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The Easiest Way to Preserve Herbs

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It's summer.  That means gardens and CSAs.

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And for us, right now, that means lots of fresh herbs.  Basil.  Parsley.  Dill…

Are you wondering what to do with all of it?

Actually, for that reason, I almost never bought fresh herbs, mostly because I didn't know what to do with the leftovers!

Two years ago when we got a whole bunch of parsley and basil, I just dried everything and it worked great.  But this year, I thought that I sure would like to have some fresh-tasting herbs throughout the year, so I got down to figuring out how to preserve them without drying.  And what I found was remarkably easy and worked out great!

First of all, let me say that of course, you can choose to either dehydrate or freeze your leftover herbs (canning doesn't work that well :-)).  Now, I love my dehydrator, and I love dried herbs, but here are some things to think about on both sides of the coin:

Freezing Versus Dehydrating Herbs

Here are some of the differences between freezing and dehydrating herbs.

1.  Freezing will give you more of a fresh flavor to your herbs

2.  Dehydrating doesn't work for all herbs (cilantro does not dry well.  See my post on 6 Super Tips for Cilantro for more info on this great herb!)

3. Of course, dehydrated foods take up less room and you will not take up freezer space with the herbs if your space is limited.

4.  There are cost differences.  See my post on Which Saves Most – Dehydrating, Canning, or Freezing?

Now, there's quite a bit of information out there about freezing herbs, with three main techniques that seem to be the mainstays.

They consisted of:

– freezing in single layers
– freezing chopped herbs in ice cube trays, and
– freezing herbs with oil as a preparation for making pesto.

All of them were too much work for me. I know–it sounds like I am just lazy, but really it's just that I have too much going on and need to cut corners somewhere.

So I ended up trying something easy, doable and workable — and it worked!

‘Cause that's what I need.  Less fuss.  Like my post this past week on The Easiest Way to Peel Garlic.

Get the job done so that I can get onto other things!

What You Will Need

Herbs (of course)
Food Safe Plastic Bags: I recommend both these small plastic bags as well as these larger plastic bags.
Twixit Clips – I use these for EVERYTHING! These clips from IKEA are another great choice. Buy a bunch because you will definitely want to use them for ALL the bags in your house!

More Food Preservation Posts

You might also want to check out these posts for other ways to preserve your bounty….

wooden garden box with herbs growing in it for post on how to preserve herbs

How to Freeze Herbs

Try this quick and easy way to freeze your herbs and easily chop up or break off whatever you need for a recipe. 
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Drying Time: 8 hours
Total Time: 8 hours 10 minutes

Instructions

  • Wash herbs.
  • Pat dry.
  • Leave out overnight to dry completely (You can dry the herbs on any flat surface, but one with ventilation will work best.   A cooling rack would be a good option.  I used the trays from my Excalibur Dehydrator.  See, you can even use your dehydrator to freeze herbs!
  • Parsley
    Dehydrating Parsley
  • Basil
    How to Dehydrate Basil - Excalibur Dehydrator
  • Place in plastic bags and take out as much air as possible. (You can even stick a straw in the bag to suck the air out if you like. I have not done that yet, however, but I want to!
    Use and Store Cilantro | Cilantro and Coriander

Notes

I use small plastic bags from Country Life Natural Foods and they are great. I get the 4x2x8 size. They come in various sizes and in serious bulk so you can store away for cheap! These on Amazon appear to be the same. A MUST, however, for this, in my mind, is Twixit Clips. These clips from IKEA are another great option. I use these for EVERYTHING in my home. Trust me, you will be so thrilled to be done with those pesky twist ties.

Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It may vary depending on ingredient brands, substitutions, and preparation methods. Optional ingredients are not included. Net carbs are typically calculated by subtracting fiber and sugar alcohols (such as erythritol) from total carbohydrates. This information should not be relied upon for medical or nutritional purposes.

That's it!  Quick and easy.   And really, I don't see the need for freezing in single layers like berries.  My herbs come out of the bags easily and I can simply chop up or break off whatever amount I need for a recipe.  In fact, I don't think it makes sense to freeze in cubes.  If you end up needing half a cube, then trying to chop one of those would not be something that I would look forward to doing!

Don't Have a Dehydrator?

I know that not all of you have one. Obviously, for this technique, you don't need the whole machine–just the trays. You could buy some circular trays here and have a handy dandy herb dehydrating system on the cheap!

Of course, with all of the great things you can do with a dehydrator, I HIGHLY recommend one–they are coming out with all kinds of new designs too. So many great ones to choose from. You can check them all out here.

Do you grow your own herbs?

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97 Comments

  1. Great idea! Do you notice any difference in the taste of the herbs because of letting them sit overnight? Just wondering since this is kinda like a mixture between drying and freezing. I’ve got lots of parsley and basil that I need to try this technique on!

    Reply

    1. I don’t think that there was any difference. You really don’t need to have them dry overnight. Just until they aren’t wet anymore so that you avoid ice crystals on them. I ended up leaving them out overnight just because I was busy and didn’t get to washing the herbs until late at night and I didn’t feel like drying them with a towel :-)!

      Reply

      1. Great, thanks! I know how that goes, when things get done a certain way just because other things took priority. 🙂

        Reply

  5. These are great tips! I do prefer the flavor of frozen herbs vs. dried as it’s so much closer to fresh. Thanks for submitting this to WW this week! 🙂

    Reply

  6. Hi Adrienne,
    This is a great idea and much easier than some of “our old way” of drying herbs. I am sure going to give this a try as I have an abundance of herbs just now. Thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and hope to see you again real soon! Hope you are having a great week end.
    Miz Helen

    Reply

  7. This is SO awesome! Thank you for posting this! I’ve always wanted to grow herbs, but never managed to get them stored / saved because I didn’t invest in a dehydrator (don’t have room for one). This is something I could EASILY do and I love how simple the process is! Thank you for sharing this at WFMW!!!

    Reply

    1. Debbie….Just an FYI -I have mine on a small telephone table in my pantry and a fellow blogger I know has hers in the basement next to her washing machine :-)! Where there’s a will, there’s a way!

      Reply

  8. I’ve never dried herbs on a large scale…only small stuff. Love the full coverage of all the details you have here.

    Great post and thanks for sharing at the hearth and soul hop.

    Reply

  9. That is FANTASTIC! I didn’t know you could freeze herbs! This will save me a TON of money! BRILLIANT!

    Thanks for linking up and playing at our Friday Food Fight! 🙂

    Reply