Can celery leaves be frozen? - The best way

It seems that celery comes either in huge, inexpensive bunches, or in tiny, expensive individual stalks.

Grocery stores want you to believe that they are doing all the work for you by ripping off the leaf to charge more, but what they are really doing is depriving you of fresh celery leaves that can add so much to your recipes.

The next time you see a big bunch of celery, with the leaves intact, go and grab it. The leaves are delicious and nutritious.

But what if you can’t eat the whole bunch before it goes bad? Can you freeze celery leaves?

Yes, you can freeze celery leaves. However, celery leaves have a lot of water, so they go bad when frozen. The nutrition and flavor will remain the same, but the crunch will be completely gone. The leaves will still be great for cooking, but they won’t be pleasant to eat raw.

This article is all about celery, including freezing and using its delicate leaves.

Edible parts of celery

Almost all celery is edible, from the seeds to the root -called celery-, the stalks and the leaves.

There are different types of celery, grown specifically for the different parts of celery to be used.

Although you can find celery bundles with the leaves, many growers grow celery designed to be eaten for the stalks separately from those grown specifically for the seeds and leaves.

Celery leaves tend to have a flavor more similar to that of wild celery, more powerful and, therefore, perfect for flavoring your recipes.

Celery Leaf Nutrition

Celery is a very popular “diet” food because it is one of the closest natural foods to calorie-free that exists. Each stalk is about 10 calories and gives a world of nice crunch.

However, just because it’s low in calories doesn’t mean it’s low in nutrition. In fact, celery is packed with antioxidants and flavonoids, vitamins A, C, and K, and a variety of minerals, including potassium and folate.

The leaves, specifically, are good sources of calcium . It also has a lot of water, and since Americans are prone to dehydration on a regular basis, it’s a great way to add a little more water to your life.

Celery is also a very powerful alkalizer, which is important, especially for those on a Standard American Diet (SAD).

Most prepackaged, fried, or high-sugar foods are highly acidic and responsible for much of the digestive upset that is common in our modern world.

Eating some crunchy celery with nut butter or cream cheese can help rebalance your body’s pH.

How to freeze celery leaves

Celery leaves, along with the thin, light yellow pieces of celery that are not eaten with the stalk, are remarkably easy to freeze.

However, you will need to wash them well before freezing and make sure they are completely dry.

You don’t want a single drop of water hidden in the leaves, because it will destroy the quality of your celery when it thaws.

You have two options for freezing the leaves: whole or chopped.

1. If you prefer to freeze the leaves whole, gently twist and spiralize them once they are completely dry so they have a sort of tube or cigar shape.
   1. Put them in a freezer-safe Ziploc brand bag, making sure to get all the air out.
   2. When you are going to use some of your sheets, if you don’t want to use them all at once, simply cut off a segment of the tube and pop the rest back into the freezer as soon as possible.

2. If you cut the leaves, you’ll need to freeze them individually first.

   1. To do this, place a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet and spread the celery leaves in a single layer.
   2. Place the entire tray in the freezer for up to 1 hour to make sure everything is completely frozen.
   3. You can then transfer them directly into a freezer-safe Ziploc brand bag, but do it quickly as the very thin sheets start to thaw soon.

How to freeze celery

To freeze the celery stalks, you will again want to carefully wash and dry each one. Also, once again, you can choose between freezing them whole or in pieces.

Celery will not survive the freezer crispy enough, so you will only use it for cooking or to make juices or smoothies once thawed. 

For almost all purposes, celery will be much easier to chop when it’s fresh and crisp than when it’s soft and limp after freezing.

Freeze all of the individual pieces first, as detailed in step 2 above, then transfer them to a freezer-safe Ziploc brand bag. Y

You can use a container with a tight lid, but it’s much easier to get all the air out of a bag, and every little puff makes a difference.

How to defrost celery leaves and/or celery

Celery thaws very quickly, but for the most part, you should be able to use it frozen. If you are going to prepare a smoothie or other mixed recipe, you can add the frozen celery to the blender.

If you’re cooking with the celery, you can add it frozen to the pot, slow cooker, casserole, or any other dish you’re creating. 

The celery is not very heavy, so it will start to thaw within a few minutes of coming out of the freezer. If you have to let it thaw before using it, let it sit on a plate at room temperature for 10-15 minutes and it will thaw completely.

How to use celery leaves

The most common way to use celery leaves is in soup or salad. They’re totally reasonable ways to use them, although after being frozen, they’re not likely to be very appealing in a salad.

Fresh celery leaves make a nice garnish and can substitute for fresh herbs like parsley or cilantro in almost any recipe.  They taste different, but that only adds variety to your life.

They also pair well with pesto, dips, and spreads like hummus. If you make your own dressing, add some chopped celery leaves.

If you have frozen the leaves, you will want to cook with them. Soup, stew, stir-fry, pasta dishes, and casseroles are all great ways to use the leaves.

You can also juice them or add them to a smoothie for a spicy kick.

How to choose the best celery leaves

When shopping for celery, try to find bunches that have nice, dark, full leaves on the outer stalks. The darker the leaves, the tougher they will be, so you’ll want to save them for cooking and freeze them if necessary.

As you get closer to the center of the celery bunch, you’ll notice the leaves become lighter in color and much more tender. These are the leaves that are best consumed fresh, as soon as possible.

They’re bright, fresh treats that too many people mindlessly throw away.

Related questions

Can celery juice be frozen?

Fresh is best, but yes, celery juice can be frozen quite well. In fact, if you can’t use your juice in 2-3 days max, freezing is the best way to preserve nutrition.

For best results, freeze juice in single-serving Ziploc brand bags . Lay them completely flat in the freezer until they are completely frozen, and then you can stand them up to save space.

How are celery leaves dried?

Start by washing the celery leaves very well, and pat them dry with a soft towel or paper towel.

If you have a dehydrator, simply layer the sheets in a single layer and set the dehydrator according to your machine’s instructions . The leaves will take 5-6 hours at 135ºF to get nice and crisp.

If you don’t have a dehydrator, you can air dry the celery leaves.

• Wash and dry them well as suggested above, then place them in a single layer on a drying rack.
• Place them in a dry place where they won’t risk staining from moisture or insects.
• Turn them over after 2 days.
• After 4-5 days, the celery leaves should be dry enough to shred from the stalk.
• Do so, but then leave the pieces spread out on the drying rack, covered with parchment paper if necessary, for a day or so before storing the final result in an airtight Ziploc bag or small container.

If stored well in a cool, dry place, your dried herbs should last up to a year, but will be most potent for up to 6 months. Afterwards, they can start to lose flavor.

Are celery leaves poisonous?

If you do not eat more than celery leaves for months, yes, they can become toxic to your health.

But it would take extremely severe and excessive consumption for them to be remotely dangerous, unless you have an allergy or sensitivity to them.

Even in those cases, they will most likely cause symptoms similar to those of a pollen allergy, which are bothersome but usually not dangerous on their own.

When eaten sensibly, there is nothing poisonous in any part of celery, including the leaves.