How to Freeze Cauliflower or Broccoli

Last Updated: May 6, 2021 References Approved

From your carefully tended garden dozens of heads of healthful broccoli and cauliflower spring forth. You can't possibly eat it all but you're loathe to dump it in the compost. What to do? Freeze it. It's easy.

Steps

1
Harvest the vegetables on a day you have plenty of time to prepare them.^{[1]
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2
Wash the vegetables thoroughly in cool water while you start a pot of water to boil -- add a large pinch of salt to the water.^{[2]
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3
Trim and peel broccoli stems.
4
Cut broccoli and cauliflower into separate florets of a size that appeals to you. Many cooks prefer pieces about 2 inches (5.1 cm) long by 1 1/2 inches (5.1 cm) wide.^{[3]
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5
When water is at a rolling boil, fill the strainer with veggies and plunge them into boiling water. Wait about 3 minutes at a rolling boil, then dump them in the ice bath for 30 seconds or so to stop the cooking.^{[4]
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6
Drain the veggies and put them into freezer bags. Zip them up and label them with a Sharpie marker with the name and date. Stow in the freezer for up to 6 months.^{[5]
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7
Finished.

Community Q&A

Question

Can I add sugar while branching fresh vegetables to retain color and shape longer?

Community Answer

Either salt or sugar will help keep the vegetable retain its color when it's quickly cooled and packaged.
Question

Do I freeze broccoli with just enough for a meal, or can I freeze it and then bag it for free-flow?

Michele

Top Answerer

You can freeze more than enough for a meal, but be sure to freeze the florets as loosely as possible, then put them in a big bag for later use. Using one from the start to freeze more than one or two portions may make it difficult to break the florets apart if frozen all together.
Question

Our refrigerator just died. Can we take our cooked broccoli and cauliflower and simply put them into the freezer sealed in freezer bags?

Torpi

Top Answerer

Yes, cooked broccoli and cauliflower can be frozen as-is. The instructions here are for raw broccoli.
Question

How do you cook frozen broccoli?

Thebluebackyard

Community Answer

There are many ways to cook frozen broccoli. You could break it up into florets (if not done already), add some other frozen veggies and soy sauce, then mix it up into a sort of stir-fry. You can find various other recipes on wikiHow and in recipe sites.
Question

Will water that is very cold do just the same as ice water?

Thebluebackyard

Community Answer

It depends on how cold the water is. However, generally it is recommended to stick to ice water. You can buy relatively cheap ice trays (which you can fill with water and freeze to make ice) online or in a supermarket.