(Updated - July 2008) When I wrote a quick little post about how to freeze fresh basil more than two years ago for Weekend Herb Blogging, I didn't realize it would turn into one of the most popular posts ever on Kalyn's Kitchen! I'm still growing and freezing fresh basil every summer and I decided it's time to update this with better photos and more complete instructions. I'm also adding ideas for using frozen basil after the photos.If you're a gardener who's growing basil, here are my step-by-step instructions on how you can freeze your basil to use all through the winter.
I do this several times each summer, whenever I have some basil that needs to be harvested. Here's how my basil looked before I trimmed the plants and pulled off the big leaves.
Here's my basil after I trimmed it. Basil will actually produce more leaves if it's vigorously trimmed a few times each year, since everywhere you cut the stem it produces two new stems. Just be sure to keep a few leaves on each stem (remember high school botany, that's where the plant gets food.)
I pinch off all the basil leaves, discard the stems, and wash the leaves very well in a salad spinner. Spin them as dry as you possibly can. If you don't have a salad spinner, just wash your basil leaves in the sink and dry them well with paper towels.
Put a few of handfuls of basil into the food processor, using the steel blade. The food processor bowl should be full, but not tightly packed.
I pulse the food processor with one hand and drizzle olive oil into the feed tube with the other hand, just pulsing until the basil is coarsely chopped. You should make sure that all the basil is coated with oil too, which keeps it from going dark in the freezer. I use about 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil for each batch in the food processor when I'm making coarsely chopped basil like this to use for pasta sauce, soup, or stew during the winter. When I'm making basil puree to add to basil vinaigrette I use more oil and chop the basil much more finely.
I have two sizes of these little plastic containers with tight lids that I use to freeze the basil. It doesn't matter what size container you use, but a good trick is to measure the containers before you first use them. That way, when you pull one out of the freezer for a recipe, you'll know how much it is.Ideas for Using Frozen Basil:
White Bean and Roasted Red Pepper Salad with Roasted Tomato-Basil Dressing
Garbanzo Bean Soup with Spinach, Tomatoes, and Basil
Roasted Tomato Soup with Ground Beef, Sausage, Garbanzos, Macaroni, and Basil
Chunky Pasta Sauce with Sausage, Roasted Tomatoes, Garlic, and Basil
White Bean Soup with Roasted Turkey Italian Sausage, Zucchini, and Basil
Roasted Italian Soup with Garbanzos, Lentils, and Roasted Tomatoes
Roasted Tomato, Italian Sausage, and Basil Sauce for Pasta
Leftover Roast Beef Italian Stew
Basil Vinaigrette for Drizzling on Tomatoes
Other Ideas for Freezing Fresh Herbs:
How to Freeze Fresh Herbs: Rosemary and Thyme
More about Freezing Fresh Herbs: Freezing Thai Basil, Sage, Tarragon, and Mint
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85 Comments:
Kalyn, this may be the most helpful bit of information I've read in weeks! Thanks so much for posting this -- I'm definitely going to put it to use, especially now that I have two basil plants.
I have to admit...I've been nervous about cutting the basil back. My two plants are still pretty small, but I want them to start getting bushy so I can use them regularly. How soon do you usually do your first cutting back?
Genie
The Inadvertent Gardener
Genie, don't be afraid to cut them back. Sometimes I even trim them more vigorously than the one in the photo. I think as soon as the plant has some good sized leaves you can start cutting it back. I'm usually careful to leave a set of leaves on each stem, but honestly I don't know if it's necessary. That's just a habit I have from "pinching back" houseplants, and I'm guessing the same principal applies here.
Great advice Kalyn. I've found that basil does freeze great, if it has oil added to it. And it's wonderful to be able to take out a little frozen cube of it and toss it in soup or some other dish.
Adoro il basilico!
My parents in Italy have basil in their garden and they use it fresh but me... here in Sweden... I always buy basil, simply take the leaves off, wash them well and then put them in the freezer. All people I know in Italy also freeze basil when it is out of season.
Ciao.
Comments which are unrelated to the content of the post and appear to be nothing more than an attempt to advertise another blog will be deleted. I apologize if this seems harsh, but I learned from experience that if you let people post comments like that, they will do it over and over.
