Summer’s bounty and leftovers from the grocery store don’t have to go to waste! Yes, you can freeze this ubiquitous yet delightful herb. Here’s how to freeze parsley!

A basket full of Italian parsley

Table of Contents

The Story Behind the Recipe

I first had to learn how to freeze parsley when my big herb-garden winner was a hearty Italian parsley plant. Which was excellent because I love parsley, bit bad because the cilantro on its left and the dill on its right didn’t fare so well because of it. A battle of the herbs.

I love parsley. I already mentioned that, but it bears mentioning again. I love parsley so much that even as a little kid dining out with my family, I’d end up with a huge pile of green on my plate. It was the first thing everyone did: Once your plate is set in front of you, pass your parsley sprig to Kare. (Note: A very important lesson I learned quickly was that curly raw kale garnishes did NOT taste like parsley).

Frozen parsley ice cubes

Can You Freeze Parsley?

Yes, you can freeze parsley! Frozen chopped parsley still tastes great in all your recipes, but it won’t look great as a garnish (sorry).

How to Freeze Parsley

Here’s what I do to preserve parsley so I can enjoy the taste of fresh parsley all winter – without having to pick up a bundle for a buck or two from the grocery store, wash, snip, clip, and chop.

  1. First, snip about 8 cups worth of parsley leaves
  2. Wash, drain, and throw the parsley on some paper towels. Pat dry.
  3. Throw it in your food processer, handy chopper, or, if you’re me, your blender because you still don’t have that Cuisinart food processer you’ve been coveting
  4. Use your machine of choice to chop up your parsley (or chop the old fashioned way with a knife – it takes more time, but you’ll end up with a slightly nicer, more consistent end product), drizzling about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in as you go (this helps bind the parsley together for pressing into the ice cube tray).
  5. Measure a tablespoon (or preferred measurement) of the chopped parsley and place it into one of the ice cube tray compartments to use as a guide for filling the rest of them with approximately the same amount (I used the pink flower-shaped ice cube tray from Ikea – only $1.99 and cute as heck!)
  6. Press the remaining parsley into the remaining ice cube tray compartments.
  7. Freeze overnight.
  8. Pull out the tray and pop your little parsley shapes out! Aren’t they cute? Now just put ’em in a Ziploc bag and store them in the freezer until you need them.

 

Frozen parsley ice cubes
A bag of frozen parsley ice cubes.

Easy chopped parsley to enjoy all winter!

How to Freeze Parsley to Use Later
4.50 from 2 votes

How to Freeze Parsley

Author: Kare
Bumper crop of parsley? Put away the pesto! Here's an easy way to preserve your bounty to use all year.

Ingredients

  • Fresh parsley

Instructions

  • Wash, drain, and throw the parsley on some paper towels. Pat dry.
  • Throw it in your food processer, handy chopper, or, if you’re me, your blender because you still don’t have that Cuisinart food processer you’ve been coveting
  • Use your machine of choice to chop up your parsley (or chop the old fashioned way with a knife – it takes more time, but you’ll end up with a slightly nicer, more consistent end product), drizzling about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in as you go (this helps bind the parsley together for pressing into the ice cube tray).
  • Measure a tablespoon (or preferred measurement) of the chopped parsley and place it into one of the ice cube tray compartments to use as a guide for filling the rest of them with approximately the same amount (I used the pink flower-shaped ice cube tray from Ikea – only $1.99 and cute as heck!)
  • Press the remaining parsley into the remaining ice cube tray compartments.
  • Freeze overnight.
  • Pull out the tray and pop your little parsley shapes out! Aren’t they cute? Now just put ’em in a Ziploc bag and store them in the freezer until you need them.

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