Can you freeze zucchini?

Can you freeze zucchini? When you have a ton of zucchini from your garden, you need a way to utilize all of your harvest. Of course, in every stir-fry, zucchini soup, pie, and muffin you make, there are only as many zucchini as you can eat. Your neighbors and family have already gotten their fair share of your summer squash, and there’s still plenty left over.

Or maybe you happened to see a lot about zucchini at the grocery store and just can’t resist. And now you have all the zucchini in the world and you don’t know how to use them before they spoil. So what can you do to preserve the vegetables? Frozen zucchini come to the rescue!

Since zucchini is mostly used in cooked meals, freezing this vegetable makes a lot of sense. Freezing changes the texture of the vegetables. Once thawed, vegetables become less attractive for use in raw meals like salads. However, in cooked dishes such as soups or stews, the change in texture is not as important. Because zucchini is typically used in cooked dishes, freezing is the best way to preserve it. In this article, we’ll go through three ways to freeze zucchini. If you are interested, read on!

How to freeze fried zucchini

Freezing fried zucchini is the go-to meal prep option. The whole process is simple, requires little work, and the results are great. This is how it’s done:

1. Preparation. Wash the zucchini and cut off both ends. If it’s not organic, I would suggest peeling it too. Now cut them into slices.

1. Coated with olive oil and spices. Take a large bowl, add a tablespoon (or more if needed) of olive oil and some spices of your choice. I usually add salt and pepper, but you can season the zucchini with other spices of your choice. Now toss the sliced ​​zucchini into the bowl and stir well. Make sure all slices are brushed with olive oil and spices.

1. Prepare the roast. Preheat the oven to 430 degrees F (or 220 C). Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and transfer the sliced ​​veggies to the sheet. Make sure they lie in a flat layer and no slices are placed on top of others.

1. Roast meat. Once the oven has reached the correct temperature, place the baking sheet in the oven for about 20 to 25 minutes. Use a fork or toothpick to check if the courgettes are done.
2. Cooling. Once the vegetables are fried, remove the baking sheet from the oven and let it cool at room temperature for about half an hour.

1. portioning. After the zucchini has cooled, it’s time to portion the zucchini slices. If you have a meal-size portion in mind, great. If not, use smaller portions so it’s easier to thaw as much as you need.
2. Packaging. Place the roasted zucchini in freezer bags or containers. Label them with names and dates if necessary.

1. Freeze. Place the vegetables in the freezer.

Since you freeze zucchini almost ready to eat, they just need to be thawed and reheated before eating. The easiest way to do this is on the stove with a non-stick coated pan.

How to freeze blanched zucchini slices

Not everyone is a fan of blanching, mainly because it takes time to both blanch the veggies and clean up afterwards. But the quality of the vegetables frozen after blanching is usually worth it. If this is your first time freezing blanched zucchini, feel free to freeze a batch of raw zucchini and test it yourself. If you like the results, there is no need to blanch the zucchini. However, if you find that blanching improves the texture and flavor of the veggies, do it. Here’s how to freeze zucchini slices by blanching:

1. Preparation. Wash the vegetables and remove both ends. If desired, peel and slice.
2. (optional) Blanch the zucchini. Bring a pot of water to a boil and prepare a large bowl of cold water with some ice cubes. This will be the ice bath. Once the water begins to boil, drop the zucchini slices into the boiling water and keep them there for 2 to 3 minutes, depending on the thickness of the slices. After blanching, the vegetable slices are placed in the ice bath with a slotted spoon. After a few minutes, drain the water.
3. Dry. We need to make sure the zucchini slices are dry before going into the freezer. Place the vegetable slices on a clean tea towel or paper towels and let them dry there. Before proceeding, take a paper towel and pat the slices dry.
4. (Optional) Pre-freeze. Take a cookie sheet that fits in your freezer and place the slices on top so they aren’t touching. Place the sheet in the freezer for about 2 hours until the slices are frozen. With pre-frozen slices, you can put all your slices in a single bag or container and take as many slices as you need at once as they won’t clump together. Recommended if you are not sure how to portion the zucchini.
5. portioning. Divide the zucchini into flour-sized portions. If you’ve prefrozen the slices, you don’t have to worry about portions.
6. Packaging. Transfer portions to freezer bags or containers. Label with name and date if desired.
7. Freeze. Throw the vegetables in the freezer.

REad Also: Can you freeze banana bread?

How to freeze shredded zucchini without blanching

If you don’t want to blanch and freeze zucchini with little effort, freezing shredded zucchini is the way to go. The procedure is extremely simple. If you use a food processor to chop the zucchini, it requires almost no work. Here’s how to do that:

1. Preparation. Wash the zucchini and remove both ends of the zucchini. Peel them if they’re not organic.
2. shredding You can use a grater or food processor to chop the vegetables. If there are a lot of zucchini to chop, the food processor is the way to go.
3. portioning. Think about how many zucchini you need at once, and based on this, divide the shredded zucchini into portions. If unsure, divide into mug portions that work for most recipes.
4. Packaging. Transfer the portions into freezer bags. If necessary, label the bags with name and date.
5. Freeze. Throw the freezer bags in the freezer.

As you can see, this method is really simple and takes little time. However, this method is only suitable for recipes that call for shredded zucchini, such as pies, muffins, or zucchini bread.