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    Home » Blog

    How to Freeze Broccoli

    Published: Jan 29, 2021 by Heidi. This post may contain affiliate links 9 Comments

    Don't you just love Spring? Last year, I had no time to garden, but this year I'm really enjoying my Spring harvest. When I picked six heads of broccoli at once, it was time to start freezing! Want to learn how to freeze broccoli at home? It tastes so much better than the frozen broccoli you buy at the store!

    How to Freeze Broccoli -- Home frozen broccoli tastes so much better than store bought! {OneCreativeMommy.com}

    How to Freeze Broccoli

    RELATED: How to Freeze Corn, Broccoli Salad with Bacon and Cashews

    When you have broccoli coming out your ears, it's time to freeze! Before you begin, make sure you have the following things ready:

    Must have canning tools for bottling fruit {OneCreativeMommy.com} #canningtips #canningtools

    • Something to use to blanch and strain the broccoli. (I use a huge stock pot and a pasta insert. See above.)
    • A large bowl filled with ice for a cold water bath.
    • A colander.
    • Trays or flat containers that will fit in your freezer. (These are for freezing individual florets before you put them in a bag for long-term freezer storage.)
    • Freezer bags or other freezer storage containers.

    Got all the materials? Let's get freezing!

    How to Freeze Broccoli -- Home frozen broccoli tastes so much better than store bought! {OneCreativeMommy.com}

    1. Before you start preparing your broccoli, fill a large stock pot with water and get it heating. (Bring it to a rolling boil.)
    2. Rinse your broccoli in cold water to remove dirt and bugs. (You may need to soak it, but mine just required rinsing.)
    3. Trim broccoli into florets and small pieces. Don't forget about the stems! Use a vegetable peeler or knife to peel off the tough outer skin of the stems, and then chop them up, too. Peeling off the outside layer takes a little bit of time, but the stems will be tender and tasty, so it's worth it.
    4. Blanch the broccoli in the boiling water for two minutes. (I strongly suggest using a pasta insert because it makes it super easy to remove all of the broccoli immediately after two minutes.)
    5. Lift out the pasta insert and allow the water to drain before pouring the blanched broccoli into a large bowl filled with ice water. Allow the broccoli to cool in the water for 3 minutes. (This stops the cooking process.)
    6. Strain the broccoli in the colander. (Get out as much water as possible.)
    7. Arrange broccoli on trays or flat containers in a single layer for freezing. (Choose whatever fits in your freezer. I used brownie pans, my broiling pan and several flat, plastic Tupperware containers.
    8. Freeze for 1-2 hours, and then place broccoli in freezer bags for long-term freezer storage. (Don't forget to label your bags with the date! The broccoli should stay good for a year.)

    In the past, I have skipped freezing my broccoli in a single layer before putting it in freezer bags. Wow, does single layer freezing make a huge difference! Skipping that step leaves you with a frozen solid block of broccoli. That's fine if you want to cook the entire bag at once, but if you only want to prepare a little bit, you're out of luck! Freezing the florets individually before putting them in a freezer bag gives you nicely frozen pieces that can easily be poured out of the bag when you're ready to cook.

    Did you wait too long to harvest your broccoli, and it has gone to flower? Did you know that those flowers are edible? My kids love them. They're really tasty. Try them plain or in a salad. (Images below are linked.)

    Perfect for Summer! Broccoli salad with Bacon and Cashews {OneCreativeMommy.com} #broccolisalad #glutenfree

    Summer Broccoli Salad made with Broccoli Flowers {OneCreativeMommy.com}

    How's your garden doing? I hope it's going well. From experience, I know that some years are good, and some years are not so good. I hope this year's garden does well for you.

    Thanks for stopping by today! Check out more ideas by clicking on the images below.

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    Heidi

     

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    About Heidi

    Hi! I’m Heidi, the sometimes scatterbrained, but always creative mind behind One Creative Mommy. I'm a retired teacher, wife, and mom of three beautiful teenage girls and one adorable fur baby. In my spare time, I love to share my ideas (mistakes and all) with anyone who will listen.

    Learn more about me →

    Comments

    1. Tanya

      May 26, 2016 at 10:15 am

      Thanks you! I found a bunch of broccoli on sale and didn't know what to do with it before it went bad. I was thinking of making soup but I like this idea way better.

      Reply
      • Heidi

        May 26, 2016 at 11:44 am

        Good luck, Tanya. Now you can enjoy it later!

        Reply
    2. kunas

      February 02, 2017 at 11:24 pm

      wow nice food items. really i love Freeze Broccoli. Thanks for sharing this valuable information to our vision. You have posted a trust worthy blog keep sharing
      .Nice article i was really impressed by seeing this article, it was very interesting and it is very useful for me

      Reply
    3. pinoy teleserye

      April 05, 2017 at 4:29 am

      Really love to eat brocolli it's not waste of time to reading like this article if you really interesting .. Thank you for sharing with us..
      Pinoy TV Teleserye

      Reply
    4. jumbo

      May 04, 2017 at 1:09 am

      Thanks for sharing the valuable information, very helpful indeed. Keep on writing the similar articles. waiting for your next articles.

      Reply
    5. Maria Helena

      April 03, 2018 at 3:46 pm

      Thank you very much for sharing this information! I've been researching this for a long time, and the way you do it is the easiest. Thank you!

      Reply
    6. Nancy Huff-Krach

      June 04, 2020 at 5:45 am

      I have tried many times in the past to freeze broccoli and it always gets this odd smell and taste when I open it to cook it. I swear I have tried every way to freeze it! Do you know why? Has this ever happened to you?

      Reply
      • Heidi

        June 04, 2020 at 11:06 am

        Hi, Nancy. My broccoli has turned out well. I don’t know what would cause it to turn out the way you described. That must be frustrating. Sorry I don’t have any new ideas for you.

        Reply
    7. p2p2

      December 12, 2021 at 1:36 am

      WELL SAid

      Reply

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    Hi! I’m Heidi, the sometimes scatterbrained, but always creative mind behind One Creative Mommy. I'm a retired teacher, wife, and mom of three beautiful teenage girls and one adorable fur baby. In my spare time, I love to share my ideas (mistakes and all) with anyone who will listen.

    More about me →

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