How do you freeze fresh spinach?

Question

It's no surprise that when fresh, pre-packaged spinach returned to our grocer's shelves, it's only a buck for a huge bag! My hubby bought 2 bags but we just had a dish with spinach in it for dinner, plus leftovers! I doubt I'll use it before it spoils and it's only 2 bucks, but I don't want to see it go it waste! What's the best way to freeze fresh spinach?

Answer 1

OK....I never would have blanched spinach but I read several people here saying they do it. So I am changing my post since I am not an expert...just speaking of my own experience. Personally, I think spinach cooks so fast when you throw it in a dish that no blanching is needed, but for $2 I would say, toss it in the freezer as it!

You will never be able to use it as fresh after you freeze it but it goes great in anything. Add the whole bag to a soup and freeze the soup, make a quiche/fritatta dish where you beat 8 eggs, add a little milk or cream, add a cup or two of shreaded cheese, some chopped ham maybe, and all the spinach. Bake it in a pie tin with no crust @ 350 F for about 25 minutes. It'll puff way up and then settle back down. You can then cut it in wedges and freeze the wedges for a fast breakfast or lunch.

Or toss the spinach into a pot of pasta sauce and then freeze it.

Or eat it mixed with salad greens uncooked. My kids won't eat regular lettuce unless there is spinach mixed in.

If you just freeze it as is, you can also use it in any cooked dish later on.

Answer 2

Can You Freeze Spinach

Answer 3

If you cook it up first (like the way you had it for dinner, or otherwise), and THEN freeze the cooked portions, it will freeze (and keep) just fine, but if you just freeze it raw, it won't fare as well. It's not the freezing itself that seems to do it in - it's the defrosting process. All those water crystals seem to saturate the spinach leaves and, upon defrosting, the leaves seem to be so sodden as to be almost virtually unusable. I don't recommend freezing raw produce for this reason. The frozen spinach we buy in the supermarket freezer department has been "flash-frozen" almost immediately after it is picked, and doesn't seem to suffer this same fate, but, once home, it has been my experience that freezing doesn't yield the same results. Again, cook it first - then freeze the cooked portions.

Answer 4

Wash the leaves, pat dry, tear, and freeze in big freezer Ziploc bags.

Or if you could try this too.
Just sautee it in alittle oil or butter with some finely minced garlic, Pile it into some tupperware and pop it in the freezer. That's it.

After that I would suggest adding some cream/half & half, cheese, diced onion, alil bacon fat (my pref), garlic powder, and some red pepper flakes and make some creamed spinach with it.

Or add it to some hot stock with mini pork/beef meatballs for a variation on italian wedding soup. Or just eat it plain sauteed with garlic.

Answer 5

RE:
How do you freeze fresh spinach?
It's no surprise that when fresh, pre-packaged spinach returned to our grocer's shelves, it's only a buck for a huge bag! My hubby bought 2 bags but we just had a dish with spinach in it for dinner, plus leftovers! I doubt I'll use it before it spoils and it's only 2 bucks, but...

Answer 6

Best to just rinse it off and then put in a freezer bag. No need to pat it dry. When you defrost it though it will be a different texture than the fresh you had bought. Hope this helps.

Answer 7

Try blanching it. Which is basically to dip it in boiling water for a few minutes, then squeeze all the water out and put in a ziploc bag and make sure you get as much of the air out of the bag.

I've heard you can just freeze as it ... but it might get really soggy when it thaws.

Answer 8

in greece we make spinache pies alot. so when it is cheap and bountiful, i buy extra, wash it and leave it to drain in a colander then pack it into plastic bags and freeze until needed
works fine for me.

Answer 9

Bring it to room temperature, put in zip lock bag and freeze.

Answer 10

Divide it up into portions or just put the package in a freezer bag, it stays in the freezer for quite a while.