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How to Freeze Broccoli - Easily! With Step-by-step Photos

How to Freeze Broccoli

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If you like frozen broccoli in the winter, just imagine how good it would taste if you had picked a head yourself and then quickly froze it at home!  It is also one of the simplest ways to put up a vegetable for the winter. Here's how to do it, complete instructions in easy steps and completely illustrated. The broccoli will taste MUCH better than anything you've ever had from a store.

Directions for Freezing Broccoli


  • fresh broccoli - any quantity.  I figure one handful per serving.


  • 1 Large pot of boiling water
  • 1 sharp knife


Step 1 - Get the broccoli!

This is the most important step!  You need broccoli that are FRESH and crisp.  Limp, old broccoli will make nasty tasting frozen broccoli. 

Broccoli are of the best quality when they are tight, before the florets start to open or turn yellow.





How much broccoli and where to get it

You can grow your own, pick your own, or buy them at the grocery store. Start with fresh broccoli - as fresh as you can get. 

Step 2 - Wash the broccoli!

I'm sure you can figure out how to rinse the broccoli in plain cold water. 

Step 3 -Split the broccoli

Select firm, young, tender stalks with compact heads. Split lengthwise so flowerets are no more than 1 1/2 inches across. Remove leaves and woody portions. Separate the heads into convenient-size sections.


Step 4 - Soak the florets in brine (salt water)

Soak the broccoli in brine (4 teaspoons salt to 1 gallon ordinary tap water) for 30 minutes to remove insects. The rinse under fast running water.

Step 5- Get the pots  ready








Step 6 - Blanch the broccoli.  

All fruits and vegetables contain enzymes and bacteria that, over time, break down the destroy nutrients and change the color, flavor, and texture of food during frozen storage. broccoli requires a brief heat treatment, called blanching, in boiling water or steam, to destroy the enzymes before freezing. Blanching times for broccoli is 3 minutes  (or blanch with steam for 5 minutes) - the duration is just long enough to stop the action of the enzymes and kill the bacteria.

Begin counting the blanching time as soon as you place the broccoli in the boiling water. Cover the kettle and boil at a high temperature for the required length of time. You may use the same blanching water several times (up to 5). Be sure to add more hot water from the tap from time to time to keep the water level at the required height.

Step 7 - Cool the broccoli

Cool broccoli immediately in ice water. Drain the broccoli thoroughly (this shouldn't take more than a minute).

After vegetables are blanched, cool them quickly to prevent overcooking. Plunge the broccoli into a large quantity of ice-cold water (I keep adding more ice to it). A good rule of thumb: Cool for the same amount of time as the blanch step. For instance, if you blanch sweet broccoli for 3 minutes, then cool in ice water for at least 3 minutes. 

Drain thoroughly. 

Step 8 - Bag the broccoli




Step 9 - Done!


Freezing keeps broccoli safe to eat almost indefinitely, but the recommended maximum storage time of 12 months is best for taste and quality. The quality of the frozen broccoli is maintained best in a very cold freezer (deep freezer), and one that keeps them frozen completely with no thaw cycles. Excluding any air from inside the bags which leads to freezer burn, by using vacuum-sealed bags, is also important to maintaining quality.




FoodSaver V2840 Advanced Design




  • Harvest the broccoli at its peak maturity (firm, straight, no florets opening, dark green, not yellowing)

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. I've frozen broccoli but it seem so limp and fell apart. Any idea why?

    Generally, that means the broccoli was overcooked.  It only takes 90 seconds in steam or boiling water to heat/cook the broccoli after removing it from the freezer
  2. How long can they be frozen?


    In general, up to 9 months in a ziploc bag in an ordinary freezer, and 14 months in a deep freeze in a vacuum packed bag.  After that, they broccoli won't make you sick; they just won't taste a s good.

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