Can you freeze green beans? Yes, you certainly can! Preserving isn’t just about canning, you can freeze almost as much as you can with little prep, so you can enjoy your garden’s harvest year-round!
Freezing or Canning
This all comes down to personal preference, as well as storage space. If you have a lot of freezer space as we do, you can get away with freezing a lot of your food. Since I don’t have a pressure canner (right now), I am limited on what I can safely can with the water bath method. This means that I can only can high acidic foods/recipes and green beans don’t fall into that category. Freezing is my preserving method until I get around to investing in a pressure canner. I will most likely still freeze green beans even when I get around to pressure canning since I am not a fan of canned green beans.
Can You Freeze Green Beans Without Blanching?
You can freeze green beans without blanching, but I don’t recommend it. Blanching allows the nutrients to hold within the bean and it helps avoid freezer burn. Blanching also helps avoid botulism. You may have heard of botulism in the canning community. Even though it is less common in freezing, it is still possible. Botulism is a rare but serious illness caused by a toxin that attacks the body’s nerves and causes difficulty breathing, muscle paralysis, and sometimes even death. Taking a few moments to blanche your produce before freezing is worth it to avoid any chance of illness.
Can you Freeze Whole Green Beans?
Absolutely! I prefer to freeze green beans whole. Freezing green beans whole gives you an opportunity to use the green beans in multiple ways once thawed. If I need to green beans cut into smaller pieces for a soup or stew, I snap them into 2 to 3 pieces like I would a snap pea when they are still frozen. It is so easy, easier than cutting once they are thawed.
Leaving the green beans whole also allows you to cook them as a long beautiful side. I personally like cooking greens beans whole as a side.
What you need to Freeze Green Beans
- Paring knife, clean scissors
- Blancher or a big pot
- Freezer bags
- Cookie sheets
- Parchment paper
- Large bowl
- Ice
- Green beans
How To Prepare Green Beans For Freezing
- Start by washing and drying your green beans thoroughly. Fill your kitchen sink up with water and swish the beans around until all of the dirt falls to the bottom of the sink. Remove the beans and drain and clean the sink. Rewash the beans in batches to ensure all of the debris is removed. Once the green beans are nice and clean lay them out on towels to dry.
- Once the green beans are dry, cut the ends off of the green beans using a paring knife or clean scissors. Clean scissors work quickly and more precise. Cut close to the steam to preserve as much of the green bean as possible. Leave beans full or cut to desired size. (I like to keep some batches at full size and some cut in half.)
How to Blanche Green Beans
- Fill a large pot or blancher with water. Allow your water to get to a rolling boil before adding in your beans. Once the water is boiling carefully pour in your beans. If you have a lot of beans to freeze, add beans in batches. Beans should be fully submerged in the water.
- Let the water return to a boil. Once the water starts boiling, quickly remove the beans and put them in an ice bath to stop them from cooking further. Have a bowl of cold water and ice beside the stove to transfer them right from the pot.
- Once your beans have cooled (they will cool fast), place them on a towel to remove any excess water.
How to Freeze Green Beans
- This step is optional, but I like to flash freeze most of my produce so I don’t get stuck with a large chunk of frozen beans in a freezer bag. To flash freeze, place the beans on a parchment-lined cookie sheet, spacing the beans so they don’t touch one another. Place in the freezer for 2-3 hours.
- Once your green beans have frozen on the cookie sheets, transfer them into freezer bags and remove as much air as possible. Put the bags in the freezer to enjoy all year!