How to Preserve Broccoli for Winter

Learn the simple steps on how to preserve your broccoli harvest for winter.

It’s mid-summer and all of your broccoli heads are ready to be picked at the same time! Of course it’s great to eat what you can fresh, but one can only eat so much broccoli before needing a change of pace. And so, it’s time to preserve broccoli for winter! Taking time to preserve the broccoli gives you the chance to enjoy the fresh-from-the-garden taste all winter long. Plus it saves on groceries!

Table of Contents

• Overview of the Process
  • Step One: Blanch the Broccoli
  • Step Two: Flash Freeze
  • Step Three: Move the Broccoli to Storage Containers
• Printable Recipe
• Closing
• More on Preserving Food for Winter
• Save “How to Preserve Broccoli for Winter”

Overview of the Process

It’s really a very simple process to preserve broccoli for winter. There are really only three main steps after picking the broccoli from the garden, cutting it into pieces, and getting it ready to store for up to a year in the freezer. Those steps are:

• Blanch the broccoli
• Flash freeze the broccoli
• Move broccoli to freezer safe storage containers

Step One: Blanch the Broccoli

Blanching the broccoli serves two purposes in home grown broccoli preservation. First, it kills any/all of the little green broccoli worms that are really hard to find hidden in your broccoli. I know it sounds a little strange, but as I’ve heard it said before: “Real food comes dirty.” 😉 You don’t want to preserve any of those little worms for your winter broccoli eating. We’ve found that if you can harvest in earlier summer you’ll have less of those little worms hiding out in your broccoli. Secondly, blanching helps to keep the broccoli’s shape, texture, and color through the freezing process.

• To blanch the broccoli, simply bring a pot of water to a boil.
• Boil the broccoli for 3-5 minutes.
• Remove the broccoli using a slotted spoon from the water and place into an ice bath to stop the cooking process.

That’s it! You’ve blanched the broccoli!

Step Two: Flash Freeze

The next step in the process is to flash freeze the broccoli. Flash freezing freezes the broccoli pieces individually, which makes it easier to remove the broccoli once it is in its storage container. No one wants a big chunk of frozen broccoli to work with!

To flash freeze the broccoli, simply lay the cooled broccoli pieces on a cookie sheet with no overlapping and place in the freezer for an hour or so.

Step Three: Move the Broccoli to Storage Containers

The final step in the process of preserving broccoli for winter is the simple act of moving the frozen broccoli from the cookie sheet and into a freezer safe container. We use freezer quart bags for ours, which makes it a nice size serving for winter eating. You might also use glass jars or plastic containers too.

Printable Recipe

Closing

And that’s all there is to it! This simple method is an easy way to preserve your broccoli for winter. By preserving your summertime harvest for winter, you’re giving your family healthy food, preserved shortly after it was picked, that still has its fresh garden taste. We love to simply boil ours and serve it with butter and salt mostly, but we also love it in a stir fry or in broccoli cheddar soups, too! What’s your favorite way to use broccoli? Share it in the comments!

More on Preserving Food for Winter

Looking for more on preserving food for winter? Check out some of these posts!

SIMPLE HOMEMADE APPLESAUCE FROM SCRATCH

STRAWBERRY JAM FOR CANNING | LARGE BATCH, NO PECTIN

CANNING FOR BEGINNERS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE STARTING HOME PRESERVATION

HOW TO CURE AND STORE GARLIC LONG TERM

HOW TO MAKE WILD PLUM JELLY WITHOUT PECTIN

APPLE SCRAP JELLY RECIPE- NO PECTIN

HOW TO MAKE VENISON SNACK STICKS ON A TRAEGER GRILL

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