How to Freeze Green Beans So They Stay Fresh-Tasting for Up to a Year

Learning how to freeze green beans (or any seasonal fruit or vegetable, for that matter) when they are at their peak is an often overlooked skill. Whether your garden is overflowing or the green beans at the farmers market looked particularly delicious this week, preserving them in the freezer is a smart way to enjoy them in all of their fresh, in-season deliciousness all year long.

Green beans are one of the most popular vegetables, and there are endless recipes that put them to good use. From hearty soups and stews and vegetable-packed stir-fries to comforting casseroles and simple side dishes, green beans are an easy, accessible, and approachable vegetable—they really do go with everything! It’s easy to prepare and freeze green beans for long-term storage in the freezer. Ahead, we break down the steps and include expert advice from a food scientist.

How to Prep Green Beans for Freezing

Perhaps the most important step when it comes to safely freezing green beans is blanching. When properly blanched, frozen vegetables will have a better texture, taste, and overall quality than those frozen raw.

Donald Schaffner, Ph.D., department chair, professor, and extension specialist in food science at Rutgers University, explains that boiled or blanched foods like green beans will ultimately be safer to eat than raw ones, whether frozen or not. “There are many bacteria that can be killed by freezing; it’s just that freezing is not a reliable way of killing bacteria compared to heating,” he says.

Freezing might reduce the concentration of bacteria by 90 percent, but cooking can eliminate more than 99.999 percent (or more!) of bacteria on or in a food. He also notes that blanching is a very important step used by the frozen food industry. “It’s a way to inactivate enzymes and help preserve quality in frozen foods,” he says. But first, you have to prep the beans. Here's how to prepare and freeze green beans properly: 

1. Rinse beans: Place the green beans in a large colander and rinse well under cold water. 
2. Trim ends: Trim about ¼-inch from the root ends of the green beans using a sharp knife. 
3. Cut beans (optional): Green beans can be frozen whole or chopped into as big or small pieces as you like. If desired, use your knife to cut the beans into more manageable pieces–anything from 2-to-¼-inches. This is useful for two reasons: it makes the beans easier to package and store, plus you don’t have to do anything later other than add them to stir-fries or soups later on. 
4. Blanch, shock, and drain: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add green beans and blanch for 1 to 2 minutes, just until beans turn bright green and are crisp-tender. Drain using a spider strainer (or pour them back through the colander) and transfer to a large bowl of ice water. Let them sit for a few minutes until cool, then drain again and transfer to clean towels. Pat them dry. 
5. Freeze: Once dried, use clean hands to transfer the beans to freezer-safe quart bags. Press out the air and seal well, wiping away any excess moisture from the seal. Pack about 2 pounds of beans in every quart-sized freezer bag.

Storing Frozen Green Beans

When prepped and stored properly, green beans can keep in the freezer for as long as 12 months.

Avoiding Freezer Burn

Freezer burn–it happens to the best of us. There are a few ways to help avoid it. 

• Dry the beans well: Excess water has the potential to cause freezer burn, so pat them dry with clean towels or paper towels before packaging. 
• Remove as much air as possible: Giving the green beans exposure to air will only help speed up the oxidation process. Vacuum sealers can come in handy if you plan to do a lot of freezing. 
• Check the freezer temperature: Try to maintain your freezer at its ideal temperature, which is 0 degrees Fahrenheit or lower. If frozen green beans get too warm, they will start to slowly thaw out, which can affect their texture later on.

Thawing Frozen Green Beans

Schaffner tells us that water content has an important influence on texture during freezing. “As water molecules freeze inside plant tissues, they can cause those tissues to rupture.” Once thawed, this can cause an undesirable texture if you were expecting something crunchy and got something soggy instead. Because of this, we usually recommend cooking green beans directly from frozen rather than thawing them before cooking. 

If you do need to thaw the green beans, Dr. Schaffner says there are three safe ways: in the refrigerator overnight, on the microwave’s thaw setting, or under cold running water.