We often use frozen fruit in our smoothies and may use frozen spinach in our spinach lasagna, but the idea of freezing herbs is a bit foreign. The truth is, freezing herbs is a great way to preserve your fresh herbs and save time in the kitchen.
3 Benefits of Freezing Herbs
- You have an overload of herbs due to pruning and harvesting the herbs from your garden.
- You purchased herbs from the market and want to make sure they don’t waste away in the refrigerator.
- During the colder seasons, you may not have access to herbs due to your climate.
- Having pre-chopped herbs on hand is a great time saver.
Best Practices
Herbs can be frozen in oil, butter, broth, or water. I prefer to use oil because the oil will reduce your chances of browning or freezer burn. I recommend freezing hardy herbs such as rosemary, thyme, sage, and oregano. Delicate herbs such as basil, cilantro, parsley, mint, and dill, don’t freeze well. The freezing process changes the taste so I don’t recommend it.
Create frozen cubes with combinations of herbs. Freezing herbs is such a great way to enjoy fresh herbs year-round. You can add your frozen herb cubes to sauces, soups, stews, meats, pasta, veggies…the possibilities are endless!
How to Freeze Herbs
- Separate the leaf of the herb from the stem.
- Chop herbs in a size based on your preference.
- Place chopped herbs into an ice tray until it’s ⅔ full.
- Add your oil, butter, broth, or water to the ice tray (you can also use combinations such as ½ Olive oil and ½ Butter).
- Cover with plastic wrap and freeze overnight.
- Remove from the freezer, pop each cube out, and immediately place them in a container or zip lock bag. Be sure to label the herbs indicating the type.