When you’ve got all the pickles you can make, and you still have lots of cucumbers, you may be wondering, “Can you freeze cucumbers?” That’s what we wanted to know too, so we did what you’re doing now: asked, researched and tried it!
When harvests are abundant, we’re not complaining, but we do want to make the most of it with the least amount of waste. So whether you have an abundant garden harvest or just a few cucumbers that you need to preserve so they won’t go bad before you can them, this may help.
We already have lots of fridge pickles and canned pickles stored. We’ve made all kinds of cucumber salads, salad toppings, sandwiches and green juices. What’s next?
So, can you freeze cucumbers?
Yes! You can freeze cucumbers!
Cucumbers are one of our most prolific garden crops. They grow eagerly, all summer long, and they’re not inclined toward the pests and problems of some of our other crops. So we wanted to find more ways to preserve them than just pickling, including how to preserve our homegrown cucumbers’ garden fresh flavors for winter!
We eat healthy as much as possible, though we have our treat foods too. You know… those weekend movie night and nachos or popcorn, or the occasional homemade frappuccino.
Anyway, it’s important to us to preserve our garden bounty in the freshest way possible, as well as to save time. That’s where the idea of freezing the cucumbers came into the picture, since frozen produce is proven to have the highest nutrient value next to fresh.
We have LOTS of ideas for you in this article, including our favorite new way to enjoy cucumbers. So let’s dive in!
Frozen cucumbers have multiple uses that can bring summer freshness to the winter table.
~GardensAll.com
Frozen Cucumbers
Do frozen cucumbers taste good?
Well, we figure it’s better to have fresh frozen cucumbers than no cucumbers… especially if they’re home grown and fresh frozen from the garden!
However it’s not the most favorite snack in our home. I mean… it’s not like anyone says, “I’m really craving frozen cucumbers!” Frozen cucumbers taste milder and have a somewhat spongy texture, however, there are many things you can do with frozen cukes.
A great use for frozen cucumbers is for green juice, smoothies sandwich spreads and cold cucumber soups.
How to Freeze Cucumbers
We freeze cucumbers spears and slices and then bag them up in small plastic zip bags ready to place into the Vitamix for making green juice and smoothies. That way we have the health and nutrition of fresh garden cukes, the flavor and water they add, but the taste and texture are not as important.
Frozen cucumbers blended in drinks, soups and spreads, you get the nutrition, flavor and water value, without the oddity of the taste and texture of frozen cukes eaten plain. Now you may love the frozen slices just for munching. Some people do, and it can be a good thing for kids and teething toddlers, so don’t diss it until you try it.
4 Ways to Freeze Cucumbers
- Sliced
- Spears
- Pureed
- Pickled
1. SLICED FROZEN CUCUMBERS:
Method: Sliced medium to thin rounds; layer on cookie sheet and freeze.
Uses: Sliced in thin rounds is the best way to eat frozen cucumbers by itself.
2. FROZEN CUCUMBER SPEARS:
Method: Slice cucumbers into spears, place in a plastic bag or container in single layer.
Uses: Frozen cucumber spears are good for snacking and blending into green juice and smoothies
3. PUREED CUCUMBER “ICE CUBES”:
Method: Puree into a blender; pour into ice cube trays. It can be fun to use flower and heart shapes. Freeze for a couple hours, remove from trays and store in sealed container in freezer.
Uses: Cuke cubes are great for smoothies, green juice, blending into cold soups with yogurt, and with cream cheese for sandwich spreads. They’re also great for
4. PICKED CUCUMBERS – FROZEN
Method: Make pickles using any of your favorite pickling recipes, or such as we’ve provided below in this article. Then freeze in zipper freezer bags or jars.
Uses: Cucumbers preserved in brine will maintain some of the crunch and can be used in most of the same ways you’d use canned pickles in jars.[1]https://www.hgtv.com/outdoors/gardens/garden-to-table/can-you-freeze-cucumbers
Note: This is our least favorite frozen cucumber method because there’s no advantage to it over regular pickled cukes that we can see. In which case we prefer to save expensive freezer space for fresh frozen fruits and veggies and can the pickles or use the fridge pickle method.
How to Use Frozen Cucumbers
SLICED – Frozen Sliced Cucumbers
Eaten frozen as a snack, blended into chilled soups, smoothies, green juice, cucumber water, and scattered on sandwiches. These cucumber slices can also be used for refreshing weary eyes and facial masks.
The advantage in freezing cucumber slices is that prepared this way, they can be used for any of the frozen cucumber options you choose. The disadvantage is that the flat single layer cookie sheets can take up a lot of space in the freezer,
SPEARS – Frozen Cucumber Spears
Eaten frozen as a snack, chopped into water, blended into smoothies, green juice and cold soups or blended into dips and spreads. The advantages of the cucumber spears is that they’re quicker to cut and take less space to store during the freezing mode.
CUBES – Frozen Cucumber Cubes
Blend chunks of cucumbers in a blender or food processor to puree the cucumbers. Then pour liquified cukes into ice trays and freeze. It super simple, quick and our favorite way to freeze cucumbers for multiple uses throughout the summer and through the winter too.
Frozen “cuke cubes” are our favorite way to freeze and use cucumbers.
PUREED – Frozen Cucumber
Pureed cucumber can also be easily turned into a refreshing facial mask. You can apply right away, by itself or blended with other favorite facial treatments such as oatmeal.
You can also freeze pureed cucumber in zipper bag for future application. Just defrost lightly before using it, reblending if needed.
Uses for frozen pureed cucumber include adding it to soups, smoothies, green juice and water, as desired. Cuke cubes can also be blended into dips and sandwich spreads, such as cream cheese.
We blend cucumbers – alone or mixed with other fresh ingredients, then pour into ice cube trays to freeze. Once frozen, remove from ice trays and store by zipping cuke cubes into plastic bags. This makes is super convenient to toss a few cuke cubes into a glass of water or add to a smoothie. It’s perfect for adding to our Vitamix when making green juice.
Drinking cucumber water in summer is one of our favorite ways to drink water throughout the day for micro doses of Vitamin K, potassium, and magnesium.
You can learn more about dehydrating cucumber chips here.
We use frozen cucumbers in green juice, smoothies and chilled cucumber soups.
~GardensAll.com
Cucumber Galore and More!
Fortunately cucumber season is a long one. In our zone 7a, we’re planting and harvesting cucumbers all summer. Whenever we plant too many cukes, we can sell surplus to a local specialty pickle maker, and we also like to try new ways to preserve some for post season use.
Speaking of specialty pickles, that’s another way to get more out of your cucumber crops! Gourmet pickles are a thing, y’all… and they’re really yummy! If you’re a market gardener, then homemade gourmet pickles can be sold for a premium price. Our local pickle maker is selling hers for around $15 per quart jar!
And of course you can make your own pickled cucumber and refrigerator pickles.
Market Gardener’s Tip:
Specialty pickles can be sold at market for gourmet pickle prices.
~GardensAll.com