Are you over run with beets? Maybe you grew too many in your garden. Maybe the assistant to the general manager at work brings them to the office non-stop. However you may have ended up with a ton of beets, you are probably wondering how to store them. Well, not only can you freeze beets, but you can do so in several (really easy) ways!
If you want to learn some of the best food preservation techniques that can't be...beet...keep on reading!
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Can You Freeze Beets?
Yes, you can freeze beets in several ways and forms. They can be frozen sliced, diced, chopped, shredded, grated, and more! You can leave the skin on, peel them, cook them, or freeze them raw. Thawing them out is as easy as sticking them in the oven, microwave, or your favorite soup or salad recipe.
Keep yourself in a steady supply of frozen beets because they can keep for up to a year!
Beets actually freeze very well. Today we are going to cover several different freezing methods so you can use them no matter how you want to prepare your beets.
This method works for all kinds of beets. You can also freeze beet greens using the same method as Freezing Bok Choy and freezing cabbages. Make sure you start out with high quality, very fresh and firm beets. If you freeze something that's low quality, it's going to degrade that much more during the freezing process.
Can you freeze beets without cooking them?
Can you? Yes.
Should you? No, unlike when freezing pumpkin, you should not freeze beets without cooking (or at least blanching) them first.
Why? Whole beets when frozen have a significant change in their texture and quality. They will have a grainy texture that is not unlike eating a handful of purple sand (ok, maybe that's an exaggeration, but it's still pretty bad).
You can, technically, still freeze beets that have been sliced, diced, chopped, or otherwise separated from the whole of the beet. But, in general, foods like fruits, vegetables, roots, tubers, etc. all fair much better in sub-zero temperatures after they have been blanched or cooked.
Freezing Stats
| Blanched | not if cut 2 minutes (1-2 lbs greens) |
| Prep Style | Raw Cooked Chopped Diced Grated Mashed Minced Pureed Shredded |
| Time To Freeze | 2 to 4 hours (flash freeze) 12 to 24 (deep freeze) |
| Time to Thaw | a few hours in the fridge can cook in oven or microwave without thawing |
| Uses | Quick dinners when you don't have time to cook salads soups |
| Freezer Life | up to 12 months |
Frozen Vs Non-frozen
| Freezer Life | Fridge Life | Shelf Life |
| up to 1 year | 2 to 3 weeks | 3 to 5 days |
Supplies
You are going to need the following supplies:
- beets
- cookie sheet (for flash freezing)
- blender or food processor (for puree)
- ice cube trays (for puree)
- Freezer bags
- Sharpie or marker
- Freezer
- mandolin slicer with protective gloves (for sliced)
- knife and cutting board (for various cuts)
- colander (for washing)
- vegetable cleaning brush
- large stock pot (steamed or boiled)
- Ninja Foodi (good for roasting and air frying)
How To Freeze Beets
We will look at the many ways you can freeze beets that will keep for up to a year. First, though, we will look at how to flash freeze. It is a very useful method that is used in this, and many of our other freezing guides.
Need to get all your food preserved easily? Check out the Ultimate Guide To Freezing Food so that you can fill your freezer without in minimal time.
How To Flash Freeze
Flash freezing is when you do a partial freeze of your food before bagging and storing for a deep freeze.
- Cover a cookie sheet in aluminum foil or parchment paper
- Arrange your food, sliced beets for example, in a single, non-overlapping layer
- Stick the cookie sheet into the freezer for 2 to 4 hours just long enough for them to start to harden and have no outside moisture
- Pull out the cookie sheet and put the slices into a pre-labeled freezer bag and put back in the 0freezer for long term storage.
Now, let's look at the various methods of freezing.
Cooked
Below you will find a few ways to freeze cooked beets. We will include Steamed/Boiled, Roasted, Chopped/Diced/Sliced with Blanching, and how to blanch and freeze Beet Greens.
Steamed/Boiled
- Boil or steam your beets with the skin on (it is much easier to slip off after cooking)
- They are ready once they are tender enough to stick a form in them.
- Use a knife and cutting board to cut into slices
- Put the slices on a prepared cookie sheet for flash freezing
- After flash freezing, put the beets into pre-labeled bags and put in the freezer
Roasted (with or without skin)
- Cut into small pieces and spread in single layer on a cookie sheet
- Coat them in olive oil and your preferred seasonings
- Roast in oven at 350° for around 20 minutes, give or take (ready when fork can penetrate)
- Cool and then stick pan in freezer to flash freeze for 2 to 4 hours
- Once flash frozen, put them into freezer bags and into the freezer
- Reheat in oven or in microwave
Chopped, Diced, and Sliced
- You can either blanch beforehand or not (but non blanched beets can have a grainy texture)
- Cut them into small pieces and layer them onto a cookie sheet
- Put the cookie sheet into the freezer to flash freeze for 2 to 4 hours
- Once done, put them in a freezer bag and freeze
Beet Greens
- Choose the freshest and most tender beet greens you can
- Blanche up to 2 lbs for 2 minutes
- Flash freeze if you can
- bag and freeze
Raw
Chopped, Diced, Grated, Minced, Shredded, and Sliced
- Pick your preferred beet freezing form
- If possible, flash freeze them first. The more you cut a vegetable the more moisture is released. When you are freezing in any of these forms they will clump and freeze together if immediately put into a bag.
- After flash freezing, place them in a pre-labeled bag
- Put in the freezer
Pureed or Mashed
- If you want to puree your beets, just cut them up and put them in your food processor.
- If you are freezing Beet Mash, make that first and then continue to the next step
- Take out an ice cube tray and pour the beet puree or mash into each of the reservoirs
- Stick the tray in the freezer for a few hours (2 to 4 should work) until they are starting to freeze
- Pop the cubes out and put the in a freezer bag for long term freezing.
For Beet Mash, you can also use the same process as freezing mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes.
Often Asked
Q1. Can you freeze pickled beets?
You can freeze pickled beets for up to a year. Place them in a freezer bag, plastic storage container, or Mason Jar, then add the pickling brine along with the beets. Remember to leave head room so the container will not break or rupture when the brine expands. Also, make sure they are in a freezer friendly container. Sticking the glass jar they come in, unless it's homemade in a Mason Jar, will crack and possibly shatter when freezing.
If you need more help getting your foods frozen, check out the Ultimate Freezing Food Guide for a complete quick start reference so that you can have a well-stocked freezer.
