How to Freeze Green Beans

Need to get more veggies into your dinner routine? Then check out these simple steps to learn how to freeze green beans. You'll have fresh frozen veggies right at your finger tips whenever you need them!

How to Freeze Green Beans

It's no secret that life gets busy and we all have veggies that we forget in our fridge. They sit in that vegetable crisper drawer that essentially just becomes their coffin because let's be honest, we remember they are there for a few days and then forget until it's far too late.

The good news is that there is a solution to this seemingly never-ending problem, and it's very simple. Freezing your fresh vegetables is a wonderful way to preserve their quality and freshness and keep them from spoiling in the fridge.

Once I learned how to freeze green beans, I never turned back. Fresh green beans are so much better than canned, but I could never use them up before they went bad in the refrigerator.

You can use fresh frozen green beans in tons of different green beans recipes! These oven roasted green beans are a favorite side dish for quick dinners, and there's so many other tasty recipes to use them in too.

Learn how to freeze green beans so that you can have delicious and fresh veggies whenever you need them!

Why You'll Love this Storage Method

Once you start freezing your own veggies for future use, you won't turn back! They have a better texture than store-bought and even a better flavor:

• Stock up on your veggies during green bean seasons when they are more affordable and more fresh! You can visit your local farmers market for extra fresh produce and then freeze it to have tasty veggies when they are out of season.
• This is a wonderful long term storage method that does not require special tools or tons of skill. Any cook can learn to freeze green beans and other veggies themselves!
• You can ensure the quality of your veggies when you buy and freeze them yourself. Frozen beans at the grocery store are often not the freshest quality before they go into the freezer, resulting in less than perfect green beans.

Ingredients

You only need one ingredient for this quick storage method, and that is the freshest green beans that you can find:

• fresh green beans: Grab a big bunch of green beans at the farmer's market, grocery store, or even you own garden. There are many different varieties of green beans, and all of them will work with this method. Freezing is the easiest method of home food preservation and anyone can do it! For best results, just ensure that you have very fresh beans before cleaning them, flash freezing and storing.

Instructions

Follow these simple steps to freeze your fresh green beans. It's extremely easy and so incredibly useful! So here's what you'll need to know:

Wash and clean your raw green beans well and then dry them with paper towels or a clean dish towel.

Then spread the fresh beans into a single layer on a baking sheet and place that sheet into the freezer for their initial freezer.

One thing you need to know: There are many different types of green beans: snap beans, pole beans, string beans, bush beans, etc. For some varieties, you may need to use a sharp knife to cut off the stem end. Some varieties may benefit from the extra step of the blanching process as well. So if you do not have success with the type you are using, don't give up! Keep experimenting until you have the perfect freezing process for the type of beans that you prefer to use.

Allow the green beans to flash freeze for 1-2 hours. Then transfer to an airtight freezer containers or freezer bags. I like to use reusable silicone sandwich bags.

Store in the freezer for 2-3 months and enjoy with the whole family whenever you need an easy and healthy side dish!

How to Use Frozen Green Beans

There are so many ways to use frozen green beans. For a quick and easy dinner side dish, you can whip up a batch of garlic brown butter green beans. Air fryer frozen green beans are a favorite too.

Around the holidays, green bean casserole is a popular dish and these frozen green beans are perfect for that! You can even use them in a stir fry or other fun recipes.

What to Serve with Green Beans

What can't you serve with tasty green beans? It's the perfect healthy side dish for any meal you can imagine. Whether you're serving Asian meatballs or easy pesto salmon this is a fabulous side dish to pair alongside a hearty meal.

One pan chicken piccata is a really quick meal for busy evenings, so whip up a batch of green beans to go with it.

It's a great side to serve with hearty protein like grilled pork tenderloin or grilled chicken breast too!

Tips for Success

With a few simple tips you can have the most success with the easy steps required to learn how to freeze green beans:

• Toss out an limp or mushy green beans from the bundle. This will help ensure you are only freezing the highest quality veggies.
• Squeeze the excess air out of the plastic bags before storing. You'll save a great deal of freezer space that way and you'll also help prevent freezer burn.
• Label and date your containers and freezer bags so that you can keep track of the batches you freeze. This is especially important if you are batch freezing multiple pounds of green beans.
• To easily wash and dry you green beans, use a salad spinner (affiliate)! You can get a lot of the excess water off of them after washing and then just pat dry before adding to a baking tray.

FAQ

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