How to Freeze Spinach
It's really easy to learn how to freeze spinach for smoothies! Do this, and you'll always have a stock of fresh spinach to add to a tasty morning smoothie.
Frozen Spinach for Smoothies
Adding spinach to your smoothies is an excellent way to add more nutritional value to your drink. So learning how to freeze spinach is the best way to ensure you always have fresh greens for later use.
Green smoothies are a great way to start the morning off on the right foot. This green apple smoothie is on of my favorites! You can use spinach in this island green smoothie too.
Really, you can turn a lot of your favorite smoothie recipes into green smoothies by adding a handful or two of spinach into the blender.
Fresh spinach goes bad in the fridge so quickly, so freezing it helps reduce food waste! It's a great way to save a little bit of money. Don't let that leftover spinach you bought for fresh salads go to waste.
Plus, you can search for reduced price fresh spinach leaves at your local grocery store, wash it well and freeze it. Grocery stores tend to mark down fresh leafy greens when they're close to their expiration date. They're still perfectly ok to eat, but you get the benefit of a reduced price!
Whatever way you choose to freeze spinach for smoothies, you'll always be able to rely on that source of easy extra nutrition!
Why You'll Love Freezing Spinach
- Freezing your own spinach ensures that you'll have fresh spinach whenever you need it!
- It's very cost-effective to freeze your own spinach.
- Spinach is packed full of vitamins and nutrients. Having it on hand is a great way to add nutritional value to your smoothies quickly.
Ingredients and Supplies
Here's what you will need to make your own frozen spinach at home:
- fresh spinach: You can use your regular whole spinach leaves or baby spinach leaves! Either will freeze well.
- coconut water: You can use regular water, but freezing spinach in coconut water will provide even more nutrients to your smoothies.
As far as supplies go, here are some things you might need, depending on the method you choose for freezing your spinach leaves.
- salad spinner: An excellent salad spinner (affiliate) is a great way to dry off your leaves after washing them. You can also use paper towels for drying.
- zip-top bags: Purchase large gallon-size or quart-size bags. As long as they are freezer-safe bags, it doesn't matter what size they are.
- ice cube trays: Silicone ice cube trays or popsicle molds are a great way to freeze spinach.
- high-powered blender: Using a high-powered blender (affiliate) or food processor will create smooth and evenly blended frozen spinach cubes.
Two Ways to Freeze Spinach
Choose one of these two ways to best freeze spinach! Both are great options, so find whatever is easiest for you and run with it.
Freeze in Zip Top Bags
Clean your spinach and dry completely. The easiest way to do this is to wash the spinach well and then place it in a salad spinner (affiliate) to easily get rid of excess water.
Then, place the spinach on paper towels or dish towels to fully dry. Once dry, you can divide the spinach into separate freezer bags or place it all on in one bag together.
Squeeze as much air out of the bag as you can and zip it tight. Then, lay it flat in the freezer so it freezes evenly and doesn't take up much space in the freezer.
Frozen Spinach Cubes
Place spinach and coconut water (or plain water) in blender or food processor. Blend until smooth.
Then, pour the spinach puree into clean ice trays and place in the freezer. Once the cubes are frozen, pop them out and store them in a large plastic bag or airtight container in the freezer.
Take one or two spinach ice cubes out at a time and include them in your favorite smoothie recipe.
Hot Tip: If you don't have ice cube trays, you can freeze pureed spinach in muffin tins! Let it freeze completely, pop them out, and then store in a freezer-safe bag or airtight container.
How Long to Freeze Spinach
Freezing fresh spinach in a bag will last up to a year. Make sure to squeeze as much air out as possible, or vacuum seal the bags.
Check it periodically for freezer burn so that it doesn't go to waste. If you see ice crystals beginning to form on the spinach, use it soon!
The frozen spinach ice cubes will last in the freezer about 3 months.
Uses for Frozen Spinach
There's only a few smoothies in which I don't like to add spinach, but for the most part I don't mind it. Spinach has little-to-no taste in a smoothie, so it pairs well with many different flavors.
It's a great add-in for this blueberry greek yogurt smoothie and this pineapple smoothie. And adding it into this mixed berry smoothie is great since it's full of Vitamin C! A healthy and nutritious on-the-go immune system booster.
While frozen spinach is perfect for smoothies, you can also use it in a variety of pasta dishes like this creamy spinach pasta. Throw it in this spinach turkey orzo too!
How to Store Smoothies
There are so many ways to easily store leftovers from spinach smoothies. Depending on when you want to drink your leftover smoothie, there are a few great options on how to store it.
I have a whole post about how to store leftover smoothie, but here's a quick summary:
- Freezer: You can pour your smoothie into ice cube trays or popsicle molds and freeze it. Then let it thaw, or add it to a blender with milk and drink up! Alternatively, you can do the same by freezing your smoothie in Ziplock bags and laying them flat in the freezer.
- Fridge: Store leftover smoothie in mason jars, or another airtight container, and give it a good shake when you're ready to drink it.
- Freeze ingredients: If you're a fan of a fresh smoothie, you can still make things easier on yourself by freezing the ingredients for your smoothies. Measure out the ingredients for your smoothie, place them in zip-top bags or ice cube trays, and they're ready to pop in the blender as needed!
Madison's Pro Smoothie Tips:
To make sure you are maxing out your blender's capabilities, always load up your blender pitcher in the following order:
- liquids first
- then soft fruits or vegetables
- then greens
- then frozen fruits and ice
- any powders on top
Then let that baby go! If anything gets stuck, pause. Use a spoon or spatula to move things around and get the blades moving again.
More Helpful How-Tos
- How to Make A Smoothie without Yogurt or Banana
- How to Freeze Bananas
- How to Freeze Peaches
- How to Clean a Blender
- How to Grease a Muffin Pan
- How to Make a Smoothie Thicker or Thinner
Frozen Spinach
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 ounces spinach
- water
Instructions
Freezing Whole Spinach Leaves
- Clean your spinach and dry completely. The easiest way to do this is to wash the spinach well and then place it in a salad spinner to easily get rid of excess water.
- Then, place the spinach on paper towels or dish towels to fully dry. Once dry, you can divide the spinach into separate freezer bags or place it all on in one bag together.
- Squeeze as much air out of the bag as you can and zip it tight. Then, lay it flat in the freezer so it freezes evenly and doesn't take up much space in the freezer.
Making Spinach Cubes
- Place spinach and coconut water in blender or food processor. Blend until smooth.
- Then, pour the spinach puree into clean ice trays and place in the freezer. Once the cubes are frozen, pop them out and store them in a large plastic bag or airtight container in the freezer.
- Take one or two spinach ice cubes out at a time and include them in your favorite smoothie recipe.
