This past weekend I harvested about 2 lbs. of green beans from the garden. There were quite a few more that needed another week or two before harvesting, so I’ll pick those next week. I decided that instead of eating them right away, I’d freeze them. I froze some “whole” to use as a side dish, and froze the rest in shorter pieces to use later in soup.
Fresh green beans must be blanched before frozen. Blanching process shown below…
The first harvest
Rinse and remove stem tips
To blanch: Boil green beans for 2-3 minutes. Then…
Immediately transfer the green beans to a bowl filled with water and ice cubes. Let sit for 5-10 minutes. Drain and pat dry.
Freeze in freezer baggies or plastic container.
We can have these garden fresh green beans soon and in the fall in a yummy soup!
Be sure to try my super popular Oven Roasted Garlic Green Beans recipe!
Kindra says
Thanks for showing this! We planted our first garden this year and have beans in there. 🙂 I have no idea what I’m doing. It’s sure fun to see “how our garden grows”. It’s simply amazing!
Michelle says
Thanks for the refresher on beans. I’ve finally planted some this year and I hope to get enough for roasting and for freezing.
Devon says
Wow- I had no idea it was that simple! What are some other veggies that can be blanched and frozen? Thanks!
Fairy Dust says
I did this a few years ago after ending up with way more veggies than we could eat from a local farm’s FSA box, but what I found later upon thawing was that no matter how well I’d patted dry before freezing, my beans came back really soggy and limp (much more so than frozen greenbeans I buy in the store then cook). I could use them in soups and stews, but not in any way where they needed to be fresh/crisp like a stir fry. It was a little disappointing, although it’s quite possibly I blanched them too long or didn’t dry them enough. Have you experienced this problem? I’d love to give it another shot if we end up with too much again this summer.
Jennifer says
I hope I get that many green beans from our plants. This is our first year planting them. Did you do bush beans or pole beans?
Jeanne says
I just blanched some yesterday and this is what I do. So far so good.
After I blanche and let sit in ice water, I put them on a cookie sheet on a sheet of saran and freeze them (separated) so when I put them in the bag they are loose and don’t stick to each other. Like you, dating the bag is a must. Have done the same with squash and broccoli (when I get a big bag at Costco and we get tired of it before the bag is used up). Give it a try.
Kay Reed says
I too was disapointed with the green beans I froze last year. They were also limp and I question if I should give it another try this year. If they’re not crisp I really don’t care to bother doing it again. Did I do something wrong?
Terri101010 says
I’m so glad to learn about this! I would love to keep my green beans longer. Thanks for the tip!
Laura says
U had responded to a question I had about freezing fruits/veggies and I can’t find it!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m getting TONS of fruit/vegs for practically nothing and want to stock as much as i can in the freezer. Can u please email me that link??? Thanks a bunch!
Laura
Megan Galko says
Last year I froze 6 gallon-sized Ziploc bags of green beans and never bothered to blanch them. I just snapped the ends, threw them in the bag and when I wanted to eat them I took out the amount I wanted, rinsed in warm water and steamed them in the microwave. Perfection!
Tina says
I am so motivated by your post. The green beans are on sale this week at the store. I wish I would have grown some in my garden.
Thanks again.
Susan Plihall says
I wasn’t able to pick beans for a couple of days and when I went out today I had way more than I could eat in a week. I guess I’ll be freezing beans tonight. This will be my first try at it but I know I’ll love my fresh green beans all winter.
Nancy Snyder says
I see that a lot of blanching is going on and honestly I have never blanched a greenbean. In over 30 years of gardening here’s how I was taught and still do.
Pick green beans
Wash and cut off end tips
Break or cut into whatever size you want or leave whole
Grab a freezer container/zip lock bag/ or now I use food saver and shrink them
When ready to cook, dump into pan and add water to cover or just put in soup/stew. For stir fry defrost in bowl of cold water and then drain and add to stir fry
Marge Bowman says
Here it is January in Michigan and I’m commenting on the garden postings lol, but here’s why…I froze a ton of green beans last summer and read on some other blog from the comments that they never ever blanch them, so I thought I’d try it and save a step. I froze 12 ziploc bags like this. My mistake. I should have froze one and then tried it before I did the whole summer crop like this because I made some last night and they were gross. Limp and soggy, not even worth eating. I ended up frying them in bacon grease like my husband likes them and he said they were edible that way. I’m sooo disappointed and next summer I will DEFINITELY be blanching! Lesson learned!!!