Hand pours olive oil into a food processor filled with fresh basil leaves.

There are some herbs that I think are pretty decent when dried (what’s up, sage), but others, like basil, parsley and cilantro, just aren’t even worth it to use dried, in my opinion. That is why I try to make sure to freeze up the fresh herbs when they are coming off in the summer to use all winter long. Making minestrone? Toss a couple of cubes of frozen basil in, and BAM, it tastes like August. Same goes for marinara sauce. Or Dairy-Free Tomato Basil Bisque. Having frozen cubes of basil is like a time machine to summer.

A lot of people freeze basil in pesto form, and that’s totally fine, but I like the simplicity and flexibility of just freezing basil solo. It’s a breeze to do, and you can do as much or as little as you want at a time. Basil plants grow better when you’re constantly picking from themโ€”so every few weeks, do a heavy harvest, freeze the bounty, and then repeat until your freezer is stocked with fresh-frozen herbs. Let me show you how to freeze basil, and just how simple it is.

How to Freeze Basil

 

A hand places basil leaves in a clear glass bowl. A text overlay reads "Step One: Pick Leaves."

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First up, you gotta do some picking. I tend to clip whole stems from my basil plants, but you could also just pick individual leaves. If you do choose to clip whole stems, you’ll want to pick off all the leaves and then compost the woody stems. If it’s one of the thinner, tender stems toward the top of the plant, you are fine to leave it intact.

Don’t worry if the leaves aren’t in perfect shape. A few brown spots aren’t going to hurt anyone. Once you have all your leaves off, wash and dry your basil. I like to just fill a sink with cold water, swish the leaves around, and then dry them in a salad spinner.

Fresh basil leaves fill a food processor bowl. A text overlay reads "Step Two: Chop."

Your food processor is your friend for freezing herbs. I use a cheap-o Hamilton Beach (this one) that I’ve had for yearsโ€”she’s an oldie but a goodie. Load up the food processor with as many basil leaves will fit (or as many as you have). Really pack ’em in there. Then drizzle in a little olive oil. You don’t need a ton, just enough to make sure things move smoothly. I’d say I use about a teaspoon per cup of packed basil leaves. The olive oil not only helps the basil out in the food processor, but it also helps “seal” in the oils in the leaves when it goes in the freezer. Plus, it adds a nice bit of richness when you plop a cube into your spaghetti sauce!

Pulse the basil until it’s roughly chopped. You may need to stop and scrape the sides of your food processor down to make sure everything is evenly chopped. Then repeat. Add more basil and more oil and pulse. Continue until you’ve either used up all your basil or your food processor is full (that’d be A TON of basilโ€”lucky you!).

A four panel image showing the process of blending fresh basil with olive oil, as part of directions on how to freeze basil.

Don’t freak out if your basil starts to look really dark green (even almost black) during this process. Basil leaves bruise incredibly easy, and after all the trauma of multiple trips ’round the food processor, they’ll look a bit battered. It’s okay, they’ll still taste awesome!

Hands spoon fresh basil pureed with olive oil out of a food processor and into an herb freezing tray. A text overlay reads "Step Three: Freeze."

Next, you’ll want to load your basil into either ice cube traysโ€”I highly recommend silicone ones because they are easier to deal with once the cubes are frozenโ€”or special herb freezing trays. I have two herb freezing trays from Ball Canning (they sent them to me to try out years ago), and I LOVE them. You can make nice big cubes of herbs in them that are really easy to get out once they are frozen. And they come with lids. I also may or may not use these suckers as toddler platesโ€”Juni loves that I fill each of the nine cubbies with different finger foods.

I digress. Regardless of if you use herb trays or ice cube trays, pack the cavities with the basil mixture. Really push down to make sure there isn’t a lot of air in the cube (air=freezer burn). Level out the top of cubes, and then pour a thin layer of olive oil on top to seal. This will really go a long way to help keep the basil tasting fresh for many, many months.

Frozen cubes of basil are in both an herb freezing bag and a labeled zip-top bag. A text overlay reads "Step Four: Transfer."

Cover the tray, and then freeze it in a flat spot in your freezer until the cubes are solid. I usually let them freeze overnightโ€” it takes awhile to get them really solid. Then, I bring them out, pop out the cubes, and transfer them into a labeled zip-top freezer bag.

Frozen cubes of basil in a small bowl, next to some stems of fresh basil. A text overlay reads "Step Five: Enjoy."

That’s it! Done! It’ll stay in good shape for at least six months in the freezer. Use these little cubes of awesomeness in sauces, pasta dishes, soupsโ€”anywhere, really!

How to Freeze Other Herbs

I do this same process with cilantro, parsley, and chives. I make sure to stock my freezer door with zip-top bags of herb cubes by the end of summerโ€”it really does make all the difference to help make dishes taste fresh in the middle of winter. And, of course, buying fresh herbs in the middle of winter makes my wallet cry (five dollars for 1/3 cup? SERIOUSLY?!)โ€”so this is a serious budget-saver if you’re a fan of fresh herbs. Happy freezing!

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15 Comments

    1. Hi, Paige! If you’re planning on using your fresh basil to make pesto, you can always make the pesto fresh and freeze it that way. Pesto freezes beautifully! But if you already have your frozen basil cubes and would like to turn them into pesto, we recommend defrosting them in the fridge and then adding in your other pesto ingredients. The frozen cubes already contain oil, but you may need to add more to help the pesto come together and get the consistency you like. I hope this helps!

  1. Do the frozen herbs have to be used in a cooked/heated recipe, or do you think they would be okay added to a cold recipe (like a 3-bean salad with parsley)?

    1. Safety-wise, you can definitely use them in a cold recipe. They will have lost their color and texture, though.

  2. I live in the Uk. Every time Iโ€™ve grown fresh basil it seems to get quite a few tiny flies living on it. Any tips on how to prevent this in the kindest way possible? Thanks.

    1. My guess is that they are showing up because the soil is too damp. I’d try making sure that your soil is draining well, and back off on watering a bit, and see how that goes.

  3. I’ve frozen basil in ice cube trays before, but always chopped it by hand. Can you say tedious?? Next time I’ll use the food processor!! I would just cover in water….like the olive oil tip! Thanks Cassie!

  4. This is awesome! I just moved from Texas to somewhere with actual seasons (and thereby real winter), so I’ll definitely have to give this a go. Question: any chance you’d be able to put up a post (or just give some advice) about growing your own hops? I’d love to get into it for our homebrewing adventures!

    1. We JUST started growing hops for the first time (we haven’t even harvested any yet), so we definitely aren’t knowledgable enough to write about it. ๐Ÿ™‚

  5. I usually have tons of basil as well (and gigantic leaves, too… thank you, south-facing balcony!) and so far I’ve only frozen homemade pesto.
    This is such a great idea, I’ll definitely try it. Thank you!

    Btw, the other day the guys from America’s Test Kitchen suggested blanching the leaves briefly (basically just putting them in a colander and pouring boiling water over them) to preserve the color. This is usually too much work for me, but it might be a nice idea for people who want bright green frozen basil. ๐Ÿ™‚

      1. Hi Cassie, great basil idea, thanks. Now, can you tell me how to preserve a large bag of Costco fresh garlic and bananas?? Thanks so much. Tina

        1. For bananas: Peel ripe ones then break them into chunks. Place the chunks on a baking sheet, and pop it in the freezer until they are frozen solid. Transfer the chunks to a zip-top freezer bag. Use the chunks in smoothies or banana ice cream. You can also defrost the chunks and use them in banana bread or banana muffins.

          For the garlic: Garlic is cured before it hits the store, so you’ll get MONTHS out of it just stored in a cool dark place (a basement or back of a dark closet work well). We actually harvest our garlic in June, cured it, and it stores for us all winter long.