We are in the middle of green bean season here. Of course, it’s even a bit later for me personally, since I had to replant most of my green beans this year. The first planting had only a few plants that made it, so I quickly replanted and now I have more than enough!
Usually I pressure can my green beans, but since we tried Trim Healthy Mama, we have loved their Green Fries recipe – which calls for frozen green beans. So this year we are putting some of our green beans in the freezer.
Step-By-Step Guide to Freezing Fresh Green Beans
1. Pick, stem, and snap your green beans.
2. Wash your green beans in cool water. Drain.
3. Get your scalding water to a full, rolling boil.
4. Put your fresh green beans into your boiling water. Set the timer for 3 minutes once the green beans are in the water.
5. Remove from the boiling water once the 3 minutes are up. Most of you will probably have a scalding pot that is colander style that sits in the hot water. I could not find mine, so I made my own colander. I started with two pans. One that had the boiling water and green beans in it, and the other one that I put a strainer over to catch both my scalded beans and boiling water for the next batch. (Since boiling new water with every new batch can take a while.)
6. Put scalded beans into cold ice water. Let cool.
7. Take cooled beans out and let drain.
8. Put beans on a towel to dry off. You can also use another towel to roll across them to help speed up the drying process. You are aiming to have your green beans dry so that you don’t get ice forming around your frozen green beans.
9. Once they are dry, bag them up in freezer bags. Date and put in the freezer.
My last step . . .
I like to put all my canning/freezing records in one place. And it’s called my Mama’s Brain Book!
It holds anything a blonde mama tends to forget! I write down what month it is, what I got done freezing/canning/dehydrating, and the amounts I put up. I also put in any notes to help me next year – such as how long I blanch or can a food item.
Green beans are fun, easy, and a good thing that little ones can help you with!
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CarletonandDannielle Horst says
This is what I’m working on right now. Reading FB while I wait for the beans to come to a boil.
Justina yoder says
Just curious how long do you cook your beans after you get them out of the freezer? I’ve never had to much success with freezer beans. They always turned out rubbery:( I’m going to give this a try tho:)
Living in the Shoe says
I usually make THM’s green fries with frozen green beans. To do that, I scatter them on a cookie sheet, drizzle olive oil over them, and sprinkle with parmesan cheese, garlic salt, and seasoning. Then I bake at 350 for 30 minutes, and sometimes broil a few minutes at the end. We love those!
As for the rubbery part, this is my first year to freeze many beans so I can’t answer that question!
Mabel says
I was surprised you blanched them that long. I barely blanch my beans. 30 sec is about all I do. My family likes the crunch so I have to barely blanch to keep the crunch.
Kendra says
I think I was following the instructions in the blue Ball book.