Can cooked carrots be frozen? - The complete guide

Carrots are often available in huge 2-10 pound bags and somehow having so many available to cook often cooks much more than can reasonably be eaten in one meal.

Can cooked carrots be frozen? Yes, you can freeze cooked carrots for up to 9 months. They will retain their flavor and nutritional value, but will lose their firmness and texture. It’s best to blanch carrots before freezing, but you can also freeze roasted, pureed, or mixed carrots with other vegetables, as well as carrot soup.

There are many different ways to freeze cooked carrots with varying results, and this article will take you step by step through all the options so you can choose the methods that work best for you.

Freeze cooked carrots

Freezing cooked carrots is a great way to buy them in bulk and not worry about them going bad before you can use them all. You can make batches at one time or just freeze leftovers as they are produced.

Carrots have a high water content, which means that when you freeze them their texture will change considerably.

When the water inside the carrot freezes, it turns into a small ice crystal that damages the proteins in the carrot, breaking its structure. When the carrots thaw, the ice crystals melt, and the carrot will be mushy instead of crunchy.

However, they will retain all of their sweet flavor and impressive nutrition, so it’s still worth the effort.

blanch carrots

The most effective way to freeze carrots is to blanch them before freezing. Blanching is a technique that involves partially cooking the vegetable and then immersing it in cold water to stop the cooking process.

All vegetables have enzymes that control the freshness of food, causing it to lose flavor, texture, and color over time. Blanching prevents this enzyme from working, helping to preserve the best quality of your carrots during the freezing process.

How to Blanch Carrots

Blanching carrots is quite simple. Just follow these simple steps:

1. Wash and cut the carrots into dice or cubes.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
3. Prepare a large bowl with ice water.
4. Put the carrots in the boiling water for 2 minutes (use a timer!).
5. Immediately drain the carrots and place them in the ice water to stop the cooking process.
6. Leave the carrots in the ice water for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. Drain carrots and towel dry before freezing.

How to Freeze Cooked Carrots

If you want to keep some cooked carrots on hand for easy accompaniment to lunch or dinner, or just because you don’t want a good meal to go to waste, freezing them is a great option. Fortunately, the overall process is easy.

To freeze cooked carrots, follow these simple steps:

1. Make sure the carrots are completely cool before trying to freeze them.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
3. Spread the room temperature cooked carrots in a single layer on the tray.
4. Carefully place the baking sheet in the freezer and allow each piece of carrot to freeze individually, at least 1 hour.
5. Transfer the frozen carrot pieces individually to a freezer-safe Ziploc bag or Tupperware container.

Can carrot puree be frozen?

If you plan to freeze cooked carrots, mashing or pureing them before freezing will give the best results when you’re ready to thaw and eat them.

There are two very effective ways to freeze pureed carrots:

1. In a freezer-safe Ziploc bag : Wait for the carrot puree to cool to room temperature and transfer it to a freezer-safe Ziploc bag.

Lay bag flat on counter and smooth out into a thin 1-inch layer for freezing. Remove as much air as possible from the bag before freezing it. Freeze it perfectly flat and adjust to save space once it is well frozen and not squashed.

2. Cubed: If you only want small amounts of carrot puree to flavor dips, add to baked goods, or feed a baby, use an ice cube tray or muffin pan, or divide the carrot puree into cubes. carrot in portions.

Line the tray or mold with plastic wrap and fill it with a previously measured portion of carrot puree. Wrap the serving carefully in plastic wrap and place in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag or Tupperware container.

Can roasted carrots be frozen?

You can freeze roasted carrots, but once thawed they will have lost all their crunch.

However, the roasted carrots are all flavor. So if you plan to freeze them, there are plenty of ways to use them to maximize flavor without worrying about texture, such as

• Make a roasted carrot soup.
• Mix them into the rice with some green peppers, pineapple chunks, and a few red pepper flakes for a sweet and spicy rice.
• Puree them and mix them with homemade mac and cheese for extra nutrition and flavor.
• Dice them and mix them into a cold salad, such as pasta or chicken.
• Chop them into small pieces and add them to a chunky vegetable pasta sauce.

