If you want to learn how to freeze spinach (without blanching), you’ve come to the right place… Yep, you CAN freeze fresh spinach leaves! And it’s SO easy — which is awesome, because freezing spinach is an excellent way to minimize your produce waste.
Can You Freeze Spinach? Spoiler: Yes!
Spinach is one of those versatile staples that I like to always have on hand. So we typically pick up at least one extra large tub of organic spinach at Costco each week. At around $3.89 for a pound of fresh spinach, it’s an excellent value. That is IF you can use that much spinach in a week.
And between salads and tossing handfuls into other dishes (I call this “sneaky” spinach), we do most weeks… But every so often we either get a batch that’s going bad quickly or we just don’t use it at our normal pace.
After throwing out more than a few tubs of wilted, slimey, past-its-prime spinach over the years, I decided there had to be a better way. So a while back, I decided to type “Can you freeze spinach leaves?” into the Pinterest search bar, and discovered that, YES, you CAN freeze spinach!
Who knew?!? I mean, at the time, I clearly didn’t… And I figured that maybe there are a few of you that might like to know how about freezing spinach, as well. The EASY, hassle-free way, of course — no blanching and no mess.
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What To Know Before Freezing Spinach
Before I tell you about freezing fresh spinach, there’s one important thing you should know… Just making sure I set some expectations, and maybe this goes without saying, but don’t expect to thaw your frozen spinach and eat it in a salad. Freezing spinach breaks down the cellular walls, so it will be wilted and watery when thawed.
NO BIG DEAL! Don’t worry, there are plenty of ways to use your frozen spinach. Consistency and texture matter less in cooked or blended recipes, so it’s best to stick with these kinds of dishes. Just grab the amount you need straight from the freezer when adding it to smoothies. Or if your recipe calls for thawed spinach (like in a casserole), place it in a colander and rinse under cold water. Frozen spinach also works well in soup or stock, stir-fry, dips, quiche, and pasta dishes.
Spinach is one of my favorite nutrition boosters! I add it liberally to taco meat, meat sauces for pasta, pasta salads, and more. And I’m always up for a big handful in my smoothies.
How To Freeze Fresh Spinach
Now that we’ve got that out of the way, here’s the quick and dirty on how to freeze spinach leaves. Basically, there are two methods that I like to use, with the first being my favorite because it’s totally easy and mess-free!
Freezing Whole Spinach Leaves (My Fave Method)
Freezing whole spinach leaves is a total breeze! Just pick out any icky leaves, place the fresh spinach leaves in a Ziploc freezer bag, squeeze out as much air as possible, and place it in the freezer. It doesn’t get much easier!
Freezing Pureed Spinach (Slightly More Cleanup)
You can also puree and freeze your spinach. I almost always use the whole leaf method, but this is a great option if you’re certain you’ll be using it in smoothies. Just add all of the spinach to a blender and add just enough water to get the blender going. Freeze the puree in Ziploc freezer bags (again, squeeze the air out), ice cube trays, or baby food containers.
In either case, you DO NOT need to blanch the spinach if you plan to use your freezer spinach within six months. In fact, I’m not even going to go into detail on blanching it, because 1) it’s kind of a pain and 2) any veggies left in my freezer longer 6 months seem to get freezer burn no matter how well I prep them.
Also, if you’re looking to preserve spinach that’s been freshly picked from your garden or the farmer’s market, wash and dry it well before freezing. But if you’re using the triple-washed bags or clamshells from the grocery store, you should be good to go.
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How To Freeze Spinach (The EASY Way!)
If you want to learn how to freeze spinach (without blanching), you've come to the right place... Yep, you CAN freeze fresh spinach leaves!
Instructions
If you’re looking to preserve spinach that’s been freshly picked from your garden or the farmer’s market, wash and dry it well before freezing. But if you’re using the triple-washed bags or clamshells from the grocery store, you should be good to go.
Freezing Whole Spinach Leaves (My Fave Method)
Freezing whole spinach leaves is a total breeze! Just pick out any icky leaves, place the fresh spinach leaves in a Ziploc freezer bag, squeeze out as much air as possible, and place it in the freezer. It doesn't get much easier!
Freezing Pureed Spinach (Slightly More Cleanup)
You can also puree and freeze your spinach. I almost always use the whole leaf method, but this is a great option if you're certain you'll be using it in smoothies. Just add all of the spinach to a blender and add just enough water to get the blender going. Freeze the puree in Ziploc freezer bags (again, squeeze the air out), ice cube trays, or baby food containers.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 3.5 Serving Size: 1 servingAmount Per Serving: Calories: 25Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 8mgCarbohydrates: 3gFiber: 2gSugar: 0gProtein: 2g
Delicious Recipes That Use Spinach
Over the years I’ve discovered that “sneaky” spinach is one of the BEST ways to get my kids to eat more greens. If I’ve already stirred it into a dish, they’re highly unlikely to waste much time and effort trying to pick it out. In fact, they often don’t even notice it at this point.
If you love squeezing more nutrition into recipes by adding spinach, here are a few yummy dishes you have to try!
- chicken spinach alfredo with penne pasta
- cheesy spinach lasagna roll ups
- crescent roll spinach mini breakfast quiche
- copycat lightened up Olive Garden spinach artichoke dip
Have you ever frozen spinach? If so, what are your favorite ways to use it?
I’d love to see how your frozen spinach turns out… Tag me @Unsophisticook on Instagram or use the hashtag #Unsophisticook so I can check it out. Enjoy!
Jody
Friday 25th of December 2020
Brilliant! The last time I had spinach that I didn't want to waste, the only direction I found was the blanching route. I said "never again." Thanks to your taking the time to post your experience, I'm going to save time and money!
Loly Dighe
Thursday 15th of October 2020
I have grown bittergord for last few years and never used the leaves and just let them go away naturally. My older sister in phillipines told me to iuse the green leaves in cooking pasta or asian nuddle dishesas substitute for spinage and it is also a remedy for diabetes. I recently used your method for freezing these leves, it worked like a charm. I thank you for the recipe.
Tara Kuczykowski
Thursday 15th of October 2020
Thanks for sharing, Loly! So glad it worked well for you.
Jan Knight
Wednesday 14th of October 2020
I puree my fresh spinach and freeze it in ice cube trays for smoothies. Can you tell me how much spinach I'm getting in a single cube. I'm trying to figure out how many cubes I should use for a smoothie. Thanks for your help.
Tara Kuczykowski
Thursday 15th of October 2020
Hi Jan! The amount per cube will probably vary slightly from batch to batch depending on how thick the mixture is. I typically use 1 or 2 per smoothie serving and then taste it to see if I feel like it needs more.
B
Saturday 12th of September 2020
That’s not the best advice. A tiny bit of research will show that spinach needs to be blanched before freezing z
Tara Kuczykowski
Sunday 13th of September 2020
Thanks for weighing in! But as I mention in the article, it's not necessary unless you're planning to freeze it for a long period of time. I've been using this method for many years, and it works perfectly fine for cutting down waste if you're planning to use it for smoothies and/or in cooking in the near future.
Dana
Wednesday 12th of August 2020
Thank you so much for sharing! I to keep over indulging in my Costco spinach purchases and have thrown so many away that I was almost resigned to buying that much smaller bags! Super helpful and appreciated!
Tara Kuczykowski
Wednesday 12th of August 2020
Happy to help out, Dana!