Freezing green beans is a great way to have them on hand for the days to come.
Would you like to learn the best practices for freezing green beans to ensure their freshness and crispness? Check out our short guide!
Green beans are legumes slightly bigger than green peas. You can find both green and yellow variants of this vegetable; both are perfect for freezing.
Check out how to freeze green beans so that they remain fresh for a long period of time for you to use when needed.
Prepping green beans for freezing
Green beans are legumes that, once cooked, constitute a great addition to your dinner. Not many people know that this vegetable is also perfect for soups! I’d recommend you try a green bean soup with potatoes and bacon. Yummy.
I’ve also heard of daredevils who eat green beans raw, picking the seeds out of the pods.
The beans are appreciated for their taste, crispness, and texture.
But before you get to freezing green beans, make sure to pick out the nicest ones. If your beans seem off before freezing, they will certainly look even worse after thawing in a couple of months. So remove all beans that don’t look fresh.
If you intend to freeze them, make sure you pick fresh beans.
To prep your green beans for freezing, wash them well and dry carefully (you can use a strainer or paper towels). Place your beans in a ziplock bag or a container for frozen foods when done.
The drier the beans, the smaller the chance of them sticking to each other. Taking them out of the freezer will, too, be easier when the portions are separated.
How to freeze green beans properly
In an ideal scenario, you should put your green beans in a refrigerator for a couple of hours before freezing them. The process will give you the best results and the beans will remain fresh for longer.
You also need to remember to dry the pods carefully on a paper towel. Dry beans will taste best after thawing!
Once cooled, you can place your green beans in your freezer. Some freezers come with Fast Freeze containers – if you use them, your products will be frozen faster.
And most importantly…
If your green beans happen to thaw (because of an equipment failure or power outage) you can’t freeze them back. This rule applies to all frozen fruits and vegetables. If it happens to you, you have to use the products immediately or cook them – you have one day to do that.
Thawing green beans – step by step
If prepped and frozen properly, green beans can be kept in your freezer for up to 12 months.
Try to use them during that year you have. Although, to be frank, I personally keep my frozen food for longer and it’s still perfectly fine. The results depend on the shape your veggies were in before freezing, and on the conditions they are being frozen in.
Before you use your green beans for cooking or roasting, learn how to thaw them properly. It’s crucial – if done wrong, it can spoil the end result.
You can put your green beans directly in boiling water.
If you want to, you can thaw them first, but that step isn’t necessary. Dropping the beans into a pot with boiling water is much faster.
I usually recommend thawing products at room temperature but in this case, what matters is what you intend to use the beans for. Virtually every use I can think of in the case of green beans can be preceded by boiling them immediately after they’re taken out of the freezer, so there’s no point waiting!Last but not least: remember that it’s not recommended to thaw your beans in a microwave! They’re going to lose most of the vitamins and texture and will be considerably softer.