Can you freeze fresh vegetables without blanching them?

Freezing fresh vegetables is usually an easy task and a great way to prepare meals or store vegetables to last a little longer.

There are so many different vegetables that it becomes a chore to keep track of how to freeze each one and know that you are doing it right. But don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

Can blanched fresh vegetables be frozen? Some vegetables require extra steps like blanching to freeze properly, while other vegetables you can simply dice and freeze or even leave whole. However, most vegetables freeze better by blanching.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through a number of popular fresh vegetables that freeze well, letting you know which ones to blanch first and how exactly you can freeze each type of vegetable.

Stay with us to learn how to freeze a number of fresh vegetables and which ones you can skip the blanching.

Complete Guide to Freezing Fresh Vegetables

There are many popular fresh vegetables that you can freeze. And some of them have their own processes, so we can’t write a guide that just tells you how to freeze all your vegetables in one easy process.

Instead, we will break it down vegetable by vegetable, according to the following list:

• Zucchini
• Asparagus
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• carrots
• corn on the cob
• Pumpkin
• Potatoes
• Green beans

If you only need information on one of these vegetables, feel free to scroll down and look for the heading that designates the vegetable you are looking for.

And if you’re wondering about freezing cooked vegetables or refreezing them , we’ve got information on that, too.

Zucchini

Fresh zucchini is a vegetable that you can freeze with or without blanching first.

In the case of this particular vegetable, we recommend blanching it, but you can make it work without blanching. See steps with and without blanching below.

To freeze without blanching, you need to anticipate shredding the zucchini, which may slightly limit serving after freezing. You may want to turn the zucchini into zucchini noodles and freeze it like that.

Freeze blanched zucchini

Here’s how to freeze blanched zucchini:

1. Start by rinsing the zucchini to remove any debris.
2. Cut zucchini into slices about 1/4-inch thick.
3. Boil water to blanch the zucchini. Add the zucchini to the boiling water for one minute.
4. Fill a large bowl with ice and water and transfer the zucchini from the hot water directly into the ice bath. Let them rest for about 2 minutes .
5. Drain the zucchini slices and dry them.
6. Prefreeze the zucchini by spreading them out on a cookie sheet and freeze them for 2-3 hours .
7. Once prefrozen, you can transfer them to a storage container or freezer bag.
8. Label and date and put the zucchini slices in the freezer.

Freeze zucchini without blanching

As we have said, we recommend blanching the zucchini before freezing it. However, it is not necessary to do so.

You can do without blanching zucchini before freezing it by following these steps:

1. Crumble zucchini into thin ribbons.
2. Separate the zucchini into portions of the desired size. We recommend 1-2 cups per serving.
3. Place the shredded zucchini in individual freezer bags based on measured servings.
4. Label each bag with the amount of zucchini and a date.
5. Freeze and use when you are ready.

As you can see, freezing zucchini is easy. If you want to freeze it in slices, it’s best to blanch it, but if you’re going to grate the zucchini, you can skip the blanching process altogether.

Asparagus

Asparagus can be a finicky fresh vegetable. It is best to blanch them before freezing. If you don’t blanch them, you may notice that they lose some of their color and flavor, and the crunchy texture that makes them so delicious to bite into.

If you plan to freeze asparagus, you’ll want it to be as fresh as possible. Remember that they will not keep fresher in the freezer. We recommend always blanching asparagus to freeze.

Freeze blanched asparagus

Blanching and freezing asparagus is really easy. This is all you have to do

1. Trim the hard bottoms off the asparagus stems. Freeze them separately for soups or just throw them away. You can trim the asparagus to 1-2 inches or leave the stems whole.
2. Bring a large portion of blanching water to a boil and add the asparagus to the water. Let them cook for 2-5 minutes until the asparagus is bright green and tender.
3. Submerge the asparagus immediately in an ice bath. Leave them in the ice bath for the same number of minutes that you cooked them.
4. Drain the asparagus and dry them.
5. Lay out the asparagus and pre-freeze it for about 2 hours.
6. Transfer them to storage containers or freezer bags.
7. Label and date all methods of storage and freeze.

