Burrata looks like a ball of fresh mozzarella from the outside, but cut into it and a soft, creamy filling spills out, which is exactly why burrata doesn’t behave like most cheese in the refrigerator. That filling is also the reason burrata has one of the shortest shelf lives of any cheese you’ll bring home from the store.
Does burrata go bad?
The short answer: Yes, and considerably faster than most cheeses. Burrata is a fresh, unaged cheese made of a thin mozzarella shell wrapped around stracciatella, a filling of shredded mozzarella curd mixed with cream, and that cream-soaked filling is highly perishable. Most producers intend for burrata to be eaten within about 2 to 3 days of purchase and ideally the same day it’s cut open; even sealed and refrigerated, it’s generally best used within a week of its packaging date. It should always be stored submerged in its liquid, never frozen if you can help it, since freezing wrecks the texture, and kept refrigerated at all times, since it should never sit at room temperature for more than 2 hours. Separately, burrata falls into the same food safety category the FDA and CDC specifically flag for fresh, soft cheeses: a real Listeria risk that’s worth knowing about if you’re pregnant, over 65, or immunocompromised.
For general guidance on storing dairy, see the food storage guide, and for how other fresh cheeses compare, see the guides to whether cottage cheese goes bad and whether goat cheese goes bad.
Does Burrata Go Bad: At a Glance
Unopened, refrigerated
Best within about a week of the packaging date, check the label
Opened (cut), refrigerated
Same day is best; commonly fine for 2 to 3 days, some guidance up to 5
Room temperature
No more than 2 hours
Freezer
Technically possible but not recommended; texture suffers badly
Storage method
Keep submerged in its liquid or brine, refrigerated, in its original container
Why it spoils fast
The stracciatella filling is shredded, cream-soaked curd with a lot of surface area
Who should be extra cautious
Pregnant people, adults 65+, and anyone immunocompromised, due to Listeria risk
Key Takeaways
Burrata is two different textures in one cheese: a mozzarella shell and a cream-soaked shredded curd filling called stracciatella, and the filling is far more perishable than the shell.
It’s meant to be eaten fresh, ideally within a couple of days of purchase and the same day it’s cut open, not stored like a typical block of cheese.
Always keep it submerged in its liquid; draining and storing it dry lets it dry out and spoil faster.
Fresh, soft cheeses as a category, burrata included, are one of the specific foods the FDA and CDC warn pregnant people, older adults, and immunocompromised individuals to be cautious with because of Listeria risk, and pasteurization of the milk doesn’t fully eliminate that risk if contamination happens later in production.
Freezing is technically possible but generally discouraged, since it breaks down
