Soggy or crushed food can ruin even the most perfect day at the beach. Instead of always worrying whether or not your food will stay fresh as you're spending time in the great outdoors, we have a few tricks that are guaranteed to keep your favorite munchies safe and sound. By Vanessa Greaves Vanessa Greaves Vanessa Greaves is a Senior Editor at Allrecipes with nearly two decades of experience helping home cooks gain confidence in the kitchen. A self-taught cook who grew up reading cookbooks for fun, Vanessa lives and breathes the challenges faced by busy everyday cooks to get dinner on the table. Allrecipes' editorial guidelines Updated on September 8, 2022 Whether you're camping in the great outdoors, taking a scenic road trip, picnicking, or tailgating, keeping food fresh is always a challenge when you're miles away from the nearest fridge. Here are smart tips for packing a cooler or ice chest so food stays cold longer. How To Pack a Cooler: Top Tips Chill all food and drinks before packing them.Seal food in waterproof containers to keep it dry and uncrushed.Pack food in layers with ice in between each layer. See the illustration below for help.Keep the cooler as full as possible.If you can, have a separate cooler for drinks so the cooler doesn't lose its cool every time someone opens it to get a drink. Keep the cooler in the shadiest spot you can find.Don't drain melted ice water — it actually helps keep food cool longer. Meredith 13 Best Coolers You Can Buy, According to Thousands of Reviews How To Pack a Cooler: An Illustrated Guide Instead of tossing everything in randomly, try to pack your favorite cooler in layers. Use the illustration below as a guide. Bottles of frozen water form the bottom layer, sealed packets of frozen meats are the next layer, with cold drinks on top of the meat. If you're using a separate cooler for drinks (sometimes we like soft-sided coolers for this), then just use layers of ice instead. After the ice or drinks fit a rack into the cooler, place sealed packets of unfrozen foods on the rack. The topmost layer should be the fragile items such as eggs, fruits, or salads in sealed containers. Allrecipes Related Content: 10 Big-Batch Camping Meals to Feed A Crowd 10 Essentials You Should Pack For Every Picnic Our 15+ Best Bite-Sized Snacks For Your Tailgate Buffet Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit