Three rows of zip-top bags filled with fresh corn kernels.

Among the things we’re well-known for in the Midwest, corn is pretty high up on the list. While we have way more to offer this world than just corn, I have to say, we’re pretty darn good at the corn thing!

Come summertime, there is so much fresh, tender sweet corn kicking around that farmers are pretty much giving it away. It’s a great time to stock up and stash the corn in the freezer. Freezing corn is an easy food preservation project, and the resulting frozen corn is super versatile in the kitchen. Let us show you how to stock your freezer!

Overhead of a large metal bowl filled to the brim with fresh kernels of corn sliced from the cob.

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Why should I freeze corn?

The method to freeze corn is so easy, and the results are so much tastier than anything you can get in the supermarket. It is very much worth carving out a few hours in the middle of summer to sock away some corn. Some folks prefer to can or dehydrate corn to store it, but I much prefer the almost-like-fresh quality that frozen corn has.

And if you happen to live in a corn-heavy area of the world like I do, you can probably find a deal on corn from a farmerโ€”we got ours for a whopping $16 for a bushel (and it was a very generous bushel). That bushel turned into 42 cups of frozen corn kernels!

Fresh picked corn in a wooden basket outside.

How do I prepare corn for freezing?

Let me step you through how to tackle freezing a windfall of corn! Here are the simple steps:

  1. Shuck all your corn, removing as many of the silks as you can. Snap off any stems that remain, and snap (or cut off) any parts of the corn that are looking brown or rotten. I firmly believe this is best done on a front porch or back deck, in a rocking chair (an Adirondack chair will do in a pinch), with a big mason jar full of cold sun tea
  2. Next step is to blanch the ears. Bring a pot of water to boil, and drop the shucked ears into the boiling water just for a few minutes.
  3. Stop the cooking by then plunging the ears into an ice bath made of ice and water.
  4. Once the ears are cool, you can either freeze them as is for frozen corn on the cob, or slice off the kernels.
  5. Package the kernels in zip-top freezer bags.
  6. Date and label the bags, and then freeze them flat. Once frozen, you can then move the bags to a more convenient place in the freezer.

Collage of photos showing six steps to freeze corn: shuck it, blanch it, put it in an ice bath, cut kernels from the cob, measure kernels into freezer bags, freeze!

What is blanching? 

Blanching is an important step for freezing many frozen vegetables. It preserves the flavor and color of your produce, and improves the texture of frozen vegetables.  To blanch vegetables, you drop them into boiling water for just a few minutes, and then plunge them into an ice bath to stop the cooking. That’s it!

Do you have to blanch corn before freezing?

I think blanching corn before you freeze it is really important for a couple of reasons:

  1. Blanching the corn makes it so much easier to remove the kernels (the next step).
  2. This one is really important if your corn is a bit past its prime like mine wasโ€”blanching helps remove some of the starchiness from the kernels. Frozen corn can end up chalky if you skip blanching.
  3. Blanching helps lock in the bright color of corn before you freeze it.
  4. It pretty much does all the cooking for you! No need to cook the kernels again before you toss them into a salad or a salsa.

Corn on the cob blanching in a pot of boiling water.

How long do you blanch corn for freezing?

To blanch the corn, fill up a large stockpot with hot water and bring it to boil over high heat on the stove. While it heats up, make an ice bath in your sink (or a really large bowl, if you have one).

Drop the corn, 5-10 ears at a time (depending on the size of your pot) into the boiling water. Blanch for 2-3 minutes, or until the corn looks really nice and brightly-colored. Make sure to poke the ears a few times during blanching to make sure they log-roll around and all sides get cooked. Fish the corn out with tongs, and then immediately dunk them into the ice bath to stop cooking.

Wholefully Protip

Blanch shucked corn for 2-3 minutes for better frozen corn!

Overhead of corn on the cob in an ice bath after blanching.

Can you freeze fresh corn in the husk?

You can, but I would highly recommend not doing so! Freezing in the husk makes it harder to remove the silks later, plus, as any corn-fed person will tell you, occasionally you’ll peel back a corn husk to find a yucky surpriseโ€“rotten corn or even worms! I personally wouldn’t want to accidentally freeze corn with worms inside, so I much prefer to shuck corn first.

Can you tell me how to freeze corn on the cob?

There are two ways to freeze cornโ€”either in a full ear or as kernels. I personally stick to freezing kernels,  because honestly, nothing will ever compare to eating corn on the cob fresh in the middle of summer. So why even try to recreate it? I save my corn on the cob eating for July and August, and focus on stashing away kernels for eating the rest of the year. However, if you want to freeze full ears of corn on the cob it’s even easier: just pop the blanched ears into a freezer bag or vacuum seal bag and freeze from thereโ€”no need to remove the kernels.

Close-up of a pile of shucked ears of corn.

What’s the best way to remove corn kernels from the cob?

There are all kinds of fancy tools out there meant to make stripping the kernels off of a corn cob easier, but I have honestly never found one that I like more than a trusty sharp knife. If you have a tool you like, awesomeโ€”use it! Strip those cobs down to their skivvies.

If you are special tool-less, I recommend taking a small bowl (preferably one with a little bit of a foot) and inverting it into a large bowl. Use the bottom of the small bowl as a pedestal for your corn cob, and then slice the kernels off with a sharp knife. You can also do this with a Bundt panโ€”just use the middle of the pan to hold your ear of corn.