I've so far been successful at getting my husband to create some area sheltered enough in our mild Texas winter, that I'm able to grow basil all year. But, this will be useful if I have another basil failure like this winter. Thanks for a great tip.
Well, Kalyn you may not like your winter but I sure don't like our summers! Nobody and nothing is perfect.
Orchidea, interesting to know that it's common to freeze basil in Italy. I had read in so many cookbooks that you can't do it, but they're probably by American writers.
Tanna, of course you're right. Before I get too jealous about you growing basil in the winter in Texas, I should think about the hot summers. In Utah summer is pretty nice because of no humidity, although it gets pretty hot here too.
I can almost smell that basil from here, Kalyn!
Great tips Kalyn!
Great post. We should have done it while we had loads of basil.
Great post! I hae done it many times but it is great to see it all laid out.
and yes, I do remember the high school botany part.
I am still learning the ropes about herbs and stuff. This is a nice tip. I didnt know that herbs can be frozen. I only learned about the dried stuff.
Yes, I love doing that! I freeze mine in ice cube trays, then put the frozen cubes in a plastic bag. If I do it just right, each cube is 1 T of oily basily goodness! Yum!
Ivonne, it did smell good! Nothing like the smell of basil.
Thanks Joe!
Ed, there's always next summer!
Gabriella, can't wait to see what you do with your basil.
Charles, love to help people learn new things.
PatL, I used to use ice cube trays too before I found these little containers. (Great minds thinking alike and all that!)
This is really helpful to know, Kalyn. Usually I make pesto and freeze that, but I've never tried freezing basil on its own. I didn't know ginger root could be frozen too. Thanks for the great tips!
Some important things about basil are to never let it flower-keep pruning. Prune the branch to just above a set of leaves to promote side branches. You can prune as low as to leave 3 sets of leaves on the branch. Fertilize every other week with nitrogen fertilizer such as fish emulsion. If you need to prune more than you need, strip the lower leaves, put in water, change water daily and you will soon have rooted cuttings ready to plant for more wonderful plants
I just found your blog today! Great blog! I will be back again and again as I look for great recipes...
My blog is: http://ca.360.yahoo.com/the.bunnyo I am blogging my attempted to go a year without junk food...
Shauna :)
Kalyn, I couldn't agree more. Basil is my all time favorite herb. I've tried to grow it, but it's always been a failure, so I just buy it instead. Of course up here in Toronto, the big fat gorgeous bunches are only to be had in summer. The rest of the year we have to buy tiny little packets for the same price!
Thanks for sharing the gardening tips. Maybe I'll try again!
Isn't it amazing that the "covering basil with olive oil entirely before freezing" is not a standard instruction? We only blundered upon it after being devastated by quite black frozen pesto the first time I froze it (some years ago)
Until your post about freezing basil here, I've never seen it spelled out that way. I'm so glad you did.
-Elizabeth
P.S. Thanks for the link! My husband is tickled that you mentioned his brilliance at thinking of serving basil pesto with whole toasted pinenuts. And you really must try it! It's fabulous.
Ruth, you really must try growing basil! You should definitely grow enough to be able to garnish things at least. Our garden is almost entirely in shade and still the basil does grow.
We make pesto from those humungous bunches of basil that are available at the vegetable stores in early September....
-Elizabeth, in Toronto
P.S. Many of the garden centers sell basil in the "vegetable" section rather than the "herb" section. Ruth, you should be able to get 6 plants for about $1.00 in the vegetable area rather than 1 spindly plant for $2.00 (or more) in the herb area. (I know the garden center that is on Christie just north of Bloor has a deal like that...)
Kalyn,
great tips on trimming and freezing, I'll do so before its season finished!
Christa, glad to help you learn how to preserve your garden stuff. I grate the ginger while it's still frozen with a microplane grater. It works very well.
Alice, thanks for the tips.
Shauna, welcome.
Ruth, try again with the basil. It's not that termperamental except you should put it where it gets maximum sun if you can.
EJM, glad to hear that your husband was pleased. I LOVE the idea of whole pine nuts.
Gattina, I missed you. Don't hesitate to trim your basil and it will fill out the plant even more.
What a great idea ! Thank you for it. My basil always burns when I try to freeze it. I'll follow your wise advice now.
This is wonderful info. In a place where I rarely if ever see basil It's good to know how I can keep the taste of summer in the freezer without resorting to turning it all into pesto.
Cooking Diva tells me that you can freeze lemon grass too.
Virginie, try it. It's great for so many dishes.
Nerissa, thanks for the tip about lemongrass. I haven't ever grown it, but I've been thinking about trying. But even when I buy it at the store, I usually don't use it all.
So helpful, Kalyn, thanks! I too have often frozen pesto, but sometimes in winter I'd love to have just the basil. Do you use the same method with rosemary and thyme, coating the leaves in olive oil?
Jennifer, it will sound crazy, but at the end of the season I just cut off the branches of rosemary and thyme and put them in the freezer in a ziploc bag. Then when I need some I just take a branch and pull the leaves off. They come off really easily when they're frozen.
Great post, Kalyn. One of my friends planted a couple of basil plants but they don't use basil. So they invited me to come to their house to pick some. I went and got a WHOLE bunch. Their plants were upto 3ft high. Now, I know how I save it to use it all year long :).
Thanks, again.
Hi. Wow, I'm new to this whole blogging thing, so please excuse me if I am writing in the wrong area. I was reading these great tips on freezing basil and I love it! I am wondering if anyone can give me tips on growing basil indoors. Can this be done? I live in San Francisco, and I don't have a garden, but I love herbs.
Luv2cook, lucky you!
Senait, if you have a really sunny south facing window you could try it, but basil needs a lot of sun. I haven't tried growing it inside.
I've been freezing basil for years. Last year, I tried making basil pesto and freezing individual cubes in ice cube trays, then into freezer bags when frozen. These cube-size portions are great to add flavor to recipes or when my grandsons ask for bowties and "green sauce." This year, I line the trays first with saran wrap, freeze, then lift the whole sheet of saran wrap out--so much easier to remove the frozen cubes. Hope this is helpful to someone.
Mema
Great ideas; very helpful. Do you think this process would work for my other favorite herb "tarragon"?
This is so helpful,I love that yu included pictures, thank you.
Can you give some tips on what is the best way to defrost & use frozen basil?
After researching how to freeze basil for some time I can finally relax, your instruction with the pictures is perfectly helpful, thank you!
Can you give some tips on defrosting & using frozen basil?
I am sorry, I posted the message twice, I am new to blogging!
Anonymous, no problem. I try to defrost the basin in the fridge if I can, but you can do it in the microwave. I use it in soups, stews, pesto, and mixed into Italian dressing to make "basil vinaigrette" which is good drizzled over fish, vegetables, and of course, tomatoes.
Adele, I apologize, sometimes when comments come when I'm at school I totally miss them. I can't imagine why this wouldn't work with tarragon too.
Kalyn,
Thanks for the tip...last year I left alot of basil on the plants because I didn't know what to do. I plan to freeze it with a little water in ice cube trays. I will send a yummy email in the middle of winter when I add it to my marinara sauce :-)
June
OK, I never thought frozen pesto would be anything like fresh. Well, I just thawed some to have with goat cheese and roasted red peppers. It was FABULOUS! It really CAN be frozen. Your method of freezing with olive oil is perfect! IF I wanted to "brighten" up my pesto a bit I would stick it back in my food processor and add a bit more lime juice (I love the brightness of lime juice in pesto) and that's it. Thank you for offering this information, which I was about to dispute on a cooking forum. I was smart enough to google it first!!!!!! :-)
Just Great! I'm new to growing herbs and have several basil ready to start harvesting and was looking for a way to freeze them when I ran upon your site. Thanks
don in Texas
I have grown basil and tomatoes for years to make my own marinara sauce. I have successfully frozen both. For the basil I chop it up and put it into ice cube trays and add water. Freeze solid and put into zip freezer bags. Then it can be thawed or just popped into the sauce.
Kalyn, I just froze some basil last week but I simply washed, dried and froze the leaves in zip-lock bags (as per an Italian lady's suggestion) but I do see the colour change.
I will likely cull some more basil and I'll try your method as well as I like the preserving the the vibrant green of the basil.
Thanks!
