Name: How to Freeze Cauliflower
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 3 min
Total time: 3 min
Yield: 1
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: Cauliflower; Ice (for an ice bath)

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Learn how to freeze cauliflower correctly to keep its taste and color for many months in the freezer!

Lady Lee’s Note…

I can’t say that I have mastered the art of growing cauliflower! It’s a tricky vegetable to grow in the Southern garden, however, it’s worth the effort if you have room for it.

Growing up, my mother cooked many dishes with cauliflower. We ate it in a garlic lemon sort of sauce, or steamed, or fried with tahini sauce for dipping. Every dish was delicious and pretty simple to put together since she always had frozen cauliflower on hand.

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 cauliflower within three months, you don’t have to blanch it. If you’re going to store it in the freezer for longer than that, then I think blanching is worth your time.

Ingredients…

Cauliflower
Water and Ice

Tools…

Step-by-Step Instructions…

Step one – prep the cauliflower. Cut the flowers off the stem. I like cutting the flowers in half or into quarters but it’s not required.

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

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

setting cauliflower 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 cauliflower from the ice water onto the paper towel and pat it dry. Remove the paper towel and set the cauliflower in one layer on the baking sheet. Cover with plastic food wrap and place in the freezer for 24 hours.

storing the frozen cauliflower in a freezer bag

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

How to Use Frozen Cauliflower…

In casseroles – try adding frozen cauliflower to this delicious Mediterranean zucchini casserole. Or any other casserole!
In stews and soups – any vegetable soup will be happy with the addition of cauliflower!
Main dishes – add frozen cauliflower to a one-pan chicken and veggies dish, these Israeli meatballs, or turkey meatballs.
Roasted – try this delicious dish of garlic parmesan roasted cauliflower.
Steamed – simply steam your cauliflower for a few minutes. Sprinkle whatever seasonings you like and serve as a side dish.
Fried – because fried cauliflower is simply delicious!

How Long Will Cauliflower Last in the Freezer?

Blanched cauliflower can last in the freezer for about a year. It’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 flowers whole if you’d like, however, if they are too large, I recommend cutting them in half or into quarters.
Salt – some say that adding salt to the boiling water when blanching adds flavor to the vegetables. I’ve never tried.
Packing – you can skip freezing the cauliflower on a baking sheet. Instead, dry it, place it in a food vacuum bag, and vacuum and freeze. I like the baking sheet method because the pieces freeze separately and I can grab however many I want later. If you skip this step the cauliflower sometimes sticks to each other and it’s hard to separate the flowers if you don’t want to use the whole bag.
Thawing – in most cases, you do not need to thaw the cauliflower before using it in recipes.

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