Freezing Strawberries

Learn how to freeze strawberries 3 easy ways. Preserve that fresh taste of Spring to use in your recipes all year long.

Strawberries are the quintessential beginning of Spring in upstate NY. We have crappy winters. I’m just putting that out there. When I was younger I enjoyed a few winter sports but since we moved up here it just windy and brutal from November to March.

So when the strawberries are in season I stock them up and load up the freezer and the pantry with all forms of delicious strawberry treats.

How do I get all of this done in such a short period of time? I freeze a boatload of them. From frozen I can make jams, jellies, pie fillings, you name it, all year long. It’s a blessing to turn on my canning pot in January. It’s a great way to warm up the house and it also humidifies the dry air for a short period.

Freezing strawberries is an incredibly easy project. I freeze them three different ways. That way I can utilize each type in different recipes with less work.

Note: for best flavor use the freshest berries that you can.

To sweeten or not to sweeten

If you would like to sweeten your berries that will work too. Use raw sugar, white sugar, or artificial sweetener.

Be aware that sweetened berries have more mushiness than unsweetened berries, so they will lend themselves better to recipes where you don’t care about the texture of berry.

What you need

• parchment paper
• fresh strawberries
• rimmed baking sheet

Freezing whole strawberries

Freezing them whole is the least work of the three methods.

1. Place berries in a strainer and rinse with cold water. Using a small paring knife, cut the hull end and stems off of the berry.
2. Line a rimmed baking tray with parchment paper. Place hulled berries on parchment, in a single layer. Don’t let them touch.
3. Once frozen, pick up parchment on both long sides and fold in half to move berries to the middle for easy pouring.
4. Pour them into a freezer bag or container and seal. Then get them back into the freezer as fast as you can. That way the berries will be separated and you can grab how ever many you need for your recipe.

How to use whole frozen strawberries

• jams and jellies
• pie filling
• smoothies
• frozen drinks, like daiquiris and margaritas
• milkshakes
• strawberry juice

Freezing sliced strawberries

1. Place berries in a strainer and rinse with cold water. Using a small paring knife, cut the hull end off of the berry.
2. Line a rimmed baking tray with parchment paper. Slice hulled berries. Place on parchment. Don’t let them touch.
3. Once frozen, pick up parchment on both long sides and fold in half to move berries to the middle for easy pouring.
4. Pour them into a freezer bag or container and get them back into the freezer as fast as you can. That way the berries will be separated and you can grab how ever many you need for your recipe.

Uses for sliced berries

Slice berries are easier to use in certain applications. Like when you process in a blender or food processor.

• jams and jellies
• desserts and dessert sauces
• savory dishes like these Strawberry infused scallops
• pie filling
• smoothies
• frozen drinks, like daiquiris and margaritas
• strawberry juice
• muffins
• fruit crisps
• cheesecake
• pancakes
• oatmeal

Freezing purée / juice

Juicing the berries is a bit more work in the fact that you have to wash the processor but will save you time when making your recipes.

1. Place berries in a strainer and rinse with cold water. Using a small paring knife, cut the hull end off of the berry.
2. Add berries to food processer.
3. Blend until all chunks are removed. If you would like seedless juice, strain through a fine mesh sieve. Add cheesecloth, if you don’t have a sieve that is very fine mesh.
4. Pour the purée, with the aid of your canning funnel into freezer bags.
5. It’s a good idea to measure the purée so that you can take out the proper quantity of your recipe.

Uses for purée / juice

• pie filling – use the juice instead of water for your pie filling to make it extra berry tasting.
• smoothies
• frozen drinks, like daiquiris and margaritas
• jams and jellies – use the juice instead of water in your jam.
• ice cream
• strawberry syrup / strawberry sauce

How long will they last frozen?

Frozen berries will last about a year in your freezer. Make sure you remove as much air from the bags as you can. A vacuum packer is great to use for these berries. It is best to use them up before freezing any more the next season.

Thawing berries

For some recipes, you may want to thaw them. For other recipes, they can be used frozen. To thaw, place the bag in a bowl to collect juices and thaw in the refrigerator.

Recipes for using frozen berries

• strawberry jam
• strawberry rose cocktail
• strawberry pie filling

More recipes to freeze fruits and vegetables

• peaches
• rhubarb
• strawberries
• tomatoes

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I hope you enjoyed the recipe today!

Enjoy. And have fun cooking!