I take basil leaves off the stems and arrange on a cookie sheet and place in the freezer---then I pack the frozen leaves into zip lock bags, date and place back into the freezer. The basil retains its fresh taste in recipes with no added oil.
Anonymous, do the basil leaves turn dark when you freeze them this way? I'm usually using them in something where I don't mind the oil, bit I might try your method too. Thanks for letting us know.
I"m in Utah and I wondered if it is possible to haul my basil pot inside for the winter, have you tried that or do basil plants have a specified life span? Can't wait to go try freezing some basil now. I planted about 8 or 10 basil plants in a large pot and they are going crazy and they get bushier every time I pluck out the flower heads. Thanks for the great information! HOlly
Hi Holly,
Basil is an annual, which means it only lives for a certain length of time. Theoretically you could plant new seeds and grow it inside in the winter, but I doubt you could really get enough sun to do it successfully in Utah. Don't be afraid to cut your basil way back during the summer though. I trim mine 4-5 times each summer and freeze each crop.
I've been using this same method for freezing Basil, but, instead of putting the Basil/Olive oil into small plastic containers, I put it into ice cube trays. ( I have several trays that I use strictly for freezing herbs, as well as some for freezing juice from my Meyers lemon tree). Once frozen, I put the cubes into freezer zip-lock bags and store in the freezer. One cube equals, approximately, one tablespoon of fresh chopped basil. When I need Basil over the winter months I just take out a cube, let it thaw and I'm good to go!
Lora, sounds like a good system. I've been thinking about buying some ice cube trays just for this reason, thanks for the reminder!
I freeze dill, parsley, mint... my mother used to freeze them but I did not know that you can freeze basil, I must try it as it is one of my favourite herbs as well. I have always basil plant on my window :)
Enjoy your weekend, Margot
I just followed your recipe for frozen basil. Once I collect a bunch, can I use my frozen basil to make pesto?
Audrey, I don't think I've tried doing it that way (I just make the pesto and freeze that.) I think it will work, but the basil will be a bit more wet, so you'll probably need less oil. I'd thaw it in the fridge first. Let me know how it turns out, love to try it.
Comments before this one are from June 2006 to July 2008, when I updated this post with better photos and more complete instructions.
This is brilliant kalyn. I was wondering how you would do it without them going dark. I will definitely try this.
Thank you for your advice. Bute in India we get only dried Basil leaves. But i will keep this in mind.
Kalyn: This is such helpful information. I just learned how to keep basil in my kitchen from Ross Parson's book "How to Pick a Peach" -- don't refrigerate, just put in a glass with water on your kitchen counter -- and now your post on saving it for winter cooking. Terrific! My basil is growing abundantly in pots on my back porch and I didn't know what to do with it all. This is very instructive. I'm not surprised that it is one of your most popular posts but thanks for re-posting. Janice
Cool: how about ziploc, do you think that works?
I haven't frozen just basil, but adore freezing pesto in ice cube trays:))). I wrote a post about it and you will laugh, get emails all the time about the cool red ice cube tray (in my photo). I bought it at ikea a few years back:).
I hope you are well, I SO wished I could have made the BlogHer conference this year, but family reunion prevailed.
Cheers,
Janelle
Janelle, would have loved to been able to meet you at BlogHer. I think the the plastic containers will make the basil last a bit longer in the freezer, but ziploc bags would work too. You could use the ice cube trays, then pop the basil cubes into zip-loc bags.
Kalyn, what a timely udpate as my basil is overflowing and I hate to lose even a leaf! Thanks so much!
Thanks for the tip, Kalyn.
Paz
The Japanese beetles are gorging themselves on my basil :(
I read somewhere they only hang out for 1 month so I'm letting my basil be the victim rather than my other veggies. The lower leaves still look good. I can salvage the plant when the beetles go away.
In the past I have successfully saved seeds and grown more basil in the winter. I didn't know I could sprout it in water.
I've done pesto in ice cube trays very successfully. I like pecans in pesto. They have more flavor than pine nuts.
How timely! Thanks so much. My basil *just took a header off my deck today during a thunderstorm. Fell about 10 feet and broke all but one of its main stems. So I'm sitting here with 4 giant stems full of basil and no idea how to freeze it. You rock!
