How To Freeze Fresh Herbs

One of my favorite things about summer is the fresh herbs. And I can say this at the end of February because I’m not currently being overrun by oregano, parsley and thyme! Their prolific growing potential aside, herbs are an excellent way to add some flavor to your cooking. And when you grow them yourself, they’re super cheap.

But there are times when you’re simply overrun by herbs. Whether it’s because you underestimated their potential when you planted them in the spring, or you simply have some fresh from the grocery store and don’t want them to go to waste before you use the rest… point being is you have some herbs, and you need to do something with them!

Lately, my favorite way to deal with herbs is to dehydrate them. But that’s a post for another day. Today we’re going to make it quick and easy, and freeze them in oil.

Keep in mind that this will work for herbs that are a bit tougher and can hold up to freezing. Oregano, parsley, thyme and rosemary are really good for this. Basil won’t do so well; it tends to turn brown when it’s been left in water too long, it will only get worse when it’s frozen.

This started because I simply had no more room in my dehydrator* one day over the summer. My parsley took up so much space, that the oregano I had left had no where to go.

Start by washing your herbs. I like to use my large stainless steel bowl* and a splash of vinegar for this.

I use this method because it helps get off some of the finer dirt particles that wouldn’t have come off with simply rinsing alone.

Next, take your herbs out of the water, and pat dry with a towel.

For oregano, parsley, and rosemary, take the leaves off the stems. The stems get a bit tough, and if you end up sauteeing with these later on, bits of stem don’t taste very good. For thyme sprigs, as long as the stem isn’t tough, you can leave them on the sprigs and just tear the sprigs into smaller pieces.

Place your herbs in a clean ice cube tray. I have a separate tray with it’s own lid* specifically for this. You can fill the compartments as full as you like. I filled these halfway up because I know this variety of oregano from our garden, spicy oregano, is quite strong and a little goes a long way.

You could freeze your herbs in oil, or in water. Since I know that i’ll be using these for flavoring roasts, rice, or for sauteeing, I used olive oil. A bottle of olive oil is super cheap at Aldi, so I don’t mind using the entire bottle on this. Besides, by the time you’re done cooking with it, you won’t even know the difference.

Gently pour the oil over the herbs, enough to cover them.

When each compartment is filled, I like to put the lid on the tray, this way the kids don’t accidentally spill it, or stick their lunch box ice packs in it.

Place it in your freezer, and let them freeze entirely. The time it takes the oil to freeze will depend on your freezer and what settings you have it set to. I usually end up forgetting about them for a day or so {mom-life}, and when I remember to come back to them, they’re already frozen.