Green beans are such a great vegetable to add to a meal. I especially love to eat them sauteed up with onions and bacon. Here, we are teaching you how to freeze green beans from the garden (store, farmers market, or anywhere you get them) for easy use later.
Snap off the end
How to Blanch Green Beans
Freezing green beans is so easy. All you have to do is cut off the blossom ends and then blanch the trimmed beans. Do this by either boiling or steaming the green beans for 3-5 minutes.
Blanch the beans
After blanching, you will want to dry off the beans by gently patting them with a clean kitchen towel.
pat dry
How to Freeze Green Beans
You can either freeze Green Beans in separate small batches like my friend does, or you can freeze them in bulk and pull out a few as you need them, as we are doing on this video.
Freezing separately vs together
I really prefer to freeze green beans in a manner that ensures my ability to choose how much I want later. Do this by placing the beans on a cookie sheet and freezing them for 2-4 hours before placing them in the storage bags.
Label bag
I label the storage bag with the date and contents before putting any food inside. It is just easier to do it when you can lay it flat. Labeling contents may seem funny, but after it has been in the freezer for a while you may forget what is in the bag.
Place in bag
After the beans are frozen, I place them in a freezer bag and remove as much air as possible.
Lay flat for storage
Then I lay the bag as flat as possible in the freezer. If I have prepared multiple bags I stack them together. I do this because I prefer to store like produce together in the same area of my freezer.
Tip When Opting Not to Freeze Separately
Alternatively, you can place the beans directly in the freezer bag after blanching. If you do this be aware that they will stick together. If you decide to go this route, try Emmaline’s trick of patting the beans as dry as possible with a clean towel first.
