Name: Blanching Green Beans for Freezing
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 2 min
Total time: 22 min
Yield: 1
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 quart of green beans (or as many as you have but work in 1 quart batches); Water; Ice

This post may contain affiliate links, view our disclosure policy for details.

Jump to Recipe

Blanching green beans is quick and simple. Blanch green beans to help them stay crunchy and keep their color while stored in the freezer.

Lady Lee’s Note…

My garden isn’t complete without green beans! Growing green beans is fun and relatively easy. My growing beans page has all the growing information. The plants produce a ton of beans, but even if you don’t grow your own green beans, they are very available at markets during the season.

I try to take advantage of this vegetable’s growing season and preserve as much as I can. We love lacto-fermented green beans around here, however freezing them is my favorite way of preserving them for long-term.

What is Blanching…

Blanching is important for almost all vegetables before freezing. It’s simple and quick. Here is a great explanation from the National Center for Home Food Preservation.

“Blanching (scalding vegetables in boiling water or steam for a short time) is a must for almost all vegetables to be frozen. It stops enzyme actions which can cause loss of flavor, color and texture.

Blanching cleanses the surface of dirt and organisms, brightens the color and helps retard loss of vitamins. It also wilts or softens vegetables and makes them easier to pack.”

You can read more here.

Is Blanching Required Before Freezing?

There are different opinions about this. It’s not required, however, the quality of your food will not be great after a few months in the freezer if you don’t take the time to blanch.

I’d say, if you know that you will use your green beans within three months, you don’t have to blanch them. If you are going to store them in the freezer for longer than that, then I think blanching is worth your time.

Ingredients…

Green beans
Water and Ice

Tools…

Step-by-Step Instructions…

Step one – trim and cut the green beans. Wash the green beans and trim both ends. If you’d like, you can cut the beans into smaller pieces as I did here, however, you can also blanch and freeze them in one long piece.

Step two – blanch. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the beans and let them stay in the boiling water for 2-3 minutes.

Step three – ice bath. Use a skimmer ladle to get the beans out of the water and into a bowl filled with water and ice. This will help to stop the cooking.

green beans in one layer on a baking sheet

Step four – freeze. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and then a paper towel (or a kitchen towel). Scoop the beans from the ice water onto the paper towel and pat them dry. Remove the paper towel and set the beans in one layer on the baking sheet. Cover with plastic food wrap and place in the freezer for 24 hours.

Step five – pack. Remove from the freezer and pack your beans in a ziplock bag. Lable and return to the freezer.

How to use Frozen Green Beans…

In casseroles – try adding frozen green beans to this delicious Mediterranean zucchini casserole. Or any other casserole!
In stews and soups – try adding green beans to this Southwest chicken chili, Israeli bean soup, on many others.
Main dishes – add frozen green beans to a one-pan chicken and veggies dish, these Israeli meatballs, or turkey meatballs.
In salads – add them to this delicious Mediterranean egg salad, this pumpkin feta Salad, or any other salad. Make sure to thaw the beans first. Then dry them with a paper towel. If you want them a bit softer, steam them for a couple of minutes before adding them to a salad.
Steamed – my favorite green bean recipe is this simple green beans with butter and garlic. Follow the same process using your frozen green beans.

How Long Will Green Beans Last in the Freezer?

Blanched green beans can last in the freezer for about a year. They’ll probably be just fine even longer than that, however, it’s recommended to try and use frozen vegetables within a year.

Kitchen Notes…

Cut – you can leave the beans long or you can cut them into small pieces, it’s up to you. Try to think about the way you are going to use them later and cut them accordingly.
Salt – some say that adding salt to the boiling water when blanching adds flavor to the beans. I’ve never tried.
Packing – you can skip freezing the beans on a baking sheet. Instead, dry them, place them in a food vacuum bag, and vacuum and freeze. I like the baking sheet method because they freeze separately and I can grab however many I want later. If you skip this step they sometimes stick to each other and it’s hard to separate them if you don’t want to use the whole bag.

I hope that this tutorial was helpful! Freezing green beans is an easy way to preserve them and having them frozen and ready for use in the freezer is very convenient!

Blanching Green Beans for Freezing

Yield: Quart of green beans

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 2 minutes

Additional Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 22 minutes

How to blnch green beans before freezing so your green beans can keep thier quality and last longer in the freezer.