To freeze roasted carrots, make sure they are completely cold and have sat out at room temperature or placed in your fridge to be even colder.

If you know you’re going to shred them when they thaw, you’ll get the best quality if you shred them before freezing. If not, you can freeze them in chunks or chunks.

To freeze roasted carrots, follow these steps

1. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat and spread the roasted carrot pieces in a single layer.
2. Place the baking sheet in the freezer, where they will be safe for 1-2 hours.
3. Once the pieces are individually frozen, you can transfer them to a freezer-safe Ziploc bag or Tupperware container for up to 3 months.

Can carrot soup be frozen?

Yes, carrot soup freezes very well . The only thing to be careful about is if it is a cream carrot soup.

A simple carrot soup made with broth and other vegetables, but no milk, can easily be frozen in a Ziploc bag.

Wait for the soup to cool completely and pour a meal-sized portion into a freezer-safe Ziploc brand bag. Place it horizontally on the counter and spread the soup so that there are no air bubbles and close the bag.

Lay the soup flat on a baking sheet and place in the freezer, undisturbed, for at least 2 hours, or until well frozen. Once solid, you can remove the baking sheet and stand the soup upright to save space in the freezer.

If you have made a carrot cream, freeze it following the same instructions, but be prepared to crush it in the blender or food processor once defrosted. This will smooth out any grainy appearance of the texture.

How to Freeze Cooked Carrots with Mixed Greens

If you buy frozen carrots in the freezer section of your supermarket, you’ll find that they often come in bags mixed with peas, corn, or beans.

To make a mix like this yourself, you’ll need to first dice all the vegetables so they’re almost the same size, and then blanch them.

For best results, chop, blanch, and freeze all ingredients separately, then combine in a single freezer-safe Ziploc brand bag when they are all well frozen. This will ensure that they freeze as individual pieces instead of clumping together.

If you have cooked carrots with other ingredients, such as parsnips, turnips, or potatoes, you can also freeze them all together.

However, most of these root-type vegetables will lose their firmness once frozen, so you’ll get the best results if you puree or shred them and then mix them together before freezing.

Once the ingredients are well combined, you can follow the instructions above for freezing shredded carrots.

Freeze carrots with a Foodsaver

A Foodsaver is the most popular vacuum sealing system for freezing food (check Amazon for current pricing). It will protect your food from exposure to air, preventing freezer burn and helping it stay fresh in the freezer up to 5 times longer than it would if otherwise packaged.

To freeze your carrots with a Foodsaver, simply prepare them as you would normally freeze them. Ideally, blanch and cube the carrots, but this also works with cooked carrots, mashed carrots, or even roasted carrots.

Fill the Foodsaver bag with dried carrot pieces or drained cooked carrots and place the open end of the bag in the vacuum sealer. Close and lock the lid and press the “seal” button.

The machine will suck all the air out of the bag and seal it precisely, ready to be frozen.

How long can you freeze carrots?

If you have frozen your carrots so that they are well protected from the air, they will retain their flavor for up to 9 months. The texture of your carrots will soften as soon as they freeze, but they will still taste great.

If you’ve vacuum-sealed the carrots with a Foodsaver, they’ll keep longer, up to a year.

Bottom Line - You Can Freeze Cooked Carrots

Yes, you can freeze cooked carrots, but they will lose their firm texture. When thawed, they will be soft and slightly chewier than carrots normally are.

However, they will retain their nutritional value, flavor and color for up to 9 months. So it’s still a good idea to freeze them if you’ve cooked a lot of carrots. If you plan ahead, opt to blanch the carrots before freezing rather than fully cook them.

To get the most out of your previously frozen carrots, consider puréeing or chopping them into small enough pieces so that the compromised texture isn’t as apparent.