Make the most of a sale or freshly picked berries whenever you can by stashing them into the freezer. Learn how to freeze strawberries with about 5 minutes of work to preserve your berries for smoothies, muffins, bread, or any other favorite recipe.
How to Freeze Strawberries
There is usually a certain time in the late spring and early summer when strawberries are available for so much less than through the rest of the year. During those weeks, it can really pay to stock up and stash them in the freezer for future use in strawberry recipes since they are often less expensive than buying frozen strawberries from the freezer aisle. And it preserves the berries at the peak of ripeness.
And, if you ever go strawberry picking and need a way to preserve them before they could go bad, freezing them is the fastest and easiest method.
Throughout the year, there are also always times when we buy fresh strawberries and don’t eat them all before they’re about to go bad—toddler preferences can change so fast!—and freezing them is a simple way to ensure they don’t go to waste.
Then, we can use them in everything from Strawberry Muffins and Yogurt Muffins, to Strawberry Smoothies, Strawberry Yogurt, and more—including sauces, cakes, jams, and other recipes and desserts.
Table of Contents
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Ingredients You Need
You really just need fresh berries, from the supermarket, farmer’s market, or a farm, and a zip-top freezer bag. You can use a plastic freezer bag or a reusable one like the kind from Stasher.
Oh and a colander and a towel to get them prepped for the freezer.
TIP: You can use conventional or organic. Both work!
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here’s a quick look at the overview of how to freeze strawberries. Scroll down to the full recipe for more specifics.
- Wash your berries by rinsing with cold water or submerging in cold water.
- Dry your berries by patting gently with a clean towel or paper towel. You can also let them sit on the towel for an hour or so to thoroughly dry.
- Remove the stems and hull with a paring knife and discard. Slice the berries if they’re large.
- Add to a freezer bag and press flat in a single layer to remove as much air as possible. Seal and freeze.
TIP: Pressing the berries into a flat layer helps prevent them from freezing together, which means they are easier to use in future recipes. I do not find the need to freeze them first on a baking sheet.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, any freezer bag will work. You can also use a plastic freezer bag or a reusable one like the kind from Stasher.
You will want to wash and dry your berries before freezing them. Wash your berries by rinsing with cold water or submerging in cold water. Dry your berries by patting gently with a clean towel or paper towel. You can also let them sit on the towel for an hour or so to thoroughly dry.
They will last up to one year in the freezer.
Recipes to Use Frozen Strawberries In
Here are a few of my favorite recipes for using frozen strawberries. (To use them in recipes including muffins and quick breads, dice the frozen berries with kitchen scissors so the pieces of berries in the final recipe aren’t too large.)
Best Tips for Freezing Strawberries
- Try to dry the berries thoroughly to reduce the amount of ice that freezes on them.
- Remove the stem before slicing. You can use a paring knife or a strawberry huller.
- Roughly slicing them makes them more versatile in recipes, but if you just plan to use them in smoothies, you can simply cut off the stem and freeze without slicing them. Then just pop the whole berries into your blender.
- To use frozen strawberries in baked goods like muffins or breads, you can quickly cut them smaller if needed with a pair of kitchen scissors.
- You can freeze a whole container or just a few at a time if they start to go bad faster than you can use them fresh.
- You’ll want to remove as much air as possible and lay them flat to freeze. This will prevent the berries from freezing into one giant clump and will make it easy for you to break them apart and measure them out for recipes.
- You may also like to use them in Strawberry Jam and Strawberry Pancakes.
Related Recipes
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Cooking Tips
How to Freeze Rhubarb
Preserving
How to Freeze Spinach
If you try this method or you do your berries a different way, I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
How to Freeze Strawberries
Ingredients
- 16 ounces strawberries or more or less as you like
Instructions
- Place the berries into a colander. Rinse well.
- Place onto a clean kitchen towel and pat dry. The dryer they are, the less ice will form on the berries. (It’s okay if some ice forms though!)
- Remove the stem and slice into halves or thirds.
- Place into a zip top freezer bag. Remove as much air as possible and seal.
- Lay flat to freeze in the freezer for at least 4 hours and up to 1 year.
Notes
- Try to dry the berries thoroughly to reduce the amount of ice that freezes on them.
- Remove the stem before slicing.
- Roughly slicing them makes them more versatile in recipes, but if you just plan to use them in smoothies, you can simply cut off the stem and freeze without slicing them. Then just pop the whole berries into your blender.
- To use frozen strawberries in baked goods like muffins or breads, you can quickly cut them smaller if needed with a pair of kitchen scissors.
- You can freeze a whole container or just a few at a time if they start to go bad faster than you can use them fresh.
- You’ll want to remove as much air as possible and lay them flat to freeze. This will prevent the berries from freezing into one giant clump and will make it easy for you to break them apart and measure them out for recipes.
Nutrition
This post was first published June 2020.
Hi, I am wondering if freezer bags are BPA free. I have silicone Stasher brand bags that work well but are pricey.
Thank you for your practical ideas. I hope to freeze berries after we go to the orchards this summer.