Cilantro can go bad so quickly! So, can cilantro be frozen? Yes, it can! Learn more about how to freeze cilantro in your freezer.

Sometimes you end up buying a big bunch of this fresh herb, or while trimming the herb from your garden, you end up with some extra leftovers that you can easily use later.

What to do with the leftovers? The real question is can you freeze this fresh herb? Yes, you absolutely can!

Also see How to Grow Cilantro, How Long Does Cilantro Last, and How to Store Fresh Cilantro.

How to freeze cilantro:

Cilantro is a fresh herb used in various dishes from different cuisines such as Asian dishes, Middle Eastern dishes, Indian dishes, and Mexican dishes.

Freezing cilantro is the perfect way you can preserve the fresh and bright flavor it has. You can use it to brighten up any dish, but unfortunately, this herb tends to wilt faster.

So to preserve the leftovers, freezing is the perfect option. Find out some convenient ways to protect your cilantro; keep reading!

How to pick cilantro:

Before you begin with the process of freezing your cilantro, you must follow the following tips that are important in preparing your cilantro to freeze.

You must choose fresh cilantro because it wilts a little during freezing, but if it’s fresh, it won’t become bad when you take it out later.

When searching for cilantro in the market, go for crisp and bright green leafy cilantro. It’s fresh and tastes fantastic too!

Make sure you avoid any cilantro that looks yellowed, crushed, or even a little bit wilted; that’s a no-no!

How to prepare cilantro for freezing:

Now, rinse the cilantro in a big bowl of water; you can easily hold it by the stems and swish the leafy part of the cilantro in the water.

Continue doing this until the water becomes dirty; now, fill up the bowl again with clean water and redo the cleaning process as explained above at least twice to thrice times until the water becomes clear.

After thoroughly washing the cilantro, shake the excess water off. That’s right, hold the cilantro by the stems and give it a good amount of shakes. Do this in the sink only to avoid getting your kitchen area wet.

After you have gotten rid of the excess water, place the cilantro on a flat surface such as a tray and pat dry all the leaves using a paper towel.

Gently pat down so the paper towel absorbs all the moisture, and no water is left. Make sure you use fresh paper towels as soon as the previous one gets wet.

Another tip in the prepping process is blanching the cilantro. In a pot of boiling water, dip your cilantro for approximately 15 to 30 seconds, and then dunk the cilantro in cold water as soon as you take it out.

This is also supposed to be done for a few seconds, and make sure to use the same drying technique to get rid of excess water and moisture. The blanching is ideal and is used to preserve the bright color of this herb.

Finally done getting the cilantro perfect prepped for freezing, let’s begin with the real task at hand that is learning how to freeze cilantro.

1. Freezing cilantro in a freezer bag

Before freezing this fantastic herb, decide if you want it to be frozen with stems or just frozen leaves. If leaves are your choice, pinch each of them from the stem and throw away the stems of the cilantro.

However, if you do plan to freeze it with the stem, remember you can easily pinch some leaves whenever you need to use it.

Tossing some olive oil is ideal; this helps protect the delicate herb and prevent it from becoming mushy. You can easily place the herb in a bowl, grab and toss a teaspoon or a tablespoon of olive oil depending upon the quantity of cilantro you’re freezing. The more herbs you will add, the more amount of olive oil.

Zip-lock bags or resealable bags are perfect when storing them in your freezer. Spread out your herb evenly in the zip log bag.

If it’s just the leaves, then make sure they are correctly placed, but if you are using the stem and leaves too, make sure they are kept as straight as possible. Use more than one bag if you have extra cilantro.

Squeeze all the air out of the bag before sealing it. You can do this by gently pressing it until it is entirely flat. Be as gentle as you can to avoid crushing the cilantro.

A quick tip! Use a marker and write the date on the bag to know when you froze your cilantro and when placing it in your freezer, make sure it’s placed on the flat surface, so the herb remains straight.

2. Freezing cilantro as an ice cube:

Another way to freeze this herb is in the ice-cube tray. How?

  • You have to chop the herb on a cutting board into long pieces, including the stem, add it to the blender, and pour 1/3 cup of olive oil on 50 grams of chopped Cilantro. Pulse it in the blender for a few seconds.
  • Now grab an empty ice-cube tray and, using a spoon, pour down the purée into the tray. Do not fill it all the way in because the purée expands when frozen.
  • Transfer this to the freezer and leave the cilantro for a few hours or overnight, so it gets frozen. This technique is hassle-free and takes up just a few minutes.
  • After the purée turns into cubes, pop them all out and transfer all the frozen cilantro cubes in the bag and seal them using a freezer bag.
  • Store it in the freezer and make sure to mention the date. Now, use it whenever you want to! Simple and quick!
Cilantro closeup on dark table background

Conclusion on how to freeze cilantro:

Use these easy and convenient methods to make your life easier. Cilantro is a herb some people use in their everyday food, so freeze it in bags or the form of ice cubes and easily make use of it in your dinner and lunch. Try out today!

More fresh produce tips:

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