How To Freeze Fresh Herbs In A Butter-Filled Ice Cube Tray for long-Lasting Flavor.
How To Freeze Fresh Herbs for long-Lasting Flavor with an ice cube tray.
Today on Lia Rose Simply Home, I'm sharing how to preserve fresh herbs by freezing them in butter or olive oil. Preserving fresh herbs by freezing them in an ice cube tray with butter or olive oil is easy and convenient. Once these little cubes full of flavorful herbs are frozen remove one or two from the tray and add them to a sizzling hot pan for added flavor to any dish.
A few years ago, I planted some herbs and ended up with a large amount of basil, parsley, and mint. I honestly had no idea that mint grew like a weed and the more I picked leaves off to use it the faster it grew back. I was picking basil and mint almost daily so I decided to freeze them in a zip lock bag. When I went to use the basil one day I had a clump of dark green, soggy basil and thought there has to be a better way to preserve herbs.
What I did know is herbs can be preserved in oil but the oil won't stay good for long. I wanted a way to preserve my herbs for a more long-term basis. Then I suddenly remembered my Grandmother having a container of frozen herb cubes in her freezer. I gave it a try and now my favorite way to preserve Summer's abundance of fresh herbs is to freeze them in butter or olive oil.
You can freeze herbs on their own by placing them in a zip lock bag but using that method often turns fresh herbs dark green or brown. They also become soggy and lose their fresh flavor and aroma. The best way to preserve fresh herbs is to freeze them in butter or olive oil in an ice cube tray.
These delightful little cubes are packed with flavor and the herbs hold up very well all while keeping their crisp green color. Using the ice cube and butter, or oil method prevents a soggy mess at the bottom of a zip lock bag. Once the cubes are frozen they can be used to replace unflavored butter or oil when cooking. Add the herb cubes to a hot pan for just about any recipe, scrambled eggs, stir fry, pasta, marinades, soups, and stews.
The herbs in the photo above were frozen in butter and added to a hot skillet. Look at the freshness and vibrant green color.
The possibilities are endless and the convenience these frozen cubes of herbs bring is worth the small amount of effort it takes to whip them up.
How to freeze fresh herbs in butter or olive oil
To freeze herbs in an ice cube tray remove the leaves from the stem. Chop or mince the leaves and divide the herbs into the ice cube trays filling each compartment 3⁄4 full. Top off with melted butter or olive oil. Freeze the herbs for at least 8 hours, then remove the cubes from the ice cube tray and place them in a zip lock bag or freezer container. Be sure to label the bag or container with the types of herbs you used.
Useful Tips
One cube from a standard-size ice cube tray is equivalent to 2 tablespoons.
Get creative! Customizing these fun cubes full of flavorful herbs is fun to do. You can freeze one herb such as mint by adding a couple of whole, fresh mint leaves and water to an ice cube tray, once it's frozen add the cube to a glass of water or lemonade for a refreshing burst of flavor. I also like to freeze whole basil leaves for my homemade soups and sauce.
When I make homemade soup I feel like there is enough chopping with the fresh vegetables and I like to saute my veggies in olive oil before adding stock so I grab my herbs frozen in olive oil and add them to the pan, no chopping herbs are needed.
Speaking of fresh herbs don't miss out on this easy and delicious herb butter recipe!
Did you know you can freeze your vegetable scraps and make wholesome veggie broth?
Check out my how to make homemade vegetable broth blog post here.
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