Broccoli

Broccoli is best when frozen after a blanching process. Experts do not recommend freezing it without blanching, as it can affect the flavor and crunchiness in doing so.

Blanching is a simple process that preserves the bright green color and crisp flavor of the broccoli.

Freeze blanched broccoli

Blanching and freezing broccoli is really easy. All you have to do is

1. Wash the florets and separate them into pieces.
2. You can brine them if you prefer, but it’s not necessary.
3. Blanch the broccoli by adding it to a pot of boiling water. Let it boil for 3 minutes .
4. Remove it immediately and put it in an ice bath. Let it stay in the ice bath for 3 minutes .
5. Drain the broccoli and pat it dry.
6. Start with a quick freeze process and spread the florets out on a cookie sheet. Freeze for about 2 hours. 
7. Portion and pack in individual freezer-safe bags or containers.
8. Label, put the date and put it in the freezer for up to 9 months .

Cauliflower

Cauliflower is very similar to broccoli in style, structure, and texture. Cauliflower is another fresh vegetable that freezes best if you blanch it first.

You can skip the blanching, but we don’t recommend it, as cauliflower tends to get slightly mushy if you don’t blanch it.

Freeze the blanched cauliflower

If you’ve already read how to blanch broccoli above, blanching and freezing cauliflower will look very familiar to you. You just have to follow these steps:

1. Rinse the head of the cauliflower to remove any debris.
2. Separate it and cut it into florets and smaller pieces.
3. Bring a large pot of blanching water to a boil and add the cauliflower for 1-2 minutes. 
4. Immediately transfer to an ice water bath and allow cauliflower to cool for 2 minutes .
5. Drain the cauliflower and pat it dry to remove as much moisture as possible.
6. Spread the florets on a cookie sheet and pre-freeze for about 2 hours. 
7. Once you’ve prefrozen the cauliflower, separate it into several portions of your choice and place it in freezer containers or bags for storage.
8. Label and date all containers and freeze up to 9 months. 

If you decide to skip the blanching process, don’t skip the pre-freeze method. We do not recommend skipping the blanch for cauliflower.

carrots

You can freeze fresh carrots with or without blanching . Some experts say that the nutrients are better preserved by blanching, but you can really go either way. It totally depends on you.

If you are freezing baby carrots, they freeze very well without blanching. We will share the freezing process for both methods here, as you can freeze carrots either way.

Freeze carrots with blanching

Although you can choose not to blanch the carrots, here’s how to freeze them if you decide to blanch them anyway:

1. Rinse the fresh carrots and cut off any stems or leaves as necessary.
2. Cut the carrots into slices the size you want or even multiple sizes if you like. Baby carrots can be left whole.
3. Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. Add the carrots and boil 5 minutes for baby or whole carrots and 3 minutes for julienned or sliced carrots.
4. Immediately transfer them to an ice water bath and allow them to cool for the same amount of time that you have allowed them to cook.
5. Drain them well.
6. Separate into portions as desired and place in freezer containers or bags. Release as much air as possible.
7. Label, date and seal all containers.

Freeze carrots without blanching them

If you’ve decided to favor saving time over the somewhat unnecessary process of blanching your carrots, here’s how to freeze them without the hassle:

1. Rinse and clean the carrots and then dry them.
2. Cut the tops and stems off the normal size carrots. Baby carrots do not need to be cut.
3. Cut them to the desired size.
4. Complete the pre-freezing process by spreading the carrots out on a cookie sheet and letting them freeze like this for about 24 hours. 
5. Transfer carrots to freezer bags or containers in desired portions.
6. Label, date and seal all containers.

