Question: Can You Freeze Parsley

March 19, 2010

Answers

Chris Paulk's picture

Yes! I regularly freeze my extra herbs before they go bad. Parsley and basil freeze especially well. A few methods:
1. For some sauces- I prefer whole basil- lay out flat on a large sheet of plastic wrap and roll the leaves. place the rolls in a ziploc bag & freeze- to use unroll and use quantity desired and return balance to the freezer.
2. You can chop or thinly slice it herbs- to freeze place herbs flat on a baking sheet topped with wax or parchment paper lay herbs flat- freeze for about an hour- remove from freezer, transfer to a plastic freezer bag and return to freezer.
3. Chop your herbs in a food processor until a fine paste- transfer to small ice cube trays and freeze. to use- just drop a cube into your soup or dish and stir.

Pesto freezes well too. At summer's end I batch and freeze a parsley pesto,
basil pesto, cilantro pesto, sundried tomato pesto, fresh basil, fresh sage, and epazote. You never know when inspiration will hit and I would rather use frozen than dried in most instances. If you get snowed in, like lots of people this year, better not to have to run to the store for one thing.

Curt's picture

Freezing herbs like parsley and basil will turn them black. When the herbs are blended into pesto they are coated with olive oil and the blackness only occurs on the outside of the mix. The 'ice cube tray' method Chris spoke of sound interesting and I will have to try that. My wife does that with Mojito mint & simple syrup.

Dahlia Chan Tang's picture

One way to prevent tender herbs like basil from turning black in the freezer is to blanch them first. It only takes a couple of seconds in boiling water, cool them down in an ice bath, then squeeze out every last bit of water. Rough chop the herb and freeze in ice cube trays.
Hardier herbs like parsley can be frozen as is on a tray -no need to lay out flat- keep in a zipper bag, and all you need to do is crumble the frozen leaves as needed.

Jenna Pepper's picture

i also toss fresh herbs i can't use up in my veggie scrap bag, which i collect during the week, then i make veggie broth/soup out of it. the herb stem and leaves don't turn black, but they're only in there for a week before I use them up.

http://foodwithkidappeal.blogspot.com/2010/02/what-to-do-with-vegetable-scraps.html

Tonya Peele's picture

Last summer I froze basil and parsley and they turned out great. Simply wash well, lay flat to dry, chop coursely, mix with a little olive oil, dollop into icecube trays, seal tray in ziplock bag and freeze. I am still using herbs from last year. Good luck!

The Taste Of Calabria's picture

I also freeze some of the herbs before they go bad and although you can use just fine I find they don't have the same flavour as when fresh. I guess the cold just extracts something from them....

Gabriel Cross's picture

One things everyone seems to have missed: you can dry parsley as well. The flavor changes a little, but not in a bad way. Dried parsley is a little stronger and more aromatic.

If dried properly, you can store it in an air tight container until the cows come home. Lots of other herbs dry well too, but some like basil are really not worth keeping dry. That is why pesto exists.