Whether roasted, steamed, sautéed or baked into a creamy casserole, green beans are among the most versatile and nutrient-dense veggies. Given their frequent cameos in holiday fare, it might surprise you that the snappy legumes are at their best during the warmer months — May through October, to be exact. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the good stuff throughout the year. The trick? Freeze green beans for peak freshness!
With just a few easy steps, you can stock up now and enjoy later, so you don’t have to settle for sub-par veggies when it comes time to make one of our delicious Thanksgiving green bean recipes or whip up an easy 5-ingredient meal in the dead of winter.
Read on for a step-by-step guide that explains how to freeze green beans to preserve their freshness so you can keep them for healthy veggie sides, low-lift sheet pan dinners or feel-good vegetarian recipes. Trust us, a little bit of prep will pay off in the (near) future — let’s get to it!
Can you freeze raw green beans?
You can… but you run the risk of getting a mushy, dull and flavorless mess. A better way? Blanching. Your green beans will come out bright and crisp on the other side of freezing. It’s just a quick boil then dunk in ice water to prevent overcooking.
Science time: The ice bath stops enzyme actions that can cause a loss in flavor, color and texture. This guarantees that your green beans will preserve their freshness while frozen. As a bonus, it cleans the green beans of dirt and helps retain vitamins and minerals.
How do you choose fresh green beans for freezing?
Start with the freshest green beans possible. While these lanky legumes are available year-round at supermarkets, they’re at their absolute best from May through October. Look for beans that are completely green (without any yellow or brown parts), free of blemishes and firm (not limp, shriveled or lumpy).
Fresh green beans are best eaten within three to five days when stored in the refrigerator while frozen ones maintain their freshness and quality for up to eight months, according to FoodSafety.gov. So if you can’t finish your haul right away, freeze the green beans to savor later in the year.
Should you trim green beans before freezing?
Yup. After gently rinsing the green beans in cold water, trim off the stem ends (the dull, woody parts). If you want, you can also trim off the tail ends but they’re tender enough to be edible so it would just be for aesthetics. If your green bean variety has a stringy fiber that runs through the bean pod, trim that off too.
How to blanch and freeze green beans, step by step
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
While you're waiting, fill a large bowl with ice water. Once your pot is boiling, add a generous amount of salt (around a tablespoon) to a gallon of water.
2. Working in batches, add green beans to boiling water.
Cook until just tender, 2 to 4 minutes depending on the size of the beans.
3. Transfer the beans to the ice water.
Using a wire skimmer (often called spider) or slotted spoon, transfer the green beans to the ice water (this will immediately stop the cooking and preserve that bright green color).
4. Let them soak.
Leave them in the ice water for about 4 minutes, then using tongs, transfer the beans to a towel to drain. Repeat with the remaining beans, adding more water to the pot to boil and more ice to the bowl as needed.
5. Do a quick freeze first.
Gently but thoroughly pat the blanched green beans dry, then arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze until firm. This initial step ensures the beans won’t all freeze together in a clump.
6. Pack the frozen beans into resealable bags, containers or jars.
Make sure to compact the beans in, then press out as much air as possible and seal tightly to avoid freezer burn. You’ll thank yourself later if you label each bag or container with the contents, amount and date so you can easily find them and keep track of how fresh they are. Finally, you can place them in the freezer for up to eight months.
Do you need to thaw frozen green beans before cooking?
It depends. Green beans are skinny enough that they’ll lose their frost pretty quickly when simmered or stewed, so no need to thaw them for these applications.
For casseroles, roasts and quick sautés, however, you’ll want to thaw the beans to minimize water from leaking out while cooking (thaw them in the fridge overnight, or in a pinch, run cold water over them in a colander). Because the beans are already partially cooked, add them later on in the cooking process to avoid overcooked legumes.
How do you use frozen green beans?
There’s no shortage of ways to enjoy these green beauts! A creamy green bean casserole is a tried-and-true winner, but the veggies are also delicious in a bright pasta salad (just cut them into 1-inch pieces after thawing, and don’t add them to the pasta water), baked to savory perfection in a spice-roasted cauliflower dish or added to crispy sheet pan gnocchi.
You don’t even need the oven — try our tarragon-boosted air fryer green beans for a star side you’ll make on repeat (psst: because the beans are cooked solo, go ahead and cook them straight from frozen, adding a few extra minutes as needed). With so many tasty recipes at your fingertips, you’ll be glad you saved your cream-of-the-crop beans!
Susan (she/her) is the recipe editor at Good Housekeeping, where she pitches ideas, parses words, and produces food content. In the Test Kitchen, she cooks (and samples!) recipes, working with developers to deliver the best written versions possible. A graduate of Brown University and a collaborator on several cookbooks, her previous experience includes stints at Food & Wine, Food Network, three meal kit companies, a wine shop in Brooklyn and Chez Panisse, the pioneering restaurant in Berkeley, California. She enjoys playing tennis, natural wines and reality competition shows.
Joy (she/her) is an assistant food editor in the Good Housekeeping Test Kitchen, where she develops and tests recipes to ensure both deliciousness and accuracy before they appear in titles like Good Housekeeping, Women’s Health, Woman’s Day, Prevention and Country Living. After graduating from UChicago with a major in political science, she made the (best) decision to pursue her passion for food by enrolling in pastry school and working at her dream restaurant, Gramercy Tavern. Before joining the GH team, Joy assisted on cookbook and editorial shoots, ran an Instagram micro bakery, and worked as a freelance writer and developer with bylines appearing in Eater, Food52, Simply Recipes, Food Network and more. Joy has a special place in her heart for croissants and tiramisu, and is always on the hunt for the next cafe to explore in the city (a journey that never ends!).
