This post is from SnoWhite at Finding Joy in My Kitchen. On Ingredient Spotlight: Spinach, SnoWhite mentioned that she freezes fresh spinach to use for later. I asked if she would share her process with us and she was kind to agree.
Thanks so much for inviting me to share this kitchen tip today, Tiffany! I am honored to have a chance to guest post at Eat at Home.
In our house, we eat a lot of spinach. For a while, I was buying the $1 frozen spinach boxes in the grocery store. However, I really like fresh spinach in many dishes. I started buying organic spinach in bulk from Sam’s Club where I can get a 16 oz for just over $3. This financially worked great for us, but we quickly realized we didn’t want to eat fresh spinach for every single meal each time we purchased the spinach, nor did we want the spinach to go to waste.
Great topic. Costco’s sizes are always too large!
In the summer, I grow my own spinach…. and then end up with too much– so I also freeze. So, last summer, I did the dip in cold water, wash, and then freeze method. However, the leaves all got somewhat discolored when frozen. I did some research. Apparently, because I did not heat the leaves up, the leaves continued to have certain enzymes in them (essentially, growth enzymes… but I’m no plant biologist) that continued to operate, discoloring the leaves. It didn’t impact my leaves’ taste, but supposedly, it can in some.
So, the conclusion reached was that one more step needed to be added: slightly blanch. I think this is also why the leaves you buy frozen in the grocery store are also pre-cooked (something I always wondered about). So, just get a pot of water to boiling, dip the leaves in for 20 seconds, then immediately put them in cold water. They look far better than store-bought frozen spinach leaves! And, that batch in the freezer? No discoloration!
Jessika, Thanks for the info. That’s a good tip.
That’s a great idea; I blanch other veggies (e.g., aspargus) before freezing, but I haven’t tried that with spinach yet!
i found this post from finding joy in my kitchen! i love this tip & will no longer let my fresh spinach go to waste! thanks so much!
We’ve saved so much money through this! Not only do we prevent fresh spinach from going bad, but buying spinach in bulk is much cheaper!
Thank you for this awesome idea!! I too love spinich and it is so much cheaper fresh!
This is GREAT! I love to add spinach to all kinds of dishes b/c it is so healthy, and this is just another way to do so.
We do too! I love knowing we have some in our freezer at all times.
Oooh great tip! I’m definitely going to have to try this! Do you think the frozen spinach would work okay in a spinach smoothie?
I haven’t tried that yet, although I was going to yesterday morning!
I SAW a THING ON Facebook where you can blend fresh spinach up and freeze it in ice cube trays. So when your ready for a smoothie you can just throw a couple cubes in.
I’ve doing this for the past few months! It is AWESOME. I pour mine in mini muffin pans (tried the ice trays, prefer the mini tin.
I did this a few weeks ago with a spinach risotto recipe. I sauteed the onions & shallots and then stirred the arborio rice in. Then I cooled the rice mixture. Once cooled I froze the rice mixture in one bag and the fresh spinach AND basil in another bag. When it was time to use the freezer dish, I thawed both bags. Cooked the rice in my rice cooker and then added the thawed spinach & basil right at the end with a little parmesan. It was fantastic! (And the best part is that I made 3 of those meals!)
Great tip! I lust after the large bags at Sams because it is so reasonable, but it’s hard to use up all the fresh before it goes bad. My mom used to put me to work helping blanch spinach from our garden to prepare for our freezer…it was hot work during the summer, so let’s just say the “aroma” of cooked spinach is seared into my psyche!!
I love it when spinach is on sale. I freeze a bunch and always have it on hand when I make my favorite wedding soup. It is usually the ingredient I don’t have on hand but with it frozen fresh it works out great.
Blanching also helps eliminate the bacteria and other contaminents on the plant. A friend that is a microbiolgist never eats raw vegetables….always blanches them to remove contaminents.
I like to add fresh spinach to my morning protein shakes; since it’s going to be blended, would frozen spinach work for this situation? Thanks for the tips!
Sharyn, I haven’t tried adding frozen spinach to a smoothie and neither has Sara, who wrote this post. But she says she thinks it would work. If you try it, let us know how it turns out!
I will let you know, thanks!!
Thanks for sharing your method on how to home freeze fresh spinach!
I put frozen spinach smoothies all the time, I think it works even better than fresh!
I freeze spinich just for use in our smoothies each morning. I think it works even better then the fresh non frozen stuff.
Yay, I’m so glad to hear that I can freeze fresh spinach! I love the stuff, but I’ll often use it just a handful at a time to put into omelets and things, so a full bag is too much. Another strategic use of produce and the freezer.
Wow! Thank you! You just saved my spinach!
Thanks! Now I can freeze spinach along with fruit for my smoothies!
I am packing up meals for my son at law school. Do you think I can sauté my spinach in garlic and oil and then freeze alone side the rest of the meal?
I think that will work, although I haven’t tried it.
I have an abundance of Swiss Chard/ Silverbeet in my garden. Would this method also work for it?
Marilyn, I think it will. If you try it, let me know how it works.
How long do you think the spinach will stay good in the freezer?
It should be fine for several months.
I freeze spinach flat in a gallon freezer bag,
therefore, it is easier to use in exact portions.
Use flat on sandwiches, however,
if you sqeeze the bag of frozen spinach
it turns to ‘crumbs’, great for omelets,
soups and sprinkle on salads, etc.
If I’m doing this to use for smoothies, do you recommend throwing the leaves in the blender frozen, or defrosting first?
I put them in the blender frozen. It works great!
Thank you for putting up this website! I was looking up how to freeze fresh spinach, and your website came up, so I thought it sounded like the most ideal one for me. Turns out, I was right—which doesn’t happen very often! LOL!! I am learning farming techniques from my boyfriend (whom I met on farmersonly.com by the way!) He’s made a really nice garden of fresh veggies, but I’m so new to everything about gardening still, even though it’s been almost a year and a half since we’ve been together. I have learned a great deal, and I’m so very thankful…..as I have never been a “green thumb”! I feel like I’m improving by the day! Thanks again for your great website for those of us who are busy as bees in a garden of clover! God bless you all!