Wondering how to freeze your fresh vegetables? Here’s a quick tutorial for freezing your fresh vegetables, including broccoli, kale, cauliflower, potatoes, and similar items.
Why freeze fresh vegetables?
There are several reasons why you would want to freeze fresh vegetables. Here’s a few reasons:
- Food budgeting – if you’re using a tight food budget, rationing food is important for maintaining your food budget. Freezing your fresh vegetables and portioning into single servings will help you maintain your food budget.
- Food insecurity – possibly you live in an area where there are very few grocery stores and farmers markets. Most likely, you shop for a week or month of food at a time. If so, freezing your fresh vegetables is a good idea so your vegetables will last throughout the month.
- Self quarantine – possibly you are reading this article during the coronavirus self quarantine time period in the USA or beyond. If you’re planning to stay home for the next several weeks or months, freezing your fresh vegetables is important so you can enjoy vegetables throughout the self quarantine.
- Meal prep – freezing your fresh vegetables is also meal prepping. If you cook and portion your fresh vegetable supply, then you’ve essentially meal prepped your own homemade meal kits. This is a great way maintain homemade meals during a busy week.
How to freeze fresh vegetables
Freezing fresh vegetables is easy with a little planning ahead. Here’s the basic idea of what you’ll be doing to freeze your fresh vegetables:
- Step 1: Wash your vegetables.
- Step 2: Prep your vegetables into cubes, slices, or shredded/grate using a food processor or grater.
- Step 3: Steam or boil your vegetables for 3-5 minutes (this is an important step to maintaining freshness and avoiding mushy vegetables.)
- Step 4: Transfer cooked vegetables to icy cold water (use a bowl with very cold water or ice water). Chill vegetables completely, for about 1-2 minutes in the cold water.
- Step 5: Transfer cooled vegetables to the freezer either in plastic bags, on a baking sheet, or in muffin tins.
Tips for freezing vegetables in plastic bags
Store frozen vegetables in ziploc freezer bags for easy rationing and storage. Wash and reuse these bags to minimize waste. Press all of the air out of the bag prior to freezing. Prior to placing food into the freezer bags, consider freezing the vegetables on a baking sheet or in a muffin to prevent food from freezing into one giant block.
Tips for freezing vegetables on a baking sheet
A good practice for freezing vegetables (and almost anything else) is to first freeze them on a flat baking sheet. This is called “open freezing”. This allows you to freeze the vegetables separately to avoid one giant block of frozen vegetables. Place cooked and chilled vegetables onto a parchment lined baking sheet and into the freezer for about four hours, or until frozen solid. Then, transfer vegetables to freezer bags for long term storage.
Tips for freezing vegetables in a muffin tin
Muffin tins are great for freezing fresh vegetables. Once you’ve cooked and chilled your vegetables, portion them into 1/2 cup servings (or less) in a muffin tin. This is helpful for both freezing vegetables without creating one giant block, as well as meal planning and rationing. Lightly grease the muffin tins or line them with parchment paper, however this is generally not necessary because most often the food will easily pop out when frozen. Allow food to freeze for about four hours in muffin tins, or until solid, prior to transferring to a freezer bag.
Tips for freezing meal kits
A good idea when freezing vegetables is to consider making meal kits at the same time. You can easily add several different frozen vegetables, sauces, cooked legumes, cooked whole grains and other items to one bag. This will create an easy-to-reheat meal kit, such as a stir-fry, smoothie, or similar dish.
Learn more about making freezer meal kits: How to ration food + printable 31-day food ration chart
Print this tutorial and save in your recipe binder:
How to freeze fresh vegetables
Equipment
- Freezer ziplock bags (reuse these by washing throughly after each use with soap and water)
- Knife
- Cutting board
- Large cooking pot with steamer basket and lid
- Large bowl with ice water
- Tongs
Shopping List
- Fresh vegetables (such as kale, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, spinach, chard, collard greens)
- 1 tsp Iodized salt
- Water
- Ice cubes (optional)
Instructions
Prep
- Wash vegetables.
- Remove stems and chop vegetables to desired size and shape.
- Fill a large bowl with cold water and salt. Place prepared vegetables into salt water bath. Toss well and let for several minutes to sanitize vegetables. Drain water and rinse salt from vegetables with fresh water. Next, refill bowl with icy cold water and ice (ice is optional).
Cook
- Steam or boil vegetables: 3 minutes for leafy greens, 5-7 minutes for thick and fibrous vegetables. Use a sharp knife to check for doneness of fibrous vegetables.
Flash chill
- Transfer cooked vegetables to icy cold water bowl and submerge them into the cold water (this stops the cooking process and keeps the vegetables crisp).
- Drain completely.
Freeze
- Place vegetables into freezer: Leafy greens can go directly in a ziplock bag. Portion into serving sizes if desired prior to freezing. You can also puree the vegetables and freeze them in ice cube trays to make easy vegetable soups and sauces.Large fibrous vegetables should be spread onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and frozen on the tray for 1 or 2 hours before placing into freezer bag.
Notes
Tips for freezing vegetables in plastic bags
Store frozen vegetables in ziploc freezer bags for easy rationing and storage. Wash and reuse these bags to minimize waste. Press all of the air out of the bag prior to freezing. Prior to placing food into the freezer bags, consider freezing the vegetables on a baking sheet or in a muffin to prevent food from freezing into one giant block.Tips for freezing vegetables on a baking sheet
A good practice for freezing vegetables (and almost anything else) is to first freeze them on a flat baking sheet. This is called "open freezing". This allows you to freeze the vegetables separately to avoid one giant block of frozen vegetables. Place cooked and chilled vegetables onto a parchment lined baking sheet and into the freezer for about four hours, or until frozen solid. Then, transfer vegetables to freezer bags for long term storage.Tips for freezing vegetables in a muffin tin
Muffin tins are great for freezing fresh vegetables. Once you've cooked and chilled your vegetables, portion them into 1/2 cup servings (or less) in a muffin tin. This is helpful for both freezing vegetables without creating one giant block, as well as meal planning and rationing. Lightly grease the muffin tins or line them with parchment paper, however this is generally not necessary because most often the food will easily pop out when frozen. Allow food to freeze for about four hours in muffin tins, or until solid, prior to transferring to a freezer bag.Tips for freezing meal kits
A good idea when freezing vegetables is to consider making meal kits at the same time. You can easily add several different frozen vegetables, sauces, cooked legumes, cooked whole grains and other items to one bag. This will create an easy-to-reheat meal kit, such as a stir-fry, smoothie, or similar dish. Storage: Frozen vegetables will last in the freezer for at least a month, if not many months if frozen properly. This is a great way to ensure you have plenty of leafy greens and vegetables in stock for quick and easy cooking. Tip: Ziplock bags are advised. We suggest avoiding freezing vegetables in glass jars because if the glass jar falls from the freezer it can land on your foot and seriously injure yourself. Tip: Drain your vegetables as thoroughly as possible before placing into your freezer bags. This will help prevent ice crystals from forming which can make your frozen vegetables soggy.Save this post on Pinterest and Facebook:
