How to Freeze Zucchini (3 Ways!)

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Ever have too much zucchini during the summer months? Learning how to freeze zucchini is a simple and effective way to keep it fresh, so you can enjoy it — and keep cooking zucchini recipes — long after the growing season ends. While frozen zucchini is not exactly the same as fresh summer squash after thawing, it’s still delicious and can be used in many ways!

Can You Freeze Zucchini?

Yes, you can freeze zucchini. For best texture, though, you’ll need to take extra steps to prepare it before freezing.

3 Ways To Freeze Zucchini

You can freeze zucchini in 3 different shapes, depending on how you’ll want to use it:

Sliced – This method is the least effort to cut. Freezing sliced zucchini is ideal for stir fry, soups, or casseroles. It tends to be too mushy as a side dish on its own, though.
Shredded – Unlike other methods, this one doesn’t require blanching and can be frozen raw. However, the texture will change more than other methods, so it works best for baking.
Noodles – Frozen zucchini noodles or “zoodles” are spiralized zucchini, and yes, you can freeze them! You can serve them with a sauce as a side dish, or toss them in casseroles, soups, or stir fry, much like sliced zucchini.

With any of these methods, avoid using frozen zucchini for salads or other raw dishes, because the texture will change. Freezing whole zucchini is also not recommended, because it’s difficult to blanch and is more prone to getting mushy.

Three methods for how to freeze zucchini in freezer bags.

How To Freeze Zucchini Slices

Slice. Using a sharp knife, cut zucchini into slices.
Blanch. Bring a pot of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Prepare an ice bath (just water and ice cubes in a large bowl). Once the water boils, add the zucchini slices and cook briefly.
Shock. Using a slotted spoon, immediately transfer zucchini to the ice bath. (This “shocks” it and prevents further cooking.)

Dry. Pat the zucchini dry with a paper towel.
Flash freeze. Spread the zucchini on a baking sheet in a single layer. Freeze zucchini slices until solid.
Store long-term. Transfer to a freezer bag and return to the freezer.

Zucchini slices patted dry with paper towel.

Zucchini slices transferred to a freezer bag.

How To Freeze Shredded Zucchini

Grate. Shred zucchini using a food processor or a box grater.
Squeeze. Transfer the shredded zucchini to a cheese cloth and squeeze out any excess moisture.

Squeezing shredded zucchini with a cheese cloth.

Dry. Pat the zucchini dry with paper towels.
Flash freeze. Transfer to freezer bags, remove any extra air, and freeze shredded zucchini.

Shredded zucchini patted dry with a paper towel.

Shredded zucchini placed in a zip lock bag for freezing.

How To Freeze Zucchini Noodles

Spiralize. Make the zoodles using a spiralizer. (For more tips on spiralizing zucchini and ways to make them using other tools, check my guide on zucchini noodles here.)
Blanch. Bring large pot of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Prepare an ice bath. Blanch zucchini noodles in the pot briefly.

Shock. Using a slotted spoon, immediately transfer zucchini to the ice bath. (Same as above, this prevents overcooking.)
Dry. Pat zucchini dry with a paper towel.

Patting zucchini noodles dry with paper towel.

Flash freeze. Spread on a baking sheet in a single layer. Freeze zucchini noodles until solid.
Store long-term. Transfer the frozen zoodles to a zip lock bag and return to the freezer.

Tips For Freezing Zucchini

Freezing zucchini is quote easy, but here are a few key tips to ensure that it maintains its taste and texture:

Smaller zucchini freezes better. This is because they have less water content. You can still freeze any size, though.
Wash first. Since frozen zucchini is already cut and typically used immediately in recipes, wash before cutting it.
Blanching is crucial. This deactivates the enzymes that cause the zucchini to break down, preserving its texture, color, and flavor. However, if you plan to use the zucchini in a baked recipe where the veggie’s texture is not important, blanching may not be necessary — this is why we don’t need to blanch shredded zucchini.
Dry well. To prevent freezer burn, drain and dry zucchini well before freezing.
Flash freeze first. Freezing zucchini in a single layer first prevents it from sticking together. Once it’s solid, you can transfer to containers or freezer bags.
Remove extra air, but don’t pack together. Once you transfer to freezer bags, remove as much air as possible to prevent freezer burn. However, don’t jam the zucchini into the bags, as some air circulation helps preserve the quality.
Use portion size containers. To make thawing and reheating a snap, freeze zucchini in portion-sized containers for easy use in recipes. (See ideas below!)

Storage Methods

There are a few different ways to store your frozen veggies, each with their pros and cons:

Freezer Bags: The most popular choice for freezing zucchini, since they are easy to use, inexpensive, and don’t take up much freezer space. However, they don’t provide the sturdiest protection against freezer burn.
Vacuum Sealed Bags: The best way to remove as much air as possible and minimize freezer burn. I’m obsessed with this one and use it literally every day (not only for the freezer but also using their included glass containers for making fridge leftovers last longer!). The downside of freezing zucchini in vacuum sealed bags is it gets packed more tightly, which can affect the texture a bit.
Glass Containers: I like these and also use them for meal prep. They are sturdy and protect against freezer burn, but they can take up a lot of freezer space and may be harder to stack and organize.
Portioned Silicone Trays: This is actually my favorite method, because I can store just the right portions for different recipes. Here is my favorite set, which comes with different sizes.

There are a few ways to thaw frozen zucchini, but the easiest method is to place it in the fridge overnight. Alternatively, you can also thaw it by placing it in a bowl of cold water for a few hours or using the defrost setting on your microwave. The squash will typically release extra water when thawing, so you’ll usually need to drain it.

Ways To Use Frozen Zucchini

You can use frozen zucchini in many kinds of recipes! Whether you freeze zucchini in slices, shreds, or noodles, there are lots of options to use it:

Baked Goods – Use shredded zucchini to make chocolate chip zucchini muffins, healthy almond flour zucchini bread (or even keto zucchini bread), or zucchini brownies.
Casseroles – Add it to ratatouille, a cheesy zucchini casserole, or my favorite everything-but-the-kitchen-sink recipe, chicken bacon ranch casserole.
Eggs – Fold sliced or shredded zucchini into an omelette or your favorite breakfast casserole. If you have a lot of it, make a zucchini quiche!
Soups & Stews – Of course, you can make zucchini soup with it! This is perfect for zucchini cut in any way, since it will be blended. Frozen shredded zucchini also adds flavor and texture to other pureed soups, like butternut squash soup or pea soup. Or, add frozen zucchini noodles to vegetable soup, leftover turkey soup, or in place of pasta in any noodle soup.
Noodles – Freeze zoodles, thaw them, and serve with your favorite sauce, like marinara, pesto, or alfredo.
Fritters – Cheesy zucchini fritters are one of my favorite ways to use shredded zucchini from the freezer.
Stir Fry – Throw some sliced frozen zucchini right into a chicken stir fry or vegetable stir fry. You don’t even have to thaw it first!
Smoothies – Add it to a green detox smoothie or strawberry avocado smoothie for a delicious and nutritious way to start your day.
Dessert – Use frozen zucchini when you make healthy zucchini brownies for a quick and easy dessert.

Recommended Tools

Food Processor – This food processor makes shredding zucchini easy, but you could also use a box grater.
Cheesecloth – The fastest way to squeeze out moisture.
Spiralizer – My favorite for making zoodles. I love the big suction cup, so it doesn’t slide around the counter.

How to Freeze Zucchini

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Ingredients

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4 medium Zucchini (or any amount you want) ▢

Instructions

Tap on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.

How To Freeze Shredded Zucchini:

Shred the zucchini using a food processor or a box grater.
Transfer the zucchini to a cheesecloth and squeeze out any excess moisture.
Pat the zucchini dry with paper towels.
Transfer the shredded zucchini to freezer bags and freeze.

How To Freeze Sliced Or Cubed Zucchini:

Using a sharp knife, slice the zucchini into 1/4-inch (or 1/2-inch) slices.
Bring a pot of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, prepare a bowl of water with ice.
Add the zucchini slices to the pot and boil for 1 minute. (Don't add salt.)
Use a slotted spoon to transfer the zucchini to the ice water bath immediately. Let it sit for 3 minutes.
Drain the zucchini and pat dry with paper towels.
Spread the sliced zucchini onto a baking sheet in a single layer. Freeze until solid, about 1-3 hours.
Once the zucchini is solid, transfer to a freezer bag and return to the freezer.

How To Freeze Zucchini Noodles:

Using a spiralizer, spiralize the zucchini to make zoodles.
Bring a pot of water to a bowl over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, prepare a bowl of water with ice.
Add zucchini noodles to the pot and boil for 1 minute. (Don't add salt.)
Use a slotted spoon to transfer the zucchini to the ice water bath immediately. Let it sit for 3 minutes.
Drain the zucchini and pat dry with paper towels.
Spread the zoodles onto a baking sheet in a single layer. Freeze until solid, about 1-3 hours.
Once the zoodles are solid, transfer to a freezer bag and return to the freezer.

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Recipe Notes

Serving size: 1 cup

Nutrition Facts

Amount per serving. Serving size in recipe notes above.

Calories 33

Fat 0.6g

Protein 2.4g

Total Carbs 6.1g

Net Carbs 4.1g

Fiber 2g

Sugar 4.9g

Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see our nutrition policy.

Calories: 33 kcal

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5 Comments

Gina
0 August 10, 2023Reply

Such a great resource to have right now, I’m overloaded with zucchini from our garden! I will definitely be using some of these tips to save some for the middle of winter.
Shelby
0 August 10, 2023Reply

This is a *mind blown* post, I have so much zucchini from the garden and never thought to freeze it! Totally spiralizing it for noodles, genius!
Julianne
0 August 10, 2023Reply

This was super helpful and perfect to refer to when you have so much leftover zucchini from your garden like I do!
Lisa
0 August 10, 2023Reply

We couldn’t eat all the zucchini we grew this year so I wanted to freeze some for later. Your methods were easy to follow and worked perfectly.
Mandy
0 August 10, 2023Reply

This is great, I have a real glut of zucchini this year and I have been wondering how on earth I’d eat it all. I love the ideal of noodles, so I am going to freeze a whole batch!

How To Freeze Zucchini