How to Freeze Zucchini
August 8 is National Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Day! Got too much? Freeze your zucchini and summer squash for use beyond the summer months. Here are two methods for easily freezing zucchini, as well as a few of our favorite zucchini recipes!
Friends, neighbors, coworkers, even some side-of-the-road vegetable vendors will try to give away zucchini. Because once zucchini plants start producing, they are prolific!
Sure, you could bake a LOT of Zucchini Bread and freeze it for future potlucks. But what about the many other zucchini dishes?
Freeze it for later use in soups, stews, lasagna, baking, and so much more!Â
How to Freeze Zucchini
1. Sliced Zucchini (Needs Blanching)
- Choose young squash (smaller than 6 inches long).
- Wash the zucchini.
- Cut the zucchini into one-and-a-half-inch rounds.
- Blanch it in boiling water for 3 minutes.*
- Cool promptly by placing zucchini rounds into ice water and leave for 3 minutes; drain the slices and pat dry as needed.Â
- Place in freezer safe container leaving 1/2-inch head space. Seal.Â
*To steam blanch, use a pot with a tight lid and a basket that holds the zucchini at least three inches above the bottom of the pot. Put an inch or two of water in the pot and bring the water to a rolling boil. Put the zucchini in the basket or colander—making sure zucchini isn’t lost into the water—in a single layer so that steam reaches all parts quickly. Cover the pot and keep heat high. Start counting steaming time as soon as the lid is on.
Photo: Zucchini blossom. See how to grow zucchini.
2. Grated Zucchini (Without Blanching)
Grated zucchini is best for baking. You may freeze grated zucchini without blanching.
You may absolutely put grated zucchini into a freezer bag or other freezer safe containers, mark the amount to track volume, and freeze it. Thaw to use. Your zucchini will retain most of its volume when thawed and you may use any liquid formed in your recipes.
- Choose young squash—smaller than 6 inches long.
- Wash and grate.
- Steam blanch grated zucchini** in small quantities for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Drain and cool the grated zucchini in icy water leaving for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Place measured amounts of grated zucchini into freezer-safe containers or freezer bags. Leave ½-inch headspace.
- Squeeze out as much air as you can or use a straw to suck out air from freezer bags. Mark the amount. Thaw to use!Â
Alternately, freeze smaller portions in an ice cube tray. When the cubes are solid, remove them from the tray and put them into a freezer bag.
**To steam blanch, use a pot with a tight lid and a basket that holds the food at least three inches above the bottom of the pot. Put an inch or two of water in the pot and bring the water to a boil. Put the vegetables in the basket in a single layer so that steam reaches all parts quickly. Cover the pot and keep heat high. Start counting steaming time as soon as the lid is on.
With so many options, you’ll never say “no” to zucchini!
Looking for zucchini recipe ideas? How about Zucchini Soup, Zucchini Pancakes, Zucchini Pizza, or Lemon-zucchini Muffins, and more of our Best Zucchini Recipes
How do you use your zucchini? Please share below!
Introduction to Preserving
Freezing
Making Quick Pickles
Making Quick Jams: Refrigerator or Freezer Jam
Water-Bath Canning
How to Can Tomatoes
How to Can Pickles
How to Can Jam and Jelly
Pressure Canning
Drying
Salting and Brining
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The article says to steam blanch for 1 to 2 minutes starting your count from when the water comes to a boil and you place the lid on.
You say start counting ......to what?
How long do we blanch in steam?
Forty years ago I found myself in the kitchen of a Vermont farmer's wife at the end of August. On her kitchen table and counters were all those monster zucchinis everyone dreads finding in the garden...and there were a lot of them. Next to the zucchinis were a couple of bushels of ripe tomatoes and a smattering of onions, all surrounded by a variety of glass canning jars and of course, her pressure canner sitting on the stove top like the reigning queen of the kitchen.
I was helping with the milking that day and knew I was expected to stay for supper, but looking at all those huge zucchini's had me thinking of excuses all the while so I could quietly slip out after chores without causing offense. Fortunately, that plan didn't work out for me.
When I came into the kitchen after chores, the first thing I noticed was the counters were all clear of the zucchini, tomatoes and onions resting there before. In their place was this lovely display of canned goods that looked good enough to eat....and that's just what we did! In fact, that turned out to be some of the finest eating I had ever experienced, so I asked her how she made such a delightful dish as I was holding my bowl out for seconds.
Apparently while we were out working in the barn, she had first peeled, cut, seeded and diced those big old zucchinis into large cubes and then combined them together with the tomatoes and onions in a large pot and cooked until the mix was nice and hot. She then hot-packed the mix into quart canning jars and processed the jars in her pressure canner using the lowest acid ingredient (the zucchini) for the required time and pressure.
For supper that evening, she had taken the mix, added a bit of milk and butter and served the dish as a creamed tomato zucchini soup....and all I can say is I've been doing the same myself every year since.
Perhaps it's the acid from the tomatoes and onions that makes canning this combination a success. I don't know for sure, but all I can say is I've yet to lose a jar after all this time. So would I recommend canning this combination to others? Of course not.
What works for me may not work for others.... but since it does work for me, I'm off to harvest and can one of my favorite foods again this year, because I have to confess, aside from the chunky creamed soup it makes on it's own with a bit of milk, I also started adding it to my winter chili recipe...and now it's just not the same without it!
thanks for sharing the Zucchini tomato onion recipe; thanks for the funny story about too;
I have read a site called Bizarre Holidays, and today, August 8, is 'Sneak Some Zucchini on Your Neighbor's Porch Night'.
Since I planted my zucchini late this year, I don't have a proliferation of them yet, so I plan to get some at the local farmer's market and do the deed before I leave for work tonight. That's cheating, I know, but maybe next year, I'll have plenty of my own.
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