Close-up of cutting corn kernels from the cob by resting the cob on an overturned bowl inside a larger bowl.

It sounds like it would be really tedious, but you get into a rhythm after a while, and it honestly moves pretty quickly. I’d say it took me less than half an hour to strip all the kernels off my bushel of corn. You’d be amazed at how fast that bowl will fill up! Your kernels are ready to freeze!

Wholefully Protip

Don’t you dare throw away those cobs! Make some corn cob jelly or feed them to your chickens (both of which I did).

A large metal bowl with a smaller bowl turned upside-down inside it. The corn cob rests on the small bowl while the big bowl catches the kernels that are cut from the cob.

How do you store frozen corn?

When I can, I freeze corn in three cup increments. Three cups is a good serving size for the three of us as a side dish for dinner, and it is also a good amount for recipes. But I also like to have some bigger glass containers that I can measure smaller amounts out of as needed. Here’s what I use:

  1. Glass Food Storage Containers and Glass Canning Jarsโ€”If I had all the freezer space in the world, I’d use only glass containers and jarsโ€”they are reusable and it is so satisfying to see glass containers of beautiful food lined up in your freezer. But they do take up a lot of space! If you go the mason jar route, make sure to choose jars with straight sides, rather than the ones with curved shoulders at the top.
  2. Zip-top Freezer Bagsโ€”Freezer bags are affordable, and it is easy to freeze a precise amount. Three cups of corn fit into a quart bag perfectly. 
  3. Vacuum Sealing Bagsโ€”This is the biggest space saver, though you will need to buy a vacuum sealer to start.

Can you vacuum seal corn on the cob?

You sure can, but you need to flash freeze it first. Spread the kernels out in one layer on a baking sheet, and then freeze until just solid. Then, you can scoop the frozen kernels into vacuum sealer bags and seal.

Wholefully Protip

You must pre-freeze corn before vacuum sealing because if not, the vacuum sealer will suck in the liquid from the corn and not seal the bags properly.

Five zip-top bags filled with 3 cups of fresh corn kernels labeled and stacked on a countertop.

How long does frozen corn last?

For the best tasting corn, you’ll want to use it within a year of being frozen, but you can get by even a little longer if you use it in soups, stews, or dips where the flavor and texture are masked a bit by other foods. We plow through frozen corn, so we’ll be lucky if these 14 bags make it until next summer (probably half of them will end up in Turkey Taco Chili). You can get by with even longer if you vacuum seal your cornโ€”up to two to three years.

How can I use frozen corn?

How can you NOT use frozen corn is a better question! Frozen corn is so stupendously versatile. Of course, you can heat it up in a little bit of water for a great side dish when topped with butter and salt, but you can also use it in recipes. Here are some options:

 

 

 

Three rows of zip-top bags filled with fresh corn kernels.

Freezing Corn

Yield: 12 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Additional Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Stash the flavor of sweet corn in your freezer using our how to freeze corn on the cob tutorial! Freeze it in kernels or ears.

Ingredients

  • 12 ears of corn, husks and silks removed

Instructions

  1. Bring a pot of water to boil, and prepare an ice bath by filling your clean sink or a large bowl with ice and water.
  2. Drop the shucked ears of corn into boiling water for 2-3 minutes. You may need to do this in batches.
  3. Stop the cooking by plunging the blanched corn into the ice bath. Repeat with remaining corn.


For freezing full ears of corn:

  1. Move the ears of corn to freezer bags or containers and freeze until use.

For freezing corn kernels:

  1. Use a large bowl and a specialty tool or a sharp knife to remove the corn kernels from the cob.
  2. Package the kernels in freezer bags or containers and freeze until use.


Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1 cup
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 76Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 1mgCarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 2gSugar: 4gProtein: 3g

At Wholefully, we believe that good nutrition is about much more than just the numbers on the nutrition facts panel. Please use the above information as only a small part of what helps you decide what foods are nourishing for you.

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7 Comments

  1. Love this post! I just started learning to freeze/can the past 2 years. Even my husband (who’s not a huge veggie fan) couldn’t believe how much better the frozen-fresh corn tasted than the type from the grocery store. There is just no comparison!! And freezing is so easy. I also froze blueberries (yum) and this year made homemade pickles for the first time. Just learning and it’s not only fun–it’s tasty and healthy!

  2. How’d your jelly turn out? When I was a kid we made corn cobb jelly at a local nature center’s day camp. This past year, my mom stumbled across the recipe which I wrote down. Interesting that you are bringing it up too…maybe it’s a sign I need to make it.:) Anyway both yours and my recipe call for red corn cobbs, so does normal cobbs work?

  3. Girl you need an old school kraut cutter!!! It will change your corn cutting life. I’ve had a corn cutter, a mandoline, and a knife, the kraut cutter is where it’s at. I bought mine for $8 at an antique shop last summer, find of the century! They normally run for about $50 so keep your eyes peeled or ask your grandma for hers! LOL Great tutorial, such a practical and easy skill!

  4. We bought some corn from the farmer’s market on Saturday and it was delicious! It’s amazing the difference in taste between the grocery store and straight from the farmer.