How to Blanch and Freeze Asparagus

Two weeks ago I purchased a large basket of fresh asparagus at the Farmer’s Market. They had it on sale for 1/2 price and I couldn’t resist the deal. We love asparagus and that’s one vegetable that I don’t personally grow in our backyard garden.

When it comes to preserving asparagus, I prefer to freeze it. In the past when I’ve canned it, it has gotten way too mushy and soft. By blanching it and freezing, it keeps its texture a lot better and I think it tastes better too! People prepare it different ways, but here is how I like to preserve it.

Tips: You want to purchase your asparagus as fresh as possible. Avoid any that looks damaged or has mold. Once you have it, you’ll want to preserve it within 48 hours, the sooner the better. If you own a pasta-pot with its own colander, use that when blanching your vegetables.

How to Blanch and Freeze Asparagus 

Preparation: Rinse under cool running water. Shake excess water off. Some people “snap” the spears in half and toss the bottom end, retaining the upper half with the spear for preserving. I don’t snap them, I use my paring knife and just chop the bottom portion off, keeping the upper 2/3 of the spear.

Blanching: Fill up a pot with hot water and bring to a full rolling boil. Place the spear into the water and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat immediately. Pour spears into a colander under cold running water to cool them down. You can also sit your colander inside a larger bowl filled with cold ice water if you prefer. You need to cool them down immediately to stop the cooking process.

Freezing: Line a cutting board with 4 paper towels. Place the spear on top of the paper towels and blot off all of the excess water. Once the excess water has been removed place the spears into a plastic freezer storage bag. Purge air, zip close and label your bags appropriately. I like to label with the name of the contents and the date that I prepared them. If I’m making multiple batches on the same day, I label them as batch 1, batch 2, batch 3 and so forth.

If you properly prepare them, they should keep for up to 1 year in your freezer. For myself, we don’t freeze a lot of them…so we typically have them all eaten up within 6-8 months. However, my mom keeps her’s for up to 1 year in her freezer. Another great tip, don’t use thin, cheapo freezer bags! They can easily tear and I find that my fruits & veggies get freezer burnt quicker when I use them! Please remember to blot off your excess water and purge the air out before sealing up your bags.

Looking for some great Asparagus recipes? Check out the Seasoned Grilled Asparagus and the Asparagus Orange Salad Recipes right here on the Two Classy Chics blog.

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