This is wonderful. Thanks for the information. I've got herbs taking over everything I cook, eat, and drink. I've never frozen herbs before, but I'm dehydrating the heck out of them. It works well, too. I appreciate having another method to save them for later.
Melissa
Kalyn, do you think this would work with fresh mint or other herbs?
Also, since I didn't have any cute little containers, I put my mix in an ice cube tray and froze it and then put it in a big bag, hopefully they won't get too yucky. (I am hoping for my birthday to get one of those vacume sealers but I think I am getting a fence instead.)
Thanks!
Jenefr, yes I do think this will work with other herbs. The only thing to remember is whether that particular herb mixed with olive oil will be useful in winter dishes the way basil is. I think parsley would be a good choice to freeze using this method.
You can freeze many herbs just on the stems, I've written about freezing rosemary and thyme and sage, tarragon, and mint, all of which can be frozen just on the stems, the leaves will fall off when they're frozen.
No wonder this was one of your most popular posts, it is an extremely useful guide to freezing basil.
I will have to try it out with my basil plants soon!
Great ideas. I got a HUGE bag of basil in my CSA share this week and had no idea what to do with that much! Now I do.
Thanks!
I was reading your post on how to freeze fresh basil...
You can do this with oregano also...
clean and dry the leaves....
chop in food processor..
the take ice cube trays and put the crushed lives in it with olive oil...
making sure its covered with enough olive oil....
freeze it... then pop them out ..
wrap them .. and re refreeze...
you now have individual servings
I read your receipe for freezing fresh basil, but I don't have a food processor. Is there any other way to do it? I've tried wrapping in saran wrap or foil, but it turns black.
Anonymous, there is no reason you can't chop the basil and mix in the olive oil by hand, it will just take a lot of chopping. The most important thing is to be sure each piece of basil has a thin layer of oil coating it. That's what prevents the basil from turning black.
Hi Kalyn, I really enjoy your blog. I came home from the farmer's market with a huge bouquet of basil and wanted to try your freezing method, but I didn't have small containers and no ice cube trays either. I did have some eggs that were in one of those molded plastic cartons. I washed it well and bingo, I had 24 nice little molds! Thanks for all your great ideas.
Patricia, I think that's just brilliant!
Hi Kalyn -- love this idea and can't wait to grow a forest of basil next year in my garden! But as much as I love basil, my favorite herb is cilantro -- do you have a technique for storing cilantro for winter use as well?
I haven't ever tried freezing cilantro, so I'm not sure how it would work. I haven't really been able to grow it successfully (snails just mow it down) so I just buy it at the grocery store!
Thanks so much! This was a great help! I just pulled in my final batch before the temp drops to 27 degrees tonight and wanted to make sure I could save it all in the freezer.
Now, of course, I must poke around your site and see what else you've got going on.
Kalyn, My mother swears that she saw something on tv that said there is a way to freeze basil without it going black. She is 80 yrs. old and I didn't believe her. I just recently started playing with a computer, so she said, why don't you see if you can find it on the internet? Well I did and I also found some many other things on your website. Thank you, my mother and I can now freeze basil as well as many other things.
Anonymous, so glad it was helpful! Give my best to your mom too.
I'm about to lose a Basil plant that has been overwatered and your directions for freezing will save what's left and make it easier when cooking with basil in the future. First time to your site and it is now a favorite in my "food and beverage" category.
I'm going out to trim up my basil as soon as I've finished this comment :-) Freezing it with the olive oil is a stroke of genius. Thanks!
Kalyn, thank you for the info about freezing basil. I have planted basil in between my tomato plants and they now need pruning. I had my first experience with pesto last year - so delish! I will post my results on my blog. Thank you for sharing!!
Thanks for the wonderful information. I was wondering can I use EVOO or does it have to be OLIVE OIL. Thanks again for the post.
Sam, EVOO is olive oil, it's the best type. Any type of olive oil will be fine.
Kaylyn, thank you so much for your basil post! We just started this year, and I never realized I had to trim them. Nice to meet another fellow Utah blogger! Keep up the great work!
Frieda, you're welcome. You'll be glad you trimmed it because your basil will produce more, and you'll love having it in the freezer this winter! Utah is getting a pretty good group of bloggers, fun isn't it.
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