Freezing vegetables is a super fantastic way to save money, stockpile some healthy food that is either on sale or that you grew in your garden and save time for cooking later dinner.
The year that we gardened, we went a little crazy garden planning. And ended up with WAAAY more vegetables than we could possibly use before they all went bad. This left us looking for the best ways to preserve our extra vegetables.
So, we started asking, can you freeze vegetables?
The answer for pretty much every vegetable is YES! Freezing vegetables is actually quite simple most of the time. But you do need to know how to freeze vegetables and follow some specific tips for each vegetable as some need different preparation than others.
Why might you need to think about freezing vegetables?
Well, of course, if you end up in the situation we did above where we grew more vegetables than we could possible use before they go bad would be one reason that you might need to start freezing vegetables. Also, if you find a vegetable on a fantastic sale you might want to buy a bunch and freeze some for later when they are not in season and are quite a bit more expensive.
Another reason to think about freezing vegetables is if you want to make meal prep go faster at a later time. For example, we like to make zuccini noodles and then freeze them so that they are ready to defrost and use in meals like zucchini noodle and beef casserole.
Supplies for Freezing Vegetables
Each different vegetable may need some additional supplies, but there are a few very basic supplies that you may want to have when freezing any type of vegetable.
Ziplock bags – to make sure that you keep your vegetables stored well in the freezer.
Permanent Marker – to mark type of vegetable and freeze date on the bag.
Knife – to cut up and prepare the vegetables
Chest freezer – in case you want to go freezing crazy so you will have plenty of storage.
Handy List to keep track of your Freezer Storage
How to Freeze Vegetables
OK, now that you know if you can freeze vegetables, why you might want to and some very general supplies you will need let’s talk about how to freeze vegetables!
Most vegetables are really super easy and fast to freeze. Some need a little more preparation than others as some need to be cooked in some way first while others can get washed and go straight into the freezer.
Here are guides to freezing several different types of vegetables:
How to Freeze Spaghetti Squash
How to Freeze Shredded Zucchini
How to Freeze Potatoes as French Fries
How to Freeze Steamed Broccoli
How to Freeze Avocados – avocados are TECHNICALLY a fruit, but are used like a vegetable, so we figured it was worth including here.
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