Ingredients

1 quart of green beans (or as many as you have but work in 1 quart batches)
Water
Ice

Instructions

Prep - Wash the green beans and trim both ends. If you’d like, you can cut the beans into smaller pieces, however, you can also blanch and freeze them in one long piece.
Blanch - Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the beans and let them stay in the boiling water for 2-3 minutes.
Cool - Set a large mixing bowl with water and ice nearby. Use a skimmer ladle to get the beans out of the boiling water and into the bowl of ice water, this will help to stop the cooking.
Freeze - Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and then a paper towel (or a kitchen towel). Scoop the beans from the ice water onto the paper towel and pat them dry. Remove the paper towel and set the beans in one layer on the baking sheet. Cover with plastic food wrap and place in the freezer for 24 hours.
Pack - Remove from the freezer and pack your beans in a ziplock bag. Lable and return to the freezer.

Notes

Kitchen Notes...

Cut – you can leave the beans long or you can cut them into small pieces, it’s up to you. Try to think about the way you are going to use them later and cut them accordingly.
Salt – some say that adding salt to the boiling water when blanching adds flavor to the beans. I’ve never tried.
Packing – you can skip freezing the beans on a baking sheet. Instead, dry them, place them in a food vacuum bag, and vacuum and freeze. I like the baking sheet method because they freeze separately and I can grab however many I want later. If you skip this step they sometimes stick to each other and it’s hard to separate them if you don’t want to use the whole bag.
Storage - Blanched green beans can last in the freezer for about a year. They’ll probably be just fine even longer than that, however, it’s recommended to try and use frozen vegetables within a year.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 1 Serving Size: 1 quart
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 175Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 15mgCarbohydrates: 39gFiber: 16gSugar: 18gProtein: 9g

Lee

Hi! I’m Lady Lee. I help homesteaders simplify their homesteading journey while still producing a ton of food! I am a single mother of four, I was born in Israel and raised in an agricultural commune called a Kibbutz. Now I homestead in central NC.

11 Comments

Sheri Schutte says:

at

I want to just refrigerate (not freeze) some blanched green beans for a couple days. I’ve read some suggestions to dry the beans, others to cover with a damp paper towel so they don’t dry out. I hate such conflicting information when I’m just looking for a quick easy answer! What are your thoughts?

1. Lee says:
  
  at
  
  Blanch, place in a ziplock bag or a plastic container, and refrigerate. They’ll be good for a few days.
  
Kisian Anderson Waria says:

at

Thanks very much Lady Lee, your process of blanching fresh green beans really help me.

Thanks Lee.

1. Lee says:
  
  at
  
  So happy it helped!
  
Buy Followers says:

at

Spread the blanched and chilled green beans in a single layer on a baking sheet. Don t let the beans overlap or touch one another. Freeze for 1 to 2 hours.

1. Lee says:
  
  at
  
  This is what I do when I blanch potatoes but I don’t do this with my beans because I steam them again anyway later…
  
Becky says:

at

You say to put paper towel between the beans and the top of th bag. Does this mean the paper towel is sealed in the bag with the beans?

1. Lee says:
  
  at
  
  Yes, exactly! Look at my feta post here: https://ladyleeshome.com/homemade-feta-cheese/
  Scroll all the way to the bottom, I have a picture of it there.
  
  1. Becky says:
    
    at
    
    Interesting. Thank you. This is an easy fix to a very frustrating problem.
Stacey Fields says:

at

Lady Lee,

I read your article on freezing green beans. After you froze them in a zip lock bag, you state to transfer the beans in a vacauum seal.

My question is, are you leaving the beans in the zip log bag and just vacauuming that, or are you taking the beans out of the zip lock and then vacuuming the beans?

I’ve had gardens before but never had a large enough one to freeze my harvest, but now i do and really dont know how to preserve..

Thank you for your time.

Blessings,

Stacey

1. Lee says:
  
  at
  
  You will take them out of the ziplock bag and then vacuum seal them in the vacuum bags. You freeze them first because they are moist. If you try to vacuum them before freezing the vacuum will squeeze the moisture out of the beans and it will not create a vacuum or a good seal. So you first freeze, then transfer to the vacuum bags and vacuum seal. I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Blanching Green Beans For Freezing