How to Freeze Herbs in Ice Cube Trays

Do you love cooking with fresh herbs? Preserve the herbs from your garden in the freezer this summer, so that you can add fresh herbs all year. It is the easiest way to preserve herbs in my opinion. I’ll teach you how to freeze herbs in ice cube trays, so that you too can enjoy a fresh basil pesto in February!

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Herbs Everywhere!

When I first started my garden, I had no idea how much of each type of plant I needed. I bought lots of what I liked the most and less of what I liked less. It seemed logical to buy four basil plants because I really like basil pesto. My mom made it often and put it over spaghetti. We called it green spaghetti and it was my favorite. I assumed four basil plants would make enough for some pesto. That same year I planted four tomato plants. My husband likes tomatoes. Although I don’t like fresh tomatoes, I do enjoy pizza sauce. It was settled. Four basil plants and four tomato plants. Along with an abundance of every other herb I knew the name of.

I had basil coming out of my ears that summer. The dehydrator was full of herbs. I had to switch from 8 ounce jars to the pints just to hold my dried herbs. Not to mention the tomatoes or anything else I had decided to plant. It was a good thing I was on summer break because preserving the garden had become a full time job. With a full dehydrator I turned to the freezer for help.

I tested out various ice cube trays to decide which one was the best for freezing herbs. I found a silicone ice cube tray that was perfect. The cubes were a reasonable size and easy to pack with herbs. After freezing the herbs in the ice cube trays, it was easy to remove the herbs and I could wash the tray in the dishwasher. It fit the bill, so I bought a second one because I needed it to keep up with my bountiful herb harvest.

I made basil pesto. Cilantro was frozen to use in cilantro lime rice. The parsley was frozen for…well I didn’t know, but I was sure it would be good for something. As the summer pressed on my sandwich sized bags of herb cubes became quart bags which then became gallon bags. It’s been two years and I still have frozen herb from that summer.

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How to Freeze Herbs with Oil in Ice Cube Trays

Hard herbs like sage, thyme, and oregano do well when frozen in olive oil. I remember which herbs to put in oil by how I plan on using them. If I will be cooking them when I add them to a dish, then they can be frozen in olive oil. The oil will absorb the flavor of the herb. I must add basil pesto to the list of herbs best frozen in oil. Pesto is made with oil so it makes sense that basil pesto is frozen in oil.

Harvest fresh herbs from the garden. I like to use my special herb scissors to harvest. I always cut the basil last because it leaves a residue on my scissors.
Remove the leaves from the stems the best you can. A little stem will go unnoticed in the final dish. These nifty little scissors make this job a whole lot easier.
Rinse the herbs then spin them dry. Afterwards, lay them out on paper towels or flour sack towels to dry out a bit more.
If you wish to chop the herbs now is the time to do so. I like to use my food processor for this job. It works great for pesto. For small amounts of herbs, a mortar and pedestal works too.
Pack the ice cube trays about ⅔ full. It is always ok to pack in a little more if needed. I would rather pack in a little extra than have one tiny cube.
Fill the ice cubes the rest of the way up with olive oil or melted butter.
Place the tray in the freezer for several hours until the herbs are frozen. Then you can remove the herb ice cubes and place them in labeled plastic bags in the freezer.

How to Freeze Herbs with Water in Ice Cube Trays

Soft herbs like cilantro, parsley, and dill do best when frozen in water. If the herb will be more of a garnish then it gets frozen in water. These herbs never come out quite as fresh as they went in. They tend to be less crisp after being frozen, but they still taste fine in whatever dish they are being added to.

Harvest fresh herbs from the garden. I like to use my special herb scissors to harvest.
Remove the leaves from the stems the best you can. A little stem will go unnoticed in the final dish. These nifty little scissors make this job a whole lot easier.
Rinse the herbs then spin them dry.
If you wish to chop the herbs now is the time to do so. I like to use my food processor for this job, but typically on these soft herbs I put then in the tray whole.
Pack the ice cube trays about ⅔ full. It is always ok to pack in a little more if needed. I would rather pack in a little extra than have one tiny cube.
Fill the ice cubes the rest of the way up with filtered water.
Place the tray in the freezer for several hours or until the herbs are frozen. Then you can remove the herb ice cubes and place them in labeled plastic bags in the freezer.

Tips for Freezing Herbs in Ice Cube Trays

Freeze the herbs in the same form you intend to use them. If you always chop the cilantro for your recipes, then chop it up before freezing it in the ice cube tray.

If the herb is likely going into a soup or broth, the olive oil method of freezing is my favorite. Nothing like a taste of the garden in your soups this winter.

Fill the ice cube tray up. It’s ok to mix up the herbs in the tray. I will often have three or four herbs in a single tray. I do my best to put oil herbs by oil herbs and water by water. Typically, I start filling up the right side with water herbs and the left side with oil herbs working my way towards the middle.

Make sure the tray can sit flat in the freezer. Nothing like a little frozen oil or herb all over the place.

Label the plastic bags with the herb and year. This will help you keep track of what you have. Trust me, you won’t remember what the green stuff is in all those bags in six months.