Both processes are quite simple and both are effective. It all depends on your preferences and if you want to get it all out at once or if you’re willing to come back in a day to finish.

corn on the cob

If you plan to leave the corn on the cob to freeze, it is not necessary to blanch it. You can simply follow a pre-freeze process and freeze it without having to blanch it.

You can also blanch it if you prefer, and this will make it easier if you plan to remove the corn from the cob. However, for corn left on the cob, blanching is not necessary.

Freeze corn left on the cob

Freezing leftover corn on the cob is very simple. This is all you have to do:

1. Peel the corn husks and remove all the silks.
2. You may want to cut the ears in half to make it easier to pack for freezing.
3. Place the ears of corn on a baking sheet and spread them out to pre-freeze.
4. Prefreeze the ears of corn for 2-3 hours. 
5. Take them out of the freezer and wrap each ear in a layer of tight plastic wrap.
6. Place the ears of corn in freezer bags or containers of the desired size.
7. Label, date and freeze up to 12 months. 

Very easy! If you’re concerned, you can add a blanching process to this same procedure, but it’s not necessary for quality freezing.

Pumpkin

Whether or not to blanch the squash really depends on how long you plan to freeze it for. If you only plan to freeze it for 2-4 months, you can skip the blanching.

However, we recommend blanching it so you can be prepared to freeze it for as long as it takes without worrying about preserving flavor.

Although we recommend blanching , it is possible to do without it. If you decide to freeze the squash without blanching, consider shredding it and following the steps we share for freezing squash without blanching, as they are very similar.

Freeze pumpkin with blanching

Here’s how to freeze and blanch pumpkin to better preserve its flavor and texture:

1. Wash and wipe the gourd to remove any debris or dirt.
2. Cut it into slices about 1/4-inch thick.
3. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the zucchini to the boiling water. Let them boil for 3-5 minutes. 
4. Remove them from the hot water and immediately place them in an ice water bath. Let them cool for the same amount of time you let them boil.
5. Drain them well and dry them as much as possible.
6. Spread them on a baking tray and freeze them beforehand for 1-2 hours. 
7. Transfer to freezer bags or storage containers in the portions you prefer.
8. Label, date and seal all containers and freeze up to 12 months. 

Potatoes

Potatoes can be very difficult to freeze raw or fresh because they have a high water content on their own. To freeze them, you must provide for the possibility of pairing the potatoes, which is very similar to the blanching process, but without the ice bath.

Freeze the potatoes with the pre-cooked

Although blanching isn’t technically necessary to freeze potatoes, pre-boiling is. Here’s how to do it and freeze the potatoes afterwards:

1. Scrub the potatoes and trim any parts that appear discolored or papery. You can peel them if you want, but it’s totally up to you. If not, cut them into cubes or dice the size you want.
2. Boil the potatoes, which is basically the same as blanching them. Bring the water to a boil and add the potatoes. If they are cut, you should boil them between 4 and 6 minutes . You just want them to be slightly fork-tender without going all the way mushy.
3. Drain the potatoes and dry them.
4. Separate them into the portions you want and pack them to freeze using a container or freezer bags.
5. Label, date and seal all containers.

Green beans

Green beans can be frozen blanched or unblanched. Actually, we have a whole guide to freezing green beans, but we’ll summarize it here.

In this case, it is totally up to you. If you think they are going to freeze for more than 6 months , this may be the trigger to scald them.

By now, you probably know how to blanch them. In the case of green beans, it is about putting them in boiling water for about 3-4 minutes and then transfer them to ice for the same time.

Freeze Green Beans Without Blanching Them

Luckily, you can skip the blanching of the green beans if you’re short on time. Here’s how to freeze them without it:

1. Trim the ends from both sides of the green beans.
2. Cut the green beans in half.
3. Rinse and clean the green beans before you begin.
4. Make sure the beans are completely dry. Drain and dry them as best you can.
5. Let them spread out and dry as much as possible.
6. Portion the beans into the portions you want and separate them into freezer bags or containers.
7. Label, date and seal all containers and freeze up to 12 months.