Learn how to freeze strawberries that are perfect for recipes using strawberries or just frozen strawberries to snack on. Freezing is our favorite way to preserve strawberries!
Whether you’ve got too many strawberries from strawberry picking, your backyard garden strawberry harvest, or even a great sale on strawberries at the local grocery store, you can easily freeze them to last from 8-12 months instead of just 1-2 days!
Why freeze strawberries?
Freezing strawberries or any fruits or vegetables is a great way to preserve them without cooking or canning. We go picking or pick from our own garden and then freeze most of our harvest so we can enjoy it even after the picking season is over.
Did you know that frozen fruits and vegetables often have more vitamins and minerals than fresh produce? Frozen fruits and frozen vegetables are from produce picked at peak ripeness and it’s frozen quickly so that they retain all the nutrients. Fresh produce loses its vitamins and minerals each day it sits, don’t forget the transit time to the store shelves.
Freezing is a great way to preserve the items you won’t be able to use in time, it’s a great way to use up all your produce. We love using fresh for snacking or even dessert, like chocolate covered strawberries.
When freezing fruit or even vegetables we find it’s best to wash them, dry them, place them on a tray or cookie sheet and freeze them in a single layer. Once frozen you can place them into a bag and enjoy them for months to come!
By freezing in a single layer prior to placing in a bag they won’t stick together or get squished. When you freeze your own strawberries you can enjoy for up to 6-8 months.
How to freeze strawberries
- Wash the strawberries as desired. We typically wash strawberries in a large bowl filled with water and a little bit of vinegar, baking soda. We then move the strawberries around in the water to ensure they are all getting a good wash for about 1 minute.
- If the strawberries are fresh picked from the farmers market you can gently twist off the strawberry stems. If you’re using store bought strawberries you’ll want to hull the strawberries with a knife or strawberry huller.
- Then you’ll want to pour out the water and give the berries a good rinse. After rinsing place the strawberries onto a clean dish towel or paper towel to dry. Once they’re dry place them onto a lined baking sheet with a little bit of space in between them so they don’t stick together. We suggest using parchment paper or a Silpat Non-Stick Baking Mat on a cookie sheet when freezing, if not the strawberries will stick to the cookie sheet.
- Once they’re fully frozen place into freezer containers or bags (we like using Stasher Bags) and enjoy as often as you’d like!
Frequently asked questions
The options are endless! You can freeze any fruit. We love freezing berries, cherries, peaches (how to freeze peaches), oranges, even watermelon! Frozen watermelon makes great “ice cubes”!
We recommend blanching vegetables before freezing. This is due to an enzyme that can cause a loss of their vibrant colors, their nutrients, and even flavor.
You should be able to enjoy freshly frozen fruit for 8-12 months depending on the freezing conditions. We love using a deep freezer for any fruits or vegetables we plan on storing for a few months.
Some suggest a quick rinse, but we like to remove any dirt and debre by soaking with vinegar and baking soda. Remember, strawberries are grown outside and nature has many friends. We’ve purchased store bought strawberries with bird poop on them before so we definitely like to give them a good wash organic or not.
After flash freezing, we like to store in a large Stasher Bag, but you can use any freezer safe container. If you’re looking for how long to store strawberries the longest, we suggest something that can really prevent freezer burn. Reusable silicone bags are great for storing frozen fruit and vegetables!
Drying the strawberries actually prevents ice crystals from forming in the container and all over the berries.
Our preferred way to defrost strawberries is to place them in the refrigerator a few hours before using them. If you need to quickly thaw frozen strawberries you can cook them in the microwave, oven, a saucepan, or even with a bit of hot water. When we make a strawberry jam we do it in a saucepan.
Recipes using frozen strawberries
How to Freeze Strawberries
Ingredients
- 2 lbs strawberries
Instructions
- Wash the strawberries and then place onto a clean towel or paper towel to dry.
- Line a small cookie sheet with parchment paper or a reusable silicone mat.
- Places strawberries onto the cookie sheet with a little bit of space between.
- Freeze the strawberries for 3-4 hours until the strawberries are completely frozen.
- Once the strawberries are frozen place into a freezer safe bag or dish and return to the freezer to use as desired.
Nutrition
The nutritional information is automatically calculated and can vary based ingredients and products used. If the nutrition numbers are important for you we recommend calculating them yourself.
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