How to Freeze Zucchini and How to Use It
Can you freeze zucchini?
Read more: How to Freeze Onions, Freeze Beets, Blanch & Freeze Peas and How to Freeze Green Beans.
Yes you can. But there are a couple of things to consider.
- Zucchinis are over 90% water by weight. That means whether you slice them, dice them or shred them, they will get soggy and limp when frozen. Do not expect zucchini slices to hold their shape when frozen. Cooking them so they won’t be mushy will require some skill! Luckily, frozen grated zucchini is great in baking, casseroles or mixed into rice, soups, spaghetti sauce, etc.
- The National Center for Home Food Preservation, (NCHFP) the most credible source for preserving produce, recommends blanching zucchini slices (3 minutes) and shredded zucchini (2 minutes) before freezing. Blanching destroys aging enzymes and helps preserve color and flavor for much longer than if you don’t blanch zucchini. Expect unblanched zucchini to be tasty for 3 months, while blanched zucchini will last 6-12 months.
Why I don’t Blanch Zucchini Even if its Recommended
If you’ve read any of my other articles on freezing vegetables you know I’m obsessed with blanching and will do so for all veggies. Zucchini are the one exception. Even though the NCHFP says to blanch, I choose not to blanch shredded zucchini. WHAT?! Yup, I freeze fresh shredded zucchini as is. Crazy right?! Here’s why. I use shredded zucchini mostly for baked goods or in soups or dishes where the zucchini is masked by other ingredients. In other words, the flavor and color loss is not noticeable because zucchini is not the star of the show.
Knowing all this, here is how we freeze zucchini.
How to Freeze Zucchini
1.Use fresh, beautiful zucchini to freeze. Remember the quality of frozen food is only as good as the quality of the food you put into the freezer!
That said, you can use larger zucchini just try to keep it under 3 feet!
2. If seeds have started to develop in your zucchini, scoop out the core of the zucchini. Take out the seeds and the spongy center.
3. Shred zucchini using a grater or a food processor. Use the large holes to make large shreds, avoid making tiny shreds as these will turn into a soupy mess once frozen.
4. Drain and squeeze out as much liquid as you can from the zucchini shreds. This will reduce the amount of water when thawing.
5. Place pre-measured amounts in a freezer bag. Choose amounts that you’ll need for your favorite recipes. My lemon zucchini muffins require 1 cup and my chocolate zucchini loaf requires 3 cups.
Use a straw inserted into a small opening in the zipper of the bag to suck out as much air as possible. And don’t forget to label your bag!
6. Place in freezer and use within 3-6 months. As noted above, if you want it to last even longer, blanch your zucchini.
How to Freeze Zucchini
Ingredients
- fresh zucchini mid size to large are best for flavour (try to keep them under 3 ft!)
Instructions
- Use fresh, beautiful zucchini to freeze. Remember the quality of frozen food is only as good as the quality of the food you put into the freezer!
- If seeds have started to develop in your zucchini, scoop out the core of the zucchini. Take out the seeds and the spongy center.
- Shred zucchini using a grater or a food processor. Use the large holes to make large shreds, avoid making tiny shreds as these will turn into a soupy mess once frozen.
- Drain and squeeze out as much liquid as you can from the zucchini shreds. This will reduce the amount of water when thawing.
- Place pre-measured amounts in a freezer bag. Choose amounts that you'll need for your favourite recipes. My lemon zucchini muffins require 1 cup and my chocolate zucchini loaf requires 3 cups.
- Use a straw inserted into a small opening in the zipper of the bag to suck out as much air as possible. And don't forget to label your bag!
- Place in freezer and use within 3-6 months. As noted above, if you want it to last even longer, blanch your zucchini.
Video
Notes
How to Use Frozen Shredded Zucchini
To Thaw or Not to Thaw
Thaw for baking, don’t thaw for cooking is a good rule of thumb.
If you’re making soup or spaghetti sauce, add frozen zucchini shreds towards the end of the cooking time. They do not need to be cooked for long, just long enough to heat through.
To thaw, simply place in fridge overnight or soak the bag of frozen zucchini in a bowl of warm water. Or, use the microwave on half power so it thaws but doesn’t cook.
To Drain or Not Drain
Sooo, here’s the thing. Most baking recipes that use zucchini rely on some of the moisture in the zucchini. But when zucchini freezes additional moisture builds up in the bag so when you thaw it, there is more moisture than the equivalent amount of fresh zucchini would have. Therefore, yes you should drain thawed, frozen zucchini – but you don’t need to wring it out completely. Hope that makes sense.
1 cup before freezing or 1 cup thawed and drained
This is another tricky one and one I haven’t been able to find a definitive answer to. Frozen zucchini takes up less volume than fresh zucchini. So even though you put 1 cup of fresh zucchini in the bag, it may come out as 3/4 cup or less once thawed. Should you add more frozen zucchini to make 1 cup? What do you you do? I typically do not add more zucchini and just use whatever I pre-measured and froze.
My favourite zucchini baking recipes:
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What if, when you package 2 cups to freeze, you also weight it? Then you know how much water to remove when cooking. Just a thought.
Brilliant thought!